Phillies to Recoup from 15-run Disembowelment by Facing Stephen Strasburg

It’s time to yesterday behind us; yes, that same yesterday during which Cole Hamels was brutalized for 2-3 innings and the bullpen could do nothing to stop it.

But today is a new day; and unfortunately, on that day, the Phillies have to face Stephen Strasburg.

The Phillies-Nationals rivalry is built on years of Nationals jealousy, and hit a fever pitch last year when the Nationals decided that the Phillies were their rivals.  Nationals manager Davey Johnson got things rolling by insulting Phillies fan favorite John Lannan.

Naturally, Phillies fans were thrown into a frenzy to defend their insulted player.  John Lannan may be a mediocre, back of the rotation talent who hits a lot of batters and looks like he’s a real scared pooper, but I’ll be DAMNED if I’m going to sit here and let the loose skin hanging off Davey Johnson’s face wiggle out an insult of John Lannan.

“Hrrrmmmf.” Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Of course, as always, there’s nothing we really can do, so let’s talk about how the Phillies are starting Roy Halladay today to take on Strasburg.

I just read something somewhere in which a guy projected Halladay to be a 3-4 starter for the rest of his career, the evidence being that Steve Carlton won the Cy Young in 1982 and was never the same again.  If that’s not a flawless leap of logic to you, then you must be a serial killer.

People don’t think so lowly of Halladay to not find this match-up intriguing.  The two have had similar springs, Strasburg having thrown a bit more (5 IP) and given up a few more runs (3), whereas Doc has hurled a paltry 4.1 innings and allowed opponents two runs to make them feel better.  Strasburg has twice the walks of Halladay (2) but also a higher SO/9 ration (12.6 to Halladay’s 10.4).

What we can conclude from this is that these numbers are very small.

The Nationals won’t be getting many starters out there, but the Phillies will, putting Ben Revere, Michael Young, Chase Utley, Ryan Howad, and Domonic Brown in the starting nine.

Keep in mind that everyone’s outfits will be under heavy scrutiny from Davey Johnson.