Screen Shot 2012-04-17 at 9.37.12 AM

Timmay used to have an arm. Tim Lincecum’s fastball topped at 91.8 mph last night as the Phillies knocked him around and erupted for five runs, four of which came in the first inning.

We’ll take the 5-2 victory.

Roy Halladay recorded his third win in three tries, though, at times, he didn’t have his best stuff (more on that in a second). Halladay had a high pitch count early, thanks in large part to a 24-pitch first inning (is it just me, or is first inning Halladay just an average Halladay?), but still managed to pitch eight innings, giving up only two runs.

While I have no idea who they are, they say that the best pitchers figure out a way to win on nights where they don’t have their best stuff. Which is exactly what Halladay did last night.

He thew 85 pitches through five innings. But after a minor confrontation with home plate umpire Marty Foster following an Aubrey Huff walk in the fifth, Doc turned up the intensity just a bit.

Look at this stare when Halladay didnt' get a strike call on an inside cutter to Huff:

Screen Shot 2012-04-17 at 8.52.00 AMGo inside, children

Doc would throw 9, 6, and 9 pitches over the next three innings, respectively, then turn it over to Jonathan Papelbon for the save. 

Some are concerned that Doc’s velocity isn’t where it should be. In the spring, Ken Rosenthal, citing a Major League scout, said that it should be a concern. Halladay ripped them. But the bow-tie man and the scout may have been onto something. Halladay’s fastball topped out at 90.8 last night, one mph less than Lincecum’s watered-down speed ball. During Halladay’s third start of the season last year (April 13 at Washington), he hit 94.2 on the gun, and his fastball averaged nearly 92 mph. Last night his average fastball hovered under 90 mph… 

Of course, the decreased velocity doesn’t seem to be affecting Halladay: he’s 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP… but it’s worth keeping an eye on.

Semis:

Ryan Howard visited a “wound specialist” this week. That doesn’t sound good. John Russo, the head man over at Team To Beat, pointed out that it sounds like Ryno got shot at war.  

Here’s what Ruben Amaro told reporters: [CSNPhilly.com]

In short, Amaro said, Howard still has a wound on the back of his ankle. It is getting smaller, but it has not healed to the point where doctors are comfortable letting him run or swing a bat.

“It’s still healing,” Amaro said. “He’s doing well. We’ll continue on the same deal.”

“The biggest challenge is getting the wound to the skin,” Amaro said. “For how deep it was, it’s getting pretty close. [The wound] can’t ‘skin over’ until it gets to the skin. That’s the last thing to happen.”

 

That sounds like a convoluted Rube explanation if I ever heard one. If Howard still isn’t at the point where he can run or swing (earlier in the spring the Phillies made it sound like hitting was no more strenuous on the Achilles than taking grounders), than why was he taking ground balls at Citizens Bank Park two weeks ago? Like, can we get trainer Scott Sheridan to just tie Howard down to a bench until the wound “skins over,” or whatever the fuck Amaro wants to call it? Thanks.

Chase Utley is still deceased. He’s rehabbing in Arizona, which should continue to worry you. People don’t fly across the country (especially when they have warm weather facilities in, say, Clearwater) to “rehab.” They go there to visit specialists, like the one Utley visited in March. He will rejoin the team next week, when the Phillies play in Arizona, but there is still no timetable for his return. Lovely.