All-star relief for Halladay?

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - The eighth all-star selection for Roy Halladay is special, and not only because he'll go with two of his rotation mates. He is excited to attend the festivities in Phoenix especially because his two sons, Braden and Ryan, will be accompanying him.

"The older you get and the older they get," Halladay said, "that's one of the biggest perks of going."

The Phillies ace just isn't very keen on the idea of starting the game for the National League.

"Obviously you go there to pitch and that's the main idea, but there are definitely other guys that are worthy of it," Halladay said. "Whether they ask me or not, I don't know. The only thing I always try to keep in mind is, how is this going to affect me going forward?"

His pitching coach, Rich Dubee, went a step further. He is openly campaigning for Halladay to not start the game, a week from Tuesday.

Halladay leads the league in innings pitched by seven over teammate Cliff Lee. If he is named starter by San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy, Halladay must pitch two innings. That idea troubles Dubee.

"You're looking at a guy that's leading the league in innings pitched by a pretty good size," Dubee said. "I don't know that you can deny [the starting job]. It would be an honor. But at the same time, this guy is taking on a big workload again, like he always does. We'll wait and see what happens."

Halladay figures to be a top candidate to start for the NL. The other primary contender is Atlanta's Jair Jurrjens, who shares an 11-3 record with Halladay and has a 1.89 ERA that leads the majors. But Halladay has pitched almost 30 more innings and has 68 more strikeouts than Jurrjens.

Will Dubee reach out to Bochy to voice his concerns?

"I don't know," Dubee said. "I don't know how you go about it."

Halladay was definitely lukewarm on the idea.

"Obviously starting you have to pitch longer than if you come in later," Halladay said. "Not that it's always in your control, but it's just things you consider and you talk over with the staff here."

Halladay started the game in 2009 and it didn't have an effect on him then. He had a 2.85 ERA in 123 innings before the break and a 2.72 ERA in 116 innings after.

But his workload is heavier this season than it was in 2009. And the Phillies appear determined to limit potential pitfalls.