Celebrating Doctober at Big League Stew

 

The post below -- a Blue Jays fan's take on watching Roy Halladay's no-hitter -- has been cross-posted from Big League Stew. A hearty thanks to 'Duk for having me.

Roy Halladay's first postseason start was 12 years, 2,297.1 innings and 346 games in the making.

It was well worth the wait.

I'm going to be honest with you: As soon asShane Victorino slid safely into home plate in the bottom of the first inning on Wednesday, giving Halladay and thePhiladelphia Phillies a 1-0 lead, a little voice in my head sprang to life:

"No-hitter," it said.

Yes, in the first inning. Know why? Because I'm from Toronto. My name's Navin, I'm a Blue Jays fan, and I've watched Roy Halladay pitch many more times than you have. And along with my Canadian brethren north of the 49th, we're not surprised by what transpired at Citizens Bank Park.

Because, much like Doc's perfect game in the regular season, we knew that history was coming. When you've watched him as often as we have, you come to expect greatness. And perfection — or as close as you can come to it.

We know that Harry Leroy Halladay III has always risen to the occasion. In his second start as a professional, way back in 1998, Doc was one out away from a no-hitter at the SkyDome before Bobby Higginson went and ruined the party. He followed it up with more of a decade of battling and beating the beasts of the American League East. He has always known how to make an entrance.

Why would the playoffs be any different?

I'd be lying if I said Jays fans aren't conflicted. To root, or not to root, for Doc. Over the past 10 days, Stoeten at Drunk Jays Fans has let it be known that he finds it "kinda pathetic" for Jays fans to be rooting for another team's success no matter who's pitching.

The Tao of Stieb, the most thought-provoking in the powerhouse that is the Blue Jays blogosphere, wrote: "So, yeah. Knock 'em dead Doc. Show the world how great you are. And go **** yourself while you're at it."

But while I respect those two writers greatly, I do not share their sentiments. Not since 2006, whenCarlos Delgado was a member of the New York Mets, have I had such a vested interest in Major League Baseball's playoffs. I'm rooting for Halladay. I'm rooting for the Phillies. Doc left Toronto to chase a ring, and I want him to get it.

Was it bittersweet, watching Halladay throw a no-hitter, and forever tying his name to Don Larsen's while wearing a red uniform instead of a Blue Jays jersey? Of course it is.

Would I trade Halladay's gem for one Blue Jays postseason game? Say, Ricky Romero and Toronto, instead of David Price and Tampa Bay, facing Cliff Lee and the Texas Rangers? Without a doubt.

But I don't have that option right now. Because Toronto is without postseason baseball for the 17th straight season, Doctober is as good as it gets.

Look, I'm tired of the "why should I cheer for my ex-girlfriend?" analogy. We're not talking relationships, here. We're talking baseball. The window closed on Halladay's time in Toronto, and, before it did for good, the Blue Jays made the right decision in sending their ace to Philadelphia, receiving prospects in return.

What's there to be bitter about? Doc gave us his formative years. And a rebuilding Blue Jays franchise won 85 games in 2010, after being predicted to finish below the Baltimore OrioLOLes. A young, cost-effective, and efficient starting rotation let it be known that the clubhouse was a more enjoyable and relaxed place to be, minus Halladay. Doc didn't ask to be traded, like Scott Rolen. He didn't opt-out of his contract, likeA.J. Burnett. With the Blue Jays headed in the right direction, but once again on the outside looking in at the postseason, what the hell is wrong with celebrating Doctober?

I'm also sick of the "We've known Doc was this good for the past five years!" complaints. The bitterness towards the American media, and casual baseball fans, who are only now learning about the greatness that is Roy Halladay, is absurd. Look, the real baseball fans know about Doc. The real baseball fans have always known about Doc. The same way I know, living in Toronto, thousands of miles east of Seattle, that Felix Hernandez deserves the 2010 Cy Young Award.

I dealt with the woe is me emotions, and the bitterness, in the aftermath of Halladay's perfect game, back in May. I was disappointed, and hurt. Yeah, it should have happened in a Toronto Blue Jays uniform. But it didn't. And, more than than anything, I'm glad it happened, period. I've overcome. Doc's one of baseball's "good guys." He deserves every ounce of success he's earned. He's the sole reason I went to the Rogers Centre in 2009.

What we in Toronto always wanted, always desired, was the opportunity to watch Halladay pitch in the postseason. Well, it's finally happened. Doc just happens to be wearing a Phillies uniform while doing it. Unfortunate? Sure, yeah, it is. But Halladay in the playoffs as a Phillie is better than Halladay not in the playoffs at all.

And in the end, it isn't about the Blue Jays, or the Phillies, or any team for that matter. It's about a man born to pitch in October, finally getting his chance to do just that.

And the best part?

Doctober's only begun.

"I just wanted to pitch in the postseason. ... To go out and have a game like that, it's a dream come true." — Roy Halladay

Epic image courtesy of Getty Images via Yahoo! Sports.

I want to go to the playoffs with Roy Halladay

Bittersweet. How else to describe watching Roy Halladay punch his ticket to the post-season? Of course Doc was on the mound for the Philadelphia Phillies Monday night. Of course Doc threw another complete game shutout to make it official. The Baseball Gods, they work in brilliant ways.

On the same night Halladay's Phillies clinched the National League East, the Toronto Blue Jays clinched a .500 season. Symmetry, yo. Doc's got what he wanted: a chance to win the World Series. And the Blue Jays, well, they're doing alright. They're on the righteous path. Remember, 2010 was supposed to be a disaster of biblical proportions. I'm talking below the OrioLOLes in the standings, apocalyptic-type shit. Nine months after trading the face of their franchise, and the best pitcher they've ever employed, there exists a quiet confidence that Alex Anthopoulos will lead the Blue Jays out of the abyss.

Thanks to that confidence, I was able to enjoy Halladay's moment in the sun. I know, it was actually raining in Washington, D.C., but, whatever. The point is: it's all worked out rather nicely. Considering what we've heard from the youthful Blue Jays pitching staff, they're glad they're not sharing a locker room with Halladay anymore. And I get that. Think about it: nobody wants to work with the most intense cat in the office. Especially when they're that much better than you. Toronto was no longer the time and place for Harry Leroy Halladay III. Philadelphia is.

I've gone through a bloody gamut of emotions when it comes to Doc. Anger. Sadness. Happiness. Elation, confusion, and bitterness, all in the aftermath of his perfect game. When the Jays and Phillies faced off in June, I wanted nothing more than for Toronto to pummel Doc. (Like how they slap around A.J. Burnett. It's fun!) But this -- Halladay Season in October -- is what I've always wanted. Since that fateful day in September, way back in 1998. While I never had any desire to go to the zoo with Roy Halladay, I sure as hell wanted to go to the playoffs with Roy Halladay.

The debate in Toronto has begun: Cincinnati or Philadelphia? Reds or Phillies? Canadian superstar Joey Votto, with a side of Scott Rolen, or Doc? Just last week, I'd have told you I wasn't sure which way I was leaning. But I know now, after watching Halladay celebrate with his Phillies teammates the way I always wanted him to celebrate in Toronto with the Blue Jays.

There's no doubt: Votto is special. But he's not Roy Halladay. He's not the pitcher whose starts I lived and died by, every five days, for more than a decade. I've waited far too long for Doc to pitch in the playoffs. To dominate on baseball's brightest stage. Your good friend and mine Sarah said it best: "Playoffs for Halladay are playoffs for me."

Get your ring, Doc. Go Phillies.

It's pointless that I have to tell you time and time again, but image courtesy of Reuters via daylife.

Stealing Home: The Phanatics

The one and only Roy Halladay is in a better place, my friends. A place where he is revered, as I found out, and where he has a chance to win a World Series. And, to get his ring, I'm hoping he beats the New York Yankees. One more time. Except on the grandest stage of all.

Read all about my trip to Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, what Phillies fans had to say about our Doc, and the baseball tailgating experience at GlobeSports.com.

I'm off to Minneapolis from Chicago. Unfortunately, I'm leaving without Alex Rios's, or Justin Bieber's, autograph. Fail.

Talk soon. Thanks for following along on #TBRTOAL.

Life Goes On ...

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."

- Robert Frost

Roy Halladay, a born and bred Toronto Blue Jay, has left the nest. He's a Phillie now. Officially. What he wanted to be. And a legion of Toronto baseball fans are now silent Philadelphia supporters.

Look at that smile. You love that smile. You can't root against that smile. Doc's happy. He will pitch in October. After years of dominating the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, he will now, finally, get the opportunity to do it on the grandest of stages. And I can't wait.

As for the prospect pornography on it's way north, I am content. Kyle Drabek will follow in the footsteps of his father, and the footsteps of Roger Clemons, Pat Hentgen, and Doc before him, and win a Cy Young. He's also already had Tommy John surgery, so at least that's out of the way. Brett Wallace, while playing first base, will conjure memories of Carlos Delgado with his bat. And Travis d'Arnaud will be the greatest Blue Jays catcher since ... who the hell was the last great catcher the Jays employed?

You did good, Alex Anthopoulos. Actually, we'll know in five years, but that's neither here nor there right now. (No pressure, prospect porn.)

It's a new era. A new chapter. A new beginning. And I'm excited. Now that Doc is out of the American League, he's paved the way for Shaun Marcum to win his first Cy Young award. Marcum first, then Drabek. With Ricky Romero, or Brett Cecil, winning it in between.

Thanks Doc. #GBOAT.

"There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction."

- Winston Churchill

On Top Of The World

The City of Brotherly Love has finally exorcised the demons. The Phillies are World Series champions.

Look at Brad Lidge's face. 

Check out the smile on flag-bearer Matt Stairs' face. 

For one priceless moment, when that final out is made, grown men become boys once again. That, my friends, is why I'm a sports fan. 

Enjoy yourselves, Philadelphians. You waited 28 years. And who knows when you will reach the summit again.

You wish you had one, Philadelphia...

I bet Phillies fans don't think that lid on top of the Rogers Centre looks so ridiculous anymore.

That's exactly why we've got it, because apparently baseball can be played even in November.

A mistake by the lake? Hardly. I believe every stadium should be built with a retractable roof. It would save my man Bud Selig a ton of trouble.

Prediction: I'm taking the Phillies (which means the World Series is probably headed back to Tampa Bay). Here's hoping they wrap it up tonight, and all hell breaks loose in the city of brotherly love as Philadelphians celebrate their first pro sports title in a generation. 

Shea It Ain't So

Even hockey's Ottawa Senators haven't choked like the New York Mets. There is heartbreak in Queens tonight. A late season collapse of epic proportions means the Mets are not going to the playoffs.

I love Major League Baseball's playoff marketing strategy - "There's only one October." They're absolutely right. The New York Mets apparently took October for granted and instead of gearing up for playoff baseball they're sailing into the sunset of an excruciatingly long off season.

What a collapse.

On September 12th the Mets had a seven game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. A seven game lead, with only 17 games left to play. Their final seven games were home dates, and they lost six of them. The Mets matched the largest division lead ever blown in September.

Shocking, absolutely shocking. What else can you say? The Mets had the division lead pretty much all season but they couldn't hold on when it mattered the most. For those people out there that say the baseball season is too long and too many games are meaningless, take a look at the boys from Queens. It all came down to the final day of the season, and they couldn't get the job done. It's true - every game counts, every game matters.

It's hard to believe the Mets could actually pull off a choke-job like this one with the lineup they have. David Wright, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Pedro Martinez, Tom Glavine.

Speaking of Glavine, if this was his last game as a major leaguer, what a way to go out. The Mets needed the 300 game winner to pitch them into the playoffs, and he did the opposite. He punched their ticket to the sidelines. Glavine got one out in the first inning and was pulled after getting tagged for seven runs on five hits, including a hit batsman. Who did he plunk, you ask? Dontrelle Willis, the Florida Marlins starting pitcher, with the bases loaded no less. After the first inning the Mets were down 7-0 and it was clear the life had been sucked out of them.

I'm not sure who's to blame. Everyone has to man up and realize that it was a complete team failure. A seven game lead in September should be more than safe.

In the aftermath of the Mets' collapse, praise has to be given to the Philadelphia Phillies. They never gave up. They went out and played hard in September, even though they needed a miracle. In baseball, anything is possible, and they got their miracle. One hot streak can get you into the playoffs. The Phillies went on a run at the right time - a run like the one I kept dreaming the Toronto Blue Jays would make. The Phils won 13 of their final 17 games and, coupled with the Mets losing 12 of their final 17, are division champions for the first time since 1993 when they went to the World Series (where, I might add, they lost to my Blue Jays).

Back in spring training Phillies superstar shortstop Jimmy Rollins predicted his team would make the playoffs. He was laughed at and ridiculed. I'm sure some of the Mets laughed at his comments as well. Even I thought Rollins was off his rocker. It's ok to believe your team will make the playoffs - I know all about that, I'm a Jays fan after all - but to come out and say it publicly? Easy, Jimmy.

Well, Rollins and the Phillies needed every last game out of the 162 on their schedule, but they did it. They're off to the playoffs, and Rollins got the last laugh.

The Phillies, however, don't know who they'll be facing in the first round of the playoffs. I'm sure they don't really care, either. I'm sure all the Phillies, to a man, are pretty hammered tonight. As they should be.

Philadelphia will host the winner of Monday's wild-card tiebreaker between the San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies. It should be a great game. There's nothing like a one game win-or-go-home playoff with everything on the line. For the Rockies and Padres, the first 162 games didn't matter. Only game number 163 does.

It's a privilege to play baseball in October in the big leagues. Only the truly great teams, still standing after a grueling six-month long season, get to play on. The New York Mets were thought to be a sure bet to make the playoffs by all the baseball pundits out there. They were labeled a playoff team, 100%. In the end, they were a playoff team, but only on paper. There's only one October and the Mets, like me, will be watching the playoffs on tv...