Oswalt in October?

By Amy McCormick

This summer has flown by; all of a sudden, our magic number is twelve and we’re speculating the Phils’ playoff rotation.  Who will join Halladay, Lee and Hamels and be our fourth ace this October?  There are definitely arguments to be made for both Oswalt and Worley.  Luckily, they’re both outstanding pitchers; either way, we’ll have a group of four fantastic starters.

I am somewhat torn, because each of these two pitchers has a lengthy “pro” list.  If it were up to me, and I had to choose tonight, I’d select Roy Oswalt. 

Sure, Vance Worley has been unstoppable this season.  He’s a young, focused winning machine.  Why would anyone ever pass on that?  Well, I don’t see it as dismissing Worley.  I’d like to see him as long relief in the postseason.

Oswalt came back from an extended absence due to back injury and has looked healthy and focused.  As much as it kills me to admit it, I’d say that this might be the last chance that Little Roy has to win a World Series.  Tonight’s game showed us that Roy continues to want to fight for it, though.  I love his intensity, tempo and grit.  Roy Oswalt is a badass.  C’mon - he wears high socks, owns his own tractor, and merely fixes his hat after taking a line drive to the jugular.  He has a southern accent, people. He's what Roosevelt was talking about when he said "Speak softly and carry a big stick." He’s my favorite good ol’ boy on the planet. I’d like to think that he calls people “son” and pulls it off.

Oswalt is 5-1 in the postseason, including two NLDS wins and three NLCS wins.  His postseason ERA is 3.39 and his WHIP is 1.357.   I’d put my money on Little Roy for the fourth spot in October’s rotation.  At this point, I feel comfortable sending him out there for every fourth start and having Worley as long relief.  Like I said, though … this is a good problem to have.  It’s like judging a beauty contest … how are you supposed to pick which set of fake boobs looks better than the pair next to it?  Either way, we should be solid.  It will be interesting to see which direction Charlie takes.  Magic number is twelve, kids …