Roy Halladay - MyPHL17.com

Last night’s Phillies game against the Atlanta Braves ended with the Phillies losing in the 11th inning by a score of 15-13.  So yes the loss sucked but a bigger concern was Roy Halladay‘s abysmal start.

The Phillies had a 6-run lead heading into the bottom of the fifth inning but to say it wasn’t Halladay’s night would be an understatement.  In that inning, Doc gave up six runs which included a grand slam courtesy of Brian McCann then proceeded to allow two more runs in the bottom of the sixth.  So after giving up a total of 12 hits and eight earned runs, Doc’s night was over.

After he was yanked, Halladay looked visibly agitated and upset when he reached the dugout.  And now we hear that Halladay has left the team for a private family matter. However, he is expected to rejoin the team in Washington, D.C. on Friday night.  And remains on the schedule to start Monday night in Philadelphia.

This is shades of what happened to Roy Oswalt last year when he left the team for personal reasons.  However, as good as Oswalt once was or is, he is no where near the caliber pitcher that Doc is, so I have all the faith in the world that Halladay will come back strong and put last night’s game and whatever else might be going on, behind him.

Phillies and the Braves are currently playing, which was a 12:10 pm EDT start.  The game can be seen on Philadelphia Comcast Sportsnet.

Image source:  MyPHL17.com

Heather Carnassale is Contributing Phillies Writer for Aerys Sports. You can email her at viewfromsection116@gmail.com, or follow her on twitter @heatherc531 and @viewfromsec116.

Dear Ruben Amaro Jr. (AKA The Smug One,)

First, let me start by saying that I had a great time meeting you and talking baseball, scouting and random behind-the-scenes stories during Baseball 101 this past summer. Oh, you don’t remember.  Well, here’s a write-up from that encounter.

My friend Maria Jones with the Ruben Amaro Jr.

Today, however, I am writing this letter to you, but I am not sure if it will fall under a love letter, or hate mail.  I mean, I really don’t know.

Ok, let me explain.

I have this love/hate thing going on with you.  There are many times over your career that I have loved the moves you made:

• Trading for Cliff Lee
• Trading for Roy Halladay
• Trading for Roy Oswalt
• Signing Cliff Lee.

I even liked the Hunter Pence trade. Mainly because I like Pence, but I still believe that you overpaid for him.  But that has to happen sometimes, and Pence is one of the most entertaining players to watch.  I mean, even his warm-up swings are awesome.

However, just as often, you do things that drive me nuts and I hate them.

• Trading away Cliff Lee
• Signing Ryan Howard 2 seasons early, and for a ton of money
• Signing Jonathan Papelbon for way more than he is worth

But worst of all is the LIES.  All the lies, everyday.  I’m at the point that whatever you say, I’m going along with the opposite, since that tends to be the safe path.

And you do it with such a level of Smugness that insane.  The good people over at The Good Phight have a Smugness Alert to let us know where you are.

Then things happen that make you look like a genius, but you could have never known.  Including the news that Ryan Madson needs Tommy John, which came out while I was writing this letter.  There is no possible way that you could have known that he was going to get injured.  He might lose fights to chairs, but there has never been an issue with his elbow.

I know you like to work in secret.  I know you don’t want the media to leak what you are doing, but there is no need for this constant double-speak that you do.

When Chase Utley was out for as long as he was, we knew it wasn’t anything good.  Just tell us that, and not after the reporters noticed that he didn’t show up.  With the world of Twitter, everyone knows everything (or at least thinks they do,) as soon as the news happens.

The Phillies’ fan-base may be loud, obnoxious and annoying, but they are not idiots.  We know when something is up.  Just be HONEST!

This morning Ruben, I hated you.  I hated you for your lies, secrecy and deceit.   This afternoon, I loved the fact that you passed on Madson because of the news that he will have Tommy John.  And tomorrow, I’ll probably hate you again for some other random reason.  This is how I view you.  This is how a lot of Philly views you.

I can’t seem to stay with just one emotion when it comes to you, which might be why you work so well in Philadelphia.

With Love,

A Devout Phillies Fan

Karilee Jeantet is lead contributor to A View From Section 116.  Follow her on Twitter @kjeantet and @viewfromsec116.  Email her Aviewfromsection116@gmail.com. 

Yesterday, Roy Oswalt‘s big announcement was that he probably wouldn’t sign with any team until mid-season or later.  And reports are that his top two choices are the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals.  So does that mean there is no chance he’d make a return to Philadelphia?  Not according to Phillies/MLB writer Todd Zolecki.

It is not a stretch to think that if something happens to one of the Phils’ starters that Philadelphia general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. would sign Oswalt as a replacement. – Phillies.com

Plus Oswalt has apparently not ruled out coming back.  So once again this is a wait and see what happens thing.

Shane Victorino - Image courtesy of: MyPHL17.com

We all know what a great guy Shane Victorino is on and off the field, so I was not surprised that he’d get into the mix in trying to get singer Taylor Swift to attend a prom with 18 year-old Kevin McGuire.  Here is Kevin’s story courtesy of MyFoxPhilly.com:

This story is gaining momentum and for good reason!  18 year-old Kevin McGuire is battling cancer.  He is currently undergoing treatment at CHOP.   This brave senior attends Sterling High School and has his eyes set on attending senior prom with the darling of the music industry.

The prom is scheduled for june 1, which happens to be his 19th birthday.  His sister thinks he deserves a special date for this very special day – and the facebook page ” Taylor Swift take KEVIN MCGUIRE TO PROM! ” was born.

Fox 29′s Bruce Gordon profiled Kevin on the 10pm news.   They chatted via FaceTime.  on Thursday.   Kevin was a bit under the weather, but full of hope.  He told Bruce, “I’m not going to be the most attractive guy out there, so just having a date like Taylor Swift would be amazing because I feel like she wouldn’t make me feel like ‘that sick kid.’ She’s make me feel like an actual prom date and it would make my birthday even better.”

So, will Taylor attend prom with Kevin?

Here is Victorino’s tweet:

Follow Shane on Twitter: @shanevictorino

I wish Kevin LOTS of luck and hope all the support helps him!

Today all position players officially reported for Spring Training.

The team holds its first full squad workout Friday. The Phils play an exhibition game next Wednesday against Florida State before opening the Grapefruit League schedule March 3 against the Yankees at Bright House Field. – Phillies.com

Cliff Lee is dealing with abdominal soreness, read the story at TheMorningCall.com.

Image Source:  MyPHL17.com

Heather Carnassale is Contributing Phillies Writer for Aerys Sports. You can email her at viewfromsection116@gmail.com, or follow her on twitter @heatherc531 and @viewfromsec116.

Roy Oswalt - Image courtesy of: MyPHL17.com

According to MyFoxPhilly.com and ESPN.com free agent Roy Oswalt will be making some kind of announcement today.  The nature of this announcement is unknown.

The unsigned pitcher is widely expected to address his future in the game.

The free-agent was hoping to land with the Texas Rangers or St. Louis Cardinals but failed to work out a deal with either of last season’s World Series finalists.

The Boston Red Sox were being promoted as a possible destination for the 34-year-old three-time All-Star, although Oswalt snubbed an earlier offer while apparently holding out for a team closer to his Mississippi home.

A source close to the Red Sox told ESPN Boston the team is still interested in the veteran right-hander, who reportedly has been seeking a starting role and a one-year contract worth $10 million. – MyFoxPhilly.com

I personally think $10 million is an awful lot for a guy whose back issues have hampered his pitching on more than one occasion.  However, I still feel he’s a good pitcher when he’s healthy, so he’d be a great asset to any bullpen.

Will keep you posted.

Image source:  MyPHL17.com

Heather Carnassale is Contributing Phillies Writer for Aerys Sports. You can email her at viewfromsection116@gmail.com, or follow her on twitter @heatherc531 and @viewfromsec116.

Cliff Lee shocked the baseball world on December 14, 2010, when he turned down the New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers for a return engagement to Philadelphia.  As soon as the signing was announced, all eyes turned to the Four Aces.  In a rotation that boasted Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt, Lee seemed to get more than his fair share of attention.

But that is what happens when you become a $120 million man.

And it looked didn’t start out that great.  Lee’s April consisted of a pedestrian 4.18 ERA, but he did strike out 39, while only walking 4.  Even his WHIP was good at 1.053.  He was just hittable.

May was a little better. Lee’s ERA in the month of May was 3.78.  He continued to strike out batters at a rate of 9.6 K/9, but his WHIP jumped to 1.406.  That’s not good by the way.

As May ended, Lee had a season ERA of 3.92.  The Phillies were paying a guy a salary of a number 1 starter, and he was pitching like a 3-4.  That is not what anyone in Philly hoped for. This is not what where Cliff Lee was suppose to be.

Then June happened and all of his early struggles were put to rest.  Cliff Lee went on to have one of the most dominant stretches of any pitcher, ever.

Photo was taken from http://zozone.mlblogs.com

Lee went 5-0 and gave up 1 run the entire month.  In case you miss that, ONE RUN the ENTIRE MONTH.  And to make it even better, he drove in two.  Let’s recap that quickly: 1 run allowed and 2 RBI’s.

That includes 3 consecutive complete game shut-outs.

For the month of June Lee’s ERA was 0.21.  Umm, yeah, that’s good.  He also dropped his season ERA to 2.92.  In one month, his ERA dropped a full run, and it never went over 3.00 again.

July, while good, was nowhere near as good as his June.  But what can you expect when Lee had a historic month, something that cannot be done twice.

Well, Lee tried to duplicate his success in August, where he gave up 2 runs.  In August, he again went 5-0 with a huge ERA of 0.49.  You know, I’ll take it.

MLB rewarded Cliff Lee for his ridiculous months by naming him NL Pitcher of the Month for both June and August.

Cliff Lee ended the season with a 2.40 ERA,  230 K’s and 42 BB.  He showed baseball that he deserves the money and showed Philadelphia that he continues to thrive in a Phillies uniform.  After all, Philly is where his heart and talent led him back too.

All statistics come from Baseball-Reference and a special thank you to Bill Baer of CrashburnAlley for helping me navigate baseball-reference.com website.