Charlie Manuel trotted out from the dugout.  With the National League’s worst team up by one run in the top of the ninth with two outs, most managers would have taken their ace–hell, the entire league’s ace–out of the game by now.  But not Charlie.  Not with Roy Halladay out there.  Because Charlie, by choosing to leave his spot at the bottom of the steps, had forgotten one thing:

Roy Halladay never stops playing baseball.

Not when he’s sleeping, not when he’s brushing his teeth, not when he’s ignoring Kyle Kendrick’s text messages.  He is always on that mound, gripping that ball, chucking that cutter.  Constantly. Relentlessly.  Forever.

What you can't see here is that the baseball is weeping; for his life, for his family, for his homeland... all of which he has sacrificed to be cut by Doc.

(more…)

How much would you pay to be able to click Chone Figgins into an infield that already includes Jimmy Rolllins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard?  $50 million?

Then you would be paying more than the Phillies are willing to, as their interest in the former-Angel and current free agent seems to be deflating thanks to his price tag. With $106 million spent on 12 players already, the thought of dropping that kind of cash on one player is enough to make Ruben Amaro start chewing his fingernails off in deep thought.

And, after shoving Eric Bruntlett out of the car yesterday, the Phillies upped their roster to 30 with a couple of minor league additions:

Quintin Berry: Is he best friends with John Gosselin, too?

• Quintin Berry:  A 25-year-old CF whose been .266′in it up down in Double-A Reading, along with 5 HR, 28 RBI, and 48 SB, adding to his four year total of 173 SB.  ”I’m not going anywhere,” said Shane Victorino, unprovoked.
• Yohan Flande:  Now this is interesting.  A starting pitcher who spent the year migrating from Reading, PA to Clearwater, FL with a 10-5 record and a 3.40 ERA in 135 innings?  I’ll have what he’s having:  A solid year of starting pitching.
• Jesus Sanchez: Similar numbers to fellow starting pitcher Flande (10-6, 3.44 ERA in Lakewood), Sanchez is even more interesting because he was just transformed from a catcher into a pitcher.

A conspiracy in baseball?!  Surely I jest.

But jest I do not.  Shortly after the Rookie of the Year balloting came to a close and Chris Coghlan, a terrific young player, came out on top despite not being the best, I was prepared to let it go, because… you know, who cares?

My advocation (outside of J.A. Happ of course) was for Andrew McCutchen, the Pirates CF who made us in Philly look like jackasses a couple of times this year.  Rum Bunter’s been talking conspiracy for a few days, and I’ve got to say I agree with him (though I’m not sure what the conspiracy accomplished in giving Coghlan the award).

It’s not impossible, and he and Marlin Maniac are certainly not wrong in suggesting they got the wrong guy, and seeing as how Happ came in second, I should probably care more.

Definitely not the first time a poor decision has been made in baseball this year.  It’s the season of bad calls that wouldn’t end.

At this point, I’m less worried about Happ not getting ROY than I am about him getting stranded on an outcropping of rocks in the middle of the ocean or kidnapped and left in a field.

LOOK OUT J.A., THERE MAY BE FIRE ANTS IN THE PITCHER'S MOUND OH GOD OH GOD

Does Happ deserve the Rookie of the Year?  Yeah, sure.

The guy had to pitch in some pretty intense games that would have had a lesser first-timer grinding their teeth into dust.  He came out all right, Exhibit A being his stats on the year.

He pitched 166 innings, with 119 K’s and, my personal favorite, three complete games. There are plenty (PLENTY) of seasoned vets in the league right now who aren’t putting up those numbers, and some of them are on the Phillies pitching staff (Hey, Cole.  What’s up.  Just insulting you on my blog).

Though I guess we’re only supposed to compare him to other rookies, and in the ERA department (2.93 for Happ), Tommy Hanson’s got him beat (2.89).  And some of those offensive nightmares high in the balloting are too ridiculous to ignore.

But what’s going to cost him is that stretch on the DL.  If they’re going to give it to a pitcher, it’s not going to be a guy who had a chunk of time off.  Not that this discredits Happ as a pitcher overall (Did I even really need to say that?  No), but you’ve got to figure that Tommy Hanson was putting together a jaw-dropping season down in Georgia without getting hurt, so, you know.

Do the math.

But, after considering the math, we can see that The Sporting News and the MLB Players Choice committee (AKA, the other players) already saw what Happ has done in 2009 and given him their own Rookie of the Year Award.

Damn, you know, sometimes it just feels like these guys don’t read this site.

I’d like to give Andrew McCutchen some attention, but I think he’s getting all the support he needs over at Rum Bunter.

He's like a wind-up toy, but instead of marching in place, he hits home runs off Brad Lidge.

Good luck, J.A.  And may all the quick sand and snake bites of the world avoid you.