I paid $8.50 to watch Roy Halladay do what he did last night. I gave so little, and got so much. It was akin to robbery. I now know how Rogers Communications feels when doing business with me.
It was an epic performance from Doc. I've been to five of his six starts, and last night's might have been the best yet; even better than when he laid the smack down on A.J. Burnett and the Yankees.
What's really left to be said about Halladay? As TD points out over at The 500 Level, since 2002, when Halladay became a premier pitcher in baseball, through twelve starts he's arguably never been as dominant as he's been in 2009. His 82 strikeouts, thanks to a career-high 14 last night, are astounding. The man is aging tremendously.
A couple of folks put it most aptly:
Baseball Facts - "Roy Halladay can make Tim McCarver shutup."
Ghostrunner on First - "Roy Halladay is not of this earth."
It's one thing to watch Halladay shut down a lineup with a masterful two-hit, 95-pitch performance. It's another to watch him allow four earned runs in a troublesome seventh inning, and end up throwing a 133-pitch complete game victory.
At the top of both the 8th and 9th innings, I was on the edge of my seat, hoping to see Halladay emerge from the dugout. Each time, he did. No bullpen was going to blow the lead. Thank you, Cito Gaston.
And make no mistake, The Cito knows: pitch counts mean something only to mere mortals; not Harry Leroy Halladay III.
In the final two innings, Halladay struck out five Anaheim Angels. The side, in the 9th, to end the game.
If you don't know, now you know: Doc's the best pitcher in baseball.
UPDATE: Check out Pitch F/X goodness from Doc's start over at The Mockingbird. Halladay's 130th pitch of the evening hit 94.7 mph on the radar gun ...
UPDATE #3: Doc's start, and finish, last night, did not qualify as a "quality start." Needless to say, the quality start statistic is now dead to me. I will never reference it again.
