Phillies fans are getting pretty used to seeing the words "complete game" next to Roy Halladay's name in the headlines the day after he pitches. Doc has thrown four complete games for the Phillies in his nine starts this season. No other team in the majors has that many.
You'd think the only problem with last night's performance was that it didn't include the word "victory" as well, right?
Alas, the old ball scribes seem to be keeping a close eye on Roy's pitch count and the fact that his 132 pitches thrown last night is the highest in the major leagues in any start this season. He also leads the league in innings pitched and total pitches.
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We all know Roy is a beast and one of the most impressive players in the game today both in terms of his preparation and execution, but even with a guy like Doc, it seems as if you'd prefer to pace him a bit earlier in the season.
So, are you worried about Roy's heavy workload at this early point in the season?
What about Roy himself? Is Doc worried that high pitch counts now could prevent him from being a beast in October?
“No,” he said when asked that specific question. “I’ve learned that you
make adjustments in your work between starts. That’s where you adjust
for how many pitches you throw. If you throw more, you cut down on your
bullpen (sessions). I can make the adjustment there. I’ve always felt
that I can regulate how I feel every five days as long as I’m smart
about my work days.“You just have to know your body. You have to
know when you need to step back. You can’t always do the same things in
between. You have to adjust for how you’re feeling and how things went
before. The next couple of days I’ll see how I feel and if I need to
back off on a bullpen I will. You just have to listen to your body.”
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I'd defer to Roy on that one.
>>Phils get complete game from Halladay, but fall to Pirates [CSN]
So, Phillies fans, are you a little bit concerned about Roy's workload? Or not at all? Personally, I'm not worried about Roy Halladay and his arm just yet.