Trent Steele wrote:

Warszawa wrote:The Globe:

Gillick – the former Blue Jays general manager who left in 1994, a year after Toronto drafted Halladay out of Arvada West High School outside Denver – was overheard in the press box discussing the severity of the pitcher’s groin ailment with Toronto team physician Ron Taylor.

So what stage are we in now? Expect news conference at 3pm?

Wow. I don't want to read too much into it, but it seems unusual to allow another team's representative to talk to your team's physician outside the presence of the GM unless....

CFP wrote:He's eligible.

And again, it would be great if we somehow signed Colvin and Susac, but I think Phillies precedent tells us that they really don't have too much of a chance to get them and Stewart. But we'll see. I was at least happy with the way things went last year, and if we are about to trade Drabek, Marson, Taylor, etc. it would be nice to at least recoup a bit with Colvin and Susac. Although it's not likely.

Woody wrote:

Trent Steele wrote:

Warszawa wrote:The Globe:

Gillick – the former Blue Jays general manager who left in 1994, a year after Toronto drafted Halladay out of Arvada West High School outside Denver – was overheard in the press box discussing the severity of the pitcher’s groin ailment with Toronto team physician Ron Taylor.

So what stage are we in now? Expect news conference at 3pm?

Wow. I don't want to read too much into it, but it seems unusual to allow another team's representative to talk to your team's physician outside the presence of the GM unless....

Yeah but Gillick is Blue Jay emeritus. He probably hired the guy

The big question for the Phillies as the second half of the baseball season gets underway seems to be whether to make an all-out push for Toronto ace Roy Halladay or not.

In the past few days, I've spoken with people familiar with the Phillies' front office, and they paint a picture of an organization in the midst of a philosophical debate. Some want to push hard for Halladay, seeing him as an opportunity to separate them from the rest of the league and make a run at a very rare World Series repeat.

But others wonder if the smarter move, in light of having reached the pinnacle in 2008, would be to pull back a little bit, hold onto the top prospects they'd need to send the Blue Jays in a Halladay deal and focus on keeping their farm system deep and stocked so they can remain competitive long into the future.

ek wrote:what do you think? amaro wants to go for it and the scouting dept wants to hold on to the prospects?

CFP wrote:We're now down to guessing whether Steve Norworyta, Benny Looper, and Chuck LaMar are for or against the Halladay trade. Jeez.

ek wrote:

Trent Steele wrote:alot of Brewers/Halladay chatter on the internets this morn

something tells me he'd reject that trade and invoke the no-trade. are the brewers perennial contenders?

JFLNYC wrote:Total gut speculation on my part: Rube caves, includes Drabek, Phils get Halladay within next 48 hours for: Drabek, Carrasco, Taylor, Donald.

JFLNYC wrote:Total gut speculation on my part: Rube caves, includes Drabek, Phils get Halladay within next 48 hours for: Drabek, Carrasco, Taylor, Donald.

stevemc wrote:

JFLNYC wrote:Total gut speculation on my part: Rube caves, includes Drabek, Phils get Halladay within next 48 hours for: Drabek, Carrasco, Taylor, Donald.

Interesting - and then your gut tells you the rotation is. . .? (since that will leave 6 viable starters and assuming Moyer & Martinez both won't retire immediately)

Trent Steele wrote:

stevemc wrote:

JFLNYC wrote:Total gut speculation on my part: Rube caves, includes Drabek, Phils get Halladay within next 48 hours for: Drabek, Carrasco, Taylor, Donald.

Interesting - and then your gut tells you the rotation is. . .? (since that will leave 6 viable starters and assuming Moyer & Martinez both won't retire immediately)

Pedro becomes the closer after Lidge puts up a 13.87 ERA over the next 3 weeks and goes on the DL for the rest of the year.

stevemc wrote:

JFLNYC wrote:Total gut speculation on my part: Rube caves, includes Drabek, Phils get Halladay within next 48 hours for: Drabek, Carrasco, Taylor, Donald.

Interesting - and then your gut tells you the rotation is. . .? (since that will leave 6 viable starters and assuming Moyer & Martinez both won't retire immediately)

Trent Steele wrote:

JFLNYC wrote:Total gut speculation on my part: Rube caves, includes Drabek, Phils get Halladay within next 48 hours for: Drabek, Carrasco, Taylor, Donald.

I'm with you, except I think the deal is Drabek, Donald, Marson, Gose, and Savery.

Taylor, Brown, and Happ stay.

JFLNYC wrote:You heard it here first. I feel it in my bones. It's gonna happen today or tomorrow. (Then again, maybe it's just my lumbago).

Paul Beeston, the team's interim president, said over the weekend that the Jays would need to be "overwhelmed" in order to deal Halladay. Meanwhile, a rival general manager said of Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi: "He won't trade Halladay unless he gets the deal he wants. But he wants to get a deal."

We won't know the organization's true position until a trade occurs or the deadline lapses. But it's safe to characterize the Jays as a team in transition.

Ted Rogers, who had owned the club since 2000, died in December. (Rogers Communications Inc. has retained control.) Beeston, a popular executive during the glory years, isn't interested in holding the position on a long-term basis. The search for a permanent president is ongoing.

Ricciardi is signed through 2010. In theory, a new president could arrive and make changes throughout the organization. But Beeston indicated that he's quite satisfied with the job Ricciardi has done, saying, "J.P. has this team positioned to be very good for a number of years."

Beeston also said that Ricciardi's status has "absolutely nothing to do" with whether he trades Halladay.

This much is clear: The Blue Jays are listening to offers for Halladay, with the non-waiver trade deadline 11 days away. St. Louis Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak appeared to pull his team out of the marketplace.

The Philadelphia Phillies have been the most ardent suitors all along, and special adviser Pat Gillick was at yesterday’s game between the Jays and Boston Red Sox. The Phillies have scouted all of Halladay’s recent starts and general manager Ruben Amaro was one of the few GMs at last week’s All-Star Game, which Halladay started for the American League.

Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava was in Lakewood, N.J., last week to scout the Phillies’ Single-A affiliate.