Doc's next house call?
Be sure to check out our Monday Extra feature for my look at the second half of the MLB season. There's some amazing parity out there as 21 of the 30 teams hit th All-Star break with legitimate thoughts of winning their division or taking a wild card.
As we approach the July 31 trade deadline, the most interesting development to follow will be what happens to Toronto ace Roy Halladay. Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi let it be known last week that he'd be willing to listen to proposals for his ace and Toronto fans are not too thrilled. At minimum, Ricciardi needs to get a Bartolo Colon-type deal (Cleveland got Clff Lee, Grady Sizemore and Brandon Phillips for its ace in 2002), and you wonder if there's one out there.
There's no way the Jays are trading Halladay in their division. So I'm eliminating the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays. New York and Boston, frankly, don't want to mortgage prospects and would only get involved if they sensed the other one was serious. I'm counting all three teams out. I'll include the Mets because they could use him. But I don't think they're taking payroll and, get serious, we all know from watching the horrendous '09 Bisons that there aren't enough prospects to get a deal done.
So with that as background, make your pick below: Does Doc stay or does he go? And where to?
---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)
Jays problem is they are 4th best in their division, and 10th in the AL... 8 GB in the WildCard. they aren't going to the postseason. no matter what they say, they probably won't deal him in the division. Brewers i don't see giving up another herd of prospects after Sabathia, the Giants are already spending a ton on their #3 Zito, the Angels may not be able to afford him either. Mets are spending a ton and should not even think about giving up any remaning prospects on a lost season. whitesox are borderline good enough, but i'd look at the Cards, Rockies, and Phils. the Phillies can definitely do it with their prospects, if they'll part with the best ones.
Posted by: J.A.K.e | July 15, 2009 at 10:21 AM
The Jays have run roughshod over everyone else. If they can stay at .600+ in terms of winning percentage against the rest of the League, and just go 17-18 against the top 3 in the AL East, they're at about 85 wins.
That is not unrealistic.
Again, I think they've played over their heads in the first half. I thought they were looking at a 100-loss season before the season started. But they are far from out of it, and should not be on the list you posted. Just my take.
Posted by: E | July 14, 2009 at 11:23 AM
E: They're out even if they keep Halladay because they've shown no ability to beat Boston/NY/TampaBay.
They are currently 5-14 against those three teams.
Granted, they still have 35 games left against them -- yes, 35 -- but I submit that might only further push them out of contention based on results so far.
Posted by: Mike Harrington | July 13, 2009 at 02:18 PM
While the likelihood is that the Blue Jays are on their way out of playoff contention, to suggest that they are actually OUT of playoff contention already is silly. They're a solid winning streak away from wild card contention, and have a far better W/L record than Pittsburgh, who you suggest just recently fell out of contention.
Sure, the chances are slim for Toronto, as they should be- they played way over their heads to start the year. BUT, they're not out of it just yet.
Halladay does not need to be moved, unless it's a blockbuster w/ a major return to the Blue Jays. He is under contract until the end of next season. No need to panic.
Posted by: E | July 13, 2009 at 12:01 PM