Takin' a T/O With BT: Roy Halladay and His "Doctored" Innings

In watching the Jays the past few years, I've taken solace in one unshakable idea: There will always be Roy Halladay.

The man who has anchored the rotation since 2002 and donned the Blue Bird since 1998 is three wins behind Jimmy Key for third all-time in Jays' history (116). He will always be a stalwart in the rotation, be able to go the distance when needed, and be counted on to battle every time he goes out there.

Lately, however, I've been worried about him.

It's not that Halladay has looked bad—on the contrary, he's fifth in the AL in strikeouts (25), he's two-thirds of an inning behind Joe Blanton for the most innings pitched in the Majors (with one fewer start), and, in true Roy Halladay fashion, he's leading the league in complete games with three.

That's what worries me.

Especially after I joked before the season started that "Halladay could throw so much his arm would fall off."

I guess no one told John Gibbons I was kidding. 

Granted, Halladay is no stranger to complete games—since 2002 he's thrown 31 of them, including nine in 2003 and seven last season.

But April's not even over yet and he's thrown three, with the possibility of his fourth-straight complete game coming before the first month of the season is over.

If that were to happen, it wouldn't be the first time the good Doctor has thrown four consecutive complete games. He did it in September of 2003, then closed out the season with his ninth complete game of the year and fifth of the final month.

Of his career-high nine complete games that season, five came in September, and only one in the first half of the season—in other words, all at the right time if you've got playoff aspirations. 

But I keep coming back to the fact that it's April and he's got an opportunity to do it again. 

At least in 2003, the Jays had an outside shot at the Wild Card, and Halladay was absolutely dominating. In that September stretch, he struck out 25, walked a total of four batters, and pitched two shutouts (one in nine innings, the other in 10).

This season has been completely different.

The first two games, Halladay tossed seven innings against the Yankees in a 3-2 losing effort on April 1, and then on April 6 held the Red Sox to a series of one-run frames as he came out with a 7-4 win. 

On April 12, Halladay threw a complete game, a 4-1 win over the Texas Rangers. Texas wasn't able to break Roy's shutout until the ninth inning, while Halladay struck out six Rangers, walking one. He was definitely looking like the Halladay of old. 

On April 17 (following that terribly-managed 14-inning loss to the Rangers), Halladay was forced to go a full nine in a 4-1 losing effort.

Granted, the Jays needed him to eat up some innings, but with Jason Frasor and Brian Tallet each having tossed only two-thirds of an inning the evening before, it wouldn't have been completely illogical to take Halladay out at some point in the eighth.

And the "why should they be forced to pitch two days in a row?" argument doesn't really apply.

Neither Frasor nor Tallet had pitched since a 4-3 loss to Baltimore on April 14, while Jesse Carlson (a kid who's fresh to the Major Leagues) threw the day before, and then was forced to go three innings in that 14-inning game because the Jays were out of eligible relievers.

I'm sure Gibbons could have scraped at least an inning out of someone in the 'pen, but he chose to ride Doc—at the expense of an inning's rest for his ace. 

And what about this past Wednesday in Tampa Bay (or Orlando—whatever), when Doc went a full eight in a 5-3 losing effort? After a four-run sixth, Gibbons left Doc out there. Some critics say he should have been gone at that point; all I know is that he shouldn't have finished the game—any other Jays starter would be gone long before that.

I've watched Halladay long enough to know that he's a gamer—he wants the ball, and he'll take it as long as he can. On the other hand, John Gibbons needs to pull the plug at some point.

Just because a guy can throw a complete game doesn't mean he should—at least not every time he goes out there.

Sooner or later, Gibbons has to learn when to say no. As it is, he's too quick to rest some of his other starters, and too confident in his ace to rest him. 

Granted, the Jays aren't chock-full of pitchers who can go deep into games, but think about this:

Toronto has three pitchers who have gone seven innings this season. In one month, Doc has done it five times, Shaun Marcum twice, and Dustin McGowan once. 

Apparently relief pitchers don't exist on the days that Doc pitches.

Nor do runs—and if that starts to wear on Roy's mind, he could start trying to get too fine, knowing that unless he can hold the other team to one or two runs, he's in for a loss.

Over the course of his career—and when not beset by oddball injuries—Halladay has been a model of durability, consistency, and persistence.

But to waste all of those in the first month could leave the Jays high and dry—especially if Halladay continues to be the only Jay able to consistently go more than six innings when needed.

There have been too many questionable decisions by J.P. Ricciardi and John Gibbons to count in their tenure in Toronto...but if they ruin our Ace, our Rock?

You won't have to pack your bags boys—the fans will make sure you leave in them.