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Should the Phillies be worried about their pitching staff?

March 16th, 2012 2:29 PM
  • Should-the-Phillies-be-worried-about-their-pitching-staff
  • Philadelphia-Phillies-starting-pitcher-Dontrelle-Willis-pitches-in-the-sixth-inning-of-the-game-against-the-Houston-Astros.-Mandatory-Credit-Daniel-Shirey-US-PRESSWIRE
  • Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Roy Halladay during spring training game against the New York Yankees. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE
  • Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Dontrelle Willis pitches in the sixth inning of the game against the Houston Astros. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-US PRESSWIRE

    • Roy Halladay has vehemently denied a FoxSports.com report that his arm is ailing. The report cited two anonymous scouts that claimed the veteran pitcher, who will be 35 in May, might be hurt because his velocity is down and he is throwing from a lower arm slot. Hurt or not, the Phillies brass has to be worried about their ace. Halladay’s ERA in 3 spring training starts is 10:56, yet despite his lower velocity and poor statistics, the two-time Cy Young Award winner insists there is nothing to worry about; he’s just warming his arm up for the regular season, as always.

    The Dontrelle Willis experiment has also failed. The former Marlins star was brought aboard in the winter with the expectation that he would compete for a spot in the bullpen during spring training. Willis only pitched 2 2/3 innings this spring, but he gave up five runs in that span and apparently that was all the Phillies needed to see from the former phenom, and promptly cut him.

    Despite these two causes for concern, the Phillies pitching staff looks strong overall. Joe Blanton performed well this spring and looks like he could be a solid back of the rotation guy, or even be traded to make room for young players Vance Worley and Kyle Kendrick. Assuming Halladay gets on track, the rotation should pick up where it left off last year and be one of baseball’s best.

    There also remains the possibility that Roy Oswalt could be brought back at midseason since he has decided not to sign with another team before then.

    — John Axelrod

    Roy Halladay tracks every single ball that comes from his hand – whether during a postseason game, a bullpen session in January, or a Grapefruit League game in March.

    Read the original post from philly.com

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