METS FALL TO THE DOC 2-1
The type of performance Niese had today ( 6.1 innings, giving up 2 runs) is considered good by the new major league standard. Starting pitchers today are not expected to do any more. Somehow those last 3 innings are a murky, forbidden zone no starter should ever be expected to enter. If they ever do enter this land of 100 plus pitches, everyone is shocked and amazed. This has created scads of pitchers who have no idea how to battle, how to get out of jams, or how to get the tough outs in big game spots. Basically, they are babies-not men doing a man's job.
Roy Halladay, on the other hand, is a man. And win or lose, he does a man's job every time he steps on the mound. He expects to finish the game before he throws the first pitch. All 27 outs are his. That's his job. Anything less and he is not satisfied. He has thrown more complete games than any other active pitcher in baseball. The next closest is C.C. Sabathia, and he doesn't even have half as many as Roy.
The Blob is not trying to write a love letter to the winning pitcher. The point here is why is Roy looked at as a rarity and not the standard? Number crunchers and money ball knuckle heads have ruined baseball in many ways. What did Sandy Alderson really achieve in Oakland beyond learning how to turn a blind eye to the sea of performance enhancing drugs in his locker room? Of course below average players are better and more productive when they are juicing. You don't need a great baseball mind to do that math.
Let's stop babying these over paid and over rated pitchers. Baseball is a boy's game played by men. It's time for real men to take back this game. Roy Halladay is a gifted pitcher, but that's only half of what makes him great. The other half of his greatness is his desire to get the job done. That is something that does not show up on a chart, but is the heart of the game and in the heart of every winner.
Let's see if Young can help us avoid being swept on Sunday night.
