Phils' Halladay pleased with spring debut

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TAMPA, Fla.Charlie Manuel has not named his opening day starter yet, but you can bet the ranch that when Big Chuck gets around to it, Roy Halladay will be his man.

Halladay has already made nine opening day starts. A tenth would be quite an honor, right, Roy?

Honestly its never been a big deal to me, Halladay said after his spring debut Sunday. Ive always wanted to be on a team where there could be a couple of guys that could be starting that game. Thats always what I wanted to be a part of. I think if youre on a team and theres absolutely no question whos going to start opening day, its going to be a long season. So hopefully there is a little talk about it.

Surely, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels would both be deserving of the opening day start. But Halladay has 40 wins and a first- and second-place finish in NL Cy Young voting in his two seasons with the Phillies. He carries tremendous stature in the clubhouse. It would be shocking if he wasnt the guy April 5 in Pittsburgh.

For now, all Halladay is concerned about is getting ready for his first regular-season startwhenever it comes. The 34-year-old righthander is in his typical tip-top physical condition, but it will take an entire Grapefruit League schedule for him to fine-tune his artful pitching style.

These games are a great time to correct things, a great time to bear down mentally and make adjustments, he said.

Halladay worked two innings in a 7-4 loss to the Yankees on Sunday. He allowed two hits and a run, which came on a solo home run by Alex Rodriguez. He walked none and struck out three.

Doc was good, manager Charlie Manuel said.

The home run to Rodriguez, a shot to right, may have been wind-aided, but Halladay didnt make excuses. He left a sinker over the heart of the plate and Rodriguez popped it good. Halladay has a month to improve the location of that sinker and get it down and in to a right-handed hitter.

Location is the biggest thing you work on early in spring, he said.

Halladay is always working on his craft. On Saturday, he took the unusual step of throwing a bullpen session on the day before he pitched because he wanted to work on a mechanical flaw. He said he could feel his arm getting a little long in back and he wanted to shorten it up. This is stuff that is difficult to notice with the naked eye, but easily detectable for a perfectionist like Halladay.

Halladay threw mostly sinkers, cutters and changeups in his 28-pitch (20 strikes) outing. He will work in curveballs later in the spring.

His next out is scheduled for Friday against the Tigers and their big bats (Prince Fielder, Miguel Cabrera) at Lakeland.

E-mail Jim Salisbury at jsalisbury@comcastsportsnet.com

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