A complete game of life

Roy Halladay came to Philadelphia with great expectations. He has exceeded them and improved today to 6-1 with a 1.45 ERA in the Phillies 7-2 matinee win over the Cardinals.

But for the fourth time in seven starts, he failed to pitch nine innings. Doc is often seen as a throwback because of his ability to finish games. He leads active pitchers with 52 complete games - four more than Livan Hernandez, 20 more than Tim Wakefield and 21 more than Jamie Moyer.

We're talking completion today, of course, because another dominant righty for the Phillies, Robin Roberts, died at 83. I know they're completely different eras, but to put Halladay's complete games into context: Roberts had 45 shutouts and 28 consecutive complete games over two seasons.

The guy finished what he started. And judging by the eulogies, he led a complete life on and off the field:

"When I think of Robin there is definitely one word that comes quickly to mind: class. He was a class act both on and off the field. He was definitely one of the most consistent quality pitchers of all time, and the way he lived his life was exemplary. Every young baseball player should should model their life after Robin," Bill Giles, team chairman.

Christine and I don't have many personal memories, but we remember seeing him toss out the first pitch before a Red Sox-Phillies game in 2008. It was the 60th anniversary of his debut.

Awkward transition: From a pair of pitchers with 357 complete games to one who has ... one. And, Daisuke Matsuzaka probably won't be adding to that total tonight.

While taking a walk earlier, I told Christine that Boston's four-game winning streak would end tonight because Dice-K is pitching. I turned the game on in the 1st inning and he already had the Red Sox in the hole 4-0 to the Angels. But in the 5th, it's now 4-4.