No, not the Phillies' offense, though it's close to that. These, according to announcer Chris Wheeler, are the words Mel Queen, the former Blue Jays' baseball man who died a couple of days ago, used to characterize the young Roy Halladay. In 2000 the 23-year-old Halladay was sent down to the low minors with a 10.64 ERA in 67.2 innings. (That's still the worst ERA ever for any pitcher with at least 60 innings.)
Queen, a pitching guru, rebuilt the struggling Halladay's mechanics and made him the pitcher he is today. As Wheeler said, it would be hard to imagine anyone telling any 'bonus baby' today that he is 'soft, stupid, and gutless'. Agents, wives, and others would be squawking immediately.
As for the Phillies offense last night, it was near-invisible. The Cardinals walked Ryan Howard three times. Couple that with a pedestrian outing by Cliff Lee, who set a career-high with six walks, and it was no surprise that the Cards won 3-1. Lee (2-4) is now winless in his last six appearances. The Phillies have lost three in a row for the first time this year.
Tonight it's Roy Oswalt, who will be held to about 70 pitches and who is already saying that he's not 100 percent. Sputter, sputter.
