Halladay, Wise, and My Top 3

I've been putting off writing about "why the Phillies need/don't need Roy Halladay" because it just seemed like such a cliche kind of thing to do. I mean, more than half the stories posted under the Phillies on BleacherReport this week had that as their basic argument.

Also, I didn't want to make my contributions to this blog ONLY about the Phillies.

But I'm going to do it anyway.

Let's get one thing straight: the Phillies do not need Halladay to win the N.L. East this year. At this point, there is absolutely no excuse for not winning the division. They have the talent, they have the experience, and, oh yeah, they have a 6 game lead. I'm not saying that its impossible for someone else (Atlanta has been looking good lately) to catch them, but if you are Ruben Amaro you can't be making this deal with an eye towards winning the division - you have to rely on the guys you already have to do that.

So that means this deal is all about the Play-offs.

If the Phillies go into the post-season right now, here's what their rotation looks like:

Hamels, Blanton, Happ, Moyer (or Pedro).

And here's how far Philly will go with that rotation:

The 2009 NLDS.

Consider that last year, when they won it all, Blanton was the #4 guy on the play-off rotation, and Hamels was pitching better than any other time in his career. Now, you're going to expect Blanton to be a #2 pitcher and a below-average Hamels to beat other team's aces.

On top of that, you're going to have an unproven rookie (Happ) and an over-the-hill veteran. Moyer got beat up in the play-offs last year, and I don't think Pedro is much of an upgrade there. Happ has been great so far, but so was Kyle Kendrick in 2007. Then, in Game 2 versus Colorado, Kendrick got shelled.

With this rotation, you have to pray Hamels can beat the other ace in Game 1, then you have to pray somebody can win another game in the series to force a Game 5, where you will be praying Hamels can beat the other ace again. Not a very favorable scenario if you want to repeat as World Champions.

Now, add Halladay, even if it means subtracting Happ, and you have this:

Halladay, Hamels, Blanton, Pedro/Moyer (or Happ, if you don't have to use him to get the Doctor).

That looks more like it. Halladay will favorably match up with any ace. Hamels, even if he doesn't get it together, is better than most #2 pitchers. And I like Blanton as a #3 much more than I do as a #2.

Giving up Happ (and Drabek) might sting a little, and it might hurt down the road, but this is a team that will have its entire core intact for the next two seasons. Adding Halladay for this year and 2010 means Philadelphia has a very good chance to be the first team to win three consecutive National League pennants since the NLCS began in 1969.

*****

DeWayne Wise's catch in the top of the ninth of Mark Buehrle's perfect game on Thursday has been broken down in probably every sports blog in the country, including this one.

My two cents: It's not the "greatest catch ever" as some have been saying. It might be the catch of the year, maybe.

What makes it so remarkable, for me, is not the catch itself (we've seen a lot of guys go over the wall and rob home runs), but what happened as Wise was coming down: the ball popped out of his glove. Even if he had dropped it at that point, he still would have saved a home run, and in normal circumstances that would be impressive enough. But he manages, as he is falling to the ground, to juggle the ball with his bare hand and hold on to it. That's why this was a great catch - most guys wouldn't be able to pull off both the over-the-wall move and the bare-handed dismount.

*****

Dave's last post got me thinking about my own sports history. So here's my Top 3 sporting events that I've seen live.

3. July 15, 2007 - The Phillies losing their 10,000th game. They are the only team in North American sports history to do that, so maybe it's not all positive, but it speaks to the longevity of the team. Well I was there for number 10,000. And yes, I applauded at the end of the game, just like most of the people in the crowd.


2. June 10, 2005 - Game 4 of the 2005 Calder Cup Finals, when the Philadelphia Phantoms closed out the Chicago Wolves to sweep the series and win the title. At the time, I was thinking: wow, if this is how people celebrate a minor league championship in this city, whats it going to be like when the Eagles or Phillies win one?


1. October 25, 2008 - Game 3 of the 2008 World Series. Carlos Ruiz walk-off 30-foot dribbler to score Eric Bruntlett against 5 infielders. After a two hour rain delay before the game. After Utley and Howard hit back-to-back homers. After Jamie Moyer pitched in front of his home town fans and looked like a young man. With my girlfriend and one of my best friends. Amazing night.


Honorable Mentions - I've seen two walk-off home runs in my lifetime. The first was Aaron Royster of the Reading Phillies (AA) against the Akron Aeros in 1997 (in the 12th inning). The second was David Wright against the Padres last year.