Roy Halladay Photo Credit: Steve Trapani

This year’s ESPY nominations were announced on Friday, and one thing was made clear: The ESPYs really like Roy Halladay. And who can blame them?

Halladay is nominated for Best Moment for the no hitter that marked his postseason debut against the Cincinnati Reds. His competition in that category is the Fennville High School basketball team, who overcame gut-wrenching emotion to win three playoff games after the sudden death of the team’s 16 year-old star, Wes Leonard. Halladay also faces 20 year-old NASCAR driver Trevor Baynes for his Daytona 500 win.

Halladay’s biggest competition in that category is the Fennville squad. Don’t be surprised to see him lose out to them. After all that team has been through this year, they deserve a little time to shine at the ESPYs.

In the Best Major League Baseball Player category Halladay also receives a nod. He faces Jose Bautista of Toronto; Josh Hamilton of Texas; Felix Hernandez of Seattle; and Joey Votto of Cincinnati. All great players, of course, but Halladay should get this.

While the Best Moment and Best MLB Player categories are the only ones that feature representation of the Phillies, there are a few other categories where you might always like to pay special attention.

Here are some suggestions on how to proceed.

In the Best Championship Performance category, the nominees are:

Tim Lincecum, 2010 MLB Postseason
Tim Thomas, Stanley Cup Finals
Kemba Walker, Big East Tournament and NCAA Tournament
Serena Williams, 2010 Wimbledon

Voting suggestion: I’m pretty sure we’re on the same page here, but I strongly suggest that your vote be for anyone other than Lincecum.

For Best Team, the nominees are:

Auburn Football
Boston Bruins
Dallas Mavericks
Green Bay Packers
San Francisco Giants
Texas A&M Women’s Basketball

Voting suggestion: Again,  let bitterness prevail. Be sure to vote for anyone BUT the San Francisco Giants.

While I’m at it, I’m assuming that if you are a Phillies fan you are an overall fan of  Philadelphia sports. That being the case, you may want to go ahead and eliminate voting for the Green Bay Packers as possibility.

Sure, Philadelphia sports fans aren’t nearly as bad as we’re made out to be but we are allowed to hold a grudge.

A full list of this year’s nominees can be found here. Place your votes for the 2011 ESPY’s here.

Now go perform your civic duty and vote!

Brandyn Campbell is contributing writer for View from Section 116. You can usually find here writing about football and the Philadelphia Eagles at the Philly Sports Muse site on Aerys Sports. Follow her on Twitter at @sports_muse and on Facebook.

RYAN HOWARD - Photo credit: Steve Trapani

After losing a series to the Seattle Mariners, the Phillies look to bounce back against a Albert Pujols-less St. Louis Cardinals team.  Roy Halladay will get the start, looking for his 10th win.  He and fellow Phillie Cole Hamels lead the National League with nine wins each.  Hamels was handed a loss on Sunday but also pitched his 1,000th career strikeout. Hamels is the third-fastest active pitcher to accomplish that.  Only San Francisco’s Tim Lincecum and Seattle’s Felix Hernandez reached it faster.

St. Louis is Ryan Howard‘s hometown and he absolutely thrives in Busch Stadium. Which is definitely a positive thing!

Aerys Sports St. Louis Cardinals’ senior reporter Christine Coleman provided her insight into the Cardinals and below is what she had to say. Please check out her site Aaron Miles Fastball for coverage of this series and all things Cardinals:

Injury News

The latest Cardinals news is something you likely heard about yesterday: Albert Pujols fractured a bone in his forearm during a collision on Sunday and is out from four to six weeks. He will be going on the disabled list before tonight’s game, becoming the eighth Cardinal on the DL at the moment and the 14th for the season. (By comparison, the Cards used the DL 13 times total in 2010.) Even with that, the Cardinals leading the NL Central by half a game with a record of 40-33.

Already on the disabled list for the Cards are 20-game winner Adam Wainwright, rookie relievers Bryan Augenstein and Eduardo Sanchez, third baseman David Freese, infielder Nick Punto (for the second time this season), outfielder Allen Craig (also for the second time) and backup catcher Gerald Laird. Just last week, leftfielder Matt Holliday and starting pitcherKyle McClellan returned. One plus is that the many players the Cardinals have called up from Triple A-Memphis this season have jumped into starting roles and done well.

Hottest Hitters

Although they’ve now won two consecutive games, the Cardinals lost seven straight before that. The winning has coincided with Matt Holliday’s return – he’s 5 for 12 with two homers and four RBI and currently batting .347. He’s also worn Hall of Famer Red Schoendienst’s pants for the last two games, to go along with the new high-sock look many of his teammates are sporting – Holliday’s usual pants wouldn’t accommodate the socks. The 88-year-old Schoendienst is still a Cardinals special assistant and in uniform. And, considering the results the pants have brought about, Holliday will be wearing Red’s pants a while longer.

Ryan Theriot had a 20-game hitting streak recently, and now has a new streak of four games going. He’s hitting .500 (7 for 14) over those games and has raised his average back up to .303.

With Albert on the DL, it’s nice that the Cards have an All Star first baseman in Lance Berkman available as a backup if needed. No determination has yet been made who will be playing first, nor if Berkman or Holliday will take over Albert’s customary No. 3 spot in the batting order. Berkman had cooled off a bit hitting-wise after his incredible start to the season, but is still hitting and driving in runs rather consistently. His average is .308 and he leads the team with 51 RBI, fourth-best in the NL. He’s tied with Albert for the team lead in homers with 17, which also ties them for second in the NL.

Starting Pitchers

Tuesday – Kyle McClellan (6-3, 3.96)

McClellan joined the starting rotation out of the bullpen this season, taking Wainwright’s spot. He’s been fairly good and was even the first NL pitcher to reach six wins. His start last Wednesday was his first in a couple weeks, as he’d been on the DL with an injured hip. He was a little rusty, giving up three earned runs in five innings in a loss, so hopefully will bounce back – although he has a big task ahead of him in facing Roy Halladay.

Wednesday – Kyle Lohse (7-3, 2.88 ERA)

Lohse got off to a terrific start this year, ending May with a 7-2 record and 2.13 ERA. He hasn’t been quite as good in June, having allowed four earned runs in each of his last three starts and lasting between five and six innings. He’s also given up five homers in those three starts, after having allowed only three homers total up until that point. A more efficient and longer outing would definitely be welcome, especially with Cliff Lee opposing him.

Thursday – Chris Carpenter (1-7, 4.47 ERA)

Carpenter’s season has been puzzling. He’s pitched well enough to win far more than one game, but also has victimized himself at times – often having only one bad inning that ultimately costs him the game. He’s also allowed a lot of hits this season, more than he typically does: he’s allowed 10 or more hits four times this season (and allowed a season-high 13 in his only win). But he’s also had some bad luck, as he’s thrown a complete game loss and pitched nine innings in a 10-inning team win for which he received no decision. Maybe seeing his friend and former teammate Halladay will help?

Tonight’s game preview is after the jump…

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