Roy Halladay offers an eloquent and resonant take on the state of the Phillies
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Roy Halladay offers an eloquent and resonant take on the state of the Phillies
David Murphy
A professional athlete's psychological exterior can sometimes appear impenetrable, particularly when that professional athlete is Harry Leroy Halladay. But every so often a crack appears, and you are reminded that even a once-in-a-generation player is not immune to the psychological stresses that afflict the members of the general population. One of those moments occurred on Tuesday night, as Halladay stood amidst a gaggle of microphones and notepads and cameras and admitted what should be obvious to us all. The Phillies are pressing. Halladay. Hunter Pence. Shane Victorino. All of them. A six-week slog through low-scoring losses and jarring headlines and crescendoing boos has taken its toll on this team, and I get the sense that we have reached a juncture that could prove to be one of the more dramatic turning points of this season.
Halladay spoke in his usual measured tone, but it was tinged with a sort of pleading honesty as he provided one of the more accurate and eloquent summations of the state of the team.
"The first two months have been tough for all of us," he said. "You do everything you can to fix it, and that's it. I think it gets back to going out and trying to play a little bit more loose and focus on your job. I think we've got, including myself, a lot of guys that are going out and trying to carry the weight of the team, and you can't play that way, and I think we've seen that. I think everybody is trying to pick up slack for what we may not be doing or guys we may be missing and all that, and that only seems to compound the problem. You put it behind you, but I think a lot of us just need to go out and play the game and have fun playing the game. You start pressing and you start trying to do things that you don't need to do and it makes things worse.
"Charlie says it all the time. You do it because you want to, not because you have to. I think it's hard when things aren't going the way you want them to go, but that's how you play the game, and ultimately it is a game, and I think that's important to remember. It's tough to do in places like this, where fans expect a lot, media expect a lot, players expect a lot, but I think it's important to try and find a way to keep that in mind and try to go out and play that way regardless of your own expectations and everyone elses. You've got to get to just playing the game and enjoying playing the game."
At times, Halladay seemed to be addressing all persons involved, from his teammates to us in the media to the front office. He is a player who likes to lead by example, and it is a hell of an example. But, he was asked, would he ever choose to deliver the message in a closed-door setting?
"Yeah, I would," Halladay said with a bit of uncertainty in his voice. "I think finding the right time to do that is tough. Guys are beating themselves up and you have a bad day and it's not necessarily the thing you want to hear or anybody else wants to hear. And it doesn't even have to be a team gathering. Just talking to guys and being teammates. We've got a good group. We've got a great chemistry. We've played good at times, and we haven't at times, and it's just a matter of going out and enjoying it. The more we press, it's not going to take care of itself. You prepare as well as you can and go out and let it all hang out."
Halladay seemed bothered by home plate umpire Gary Cederstrom's decision to eject Carlos Ruiz from the game with two outs in the Nationals' four-run third inning. According to both Halladay and Charlie Manuel, Ruiz told Cederstrom that he thought an 0-1 pitch to Danny Espinosa was a strike, then turned around to look at the ump.
"He didn't turn around, he didn't get in his face, he didn't use obscene language," Halladay said. "He simply said the pitch was a strike. He said it a couple times. I don't know. I've never seen one like that before. And it's unfortunate, because he's our best player and he gets run out of the game, really for saying a pitch is a strike. I've never seen one like that."
What struck me most was the way Halladay labelled Ruiz as the Phillies' "best player." He did so off-handedly, as if there was no doubt about it. At this moment, there really isn't a doubt. But I don't know that I have ever heard anybody outside of the media or the fanbase refer to Ruiz as the Phillies' "best player." Most underrated player, definitely. Most valuable player, at times. Most likeable player, almost always. But "best" is a description that does not come with a qualification. It is a recognition of pure talent, and anytime an athlete on the level of Roy Halladay labels somebody the best at something, it deserves a special note. If the Phillies are going to turn this thing around and rid themselves of the existential weight that seems to be strapped on top of their shoulders, it is guys like Halladay and Ruiz who are going to lead the way.
Heading into a four-game series against the team that ended their 2011 season and sent them into the sprial from which they now must emerge, it will be fascinating to see how these Phillies respond.
Pence needs to pretend he's still in Houston and nobody cares what he does on the field or at bat. I sometimes wonder if Jimmy has backed off any aggressive leadership role because he doesn't believe that Utley and Howard will contribute that much this year and thus the team will be .500 at best.
The real concern is why Roy and Cliff aren't as dominant as they were in prior years. The lack of runs isn't their fault. But they are giving up more homers than usual. I sense they are also having to pitch deeper into counts to get outs.- i still believe they'll eventually turn it around, coordinate timely hitting with decent relief pitching, play like pros if not champs, end up winning 55% and slip into the playoffs. still, this does not negate the disgraceful showing of these first two months. seasoned pros - and forget for a moment their bloated salaries - can be off-center for a week, even two; but an entire quarter season is an absolute sham. i just cannot see the turnaround i'm talking about with amaro and manuel running the show. they just have to be let go. btw, it would be fascinating, were it possible, to dig into chooch's psyche to determine how come he's been immune to the 'pressing' that's plagued everyone else on the club.— bubba church & granny hamner
- All you dummies are gullable as hell. This man is a phoney Yes they gave him ywo CY YOUNG awards.Maddox,Glavin,(I think he's as phony as doc).Smokes have something the best pitcher in baseball does't have.Something if he is so great he would have led his teams to. A WORLD SERIES RING a championship. No doubt if the phils had won one he woul have got all the credit for it.WHAT A BIG PHONY.— tobyjoe
- There you have it folks...the most congenitally idiotic post in philly.com sports history: Roy Halladay is a big phony.
Please spare us any future posts tobyjoe. - I love the Phils with a passion, and it is very tough to watch them leave men on base night after night. Whats missing is Ryan Howard, everyone is quick to run him out of town. Well now we know what the offense is like without him. I hope he gets back soon.
- People underestimated the absence of Howard. Whether you like him or not, it's a big part of their offensive problems. His missing power in the middle of the lineup affects the whole lineup. You wonder if he can be back in some capacity in June sometime. — s
- i wish the commenters around here had as much class as roy does.— slanted and enchanted
- @24, I agree with you wholeheartedly.....and....It's been clear from day one that these guys have been pressing. The starting pitchers can't go out there thinking "I can't give up any runs today or we'll lose" and the hitters who've developed certain styles of play through the years, styles that have been successful and gotten them to the Major Leagues and in many cases to AS games as the best players, can't at this late stage "change" who they are or what their approaches are. Any attempts to change from what has gotten them here (the show) will cause more negatives to happen than positives. Rodan and Renoir were both great "artists", but one sculpted and one painted. If they switched chisel for paintbrush (their approach to creating works of art) with eachother, I doubt we'd have seen the prolific works of art they ultimately produced.
RAJ has assembled good players, good guys, good citizens in our community but as a well oiled functioning baseball machine they are failing miserably even without the help of the umpiring crews which seem to be constantly stacked against the Phils pitchers. It would seem that MLB has a new "agenda" promoting new franchises with new ownership groups/regions and new up and coming star players and the Phils aren't on the "hot list" any longer. The harder you try to remain relevant or produce for your next contract or carry your team til the injured players get back, the worse it gets. Whether you think Halladay is washed up or not, you have to appreciate his honesty and his candor, especially after the game he pitched. This team still has talent but their "psyche" is shot. They are emotionally drained already from just the first 2 months of a very long season. I don't see how a physically limited shell of an Utley or a gimpy for another 6 months Howard is gonna be able to help out very much this season if at all.— Mark1npt - I read an old article about Mike Schmidt being in a slump at the plate. Dick Allen was talking to him about it, saying and I am paraphrasing, Mike, you've got to go out and enjoy the game, play like you did when you were a kid-- remember when you would skip supper to play baseball? Just play and relax. Enjoy it like you were a little boy, again. Schmidt took his advice and proceeded to hit four home runs in the next game. I wish I could simply remind our team of this same thought.— Joe Gonnelli
- Chicken and egg analogy: You win, you enjoy, you play loose, you keep winning. You lose, you try harder, you play tight, you keep losing. Unfortunately, the lineup we're trotting out right now is pathetic.— eman
- The biggest thing is that Charlie and Ruben have made some bad decisions of late and now they are pay, Werth would sure look good in our line-up right about now. The Phillies will have to rebuild sooner than they think I hope that the farm system is loaded if not we will soon return to the dark ages where always finished in the basement or close too it. As far as Howard hitting is concern he lifts up his head to soon and takes his eye off the ball even Stevie Wonder can see that— Slyy
- I reject out of hand the notion they are pressing. The opposite is true.They have quit. The baserunning and defensive blunders attest to that. This team is old and is rotting to the core. It is time for the organization and the fans to accept the run is over and it is time to tear this team to its foundation and rebuild. Halladay, Lee, Hamels, Papelbon, Ruiz, Victorino, Pence, Rollins and Howard (if anyone will take that gargantuan contract) should all be gone come July 31. Hamels and Victorino walk this winter one way or the other. Things will not improve until everyone accepts this reality.— imsick
- Man we have a lot of Trolololol's our here. Stop waisting your time writing and our time reading. You hate the Phillies? Good for you. You think they dont have a shot? Good for you. Now just one more question, you have any tickets for the phillies? Please, by all means, give them to me...— StraitandNarrow
- It's like a chicken-egg thing. They'll play the game with infectious enthusiasm when they're winning...they'll play like they're relaxed when they're winning...they can't be relaxed when they're losing in difficult ways every night.— Jeffy3
- @nazblueeagles11 maybe because they aren't fair weather fans. Apparently you are one though. So, look in the mirror when you utter the word pathetic.— Spider Rico
