Yikes, Where Did The Time Go?

So, I disappear for two months, only to find that my traffic was doubled for the time I wasn’t updating. Is my style so off putting that I am more entertaining in silence!? All of the posts after this one will contain nothing more than ellipses…

So the All Star break is about to end so it is as good a time as any to get back in the swing of things. And what could be a better place to begin than by acknowledging unfounded rumors about a trade that won’t happen!?

Roy Halladay: Future Yankee?

Ehhh, no. I don’t think so anyway, though I would love for it to happen.

I have an idea. Let’s play a game! In this game we pretend we are in an alternate universe. The Mets entire team isn’t crippled from the waist down, Chien-Ming Wang isn’t broken,  and the Blue Jays have no qualms about trading Roy Halladay to a team above them in the division. So what might it take for the Yankees to get Roy Halladay from the Blue Jays? Being that they’ve gone through approximately forty starting pitchers this season, they would obviously want a young starter back in exchange for their exceedingly durable ace . They could use a young shortstop to take over for Marco Scutaro in the next year or so. They also need a catcher. The Yankees have prospects in two of those areas, so they certainly could meet the need. One of Wang/Hughes/Chamberlain, along with someone to fill an offensive hole, like CF Austin Jackson or catcher Jesus Montero, and another decent prospect or two would probably be a pretty enticing offer for the Jays.

Back to the real world: Of course, Wang’s value is in the tank right now, which somewhat limits that possibility (along with the fact that he shouldn’t be sold at the absolute bottom of his value). The Jays might want to get a little something more from the Yankees than they would expect from any other team, as a tax of sorts for an intra-divisional trade. On top of that, Cashman might still be keen to keeping both Chamberlain and Hughes.

It likely won’t happen, but even so, if an offer comes in revolving around one of Chamberlain or Hughes (without gutting the ENTIRE farm system), you have to take it. The Yankees are one of the few World Series aspiring teams this season, and Halladay would provide another ace for at least several more seasons (with an extension). If Halladay isn’t the best pitcher in baseball, he is right next to them (and it wouldn’t hurt him to replace a few starts against the Yankees offense each year with the Blue Jays). And even with a trade of one of those young pitchers, you’re still left with several young starters, particularly if Wang rights himsef.

One quick opinion on Wang: He needs a full offseason of conditioning and work. He still has his sinker, just not the location, and he shouldn’t have been working himself out in the major leagues at all until he proved himself worthy in the minors for more than two starts. He will be fine next season, barring any reoccurrences in his foot or other lower leg troubles.