philly.com – Roy Halladay wants to make things clear: The pitch that sailed behind Tyler Moore’s back “slipped” from his hand Wednesday. It was a cold and windy day, the kind of day when it is difficult to grip a baseball. Then, Halladay smiled. It was not difficult to see his message. The half inning before, Chase Utley was drilled on the knee with a Stephen Strasburg fastball. It did not appear to be intentional. Halladay’s action was, without him saying it. Strasburg was confused about the whole incident. “I don’t have any reason to throw at him, do I?” Strasburg said. “I mean, I don’t understand why they’d think I was throwing at them. Obviously you can tell the conditions weren’t great and I yanked it in there. It’s spring training. If you’re going to throw at somebody or give a message in spring training, go ahead.”

Whether Strasburg’s shot at Utley’s knees was on purpose or not, Roy deserves a standing O for not being afraid to get his hands dirty protecting his boys. That’s just how real G’s do it. Doesn’t matter that it’s March. Doesn’t matter that it’s Spring Training. None of it matters. If one of the better pitchers in the world drills a teammate with knee problems in the knee, revenge must be served swiftly and ice cold. Gobble a dick, Strasburg.

Roy Halladay: Gangster.