The Show.

It's funny how sports work sometimes. During the 2008-2009 NHL season Brad Thiessen, a goalie who played at Northeastern University, got called by the Penguins after his junior season ended. He went to play for the Penguins' AHL team in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and got called up to practice with the Penguins during their playoff run. The Penguins ended up winning the Stanley Cup that year, and Thiessen got himself a ring. Roy Halladay, on the other hand, is in his 13th season of big league ball. He's a Cy Young winner. He has pitched over 300 games in the show and has won just under 170. He has had three 20+ win seasons, has pitched 58 complete games and has 19 career shutouts. Stats like this seem deserving of a championship, but he's not just ringless - he's without a single inning of playoff baseball. Sometimes the most deserving players are also the most deprived players. Halladay has been deprived of post-season baseball his entire career, but with the Phillies clinching the NL East crown for the fourth consecutive year, he'll get his long overdue shot at October baseball.

The Phillies acquired Halladay from the Blue Jays during last years offseason and it was a win-win for both parties - the Phils get a top 3 pitcher in the league who the thought would most likely win them 18+ games, and Halladay finally got a shot at the post-season and the World Series with a legitimate contender. That was the plan, and so far it is coming together just as expected.

The Phillies have been baseball's hottest team in September going 19-6 as of Sept. 29th, which isn't too surprising considering this teams experience when it comes to winning when it matters. They've been able to run away with the division and will now enter the playoffs as a group that is well-tailored for a third consecutive World Series appearance. They have a lot of players who have had great success in the playoffs, and adding a post-season-starved Halladay to the mix certainly won't hurt. Halladay isn't the only Phillie who has been yearning for a chance at the post-season, however. Mike Sweeney, a first baseman the Phillies acquired during the season from the Kansas City Royals, is in the midst of his 20th MLB season, and the playoffs have managed to evade him until now. Sweeney, although a great player, is not expected to be the kind of guy who is going to carry a team through the playoffs. However, one of the things you constantly hear about Mike Sweeney is what a great clubhouse guy he is. He's well respected by his teammates and he's a seasoned vet who knows a lot about the game, and having him in the clubhouse during the playoffs is not something to overlook.

There's a lot of pressure during playoff baseball, especially if you're a pitcher. The importance of each game makes mistakes fatal, which is a factor that Halladay hasn't dealt with until this point in his career. The city of Philadelphia is relying on him to pitch the way he's capable of, because if he does they'll have a great shot to win the whole thing. It will be interesting to see how he responds, but knowing the type of player he is I'd say it's safe to say he'll be fine, and hopefully he'll get a shot at his AL rivals that always kept him out of the post-season. After all, he's been building up to that first playoff pitch for his entire career.