Silly Season: Halladay Rumors

by Boundforbeach on Nov 10, 2009 11:21 AM EST Comment 15 comments

Promoted from FanPosts. -- WC

No breakfast links today, so I have to vent. These Halladay to Philly rumors are getting more and more ridiculous. According to Jim Salisbury, Ruben Amaro emerged from the GM meetings yesterday and stated, in no uncertain terms, that the team’s three off-season priorities are: "third base, bullpen, bench." When pressed about starting pitching, he reiterated that "we’re more bullpen-intensive than anything else." No Halladay. Case closed, right?

Nope. Despite Ruben’s clear words, Salisbury nevertheless claims that "more than one baseball official" with knowledge of the teams plans insist that the Phils are very much in the running for Halladay. So do we taken Ruben at his word, or he just blowing smoke? The Philadelphia media is certainly doing their part to fan the flames. The Inquirer posted an on-line poll asking whether the team should acquire Halladay without consideration of cost or consequence to the farm. Comcast Sportsnet Philly even speculates that we may be dangling Cole to get the trade done. And the new GM in Toronto has now reiterated his predecessor’s mantra that he’ll have to be "wowed" to trade Halladay. Sigh.

The alleged rationale for pursuing Halladay is the "win-it-now" theory before our core players leave or decline. Basically, we would trade players or top prospects for a one year rental, not unlike what the Brewers previously did with Sabathia. But is there any precedent for Philly ever doing this? Wouldn’t this be a radical departure from the way in which the team does business? This organization is finally firing on all cylinders with great players, a good front office, and a promising farm. I wish Ruben would just say we’re not pursuing Halladay and be done with this nonsense.

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The simple fact is that the mainstream media has nothing to write about if the Phillies target Jerry Hairston Jr. as a priority bench upgrade. The “Phillies should deal for Halladay” column practically writes itself, which is a great thing for writers mailing it in during the offseason.

Of course, there’s simply no way the Phils trade for Halladay. The payroll isn’t going to rise significantly (after a substantial jump last year), so Halladay’s $15.75 million makes this a non-starter from the outset. Throw in the fact that they’ll want at least one of our top prospects, and that Halladay’s a free agent at the end of the year, and it makes absolutely zero sense.

In a vacuum, sure, I’d love to add Roy Halladay. But with all the factors in play, it’s not happening. So feel free to ignore columns like Salibury’s.

by PhillyFriar on Nov 10, 2009 11:50 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

It’s beyond lazy. It’s reprehensible. This guy gets paid. He is supposed to be a professional (ahem). And he cites an anonymous “baseball official” (whatever that means) to substantiate his column. If he’s just blathering off his own opinion, than that’s one thing. But he’s effectively claiming there’s some truth to this story, and there’s almost no chance there is.

by Boundforbeach on Nov 10, 2009 1:07 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

But without these asinine articles, where would I get my humor every day?

by layout ultimate on Nov 10, 2009 9:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Thank you for this. I feel exactly the same way, and you said it better than I could have.

In Philadelphia, every season is silly season. In addition, every year is the year in which we Must Win Now! In 2005, we had to trade our top prospects for a “seasoned veteran” because otherwise, our young players would never get over the hump. In 2009, we had to trade our top prospects for a “seasoned veteran” because how often does a team ever get a chance to repeat? For 2010, we have to trade our prospects for a “seasoned veteran” because we only have a small window of opportunity left in which to win with our old players. They’ll be saying exactly the same thing in 2011, 2012, and into infinity.

by taco pal on Nov 10, 2009 12:11 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Don’t forget the accusations that the only reason why the Phillies wouldn’t acquire Halladay is if they’re cheap.

by taco pal on Nov 10, 2009 12:46 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

If I were a GM, I would never say that I wasn’t looking at making a move, even if I had no intention of doing it.

by zfg on Nov 10, 2009 1:22 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

This is a good point. Last summer, all the Halladay-to-Phillies noise was coming from the Blue Jays/Ricciardi, and the Phillies’ camp only ever dealt with it when asked point blank. Very few people really even knew they were in on the Cliff Lee deal until right before it happened. The Phillies handled the whole thing beautifully.

http://www.thegoodphight.com

by WholeCamels on Nov 10, 2009 1:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Ruben can be positively Reid-esque in that regard, when he sets his mind to it.

by taco pal on Nov 10, 2009 1:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The best GMs are like that – Amaro, Reid (since he’s effectively GM), Otis Smith of the Magic. You either say nothing at all or say things that are true but not in the way that listeners think. “We’ve been looking at Figgins” would (probably) be true. They may have decided against him after looking at him, or decided he’s definitely the right guy. It would be up to other teams to figure out what was meant, and it would probably cause one or two to jump the wrong way.

"When you make your final stand
I'll be right there
I'll never leave
And all I ask of you is
Believe"

by The Dark on Nov 10, 2009 3:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Otis Smith of the magic? How the hell does he enter the conversation? Cause he traded for Vince Carter?

by jemagee on Nov 10, 2009 3:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The Bass/Gortat fleecing of Dallas was the one I was thinking of, where Smith made noises about not re-signing Gortat if they were happy with their bigs so Dallas wouldn’t match Orlando’s offer to RFA Bass. After Bass was signed, Orlando matched Dallas’ offer to RFA Gortat to keep him.

As for the Alston/Battie/Lee for Carter/Anderson deal, Anderson may actually end up being the best player out of those five, and he was the one nobody was focused on. Take 110% of OJ Mayo’s scoring and 90% of Kevin Love’s rebounding – that’s Ryan Anderson.

"When you make your final stand
I'll be right there
I'll never leave
And all I ask of you is
Believe"

by The Dark on Nov 11, 2009 9:23 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think a part of the game here is to drive up the price of Halladay for the Mets, Dodgers or whoever else might be interested—to the extent that it wouldn’t shock me if Amaro was saying something different off the record than he was for attribution.

It’s fun to speculate about, and if it stops him from going to an NL rival, I’m glad for that.

by dajafi on Nov 10, 2009 3:34 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Agreed, it would be illogical to send Hamels/Victorino plus others for a one year rental of Halladay, but is there any chance that if any deal is done for Halladay, hypothetically, that we can keep Lee and Roy long term? I wouldn’t mind a rotation with those 2, Blanton, Happ and fill in the blank until Drabek comes around.

I don’t know if we have the bankroll for that, and a rental for a team that is probably favored to make it to the WS again from the NL before any deals and without a 3rd baseman.

by ajr142 on Nov 10, 2009 3:37 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Can we list the silly gold glove awards here too?

by jemagee on Nov 10, 2009 5:02 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

non starter for me

Having Halladay would be great, paying for a one year rental with the teams future not so much. I would rather not get Halladay and keep a good bunch of prospects than rent Halladay for one year and then have no farm for the future. I like the new “winning” Phillies . I really do not want to go back to the days of 90 loss seasons. I would rather try to sign Lackey . Hamels wasn’t hurt this season just mentally out of it. Lee proved what he is. The bench needs work, so does the bullpen.

We don't play stats, we play baseball.

by W.P.M on Nov 10, 2009 8:22 PM EST reply actions 0 recs