Halladay to start in All-Star Game for National League

PHOENIX - His Phillies teammates did not know until they noticed no seat for Roy Halladay in a ballroom Monday morning. Halladay didn't know until he arrived at his hotel room about nine hours earlier. He kept it secret.

When he checked in at the Arizona Biltmore, there was a message waiting for Halladay from the National League office. He was chosen to start the All-Star Game on Tuesday night for the second time in three years.

"I'm looking forward to it," Halladay said.

As if it was any surprise.

"He's been one of the best of our decade," Cole Hamels said. "You just kind of expect that."

But first, before sitting on the dais for a live news conference instead of in the ballroom with the rest of the all-stars, Halladay had to call Rich Dubee.

"I wanted to make sure I spoke with him," Halladay said, "before I got up here and said I was going to pitch."

Dubee, the Phillies pitching coach, was candid in the week leading up to the 82d midsummer classic, saying he preferred that Halladay not start. Halladay also favored the idea of pitching only one inning, which would allow him to start Sunday in New York and also savor the rest the break offered.

But the starter of the All-Star Game pitches two innings, and that will bump Halladay back to either next Monday or Tuesday in Chicago, depending on Dubee's decision.

"We both agree it's not a health concern," Halladay said. "It's just making sure I'm fresh for the second half. As soon as things are over, we'll assess how things went here and where to go from there. As long as we handle it on the back end, it's not a health concern."

Giants manager Bruce Bochy was the one who selected Halladay as his starter. "This was really an easy one for me that he would start this game," he said.

Jered Weaver of the Los Angeles Angels got the starting nod from American League manager Ron Washington.

Bochy said he was not aware of any restrictions requested by the Phillies.

"We have not heard that," Bochy said. "That's news to me."

Dubee said last week that he had thought about contacting Bochy and Major League Baseball with the thought of requesting that Halladay not start. The righthander leads the league with 143 1/3 innings - 4 2/3 shy of his mark at the break last season. No one in the majors has thrown more innings (1,324 1/3) since the beginning of 2006 than Halladay.

It's not that two innings in the All-Star Game will kill him. It merely offered the chance to recharge before the second half.

"You're looking at a guy that's leading the league in innings pitched by a pretty good size," Dubee said July 4. "I don't know that you can deny [the starting job]. It would be an honor. But at the same time, this guy is taking on a big workload again, like he always does."

Instead, Halladay will become the fourth pitcher to start the game for both leagues, joining Vida Blue, Randy Johnson, and Roger Clemens.

He'll be the first Phillies pitcher to start the game since Curt Schilling in 1999 and just the sixth pitcher in franchise history to earn the honor. The others were Terry Mulholland (1993), Steve Carlton (1979), Curt Simmons (1952, 1957), and Robin Roberts (1950, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1955).

The Phillies hold the best record in the majors. Their goal is to reach the World Series. And they'd love to have home-field advantage, which is decided with the outcome of Tuesday's game.

The National League could rely on three innings from Phillies pitchers, Halladay and Cliff Lee, to achieve victory.

"Oh, that's definitely great," Shane Victorino said. "Who better to be on the mound than Roy Halladay?"

And if Halladay starts to labor during his two-inning stint, injured teammate Placido Polanco has a plan.

"I'll get him out," Polanco said. "I won't tell Bochy, 'Hey, that's it.' I'll just do it."