Yesterday afternoon I got a text from my friend Matt stating simply: "Halladay to Philly". My heart sank a little bit, and without even thinking, I forwarded the message to my friend Derrick. Some time passed and I received a response:
"For what"
No question mark, just a two word statement that embodied more than it meant. Twelve seasons with the Blue Jays, a six time all star, and a Cy Young Award, yet for twelve seasons, not a single playoff appearance. Only once did the Jays even manage to place higher than third in their divison. It saddened me more to think of how we squandered a hall-of-fame career on bad business decisions, letting him pitch complete games (led the AL four times) and amass wins (130 wins in 8 seasons, also an AL best), to no avail. We had our chance to relive the heydays of the early nineties, but alas, we let it slip through our grasp. Now we're headed into the "rebuilding phase" and letting go one of the best pitchers in the game and I must reiterate Derrick's sentiments, "for what?" Only I added the question mark.
When the Jays brought in Ricciardi, an underling of the famous Billy Beane in Oakland, Toronto had high hopes. Beane had transformed what had looked like a group of misfits and seemingly terrible draft picks into keys for success. Ricciardi was supposed to do the same here, only he forgot the cardinal rules that Billy lived by, not signing players beyond what they were worth. This included a horredous deal to closer BJ Ryan (5 years for $47 million, which, after realeasing Ryan, the Jays had to eat $15 million of), and monster contracts with Alex Rios (now gone) and Vernon Wells (still underperforming). It's all been quite the disaster (think 2012) and now we've gotten rid of the only thing worth watching for Jays' fans for... what exactly?
There is still no word on what the Jays will receive in compensation for this beast of a pitcher. There has been some talk of the prospects involved, but essentially we're ditching the Doc, plus $6 million which is headed to the Phillies, for a few nameless. Given Ricciardi's track record, I must say that I have little faith in what is transpiring. I understand that this is a rebuilding phase that the Jays are entering, but with J.P. screwing things up all over the place, I wish he was leaving as opposed to our beloved Halladay. Then maybe we could truly rebuild.
Well, I wish the Doc good luck in his endeavours, and I have to say that next year, I will be a Phillies fan, as I assume a lot of other Torontonians will be. Thanks for your time and patience Roy, now go win a World Series and make us all proud.
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