Best Major League Baseball pitcher of his generation finally has a chance to play with a contender.
Roy Halladay has been in the news a lot in the last 24 hours as a key player involved in trade rumors. While most television networks and sports sites are still treating the trade as unofficial, rumors like this rarely turn out to be false so let's jump the gun a little bit and examine Roy Halladay at this point in his career and what he could bring to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Roy Halladay has a career record of 148-76 which is very impressive for two reasons. Firstly, he compiled that record entirely in a Blue Jays uniform, an organization that, at times, has had to count on Vernon Wells, who is hardly gifted, for offense. Secondly, when it comes to Halladay there has never been a whisper of performance enhancing substances
associated with his name.
The best way to examine whether or not Philadelphia's chances of winning the World Series in 2010 have improved is to simply look at what they have gained versus what they have given up.
Cliff Lee is the player that Philadelphia is losing and while he is certainly an excellent pitcher, he is not in the same league as Roy Halladay.
Here are Lee's important averages from last season which was spent in both Cleveland and Philadelphia:
3.22 ERA, 1.243 WHIP, 9.5 hits per 9 innings, 1.7 walks per 9 innings, and 7 strikeouts per 9 innings
Here are Halladay's averages for the same categories:
2.79 ERA, 1.126 WHIP, 8.8 hits per 9 innings, 1.3 walks per 9 innings, 7.8 strikeouts per 9 innings
The Phillies, despite losing Lee, have definitely upgraded their pitching roster as Halladay is better than Lee in every important category. The Phillies have solidified themselves as the favorite for the National League pennant once again in 2010 (+350, 7/2;
Players Only).
Now that Halladay actually has a good team behind him in the field and a good batting lineup that can give him wins even when he has an off-day day on the mound, he can reasonably be expected to challenge for another Cy Young Award.
Injury free, look for Halladay to win 22+ games in 2010 and be sure to beat everyone else to the futures market by going to
Boylesports and picking the Phillies at +800 (8/1) to win the World Series.
That price should be shortening sooner than later so do not delay.
Go to Boylesports to bet on Major League Baseball.