“Where still n 1st and I hope those crying birds injoy watching tha Crew in tha Playoffs!!! Aaaaahhhhh!!!”

I can’t be the only person who wouldn’t mind seeing the Brewers have to get through the Cardinals setting up a Morgan vs. Pujols confrontation.

Unfortunately, that won’t end in the same manner Gaby Sanchez’s displeasure with Morgan did. Take a moment and watch Morgan get victimized by the finest pro wrestling clothesline since John Bradshaw Layfield retired.

Philadelphia Phillies vs St. Louis Cardinals Preview

Roy Halladay’s first trip to the postseason was quite a memorable one, (he threw only the second no-hitter in playoff history in his first playoff start) though it ended in bitter disappointment. The two-time Cy Young Award winner, his teammates, and just about everyone else in Philadelphia expects the Phillies to win the World Series this time around.

Then again, the city of Boston thought the same thing

Led by their Four Aces, the Phillies cruised to their fifth straight NL East title, winning a franchise-record and major league-best 102 games.

The Cardinals needed an incredible collapse by Atlanta and help from Philadelphia to earn the wild card. St. Louis trailed the Braves by 10 1/2 games on Aug. 25, but went 23-8 the rest of the way and got in after Game 162 when the Phillies completed a three-game sweep of Atlanta.

The Cardinals (90-72) won six of nine against Philadelphia during the season, with two of those wins coming right after the Phillies wrapped up the division.

The health of Matt Holliday (hand) is a huge question mark. Holliday is one of the most underrated elite hitters in baseball and will be an integral part of the Cardinals attempt to solve The Philly Phour

During the Cardinals’ mad dash toward the top of the National League Wild Card standings in September, Lance Berkman played in 25 games, batted .374, had an OPS of .941, drew 14 walks, scored 16 runs and had seven extra-base hits.

Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay (19-6, 2.35 ERA, 220 K’s), Cliff Lee (17-8, 2.40 ERA, 238 K’s) and Cole Hamels (14-9, 2.79, 194 K’s) combined for a 50-23 record, 2.51 ERA and 652 strikeouts in 682 1/3 innings. They also compiled an arrangement of numbers no starting trio had assembled in the modern era of baseball.

Entering the 2011 season, five teams since 1901 had two starting pitchers throw at least 200 innings, average at least eight strikeouts per nine innings and finish the season with an ERA+ of at least 130. Halladay, Lee and Hamels all surpassed these thresholds in 2011.

The Phillies had the poorest September (16-14) of the eight postseason teams. That may have been related to the fact they were the first to clinch, on Sept. 18.

Of all their possible NLDS matchups, this could be least favorable to the Phillies. By personally eliminating the Braves, they arranged a date with the only team against which they had a noteworthy losing record (3-6).

But what does all this mean?

What I have seen over the past month is a Philly team that has become complacent. Throw in the declining skills of the entire offense (Hunter Pence discluded) and the Phillies, despite the fact they aren’t “supposed” to lose, really could be in trouble here.

The Cardinals are one of the hottest teams in the MLB right now. If they have Matt Holliday back, they become even more dangerous. Throw in the fact Pujols is back to playing like Albert Pujols and you can not count this team out.

I think Philadelphia wins Game 1, Carpenter, on the heels of a 2-hit shutout on Wednesday, beats Cliff Lee in Game 2 and that momentum will help carry St. Louis to victory. I also think Carpenter will be back for Game 5 on short rest and shut down his former rotation mate Halladay.

How can I say that? Easily. St. Louis is on a roll ever since their deal with the Blue Jays. Corey Patterson has been key off the bench, Edwin Jackson is as good as he’s ever been and Octavio Dotel and Marc Rzepczynski have taken a decent bullpen and made it elite. Not to mention the fact they both have two of baseball’s best names (yes, I know Philly has Antonio Bastardo).

The big key here is Carpenter. Lost in Wednesday’s craziness was a dominant effort by one of baseball’s most underrated pitchers. Right now, he’s pitching better than anyone not named Kershaw and with two potential starts, I see that as two definite losses for Broadstreet.

Baseball is a game of momentum and Philadelphia is not playing well enough to beat a St. Louis team that has never looked better.

NLDS Prediction: St. Louis in 5 games

Philadelphia Phillies v St. Louis Cardinals NLDS TV Schedule and Pitching Matchups

TV Schedule

• TV Network: TBS (Game 2 on TNT taking the spot of WCW Saturday Night)
• Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 1 at 5:07 p.m. ET @ Philadelphia
• Game 2: Sunday, Oct. 2 at 8:07 p.m. ET @ Philadelphia
• Game 3: Tuesday, Oct. 4 time TBA ET @ St. Louis
• Game 4: Wednesday Oct. 5 time TBA @ St. Louis
• Game 5: Friday Oct. 7 time TBA @ Philadelphia

Pitching Matchups

• Game 1: Kyle Lohse (14-8, 3.39) vs. Roy Halladay (19-6, 2.35)
• Game 2: Chris Carpenter (11-9, 3.45) vs. Cliff Lee (17-8, 2.40)
• Game 3: Jamie Garcia (13-7, 3.56 vs. Cole Hamels (14-9, 2.79)
• Game 4 (probable): Edwin Jackson (12-9, 3.79) vs. Roy Oswalt (9-10, 3.69)
• Game 5 (probable): Chris Carpenter (11-9, 3.45) vs. Roy Halladay (19-6, 2.35)

Two-Start Pitchers

Must Starts:

Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies

I should not even have to say anything here.

Anibal Sanchez, Florida Marlins

Sanchez’s big boost in strikeouts this year has boosted him into the upper echelon of fantasy pitchers. He and his 2.60 ERA should be started any chance you get.

Erik Bedard, Seattle Mariners

Right now you have to be loving Bedard if you were lucky enough to make him a draft selection… which most sane people were not. Bedard looks as though he has returned to old form and gets the Orioles and Rays offenses, neither of which is murderer’s row.

Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves

Hudson is a little bit more shaky when it comes to the “must start” title. He’s apparently healthy after having some back pains earlier this week. However, he gets the best cure-all a pitcher could hope for in his first start, the abysmal Padres offense. Then, Hudson gets to travel to the cavernous Citi Field, where the righty owns a career 1.80 ERA. Put him in your lineup.

Other Must Starts: Chad Billingsley, LA Dodgers; Mat Latos, San Diego Padres; C.J. Wilson, Texas Rangers; Ian Kennedy, Arizona Diamondbacks

Take a Chance:

Bartolo Colon, New York Yankees

Never thought I’d be suggesting Colon, but he has had a solid season so far. Colon gets two starts on the West Coast against the terrible A’s lineup in the Coliseum and the middling Angel offense. The big right-hander will be pitching with an extra day of rest too. So if you need a starter for the week, why not Colon?

Jason Hammel, Colorado Rockies

Very quietly, Hammel is putting together a great year. His 3.20 ERA despite the Coors effect is impressive, but even more impressive is his 1.71 road ERA this season. This week he heads to Chavez Ravine to play the Dodgers and to the pitcher haven that is AT&T Park in San Francisco. Over the last three years, Hammel has a 2.88 ERA against the Dodgers and a 3.46 ERA vs. the Giants. He is looking like a great option this week against the 26^th and 29^th ranked offenses, respectively.

Spot-Start Options

Vance Worley, Philadelphia Phillies

Worley has been a star in his replacement of Joe Blanton. This week, he gets the Pirates, who own the fourth worst offense in the league. Another bonus is that Worley will be pitching in PNC Park, a much better pitcher’s park than Citizen’s Bank Park. Take advantage of his great pitching (2.14 ERA) this week.

Brian Matusz, Baltimore Orioles

Matusz will start his season in Safeco Field, a paradise for any pitcher. Coming off injury, the Orioles lefty gets one of the weakest offenses in baseball in Seattle. Matusz had progressed incredibly last season logging ERAs of 2.43, 1.89, and 1.50 in August, September and October last year. Look for Matusz to continue that success this week against the Mariners.

It’s still quite early, and I don’t gamble nor predict — especially in baseball where nothing is guaranteed and parity reigns supreme — but I’m pretty confident Cincinnati and Texas will be “just fine” in 2011.

The teams have opened a combined 9-0.

The Reds return basically the same team from last year, which was a solid  one that happened to run into two unhittable Philly pitchers (Roy Halladay was literally unhittable n Game 1, and Cole Hamels was close in Game 3, and Cincy gave away Game 2 with errors). Cincinnati simply is not the “one year playoff wonder” that perhaps the 2008 Brewers have proven to be.

The Rangers are solid, especially offensively, which should cover up any bullpen mishaps or back-end rotation holes. Former all-star and one of the best pitchers in baseball through 2009, Brandon Webb, is another great pickup by Texas that could work out very well.

Exchanging Vlad Guerrero for Adrian Beltre (9th in AL MVP voting) is a wash, at worse. Cliff Lee did win three playoff games, but also was disastrous in the World Series, losing two times when it mattered most. I love Clifton Phifer, but we forget he was 4-6 with an ERA of 4 during the 2010 regular season for Texas. Lee didn’t hurt the Rangers, but he also didn’t get Texas into the playoffs; the other pitchers and the bats did.

So the Rangers already swept the Red Sox, while Cincy swept trendy Milwaukee; therefore let’s wait and see about them, okay capricious New York and Philadelphia Media? Perhaps focus on your teams, like you normally do.

(I recently chronicled how the east coast media, especially in NY, is allergic to facts, humility, and reality. New Yorker Joel Sherman said the 2010 ”Phillies Yankees World Series battle was inevitable” last October, while arrogant Yankee broadcaster Michael Kay declared “the series is over” after New York beat Texas in Game 1 of the ALCS. Texas demolished the Yanks in 4 of next 5, yet Kay, like Sherman, were not reprimanded and kept their jobs.)

With the AL East being the best division in baseball, and the NL West being highly competitive, the Reds and Rangers could easily utilize the unbalanced schedule to their advantage — and to other teams’ disadvantages.

*After Cole Hamels horrific performance last night, Philadelphia’s “Fab Four” have a combined ERA of around 5. Yes, Hamels hurt that, but despite what the obsequious Philly media (which is as arrogant as the NY media now, it seems) pontificates, the other three guys weren’t exactly brilliant versus a winless Houston team over the weekend.

Cliff Lee’s decision seemingly came out of nowhere, fooling 99% of the ‘expert’ writers, who not only missed this one all November and December, but mocked the only guy (SI’s Jon Heyman, now hopefully everyone’s source for accurate baseball info) who continuously advised us that a  ’mystery team’ was still involved in the sweepstakes. (More on Heyman the Hero later…)

The Philadelphia media and their passionate fans should be ecstatic , but as always, it infuriates them to accurately read — as it did when Philly first signed Lee in July 2009 — that this is another example of a rich club getting richer.

The Phillies have been the “Yankees (or Red Sox) of the NL” for a few years now, but every time I, or someone else, says this, we’re lambasted. Check comments under my Lee column from last, peruse my archive’s comment sections, or my twitter account for proof.

Today, in lieu of discussion, I was already called “the most negative person on the planet” by a friend in Philadelphia; in the past I’ve been deemed “racist,” “hater,” and much else for having the temerity to question Ryan Howard. And the furor Jerod Morris caused by fairly and factually observing Raul Ibanez’s power surge in 2009 is legendary for the overreaction it caused among Philadelphia fans and media.

All of these cop outs are easy for Philadelphia suburbanites who cheer on winning teams to mutter considering their team’s payroll and roster. But rather than agreeing that Philadelphia is just playing within the same rules as any other big market club and spending on talent, Philly fans become apoplectic at compliments?

Part of this aberrant mentality is a refusal to be grouped with New York, and instead maintain their proud “second city” status, despite Philly’s baseball (and football and hockey) team’s sustained success. Residents and fans of teams playing in the “Cradle of Democracy” sell out nearly all home games, and therefore have revenue to buy (yes, buy) the best players around.

Folks, please embrace the excellence capitalism offers; stop looking for pity from fans whose teams are miserable and unable to fork over the necessary dollars to acquire three frontline starters in the past year. You think fans of Cleveland and Pittsburgh want to hear excuses? You are blessed. 

But the self-pity pervades, even today, from beat writer Phil Sheridan:

In truth, Philadelphia struggled mightily at the plate last season as compared to prior campaigns. This continued into the playoffs, costing them a third consecutive pennant. The team’s best hitter last season, Jayson Werth, is gone. And the ‘best of the rest’ — Ibanez, Howard, Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley — are all aging hitters with varied levels of diminishing skills and/or nagging injuries.

Due a ridiculously emotional contract in April, the Phils are unfortunately now stuck with Howard — who couldn’t make much contact or knock in a run when it mattered most this past October  — for six more long years and well  over $100 million! Ibanez is already on the trading block. More on the weaknesses of the NL East champs are discussed here, though naturally the media avoids writing anything negative on precious Ryan Howard’s struggles.

And lastly, since I delved into many tangents today, the ethos of this essay should not only be about Philadelphia, but another strike against our irresponsible mainstream media, who, whether it’s sports or news, continuously shows its painful combination of laziness and arrogance.

Kudos to one ‘crusader’ though, as mentioned earlier:

Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman.  

Mocked by the envious elites at ESPN & elsewhere all week for noting Cliff Lee had a “mystery team,” he deserves an apology from the Peter Gammonses (ESPN for decades, now MLBN), Keith Laws (ESPN) and Buster Olneys (ESPN) of the world for their mean-spirited, unprofessional and incorrect tweets. I doubt that will occur, unless it’s ‘quantified.’ Those feckless bozos won’t be held accountable by their networks and will move on, likely doing this again next winter.

It truly would take some mental gymnastics to believe any others, like ESPN and Philly’s own Jayson Stark, saw this deal coming.

But ONLY Heyman was intrepid enough to go on record.

NOTE: Tomorrow I’ll explore the New York ‘angle’ of Lee’s choice.

All this is why I’ve been thrilled the past week or so with the baseball writers’ selections for the 2010 postseason awards.

From Rookies and Managers of the Year to MVPs and Cy Youngs, I disagree with NONE of them. (The coaches, on the other hand, ‘mismanaged’ the Gold Gloves terribly a few weeks back, but that’s minor.)

To put it more positively, I think the baseball writers did a PERFECT job. Thank you, guys, for seeing through your biases and picking the most-deserving players. For once, I have nothing further to add/bemoan…

…oh, except for Ryan Howard — coming off a career worst year (and historic futility in October – not that those games count, I know) — receiving multiple top 5 votes (including a second and third) in Monday’s NL MVP voting. But I’ve laboriously covered this topic many, many, many times in 2010 alone, so I’ll allow Hardball Talk to have the final words:

“Ryan Howard got a second place vote, a third place vote a fourth, two fifths, two sixths and a seventh. He’s a poor defensive first baseman who ranked 17th in OPS…is there a player in the league for whom there is a greater disconnect between perceived value and actual value?

Correct. And I’m four long seasons ahead of you folks.

Pitchers and catchers report in 80 days, or thereabouts!

In 2010, there is one that easily stands out above all others as the most mind-blowing of all.

Care to wager a guess what it is?

I’ll end the suspense very simply with the image below:

Cody Ross photo source: Chris McGrath/Getty Images via ESPN.com
Roy Halladay photo source: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images via ESPN.com

Okay, so it’s not perfect. It’s actually “Ssory Doc”, but still. Even if you hang onto the “s” sound a bit long, you’re still saying “Sorry Doc”, and certainly Cody Ross owes Halladay and Phillies fans an apology for spoiling their supposed runaway World Series freight train.

Yes, seeing as how Ross has helped to stake the Giants to a 2-1 series lead (of this posting), which includes two HRs of the great Roy Halladay and another in Game 2, I’d say “Sorry Doc” is pretty appropriate.

Note: all the credit for this factoid goes to the sublimely named Reddit user strasburgers who pointed it out here. Outstanding work good sir. I hope you won’t mind me posting with proper attribution given.

Update: I see that this was already pointed out earlier in the week here, which is why Big League Stew should always be your first stop for sports blog baseball coverage.

It’s always been my view that baseball writers — who have biases/grudges, and therefore probably shouldn’t vote on these awards anyway —  need to stop looking at wins, and realize the most important stats for Cy Young award choices are, in this rough order: ERA, WHIP, Complete Games (hereafter, CG), Innings Pitched (IP), Batting Average Against ( BAA), and strikeouts (Ks).

Wins are a very distant 7th in my book.

Bob Costas called these imperative stats “esoteric” during a telecast last week; that’s his way of telling us he acknowledges their importance. Whether or not he and Baseball’s Ruling Class will heed attention to this prism is another story.

National League

Ubaldo Jimenez won 15 games in the first half of the season, and led the discourse through most of 2010. But Jimenez has been subpar since the break: 4-7 with a 4.15 ERA. Overall, he is no longer in the top 10 in ERA or WHIP.

So I think it’s a two horse race between 21 game-winner Roy Halladay of the Phillies and 20 game-winner Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals.

Halladay’s worked 20 more innings in the same amount of starts, and even though Wainwright is second in the NL in that important category, those innings are the equivalent of two-plus games. Roy also possesses a 9-5 lead in complete games over Wainwright, who’s second there as well (included for Halladay is a perfect game back in May).  Those two stats might swing the pendulum into Halladay’s favor. Also, Halladay’s K:BB ratio (7:1) is better than Wainwright’s (3:1).

What is in Adam’s favor is his batting average against and hits allowed are much lower. In fact, no pitcher in the National League has allowed more base hits than Roy Halladay’s 231.

But my vote would still go to the man who now “seems destined to start Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Oct. 6 at Citizens Bank Park.”

(Honorable mention to Mat Latos of San Diego, Roy Oswalt of Philadelphia and Tim Hudson of Atlanta.)

American League

C.C. Sabathia is the closest example to Jimenez we’ll find in the AL. Aside from a horrific May (ERA of 5.15), Sabathia has been consistently good all season. In fact, his 3.18 ERA is lower than his Cy Young season of 2007 (3.21).

Considering  most of the sports media’s headquarters are adjacent to Yankee country, I somewhat understand why he was considered the frontrunner much of 2010. But if our writers and talking heads — like Harold Reynolds of MLB Network –  would do three minutes of research like I have, might they discover that the big man is 7th in ERA, tied for 9th in WHIP and 12th in BAA.

Yahoo Sports’ Les Carpenter finally did last Friday, where he assessed what Sabathia’s disastrous start in a crucial loss last week to David Price and the Rays did to CC’s Cy Young chances.

Sabathia tops out in one area: wins, where his 21 lead the AL. But five of those were against the last-place Orioles and ten of his 21 wins were versus the cellar-dweeling Orioles, Royals and Mariners. Also, look at the Yankees’ stellar offense compared to Seattle’s (Felix Hernandez) or Oakland’s (22 year-old Trevor Cahill), among others.

The point here is that wins and losses are BY FAR the most overrated pitching stat. In fact, they’re mostly irrelevant. I’d personally take a 5-18 pitcher with an 2.8 ERA and a good WHIP, over an 18-5 pitcher with a 3.9 ERA any day. Last year, the writers agreed, as 2009′s Cy Young winners, Zack Greinke and Tim Lincecum, won “only” 16 and 15 games respectively.

That “King” Felix Hernandez is being mocked for having a 13-12 record on a 61-96 team with baseball’s worst offense, is absurd. His typical stellar outing often results in a loss, as it did last Thursday , for example.

As Jess Coleman of Bleacher Report elucidated last week:

“Of all the stats we looked at, W-L records are the least representative of a pitcher’s ability. Why? Because a pitcher can pitch the best game of his life and still lose the game. It all depends on how good your team’s offense is (a factor you do not contribute to as a pitcher in the AL) and the pitcher you are opposing.

Clearly Sabathia is the beneficiary of the better offense. The Yankees have scored the most runs in the Majors, the Mariners have scored the least. “

Coleman also relayed that Seattle scores just over three runs in games Hernandez starts, while Sabathia enjoys a whopping six per game. Further, I’ll add that the Mariners have scored a paltry 14 runs in Felix’s 12 losses! Imagine Sabathia dealing with that futility? You cannot, as it’d never happen. New York also has a better bullpen to hold leads, and is simply a far superior team — 33 games superior in fact.

Coleman concludes well, so I’ll let him state the following:

“I would hate to see Felix Hernandez—the league leader in ERA, strikeouts, and innings pitched—be stripped of an award he clearly deserves simply because he is on a bad team. Even if you consider wins, Hernandez outdoes Sabathia in nearly every pitching category.”

Hernandez plays on a terrible team, yet leads all of the Majors in ERA at a microscopic 2.27, strikeouts (232), and tops the AL in IP and BAA. He’s second in WHIP, complete games, has more quality starts (30) than any pitcher in nearly a decade, and also has fewer walks  than Sabathia and David Price. To top it off, Hernandez also went 3-0 versus the Yankees this season with an incredible 0.35 ERA, two complete games, and a shutout.

Confidently, my vote would go to Felix Hernandez. The 24 year-old Venezuelan, who’d likely have 24 wins if he played in New York,  might even deserve unanimous victory. I could probably make a better argument to vote Sabathia 5th behind Hernandez, Price (19 wins, 2.73 ERA; 4-0 w/ a 1.6 ERA in Sept.), Jon Lester (19 wins, 2.96 ERA) and Clay Buchholz (17 wins, 2.33 ERA) than second.

We shall see.

What are your 2010 Cy Young picks?

———-

Naturally, it was assumed that when the Toronto Blue Jays made Roy Halladay available that the White Sox would get involved.

And as team after team has fallen off of the Blue Jays radar screen, gauging the asking price to be too high even for one of the best pitchers of this decade, the White Sox still apparently linger as a potential trade partner for Toronto…at least in one writer’s mind.

In a recent column, Rick Morrisey of the Tribune wrote that the White Sox should do whatever is necessary to pry Halladay away from the Blue Jays, floating a package of John Danks and Alexei Ramirez as a possibility.

So what’s it going to take to get Halladay, the Blue Jays’ star pitcher?

Let’s put on our GM cap and start with shortstop Alexei Ramirez and pitcher John Danks. I know: a steep price. But worth it. Halladay is the overpowering pitcher the Sox haven’t had since Jack McDowell. Last season, he struck out 206 batters and walked 39. So far this year, it’s 106-17.

Admittedly, I’m torn on whether I would pull the trigger on such a deal.  I was all for the Peavy trade because it was based on prospects, guys who had not yet proven their Major League readiness.  John Danks and Alexei Ramirez have already proven to be above average players at their respective positions, and have also proven to be clutch performers in a pennant race (as evidenced by Alexei’s game-winning grand slam down the stretch last year and John Danks’ incredible start in the one-game playoff to propel the White Sox into the postseason).

Of course, Roy Halladay has been one of the best and most consistent starting pitchers in baseball since 2001.

What do you think?  Would you do this deal? My gut reaction is to say no, but part of that may be an attachment to Alexei and Danks, both of whom I love and see as young building blocks for the future of the White Sox. The argument for a Halladay deal is that it gives the White Sox a better chance to win this season. The way I look at that is which combo would you rather have: Halladay pitching with Beckham at short and Fields at third, or Danks pitching with Alexei at short and Beckham at third?

Josh Fields hasn’t proven he can be consistent with the bat or the glove, so our infield would certainly weaken in the field (though perhaps not by much…we can’t get much worse in the field) and at the plate, barring a great Fields turnaround. But does Halladay’s consistent dominance improve the White Sox that much more every fifth day over Danks?  I will say this about Danks: he is a significantly less effective pitcher in July and August during his short career than he’s been in the other months.  However, he’s been solid in September.

The other issue that would have to be taken into account is contracts.  As Morrisey points out:

The financial cost of acquiring Halladay is not prohibitive: about $7 million for the rest of this year and $15.75 million in 2010.

John Danks is approaching his arbitration eligible years (beginning next season) and the White Sox will have to decide whether or not to sign him to a long-term deal.  Certainly any deal with Danks would have to rival what rotation mate Gavin Floyd received this offseason.  Floyd’s deal bought out his arbitration-eligible seasons for four years, $15.5 million.  I would have to assume that as a 25 year old lefty, Danks would be able to command a higher price than Floyd.  

Still, their combined contract would be far less than what the White Sox would have to pony up to lock Halladay up to a long-term deal after his current deal expires in 2010.  Would you rather have Danks and Floyd locked up for the next half decade or Roy Halladay and Floyd for a year and a half, and then only Floyd?

Alexei Ramirez will also have a contract coming up soon, and I’m sure plenty of teams would love a speedy, power-hitting middle infielder in the prime of his career. But I would assume Alexei’s first choice would be to stay on the South Side, in the very Latino-friendly clubhouse managed by Ozzie Guillen.  And if the White Sox could get Floyd, Danks, and Ramirez locked up, then do what the Rays did with Evan Longoria and what the Brewers did with Ryan Braun and sign Gordon Beckham long-term before he becomes arbitration-eligible, as well as lock up Carlos Quentin, then there will be a solid nucleus of young talent to carry the team through the transition years when Paul Konerko, Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, and others eventually have to exit stage left.

The more I write about this potential deal (which really is just Morrisey’s conjecture as far as I can tell) the less I like it.  Sure, I’d love to have Halladay for this year and next, but not if the price is Danks and Ramirez.  If it’s one of those guys and an unproven minor leaguer, fine. Obviously you have to give up a lot to get a guy like Halladay.  But Danks and Ramirez are building blocks for the future of this team, whereas Halladay would likely be a rental for one season plus a couple of months.

I’ll trust Ken Williams to make the ultimate decision if such a deal ever gets on the table, and there would definitely be an exciting buzz if Halladay came to the South Side; but I’m not holding my breath.  Check out the most recent column at MLB Trade Rumors detailing the Roy Halladay trade rumors and you will see nary a mention of the White Sox.  I know that Ken likes to work in the shadows, but I’ll reserve all future analysis and comment of Roy Halladay until something concrete is actually out there.

Until then, I’m quite happy with the team that we have, and still confident that our 2005 vets have one more strong October run in them…with our without Roy Halladay.

* – Roy Halladay photo credit: Getty Images via SportsNet.ca

2009 MLB All Star Game Schedule

• All Star Game Date: Tuesday, July 14th
• All Star Game Start Time: 8:00 ET
• All Star Game TV: FOX
• All Star Game Announcers: You don’t want to know…they’ll suck

And now, the starting pitchers and lineups, courtesy of ESPN.com:

American League Starting Pitcher and Lineup:

1. RF Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners
2. SS Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
3. C Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
4. 1B Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees
5. LF Jason Bay, Boston Red Sox
6. CF Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers
7. 3B Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
8. 2B Aaron Hill, Toronto Blue Jays
9. SP Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays (for now)

National League Starting Pitcher and Lineup:

1. SS Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins
2. 2B Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies
3. 1B Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
4. RF Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
5. LF Raul Ibanez, Philadelphia Phillies
6. 3B David Wright, New York Mets
7. CF Shane Victorino, Philadelphia Phillies
8. C Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
9. SP Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants

And here are a few of my own quick-hit predictions:

• The NL will dominate the Home Run Derby, but the AL will win the All Star game, running its record in the last 15 All Star games to 100-0-1.  I know that the math doesn’t match up exactly, but doesn’t it feel like that?
• Josh Hamilton will jack a home run in his second at-bat (once Lincecum is out) nd end up being named the MVP.  One of the tools I work with is crowing about how I have a “man crush” on Josh Hamilton…to which I reply, what baseball fan does not have a man crush on Josh Hamilton?
• If Nelson Cruz actually makes it into the game, I will throw my remote at the TV in disgust that he is there over the far more deserving Jermaine Dye.
• The announcers will not do anything to make the game more exciting.

And now, some links from around the sports blogosphere from some of my friends who do this blogging thing a hell of a lot better than me:

15 extremely painful looking PARKOUR accidents — (Hail Mary Jane)

Marisa Miller gets naked in GQ for real this time — (The World According to MoonDog)

Some comic relief: Archie and the whores — (GadJunk)

How To: Pick up a woman — (Straight Pinkie)

The Cowboys may actually have a chance this season (Romo-Jessica break up) — (Dallas Sports Fans)

A history of big white stiffs for the Mavericks — (Dallas Sports Fans)

Kobe: You ‘aint dunking on me at my camp — (You Been Blinded)

Do hitters decline after the Home Run Derby? — (Hardball Times)

The average All-Star makes less than the average Yankee — (Bugs and Cranks)

Matt Bush has seen better days (like when he wasn’t crying like a baby while being arrested) — (Josh Q. Public)

It’s on: Cliff Lee v Eric Wedge — (Waiting for Next Year)

The post is an ode to that man.

Some baseball players strive for media attention. Some baseball players simply replicate their sucky numbers from year to year. Then, there are baseball players who settle for nothing below supremacy.

Cut all the suspenseful build-up crap; I’m talking about Roy Halladay.

Who’s that, a baseball novice may ask? He plays half his season outside the U.S. and pitches for the former basement team of the AL East. So there is no fluorescent light show here. This is what makes him a discreet and respectable guy. In addition to the consistently dominant performances each season, his countless years of production and his lack of obsession with the spotlight make Roy Halladay the Most Underrated Man in the World.

And while Roy Halladay is certainly interesting, as you will find out by reading below, he fell just short of qualifying for the title of the Most Interesting Man in the World. Unfortunately, until Roy Halladay can mail a letter without postage and still have it reach its destination, he will never compare to El Senor mas Interesante del Mundo:

However, let’s see The Most Interesting Man in the World try to post the following outstanding statistics, which our hero Roy Halladay has posted over the last 10 years in the majors:

• ERA: 3.49
• WHIP: 1.20
• K’s: 1344
• W-L: 139-67

The numbers posted by Roy Halladay this year aren’t too shabby either after 68 innings of work:

• ERA: 2.78
• WHIP: 1.04
• Ks: 57
• W-L: 8-1

Yet this spectacle of numbers alone does not elevate a man to greatness. Or to the esteemed status of Most Underrated Man in the World.

What separates Roy Halladay from the rest is his concerning and munificent nature. As a Mormon, his responsibility is to go on mission for two years as a young man. Straight out of high school, his primary priority was not for himself, but to tend to his family. Taking care of the family is not every rich guy’s foremost concern.

But then again, Roy Halladay isn’t every guy.

“According to Brandi, her husband – the Jays’ starting ace who is making $10 million this season – refuses to look at his pay stub. He often simply hands the envelope over to her with his head turned away.

‘It bothers him to make as much money as he does,’ Brandi, 34, said. ‘He feels like he’s out there doing his job. Should he get paid? Of course he should be paid. But there’s a lot of people out there that work hard. He works hard at what he does, but it doesn’t mean that other people out there don’t deserve those kinds of cheques, too. It’s kind of humbling. (His charity work) is his way of paying back.’”

If the modest nature of Roy Halladay is not already clearly outlined, he seems to travel above and beyond conventional “charity.” He is the textbook definition of a humble man.

“The Halladays’ signature Doc’s Box program involves a luxury suite paid for by the pitcher to host sick children. It was a concept the Halladays insisted accompany his first multi-year contract. Roy and Brandi annually purchase and use the suite on the 300 Level of the Rogers Centre to host kids from the Hospital for Sick Children. They are trying to expand the use of the box to allow more people to take advantage of a day at the ballpark.”

That’s right. He’s the man.

How many people out there would willingly and without a second thought surrender a chunk of their $10 million paycheck? Put down your hands, Yankee players.

Go find me an MLB player with more character and credentials than Roy Halladay, and I’ll post something about them. But the truth is that Roy Halladay’s beard alone has experienced more acts of humility and mound greatness than a lesser pitcher’s entire body. Not unlike…

The story of Roy Halladay seems like a fantasy. How can a man so great and a pitcher so consistently dominant continue to elude the spotlight the superstardom? For the average baseball fan, Roy Halladay is little more than a great pitcher who toils in Canadian obscurity. But any fantasy baseball player worth his weight in Dos Equis knows that having Roy Halladay on a fantasy baseball roster is a fantasy in and of itself.

With that said, is there ever a good time to trade Roy Halladay? Let’s analyze his fantasy value and what you should ask for in return should you decide to leverage Halladay in a trade.

Fantasy Analysis: How to Value Roy Halladay in Trade Talks

If Roy Halladay is on your roster, you are holding an invaluable trading token to upgrade your team in any way you choose (replacing a weak position, trading for stats, trading for equal or greater value). Here is an example of a trade which was offered to me a few days ago:

Magglio Ordonez, Houston Street, Roy Halladay

for

Jon Lester, Andrew Bailey, Albert Pujols

As difficult as it is to part with my ace and possibly my favorite player in baseball, I could not pass up the best hitter in the game. And the truth is, unless you are receiving Pujols-like value in return, there is no good reason to relinquish Roy Halladay. The rest of the aforementioned trade is merely two guys for two, with the headline obviously being Pujols for Halladay. And now my offense has become immensely improved thanks to the power increase of Pujols over my other boy, Paul Konerko.

If you’re going to trade Roy Halladay, make sure you receive a top of the line player in return, as an easy argument is to show Halladay’s consistent statistics since…forever. If you want to trade for Roy, as I have tried in one league, managers are resilient to part with their All-Star. I don’t have much helpful advice to finding a good trade-off if you want to snatch him. Good luck with that. But remember that Roy Halladay remains vastly underrated, so if you are strategic and cunning, you could find attaining him a realistic possibility.

Although if this guy is in your fantasy league, something tells me he would hang on to Roy Halladay at all costs.

Roy Halladay is a true man. He is tenaciously aware of those less fortunate around him (including his bullpen) and strives to promote positivity whether it’s a monetary donation or a K on a low and inside slider. He performs quality starts both on a mound and in helping those in need (Yes, even fantasy owners too).

His fantasy and real-life baseball value are expanding faster than Bobby Jenks’ waistline. He once walked a batter, just to see what it felt like. He lives vicariously, through his strikeouts.

He is…the Most Underrated Man in the World.

I don’t often draft pitchers in the early rounds of fantasy baseball drafts. I don’t often start them in extreme hitters’ parks like the new Yankee Stadium.

But when I do, I draft…Roy Halladay.

Start Halladay, my friends.