Did anyone watch any baseball yesterday? All I can say is that I’m fortunate to have witnessed one of the greatest pitching performances in the history of baseball. Not the Phillies, but all of baseball.
There was just one minor blemish on Roy Halladay’s score card yesterday, a fifth-inning walk to Jay Bruce. Other than that? Nothing. And there weren’t even many close calls, except maybe at the end when Carlos Ruiz had to fish the ball out from next to the bat. This was dominance. This was like something I don’t think I’ve seen before.
The Cincinnati Reds players wisely changed their approach as the game went on. They seemed to go back and forth between trying to jump on Doc early, or taking pitches. And it didn’t matter. The strikes were coming whether you swung the bat or not. You are going to sit down and like it. At one point, did anyone else feel like the Reds’ batters were 100% guessing when they swung? They looked absolutely lost.
I felt like someone before the game told Halladay how dominant Cliff Lee was in 2009, and Hamels was in 2008. He then decided to show everyone what “dominant” really means.
The five-game series is still young and there is a long way to go before they can get to the World Series. But any remote questions about Halladay’s ability to match Lee’s brilliance from last year in the post season have been answered. Doc saw Lee, and raised him double. And if Roy Oswalt and Hamels are 70% of what Halladay showed yesterday, just reserve the parade space now.
G. was on WIP last night talking about where this performance ranks in Philadelphia sports history, and it was a great topic. Is there another single-game performance that was bigger, in a bigger spot? It’s a great question and it got me thinking. Then I got disappointed when I couldn’t think of a lot of great single-game performances by a Philadelphia athlete. Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 points. Bernie Parent in Game 6 of the 1974 Stanley Cup Finals. Willie Burton’s 50-point game (I’m kidding). Iverson had a bunch in there. Cliff Lee in Game 1 of the World Series last year (the nonchalant catch on the mini pop up back to the mound is my favorite). Donovan McNabb’s four TD passes (and he led the offense to five, but the fifth was a handoff to James Thrash) on a broken ankle.
It’s a great discussion. I threw out a few suggestions, but who do you think belongs at the top?
Mike Schmidt’s 4 homerun game in a 18-16 Phils victory at Wrigley in 1976.
Randall Cunninghams 34-46 447yds 5 td 1 int in 42-37 win over Redskins in 1989.
As far as a single game it probably was tops but for a season nobody can beat Grover Cleveland Alexander’s 16 shutout season
Are you sure about that final score of Phils over Cubs, Bogeyman
Schmidt is the only player in history of MLB to hit homeruns in the same game off a Brothers Pitching Tandem… (Rick and Paul Reuschel both pitched for the Cubbies on that blustery April day)
I think Schmitty had 2 off a Rick and 1 off of Paul,
I think Paulman’s Homerun record of 484 homeruns in the “Greenridge Summer WIffle Ball League”
in Woody’s back yard in the SUmmer of 1978 has to get mentioned as well as the Road to the South Jersey Street Hockey League Championship by the Cherry Hill PAL team in our initial season of 1982 where we beat the South Philly Flames in 5, the Coastline Flyers in 5 the Oaklyn Cougars
in 5 and then the West Depford Warriors in 4 Straight to win the Championship…
youn kill me paul..so friggin goofy.
I admit Jimmymac that I am little goofy,
But the real funny thing is my little stories are actually true… I’ve lived a pretty good life and enjoy sharing some of highs points with fellow posters to lighten things up a bit..
Unfortunately, this 2010 version of Eagle Football is getting me down for I look at all the turnover,changes,free-agents,draft picks and such and bottom line, this team has regressed
I go back to th edraft and orignally say 7-8 picks out of the top #125 players and then all this wheeling and dealing ended up with 2 in the top #55 and then a bunch of reaches on the botom #125
players selected…. Teo, Sapp,Harbor,Clayton and Kafka all went a Round or 2 too high in my opinion..I think the did great in grabbing R Cooper,J Cheney where they did but thats about it
I think they gave up a little too much for moving up to grab Graham but did hit a homerun with
selecting Allen at #37
I would rather them stayed with #24,#37,#55,#70,#81,etc,etc,
then loading up on a bunch 4th&5th Round picks…then again I should be used to them doing this..
Paul Mancini
Funny you should ask: I had a 23-22 game etched in my head, but I decided to verify before posting.
I googled “Mike Schmidt 4 home runs” and it took me to the box score of the game. What a walk down memory lane seeing the names in that lineup! 18-16 was the final.
Funny, a couple months ago u were badmouthing the trade and saying we should have kept cliff
Thanx Bogey
Was I right about Schmidt hitting homeruns off the both the Reushel Brothers …
That’s very unlikley ever to happen again