As if the Phillies’ injury issues couldn’t get worse, they’ve now lost starter Roy Halladay for an undetermined time due to a shoulder problem.

Suddenly, Roy Oswalt looks like a viable option for the Phillies.

For those who have been following MetsToday, the Halladay injury is not exactly a surprise. From May 8th:

I can’t put my finger on what exactly is wrong, but I think there might be a physical issue with Roy Halladay. His follow-through looks cut off, with his upper body staying a bit too high from what I remember. In fact he’s putting too much stress on his arm with his finish. Additionally, his arm angle occasionally dropped a bit below low three-quarter — he was just about sidearm on several pitches. He’s also throwing more curveballs than his normal rate. Finally, his arm tended to drag behind his body, particularly as the game wore on. All these factors suggest that he may have either a shoulder or back issue. I hope that’s not the case, because as a baseball fan I absolutely love watching him deal. Let’s just say I won’t be stunned if at some point this season he goes on the DL with an arm and/or back problem.

Considering what I saw in that game and his 88-MPH gun readings in spring training, my guess is that Halladay has severely damaged his shoulder — and likely needing surgery. Though such a turn of events is good for the Mets, it doesn’t please me as a baseball fan, because I thoroughly enjoy watching Halladay as an artist at work.

Mets 5 Phillies 2

The Mets couldn’t beat Roy Halladay, but they were able to beat the Phillies on a night that Halladay pitched.

Phillies 9 Mets 4

The Mets altered their role of “spoiler”, by spoiling the Phillies’ bid for a 9-game losing streak.

Phillies 2 Mets 1

Holding the opposing team to two runs usually means you have a great chance to win — particularly when playing at a hitter-friendly park such as Citzens Bank. Unless, of course, you are facing Roy Halladay.

Phillies 11 Mets 0

For a team whose offense is below par due to the loss of Jayson Werth and injury to Chase Utley, they sure score a lot of runs.

Roy Halladay was spectacular. Jon Niese was not. As a result, the final score was an unhappy one for Mets fans.

On Saturday night at 7:30 PM the Phillies will face the Giants in Philadelphia to begin the NLCS.

While it’s true I’m a Mets fan, I’m a BASEBALL fan first, and therefore excited to watch this game. Why? Because it pits two of the best pitchers of our generation in a playoff contest — and those two pitchers are coming off two of the greatest postseason pitching performances in baseball history. All signs are pointing to extreme entertainment value for hard-core baseball enthusiasts.

Which team will I root for? Hard to say … probably neither. Likely, I’ll be watching rather than rooting — though what happens during the course of the contest may change that. Sure, as a Mets fan I can’t stand either club, but I’m going to approach this game the same as I would a movie: for entertainment value; to enjoy the story. I will sit and enjoy the plot of the game develop, and “root” for a hero when and if one emerges.

Of course, it’s very possible that one or both of the starting pitchers craps the bed and the game becomes something less dramatic than what we are expecting. And if that’s the case, well, maybe there will be something interesting to watch on Spike! or HGTV … and Saturday Night Live will be on at 11:30.

While we’re on the subject of pitching freaks, be sure to check out Greg Prince’s article about Lincecum and Christy Mathewson at The New York Times. It is a good read by a great guy; Greg and Jason Fry were among the first Mets bloggers on the interwebs (see Faith and Fear, if you haven’t already), and both are truly fine gentlemen. Congrats to Greg for contributing to such a venerable and highly respected publication as The Times — it’s nice to see good things happen to good people!

Phillies 6 Mets 5

Not even seven homegrown players in the lineup could beat Roy Halladay and the Phillies.

The Mets had seven fruits of the farm in their lineup: Jose Reyes, David Wright, Angel Pagan, Ike Davis, Josh Thole, Ruben Tejada, and Fernando Martinez. Yet, all that fruit — some of it very fresh — did not produce a win.

Though, the two individuals who were NOT home-grown — R.A. Dickey and Carlos Beltran — did nothing to help the team win. In fact, the loss was more or less the fault of Dickey. So perhaps if the Mets try this again with Jonathon Niese or Mike Pelfrey on the mound, the result will be different. It may even help to bring back Jesus Feliciano or Nick Evans so that there can be a full nine from the farm in the lineup. Such a setup would have to bring success.

Game Notes

Not a good day for R.A., whose knuckler was pounded pretty hard. He was gone after 3 innings and 6 runs (4 earned), and gave up 8 hits and a walk. Jerry Manuel thought Dickey looked “too strong”, whatever that means. Something about him being in Dire Straits?

Homegrown catcher Josh Thole went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored and threw out Greg Dobbs attempting to steal. What was Dobbs doing trying to steal? Not sure, since he already has his one for the year (he has 9 in 7 seasons in MLB).

Thole’s performance was encouraging. I now think he has a good shot to be at least as good as Jason Phillips. Similarly, Tejada has been impressive in these last two games with his flashy defensive play, leading me to believe he is ALREADY as good as Anderson Hernandez.

The “farm team” did a nice job of fighting back, but it was too little, too late. Roy Halladay didn’t have his best stuff, but somehow gritted his way through 7 innings. Somehow, Brad Lidge managed not to blow it in the 9th. Compare / contrast to Johan Santana and Francisco Rodriguez in the first half of 2010.

Carlos Beltran went 0-for-4 before being double-switched out of the game when Pedro Feliciano came on in relief. Did anyone ever think THAT would happen, ever?

Jose Reyes and Angel Pagan were a combined 4-for-8 with 3 runs, 2 RBI, and 2 SBs as they set the table all day. Unfortunately, Beltran, David Wright, Ike Davis, and Fernando Martinez were a combined 2-for-16 behind them.

The Mets have not won back-to-back in something like 41 games, going back to late June. Think about that.

The Braves won on Sunday, so the Mets are now 9.5 games out of first place.

Next Mets Game

The Mets get a day off on Monday so they can travel all the way back to Flushing (I assume they are walking, or going by horse and carriage). On Tuesday at 7:10 PM they host the Colorado Rockies, who will be sending Cy Young candidate Ubaldo Jimenez to the mound. The Mets may or may not counter with Mike Pelfrey, who has been working on keeping his arm speed consistent. Why he is working on that, I have no idea, since it has little to do with his recent lack of command.

Phillies 10 Mets 0

Well, you can’t win ’em all.

After the Mets won in a laugher on Friday night, the Phillies returned the favor, pounding out 10 runs on 13 hits as Roy “Doc” Halladay surgically removed the New York offense.

Game Notes

Roy Halladay pitched a complete-game, 3-hit shutout, expending 118 pitches — including 88 strikes. That type of pitch count would get John Maine through 5 1/3 innings, I reckon.

Mike Pelfrey, on the other hand, was less than stellar, allowing 8 hits, a walk, and 6 runs in 4 innings, throwing 82 pitches. His ERA more than tripled in the process. Big Pelf had a hard time hitting spots, and when he had to give in, his fastball was a little too high and got too much of the plate. Home plate umpire Ron Kulpa was calling a very low strike zone, but Pelfrey couldn’t take advantage the way Halladay did.

That low zone irked several of the Mets hitters, and David Wright nearly got tossed for arguing with Kulpa in the top of the sixth. From the angle provided by the centerfield camera, several pitches did seem below the knees, but Halladay’s sinker was running down hard so it’s difficult to say whether they were balls as they passed the plate, or merely looked like balls by the time the catcher caught them.

Ike Davis drew the lone walk that Halladay allowed, and the three hits were struck by Wright, Jason Bay, and Henry Blanco. Blanco and Wright hit doubles, while Bay hit a single. Jose Reyes saw more pitches than any other Met with 24.

Although Blanco hit a double, seeing both he and Alex Cora in the lineup against the best pitcher in baseball didn’t exactly boost my hopes when the game began.

Blanco, by the way, is 5-for-11 lifetime against Sunday night starter Jamie Moyer.

Next Mets Game

The rubber match takes place on Sunday night at 8 PM and will be broadcast by ESPN. Johan Santana faces Jamie Moyer. Be sure to visit the ESPN Baseball Tonight Live Chat so you can read my witty comments during the game.