Batter's Box Interactive Magazine

The Red Sox, even with "Rescue Me" star Daniel Sunjata in the house, were not able to extinguish the red-hot flames emanating from the right arm of Roy Halladay. With trade rumors continuing to circulate, Doc may have filled out his final prescription in a Jays overcoat by going the distance in a 3-1 victory Sunday afternoon at the Rog Mahal.

The Red Sox got to Halladay early but not often. A sac fly by David Ortiz scored Dustin Pedroia in the top of the first to give the Beantowners a 1-0 lead. Pedroia got aboard on an infield single to second after Doc deflected the ball before going to third on a double by Kevin Youkilis. "Youk" also went to third on the sac fly to right but he was stranded when Alex Rios snared a deep fly ball at the wall in centre to rob Jason Bay of extra bases. If Rios put a little extra mustard on his leap, it would've been a good impersonation of Devon White's catch against the fence in Game 3 of the 1992 World Series.

Halladay got a lead to work when his battery mate Rod Barajas delivered a two-out, two-run double off lefty Jon Lester to score a pair of walks by Lyle Overbay and Rios in the bottom of the second. The Red Sox got a pair of one-out base knocks by Pedroia and Youkilis in the third but Big Papi bounced into a fielder's choice by somehow beating the relay to first. Bay then flied out to center to end the frame. That was the start of nine in a row set down by Doc before Ortiz singled with one out in the sixth. However, Halladay took care of the next two hitters to end the frame. In the home half of the sixth, Barajas came through again with a sac fly to drive home a Overbay double. It was also the second time B.A. bailed out Kevin Millar as he failed to drive the ball out of the infield. I guess he'll always be a Red Sock at heart!

That proved to be more than enough for Halladay, who finished the game by setting down the last 11 hitters in a row. He put the punctuation mark on his outing by striking out Jacoby Ellsbury to end the game. The fans went bananas and as much as I want to believe it was all for Doc, it was really because he racked up seven strikeouts to give the 36,000-plus in attendance a free slice of pizza.

Every Jays starter had a hit or a walk save for Millar and Aaron Hill. At least Hill hit the ball on a couple of occasions but the BABIP gods are working against him as his average falls to .284. He did manage to steal a base after reaching on a fielder's choice and Rios also pilfered second. Vernon Wells sat out again with a stomach flu.

The Jays have Monday off. They'll open up a three game set against the Indians at the Dome Tuesday. It'll be all lefties on the mound for the Jays with Brett Cecil, Ricky Romero and Marc Rzepczynski. Thursday's game is an afternoon tilt at 12:37 p.m. The other two are the usual 7:07 start times.

=====

In TDIB notes for this Monday.....

* J.A. Happ pitches the Phillies to an eighth straight win.

* Jason Marquis? is one "W" ahead of Doc for the major league lead as he wins his 12th for the Rox.

* Former Jay Felipe Lopez is now a Brewer.

* Pirates infielders Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson are one step closer to walking the plank.

Posted by #2JBrumfield on Monday, July 20 2009 @ 11:22 AM EDT.

Doc To The Rescue! | 29 comments | Create New Account

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

VBF - Monday, July 20 2009 @ 12:12 PM EDT (#202918) #

Who is Jack Wilson to reject any kind of long-term contract?

I just hope that if Doc is traded, they do it after work hours. I don't think one could keep their composure at work if he's traded.

mathesond - Monday, July 20 2009 @ 01:28 PM EDT (#202920) #

I could have sworn the last out of the game was a grounder to third

Dewey - Monday, July 20 2009 @ 02:52 PM EDT (#202927) #

Good thing you didn't, then.

Forkball - Monday, July 20 2009 @ 04:36 PM EDT (#202944) #

Who is Jack Wilson to reject any kind of long-term contract?

It seems silly to me, but that's his choice. Maybe it's worth it to him to get out of Pittsburgh, or he thinks that someone will pay $5 million/year for a no-hit SS. I think generally it's difficult to take a big paycut, even if that's what the market is.

I don't see a team that would both want him as a starting SS and would pay him more than the Pirates just offered.

Brent S - Monday, July 20 2009 @ 07:05 PM EDT (#202952) #

According to a Tweet from Jon Heyman, the Mets rejected a package that would have sent Fernando Martinez, Bobby Parnell, Jon Niese and Ruben Tejada for Halladay.

Obviously, Martinez is the centerpiece of the deal. I'm not terribly familiar with Parnell or Niese, but Tejada is holding his own at AA at the age of 19.

ramone - Monday, July 20 2009 @ 07:09 PM EDT (#202953) #

If that is what gets rejected than I don't think they should trade Doc at all.

Spifficus - Monday, July 20 2009 @ 08:12 PM EDT (#202957) #

from Jon Heyman, the Mets rejected

Presumably unwittingly, Heyman is just being a cog in the misinformation machine. Not sure if his source is trying to bring the price down for the winning bidder or if they're trying to make offers low enough he won't be dealt, but there is definitely manipulation at work.

If not, I'll bring the pitchfork. Can someone get the torches

Mike Green - Monday, July 20 2009 @ 08:46 PM EDT (#202960) #

If the Mets are rejecting F-Mart and Niese, and other teams are offering less, I'd take the picks.

Moe - Monday, July 20 2009 @ 08:50 PM EDT (#202961) #

A little more from Heyman:
http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/mlb_trade_talk/posts/70781-jays-asking-price-for-halladay-too-steep-for-mets

Interesting b/c of the comments. Some think the price is too high, others find it too low. I (as most of the people out there) don't know much about these players, but looking at the preseason ranking of BA, they were ranked no. 1, 3, 5 of the Mets system -- which is a one of weaker systems. Given the recent success of Jays scouting, we would just have to trust them, I suppose.

And a little blurb on Niese:
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/sweetspot/0-4-75/Time-for-Mets--Niese-to-get-his-shot.html

Evair Montenegro - Monday, July 20 2009 @ 09:16 PM EDT (#202963) #

Ruben Tejada was the starting shortstop for Panama in this year's classic. And he has represented the country since he was in little league, he is a good prospect and should be a solid major leaguer in the future.

Jim - Monday, July 20 2009 @ 09:44 PM EDT (#202966) #

If the Mets are rejecting F-Mart and Niese, and other teams are offering less, I'd take the picks.

If the Mets are rejecting that offer they are insane. If the Blue Jays are making that offer they are insane.

If the Blue Jays are making that offer they are going to find a way to trade him before the deadline. That's pennies on the dollar for Halladay.

Moe - Monday, July 20 2009 @ 10:05 PM EDT (#202967) #

If there were any truth to that rumor -- which is I agree is unlikely after looking at the Mets prospects -- it would show (a) that the Jays really want to move Roy and (b) that they picked the worst point in time b/c teams are extremely protective of their young players. I refuse to believe (a) is true, but (b) could be true. Interestingly, with salaries of mid-level FA falling, holding on to ones prospects actually makes less sense than 2 years ago.

ayjackson - Monday, July 20 2009 @ 10:31 PM EDT (#202968) #

Quite frankly, if we can't get Buchholz or Kershaw, then I'm much more interested in getting the power bats back and maybe a couple of younger pitchers (like Ethan Martin in LA or Jason Knapp in Philly). The appealing power bats would be Bell and Lambo in LA and Taylor and Brown in Philly.

Gerry - Monday, July 20 2009 @ 10:49 PM EDT (#202971) #

Keith Law says that trade report has been shot down by multiple sources.

Spifficus - Monday, July 20 2009 @ 10:59 PM EDT (#202972) #

Keith Law says that trade report has been shot down by multiple sources.

Oh, good. I mean, it was too crazy to possibly be true, but it was SO crazy it just might have been true.

#2JBrumfield - Monday, July 20 2009 @ 11:13 PM EDT (#202973) #

Peter Gammons says the Phillies have to get a deal done for Doc.

LouisvilleJayFan - Monday, July 20 2009 @ 11:25 PM EDT (#202975) #

I agree with the general sentiment here that the Mets deal sucks. Martinez is overrated and that he kind of reminds me of a smaller Alex Rios doesn't help his case. The other three players are underwhelming at best even though they were 3, 5, and 16 on the Mets Top Prospects List coming into the season.

westcoast dude - Tuesday, July 21 2009 @ 12:31 AM EDT (#202978) #

If Rogers is, in fact, contemplating selling the Blue Jays short, well then, I might be interested in selling Rogers short; something the bean counters might understand, even if they fail to appreciate their brewing public relations fiasco.

christaylor - Tuesday, July 21 2009 @ 09:25 AM EDT (#202982) #

The thing I like about that article is that it suggests the Jays could move Frasor. While he's improved some and was the team's closer in 04 and the nominal closer at points this year and 07, getting something back for a guy who has been at the end of the pen's bench for years would be fantastic.

Oh and if that Mets trade is anywhere close to the truth please, no. That's as bad or worse than the Santana deal. Also, please don't let the deal be a quantity deal like the Haren deal. Actually, while I'm at it, don't trade him at all. Or better yet, revamp the team in the offseason.

While I'm at it, in the dark teatime of the soul thread it was said by many that JP wasn't trusted to make a trade. The threads old news, but I thought I'd point out that no one's mentioned the Glaus for Rolen trade lately. Boy, the Jays won that challenge trade big time it seems as now Glaus has a shoulder woe as well.

christaylor - Tuesday, July 21 2009 @ 09:41 AM EDT (#202984) #

I have to agree. I think many are underestimating how much this team will take it on the chin if Doc leaves via trade for a set of prospects who might miss (especially if they are lower down).

I've wondered to myself, what would be a fair deal in terms of Jays prospects for Halladay. I get at least Snider and Cecil, plus something else. If the offer back isn't at least that good. Keep Doc. He's been the best thing about this team for about 5 years now. Sad to say that no one else has stepped into fill the void.

That said, this team has a "generation" of pitchers on the DL (Marcum, McGowan and Litsch). I suppose this year and next would look very different if they'd continued to develop. Sad to say, but perhaps things like this have said to Doc, "This team isn't going forward or going to win in the next 5 years" and he wants out.

Things are going to be rough in Blue Jay land, but I still say that chances are Doc will be a Jay on August 1st. Not as sure about April 1st '10 and even less sure about April 1st '11 - but this trade talk strikes me as premature, at least a year too early.

ayjackson - Tuesday, July 21 2009 @ 12:27 PM EDT (#202988) #

I've wondered to myself, what would be a fair deal in terms of Jays prospects for Halladay. I get at least Snider and Cecil, plus something else.

That's interesting because one could (though I'm not) make the assertion that K-Mart and Jon Niese are very comparable in age and results to Snider and Cecil. Throw in a better version of JJackson (Ruben Tejada) as "something else" and you have the Mets offer.

RhyZa - Tuesday, July 21 2009 @ 01:42 PM EDT (#202992) #

Dodgers want Doc without giving up top prospects, and with the Jays picking up salary. What is this, a Monty Python skit?

ayjackson - Tuesday, July 21 2009 @ 01:57 PM EDT (#202995) #

The salary relief was specified as being for the rest of this year. It assumes they could figure things out on their own for next year and implies they have a firm budget in place. The fact that something like this has been reported suggests that Dodger interest is very real. Now they just have to realize that Doc plus salary relief will cost them substantially.

Spifficus - Tuesday, July 21 2009 @ 02:02 PM EDT (#202997) #

Now they just have to realize that Doc plus salary relief will cost them substantially.

I'm hoping the Rangers (given their reported financial difficulties) ask for something like this. They have the parts to make that conversation very interesting.

Mike Green - Tuesday, July 21 2009 @ 02:03 PM EDT (#202998) #

CBC reports that Kevin Millar will get the start today against Cliff Lee tonight because he's 4-11 in his career against the lefty, and that Wells will be back in the lineup in the cleanup slot.

Cito, I love you man, but...
/Paul Rudd

Forkball - Tuesday, July 21 2009 @ 02:47 PM EDT (#203000) #

The salary relief was specified as being for the rest of this year.

They did this with Blake last year, giving up a pretty good C prospect if I remember correctly. Of course, for the Dodgers to pull this off I would want Kershaw, Billingsely or Kemp.

This is something the Rangers could work too, and both teams could make packages work better than what's coming out of Philly (or the Met package which doesn't sound right).

Frankly, this is probably a better idea for the Jays to pick up this year's salary... they need to get the best possible players they can.

ayjackson - Tuesday, July 21 2009 @ 05:36 PM EDT (#203009) #

They did this with Blake last year, giving up a pretty good C prospect if I remember correctly.

It will probably be a case of once bitten, twice shy. That "C" prospect is now Baseball America's #7 prospect:

"Hard to believe the Dodgers gave up Santana�a switch-hitter with power and defensive ability�a year ago for Casey Blake."

timpinder - Tuesday, July 21 2009 @ 06:11 PM EDT (#203010) #

Apparently Ricciardi has set July 28th as the deadline to deal Halladay. I wonder if it's because there are other possible deals in place (involving other Jays' players) that would be made if the team went into full "sell" mode after dealing Halladay.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4346295

jerjapan - Tuesday, July 21 2009 @ 07:57 PM EDT (#203015) #

I can't see a shred of truth in the Mets rumour, and still think it's most likely that Halladay leaves at the end of next year as a free agent. I'd take that outcome in a heartbeat over the Mets deal.

no one's mentioned the Glaus for Rolen trade lately. Boy, the Jays won that challenge trade big time it seems as now Glaus has a shoulder woe as well.

I had serious reservations about acquiring Glaus in the first place given his injury history, and then had reservations about Glaus for Rolen, but I'll give props where props are due - JP played that one perfectly.

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