"No one would blame J.P. Ricciardi if he complained. His Blue Jays play in baseball's deepest division, and the Yankees outspend them by more than 2-to-1. He has six pitchers on the disabled list. His highest-paid outfielders, Vernon Wells and Alex Rios, are underperforming.

But he was in a good mood Monday afternoon.

"I'm lucky," the Toronto general manager said. "Every fifth day, I get to watch Doc."

He was referring, of course, to ace Roy Halladay, who was about to make a start of some significance. Halladay hadn't pitched since June 12, when a groin strain halted his outing against the Marlins after three innings.

Halladay was facing the Tampa Bay Rays to open this country's most important baseball series of the week. ... OK, that was a bad attempt at humour. ... In all seriousness, though, here were two contenders for the American League wild card, underneath the same iron roof.

To mark the occasion, a smallish crowd of 15,665 gathered at Rogers Centre. I hope they took the time to appreciate what they were watching. (More on that later.)

We can all agree that a healthy Halladay, in front of a good starting rotation, represents Toronto's best chance of reaching the playoffs for the first time since Joe Carter touched 'em all. To that end, Monday was a success. Halladay tired earlier than usual but pitched six quality innings in a 4-1 loss.

He allowed two runs, both coming on one Carl Crawford swing. Crawford's booming, second-deck homer came in the third. Halladay faced the minimum thereafter.

Before the game, Jays manager Cito Gaston called Halladay "the best pitcher in baseball." And there were many times Monday when he looked like it — cutters diving to one side of the plate, sinkers darting to the other, curves plunging into the dirt.

But he was spent after 88 pitches, a season low aside from the injury-shortened Florida start. Gaston expects him to pitch deeper in his next outing, against the Yankees this weekend.

"His arm feels good, groin's fine," Gaston said. "I just thought that was enough for him."

"Nice to get back out there," Halladay offered. "I tried to make pitches. ... The location, in the second and third, was hit-and-miss a little. For the most part, felt good with everything."

On May 18, the Jays led the division by 3 1/2 games. They are 14-23 since and now trail the Red Sox by seven games.

That said, Halladay's two-week absence didn't doom their postseason chances. Toronto is 7-9 since the night of his injury, and standout seasons by Aaron Hill, Scott Rolen and Adam Lind have kept the team over .500 despite the sore, mending and otherwise incapacitated pitchers.

"We've gone two turns through the rotation without him, and the guys have done a good job," Ricciardi said. "We've held our head above water. But you don't replace Doc."

No, you don't. Ricciardi hopes he never has to find out, you know, for good. But there are plenty of reasons to wonder if Halladay might have fewer than 50 starts left in a Toronto uniform.

The facts: Halladay is due to become a free agent after the 2010 season. At that point, he will be 33 years old and possibly looking at the last mega-dollars contract of his career. If recent deals signed by Johan Santana and CC Sabathia are any indication, the open market should bring him more than $20 million per annum. (He's earning $14.25 million this year.)

The Jays, meanwhile, have an $80 million payroll. The recession and weakened Canadian dollar forced them to lay off some front office staffers last year. And it's unclear if ownership (Rogers Communications Inc.) will allow Ricciardi to add payroll through midseason trades. Monday's sparse crowd didn't exactly suggest that revenues are robust.

Halladay's resume includes a Cy Young Award and five All-Star selections but zero postseason appearances. Ever competitive, he will probably want to sign his next contract with a franchise that has October-ready on-field talent and off-field resources.

Could the Jays become that team? Sure. A lot can change in 16 months. They have a pitching staff that should get better with time, along with some promising young hitters.

Ricciardi said he hasn't discussed a contract extension with Halladay during the season, for fear of creating a distraction, but he plans to address the subject this winter.

"He's earned the right to become a free agent if he wants to — obviously, we'd like to keep him out of it," Ricciardi said. "We love Doc. We have nothing but the utmost respect for him. He's an unbelievable guy. If he wants to stay here, that opportunity will be there. If he doesn't, all we can do is move forward.

"I will say this— and I know this is going to sound crazy — but Doc's not about the money. He's made money. He knows he's going to make money. He's not a money guy. He's all about winning. He's all about doing it in the right environment.

"He's really a throwback guy in a lot of ways.""