The Doc's Daze of Summer

Uh oh.

Oh Shit.

Ohhhhhhhh NO.

What the effffffffff?!?!

I'm going to go out on a real limb here and guess that one or two (or three, maybe four) of the above exclamations came out of your mouth at some point during last nights debacle against the Cubs in hotter-than-hell Chicago. With Halladay facing the Cubbies and their right-handed P Rodrigo Lopez for the series opener, NO ONE would have expected to see what would transpire over a ridiculously short outing by the Phils Ace.

The incredibly conditioned Halladay scared the heck-fire out of  people with his unusual demeanor on the mound last night, giving up 3 runs during his four-plus innings. After allowing a lead off single in the 5^th, Halladay appeared to be struggling to catch his breath. Having bent over earlier in the game for what can only be described as in exhaustion and/or dehydration, Halladay attempted to cool himself by removing his undershirt before the 4^th inning. It soon became evident to Charlie Manuel, Scott Sheridan and Rich Dubee that Doc ran out of gas early in the game, a result of the dangerous combination of high heat and humidity.

Halladay was not available for comment after the game but promised (through Phillies media) that he would be making his next start against this weekend against the Padres at CBP.

With as many player losses the Phillies have suffered in the 2011 season, anything more serious than losing Halladay for half a game because of overexertion during a stifling mid-summer evening could prove catastrophic for the Fightins. This team may post a first place MLB-wide 59-36 record that is undoubtedly due to the efforts of Halladay, Lee and Hamels, but with the Braves now only 2 ½ games behind – any issue that may arise with just one of the Phils Aces would be definitely put this team in a precarious situation. And it seems like both Manuel and RAJ may be thinking the same thing as the 2011 trade deadline looms.

Manuel has recently been very vocal about the possibility of adding a bat to the lineup before the looming trade deadline closes. Hitters like Josh Willingham or Carlos Beltran could be a good fit for the Phillies, but at what expense? Not to mention that Philadelphia is not the only team in the market for a hitter  - Atlanta, Boston, and San Francisco along with the surprise of the season Pittsburgh Pirates are all capable of snatching up a hitter that would add value to the team in the seasons 2^nd half and possibly deep into the post-season. While our starting pitching has been unbelievable in the seasons early half, a scare like the one we witnessed last night with Halladay (which THANKS TO THE GREAT BASEBALL GODS he is going to be OK) can only make this girl think that adding a bat to our sporadic offense as a preemptive measure in the case of a pitching disaster would be very, very smart. We are just now learning that Joe Blanton may very well be out for the remainder of 2011 and it would only prove beneficial to add a bat to an offense that has been lacking most of this season.

I'm not trying to sound any alarms, people... we got lucky that last night was a fluke in the stellar career of Roy Halladay. But I can NOT deny that it scared me into thinking what if it had been much more serious of an injury? Could we continue on the way we have been without Halladay (or even if an injury to Lee or Hamels occurred during the 2^nd half). Last night only proved that Roy Halladay is HUMAN... and being HUMAN means the ever present possibility of injury. Should that happen, would the Phillies offense be strong enough to carry the team deep into the post-season? Just a few things to think about as the trade deadline is approaching.

-xo

DiamondGirl215

Let me know your thoughts!

DiamondGirl215@philliesbunts.com