September 26, 2008

Halladay fought the good fight, and won...

Yesterday, I sang the praises of A.J. Burnett and how wonderful he was against the Red Sox and Yankees this season. Now, it's time to lavish praise on his brother in arms in the fight against the evil empires, Roy Halladay.


Really, what can I say about Roy Halladay that I haven't said already? He is the greatest pitcher I've ever known. Doc picked up his 20th win of the season last night and when it was all said and done, I wanted to take him in my arms, much like how A.J. did (pictured, yo).

What a performance from Halladay this season. Simply outstanding. He reached the 20 win plateau for the second time in his career and did it with another complete game gem last night, throwing only 96 pitches. For the good Doctor, anything less than a complete game masterpiece would have been uncivilized. It was his ninth complete game of the season and if that statistic doesn't blow you away, it should. It really should. No, seriously, it should.

Halladay finishes the season with a 20-11 record, 2.78 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 206 strikeouts, and an opponents batting average of .237. He walked only 39 batters all season. In 246 innings. If that statistic doesn't blow you away, it should. It really should. No, seriously, it should.

To put things in perspective, because that's what I do around here, let's compare Halladay's 2008 season with his 2003 Cy Young Award winning campaign:

2003:
22-7 W/L, 36 games started, 266 innings pitched, 96 earned runs, 26 home runs, 32 walks, 204 strikeouts, 3.25 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, .247 opponents batting average, nine complete games and two shutouts.

2008:
20-11 W/L, 33 games started, 246 innings pitched, 76 earned runs, 18 home runs, 39 walks, 206 strikeouts, 2.78 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, .237 BAA, nine complete games and two shutouts.

You know, it's hard to argue against Cliff Lee winning the Cy Young. He's had a phenomenal season. So, here's what I propose: they split the award. Co-winners, know what I'm saying? If Lee is deserving of the award, and he is, equally so is our Doc. It's been well documented that Halladay has faced stiffer competition and, well, just go back a paragraph and have another look at Doc's 2008 stats. He shaved almost half a run off his ERA from 2003, and threw nine complete games to Lee's four. Nine complete games! Nine! I'm truly starting to believe The Ack over at The Tao of Stieb when he says that Halladay is a pitching machine from the future, sent back in time to save all of humanity.

Speaking of that stiffer competition, check out the layout below to see how Doc fared against the evil empires this season:

Doc vs NYY in 2008 (including last night's bonerific start)

Games started: 6
W/L: 5-1
Innings pitched: 45
ERA: 2.40
WHIP: 0.91
Hits: 34
Runs: 12
Earned Runs: 12
Walks: 7
Strikeouts: 31
Opponents Batting Average: .211

Pretty impressive, eh? Two of those starts were complete games, and one was a two-hit shutout which I had the pleasure of being in the ball park for.

Halladay vs Boston Red Sox in 2008

Games started: 5
W/L: 3-2
Innings pitched: 38.2
ERA: 2.56
WHIP: 0.98
Hits: 32
Runs: 12
Earned runs: 11
Walks: 6
Strikeouts: 24
Opponents Batting Average: .224

Doc threw two complete games against the Sox, both in Fenway Park. One of them was actually a 1-0 loss; damn flaccid offence. Actually, of the nine complete games Doc tossed, three of them were losses. The three losses came during a stretch of four consecutive complete games Halladay threw in April. Yep, you read that right: four consecutive complete games. If that statistic doesn't blow you away, it should. It really should. No, seriously, it should.

I think I began to truly appreciate Doc's greatness this year. He is a superstar in every sense of the word, and I'm a better person for having had the chance to watch him, live and on the tube, every five days. When I grow up, I want to be just like Harry Leroy Halladay III.

Doc, along with his best friend forever A.J. Burnett, fought the good fight against the evil empires. And although we're again on the outside looking in at the post-season, my boys, Doc and A.J., they triumphed over evil. For that, I salute them, especially Doc. A.J. is who he is today because of Roy Halladay.

Thanks Doc, for one hell of a season.

4 comments:

The Ack said...

just because I don't want to steal credit where credit is due - it was the DJF maniacs who came up with the "Doc is a fucking cyborg" theme. I just incorporated a little of my own bullshit.

I'd like to say when I grow up I will be like Doc. Except for the fact I've got a year on him. Then again, he is from the future....

Anonymous said...

I wonder if one day Roy is going to wake up and just want out of Toronto because there is almost no chance of them passing the Red Sox, Yanks, and now the Rays in the near future.

If he is this dominating in the AL East just imagine him pitching in the NL or even moving to another AL East team mentioned above. Run support would be great.

I know the Doc has class and is trying to win with the Jays and not jumping ship but after a while, I wonder if the losing seasons and failed attempts to overcome the Yanks, Sox, and now Rays will start to weigh on him.

Navin Vaswani (@eyebleaf) said...

Ack: My bad. I've been slacking on my DJF readage. And I'm way behind on the podcasts.

MacBook: I think Doc likes the anonymity of Toronto, and I think he truly believes in the direction the team is going. At least that's what he says. I think he realizes what an extraordinary mission it is to make the playoffs in the AL East, and he wants the satisfaction to actually do it. He seems like the type of guy who wants to do the impossible. I mean, it's easy to go elsewhere and try and get that ring, but it seems like he really wants to do in Toronto and understands that as long as the team puts itself in a competitive spot, he's OK with what goes down. All he wants is a chance, and he sees JP and the team trying to give him that chance, so he's happy.

I think the losing does weigh on him. I think it already is. But I just pray that we can get over the hump while he's still a dominant pitcher in this league. The guy is incredible. To lose him would be a severe, severe blow. Hopefully we can re-up AJ and Doc this summer and show that we're ready to take on the empires, and the Rays, again.

Anonymous said...

eyebleaf: If Doc takes off the Jays are royally screwed. This guy is the life line of the Jays. He keeps them in games and without him I think the Jays would immediately drop and be the new bottom feeders of the AL East.

This whole AJ thing is kind of crazy. If this guy leaves the Jay's rotation that had the potential of being the powerhouse of the entire bigs (Doc, AJ, McGowan, and Marcum) will just turn out to be one ace and the rest AAAA players.

I hope the new CEO/President will give JP or the next GM a green light to sign AJ.