PHILADELPHIA — Roy Halladay came to Philadelphia to pitch in October, knowing the regular season was a necessary formality.
Halladay’s first trip to the postseason was quite a memorable one, though it ended in bitter disappointment in a six-game NLCS loss to the eventual World Series champion San Francisco Giants. The two-time Cy Young Award winner, his teammates and just about everyone else in Philadelphia expects the Phillies to win the World Series this time around.
First, they have to beat the red-hot St. Louis Cardinals in the NL division series. Game 1 is today, with Halladay opposing Kyle Lohse.
Halladay praised the Cardinals, calling them a “dangerous” team. But the right-hander from Arvada West High School borrowed a line from William Shakespeare to make it clear he’s not intimidated by St. Louis’ potent offense.
“I heard a quote a long time ago: ‘I came here to bury Caesar, not praise him,’ ” Halladay said.
The Cardinals won six of nine against Philadelphia during the season, with two of those wins coming right after the Phillies wrapped up the division. While oddsmakers list the Phillies as 3-1 favorites, the Cardinals don’t consider themselves underdogs.
“We just have to come out and try to be the team that we’ve been over the last month this year.” slugger Lance Berkman said. “If we do, we have a chance.”
