We all knew that Roy Halladay was one of the best pitchers. But now he is playing for Philadelphia, the NL winner the past two seasons and fans get to actually see what this guy is like. Halladay has welcomed the National League and is glad to be away from hockey loving Toronto.
In 4 games as a Philly, Halladay is 4-0 with a 0.82 ERA (oddly the same as Cliff Lee through 4 starts last year), and has two complete games, including one shutout. To put it simply, Halladay has been dominant.
When compared to another former Cy Young winner, switching from the NL to the AL instead, Jake Peavy has been bad this year for the White Sox. Yes, he is coming off injury, but in 3 starts he has 3 no-decisions and a 6.00 ERA. It is amazing how much not having the pitcher bat and instead replacing him with a DH can blow up pitchers numbers.
Halladay is seeing how nice it is to pitch in the NL, and especially for Philly as he now is the ace for the best lineup in the National League. Halladay is putting him early mark on the race for the Cy Young, and what favors him is that he doesn't have to be this dominating all season. Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and co. will provide plenty of run support. All the skeptics of the offseason trade which involved losing Cliff Lee who had been so dominant in the playoffs are now silenced, and fans will soon forget Cliff, and only Roy will matter.
The guy is awesome. With him, Lincecum, Wainwright, Jimenez and Santana, the NL might actually win an All Star Game.
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