Well, that sucks.
8.2IP, 5H, 1R. And a loss. You've gotta feel for Doc.
By the way, raise your hand if you've noticed Halladay's velocity dropping over the last few years. Unfortunately for those of us who rely on record-keeping as a substitute for memory, pitch F/X data has only been around for 2 years, but I'm pretty sure that Halladay's fastball was consistently in the 89-91 range last year, lower than it had been in, say, his Cy Young season. Correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway, the point is, whatever velocity was lost seems to be back. Doc is 12th in the majors in average fastball velocity among starters at 92.6 MPH. #1? Why, that would be our very own Dustin McGowan, and by a comfortable margin - D McG is averaging 95.6 MPH, a solid 0.8MPH over the #2 guy (King Felix).
In other news, A-Rod and Posada are both on the shelf for the time being, and with the struggles of Hughes and Kennedy, the Yankees are suddenly looking vulnerable. John Smoltz is also on the DL, though they're saying he won't need surgery. Oh, and Max Scherzer (this year's Joba according to MLB.com) has officially arrived, going 4 1/3 perfect innings with 7 K's. Scherzer had a 38:3 K:BB in AAA in 23 innings before being called up to the Diamondbacks.
Dustin "95.6" McGowan goes up tonight against Dice-K.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20080430102233115