The Roy Halladay era in Philadelphia has ended in bitterness and recrimination with the publication in this morning's Inquirer of comments by the veteran pitcher he was upset with press criticisms covering a range of issues.
Chief among these, of course, has been his poor performance since returning from shoulder surgery. Running a close second on his list of complaints was open speculation he had returned too soon. And rounding out his annoyance was the usual fallback position of "wronged" athletes in this town: Philadelphia's media corp let alone its fans are just too tough.
The Phillies were unlikely to re-sign the aging pitcher given his troubles of the last two seasons. For his part, Halladay often noted he wanted to pitch for a contender, which the Phils as currently constituted are clearly not.
At least this chapter of the admired pitcher's career is probably over. Will he even make his next scheduled start?
UPDATE
Halladay made his next scheduled start and was unimpressive. For the fourth straight game he hit a batter and walked several. Worse, his velocity remains stuck in the mid to high '80's. If he is going to reinvent himself as more of a finesse pitcher, he can't hit and walk batters at such a high rate.
In the end, the poorest decision by all concerned, the Philllies' alleged brain trust very much included, was to have Halladay come back at all this season.
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