Those of you on Twitter may have noticed that the beat writers had little to say about today's Phillies matchup with the Orioles. They have not even posted lineups. The reason is that they were over in the minor league complex watching Roy Halladay pitch in a minor league game. The results were mixed.
Halladay's line: 4IP, 7H, 3R, 2ER, 2BB, 1K, 1HBP. 81 pitches.
Here are some of the comments from beat writers during this game:
@phiballhawk he doesn't look great. Not throwing ball by anyone.
— Ryan Lawrence (@ryanlawrence21) March 23, 2013
I think I saw just one swing-and-miss in first 3 innings for Halladay. Lots of foul balls. He's not fooling anyone with pitches.
— Ryan Lawrence (@ryanlawrence21) March 23, 2013
Halladay didn't have great command. Allowed two doubles, a walk and hit a batter.
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) March 23, 2013
Mike McCoy hit an 85 mph Halladay fastball (?) for a double to left to open the third.
— Matt Gelb (@magelb) March 23, 2013
Blue Jays minor leaguers squaring up Halladay’s fastballs with ease.
— Matt Gelb (@magelb) March 23, 2013
Halladay velocity was in the 86-89 range. Hit 90 once in the first inning.
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) March 23, 2013
The good news from all of this? Halladay's velocity is at least creeping back up a little bit. We know he will not be the old Halladay but we shall see how close he can be. Halladay has one more start in Clearwater before the season opens, if indeed he pitches as previously schedule when the season starts. As I wrote on Tuesday, they could skip Halladay the first time through in favor of a simulated game.
