Howard Smith–USA TODAY Sportsit
Roy Halladay regained his confidence while he was defeating the Miami Marlins in his last start. Beating the St. Louis Cardinals (8-2) in a rain-shortened, seven-inning game on April 19, served to raise his rising ego even more.
The Philadelphia Phillies would love to see ‘Doc’ pitch consistently this season. If he’s able to do that and Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee can maintain their career forms, postseason possibilities obviously increase.
It was scary to read about Halladay’s velocity issues during spring training. Observing his erratic location during the first two regular season starts of this season only heightened fears that the end might be near. Everyone was guessing at what might come next, no matter what stance they chose.
Baseball and pitching in particular are subjective topics. While this great right-hander has lost some steam on his fastball, he still sports a brilliant repertoire of off-speed ‘stuff’ that can allow him to mentally adjust to his middle-age arm.
With whatever opponent he’s facing, fans know for sure that Halladay wants to win. Only 109 pitchers have ever won 200, or more, major league games in their careers and he’s one of them.
Tenacity has taken ‘Doc’ this far in his career. Resilience will now be needed to carry him through this season and to any that might come beyond it.
Of course the first two starts, or the last two starts, of 2013 can’t be used as full-season predictors. But, the future currently looks brighter than it has in well over a year.
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