The reports of Roy Halladay's demise may have been greatly exaggerated. Having traveled to Los Angeles to visit the office of Lewis Yocum, Halladay received great news. Not only do the doctors think that Halladay can pitch again, but he can pitch again this season.
In short, here is what is wrong. Halladay has partial rotator cuff tear, a fraying of labrum, with bone spurs in his shoulder. The bone spurs rubbing against the rotator cuff and labrum caused them to ultimately break down. During most of the season, Halladay felt little to no pain, which never set off any alarm. The doctors did not feel that this was anything that they could not take care of.
Speaking to reporters, Halladay said,
"Doctors seem pretty optimistic that if what they saw was correct, then I could come back and be much more effective….they said they thought they could turn back to the clock two or three years for me".
So we must ask the question…how long will Halladay be out?
"In certain cases it has been three months, but we do not know what the timetable is."
How did Halladay fare the last few months while his pitching ability seemed to be deteriorating? He mostly felt fine.
"The pain isn't really like, excruciating…I really did not feel pain the whole time. I think it just got to the point where it started to fray enough that I started to feel it."
Going in, did Halladay believe his career was over?
"I didn't now…I was going in open-minded. I knew that my biggest concern was that I couldn't throwt he ball where I wanted to throw it. I wasn't concerned with velocity…the pain wasn't overhwelming…but I couldn't understand why my location was so poor, so I really didn't know what to think."
Does it affect Halladay's impending free agency?
"I don't know…I really want to get through this, come back, see how strong I can be, and see how I can help us. Like I told Ruben, Scott, and Charlie, I'm not going to make any decisions right now about down the road. I'm going to focus on the right here and now and focus on the process."
Halladay added that he loves Philadelphia and wants to stay, but wants to be effective and part of the team. "I don't want to be a hindrance", he said. Halladay noted that he was "not doing anyone any good" pitching the way he did the other day against the Marlins. "Hey, if there's nothing that can be done, and I continue to pitch the way I am, I'm not helping anybody and nobody wants to pitch like that."
When would Halladay get surgery? "As soon as possible." A "guess" was as soon as next week, provided he finds the right fit with doctors.
"I thought it was very clear on the X-ray. He did indicate to me that…at no point in our conversation did he say – 'but – it could be a lot worse'. You can never rule that out, but he never said that; he felt that it was something that we could take care of."
Halladay said that everything around the spur was "strong" and is very optimistic about the future.
"I don't feel as lost as before…I'm optimistic that we'll get it fixed and I'll be able to come back and pitch…I have a shot to come back and help our team and be effective… I would love to try to come back and win a World Series…that's the ultimate goal. That's why I am playing"."
