Four months later, CC revisits Phils & Halladay

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TAMPA, Fla. -- You can bet a cheesesteak that some people are going to be very excited by the next matchup on tap for the Yankees, offering about as marquee a pitching billing as you can conjure up for the second game of Grapefruit League action.

CC Sabathia will take the mound for the Bombers against the Phillies in a rematch of the 2009 World Series on Thursday, a 1:05 p.m. ET start at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla., that will be shown on live MLB.TV.

On the home team's side? No less of a competitor than Roy Halladay, the former American League Cy Young Award-winning gunslinger, the newest ace in the National League East and a certain right arm the Yankees are exceptionally happy to see leave their division.

You might think such a faceoff would add some jazz for the players involved, but Sabathia said that he didn't expect any added sizzle to the game, joking that he'd be in the dugout "eating seeds and goofing off" while Halladay works.

"His games are usually quick," Sabathia said. "He's a great pitcher, but it's Spring Training. If I face off [against] him in the season, I'll probably be more concerned, because I'll probably have to hit."

Coming off a 19-win season that saw him secure MVP honors in the AL Championship Series against the Angels, Sabathia is more concerned with getting his own business under control and helping the Yankees repeat as World Series champs.

New York modified its early spring schedule slightly for Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte after last November's Fall Classic, having them throw three bullpen sessions and one batting-practice session before making the standard six starts in exhibition games.


"It makes a difference, not throwing as much," Sabathia said. "Usually, you throw two batting practices and things like that. Getting right into games definitely helps, not throwing a lot of BP and bullpens."

Not that Sabathia complains about taking the ball, having fired two complete games and thrown at least seven innings in 24 of his 34 starts in 2009.

He made two starts against the Phillies in the World Series, falling victim to a stellar complete-game effort from Cliff Lee and two Chase Utley home runs in Game 1 at Yankee Stadium before helping to put New York one victory away from the title in Game 4, dodging damage through 6 2/3 gutsy innings and entrusting a one-run lead to the bullpen.

Had the Yankees gone to a Game 7, Sabathia would have started, but this scenario -- a breezy Grapefruit League assignment -- is surely much more preferable. He was asked if he at least had a score to settle with Utley.

"No," Sabathia said, laughing. "Come on."

Sabathia is expected to throw two innings or 35 pitches in Thursday's start, and after firing 28 pitches to his own hitters in batting practice, the burly left-hander feels like he's ready to get back out there against those maroon uniforms.

"I feel good," Sabathia said. "The bullpens have been going well. I'll be fine. I'm looking forward to it and getting used to pitching."

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CLEARWATER, Fla. -- The moment is coming for Roy Halladay, the moment when every pitch really matters to the Phillies.

But next is Thursday afternoon's 1:05 p.m. ET Grapefruit League opener against the Yankees at Bright House Field, where each pitch soon will be forgotten. Halladay, whom the Phils acquired in a blockbuster trade in December, will be on the mound against Yankees ace CC Sabathia, in a game which will be shown live on MLB.TV. It is just another Spring Training start for Halladay, but it is a step closer to making him a full-fledged Phillie.

He isn't there yet.

"In the eyes of everybody, I don't think you're 100 percent part of it until you've contributed," Halladay said Wednesday afternoon. "Obviously, I understand that part of it, but as far as being around here, I feel comfortable. But yeah, you know you have to perform on the field."

It seems to have been a smooth transition for Halladay, who easily blends into Philadelphia's clubhouse after spending his entire career in Toronto. He gets along well with his teammates. He works hard. He is motivated to win.

"It's been different than I expected," Halladay said. "It's been a lot easier transition that I anticipated. Being in one place, you're never really sure what to expect or how things are going to happen, but it's been really easy for me and comfortable for me to this point. From that standpoint, it's been great, because everything feels normal -- the preparation, the games, all that. It feels the same. I haven't felt a big difference, even going into tomorrow. It's a regular spring game. Once you get out of Florida and you're in a different atmosphere, it's a bit different, but I think the transition has been so smooth that it feels normal."


It has been easy partially because Halladay lives about 30 minutes away from Bright House Field. He began working out at the ballpark in December, so he slowly got to meet the staff, coaches and players.

"It wasn't meeting everybody in one day and thrown into the fire," he said. "The players and staff have been so good that it's been easy for me. You don't feel like you're trying to fit in all of the time. It feels like where you should be."

But while Thursday is somewhat routine, Halladay also said he expects to feel something in the pit of his stomach.

"Every spring, I get that," he said. "If you don't, you're probably playing for the wrong reasons. It's definitely an excitement, an anticipation. It could be more [excitement] than it has been in the past. I always look forward to that. The day I don't have that is when you have to start checking on yourself a little bit."

Halladay will not be using his entire arsenal against the Yankees. He will be working on things, like most pitchers do this time of year. He will be fine tuning his command and throwing his changeup a little more than he would in the regular season.

Getting his work in, as pitchers and coaches love to say.

But it will be hard for Phillies fans stuck in the cold in Philadelphia not to watch this start a little more closely.

This is Roy Halladay, he's in a Phillies uniform and he is facing Sabathia and the Yankees.

"Pitching is being able to focus on the task at hand regardless of circumstances surrounding the game," Halladay said of facing the Yankees. "It's a good way to start when you're trying to get yourself ready to start a season."

If everything goes right, he hopes to be facing them again when it truly matters: October.

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CLEARWATER, Fla. - For about two months, Roy Halladay came to a quiet Carpenter Complex for his off-season workouts.

Then everyone else showed up at the Phillies' complex. And the hype began.

It all culminates with Halladay's putting on a Phillies uniform and starting for the team for the first time at 1:05 p.m. today when the New York Yankees visit for a World Series rematch in the Grapefruit League opener.
"Really, it's been a regular spring training," the righthander said yesterday. "There are always parts that are going to be new until you finish the season and you see where you stack up.

"I feel comfortable. It's just a matter of getting in and doing it. It's something I've looked forward to."

Halladay will throw about 45 pitches, which translates to two innings or perhaps three if he is especially economical.

In the grand scheme of things, it's an inconsequential beginning for Halladay's Phillies career.

However, "I'm just like everybody," manager Charlie Manuel said. "I want to see him get out there and just pitch."

Halladay said his main focus would be on conditioning and location. He also said he would put some emphasis on his change-up, as he does every spring.

"I'll try and work that as much as I can," said Halladay, who was traded from Toronto to the Phils in December.

"It's the few things like that, when your back is against the wall during the season, you know what to go to," he said. "Down here, you're going to try some different things and try to get comfortable."

The games begin.J.A. Happ started last night's exhibition opener against Florida State and pitched two scoreless innings, allowing just one walk and one hit. The Phils won, 13-6, in seven innings.

"I threw everything, pretty much," Happ said.

He said he told catcher Carlos Ruiz that "we might as well just try to throw everything as long as I'm throwing strikes. He did a good job mixing it up. I feel good about that."

Happ twice threw a two-seam fastball, a new pitch he is working on. The first was laced to right field, where Jayson Werth caught it.

"So it didn't two-seam very much," Happ joked.

Phillippe Aumont had considerably less success. He relieved Happ and couldn't get out of the third inning.

Aumont walked three, allowed a run to score on a wild pitch, and gave up a three-run home run to Stuart Tapley.

Victorino update. Manuel said centerfielder Shane Victorino would not play today. Victorino has a mild case of what Manuel described as "tendinitis or bursitis" in his right shoulder.

But the manager said he expects to have Victorino see game action within two to three days.

John Mayberry Jr. started in center last night.

Romero, Lidge throw. J.C. Romero and Brad Lidge threw side bullpen sessions before last night's game as they continued their recoveries.

Lidge threw 40 pitches, including eight sliders, and was extremely pleased. The closer, coming back from knee and elbow surgery, said the jump from his third bullpen session to his fourth was the biggest yet.

Romero, who had off-season elbow surgery, threw 27 pitches - all fastballs - in his second bullpen session.

"I feel good," he said. "That's the important thing."

Polanco staying put. If third baseman Placido Polanco plays second base during the season, it will mean something bad has happened to Chase Utley.

Manuel said he did not envision using Polanco - a two-time Gold Glove second baseman - to give Utley a day off. Instead, if Utley sits, it will be Juan Castro at second base.

"I'd like to be able to rest him like [Jimmy] Rollins or Utley," Manuel said of Polanco. "I don't foresee bouncing Polly around to second for like two, three, four or five games.

"Say Utley got hurt or something and was out for a long period of time, then, yeah, if that makes sense."

Extra bases.Manuel said he wanted his regulars to have between 60 and 80 at-bats this spring, the same target as last spring. . . . After Halladay, the Phillies will use Kyle Kendrick, Jose Contreras, Andrew Carpenter, and Sergio Escalona on the mound in today's game.