Roy Halladay News

Jays' Halladay collects 20th win
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September 26
Toronto Star
 
"The one sure thing in next season's Blue Jay rotation turned one final master stroke on his 2008. Stifling the New York Yankees for a fifth straight time this season, Roy Halladay became the seventh Toronto pitcher to reach 20 wins. Halladay, of course, had been among those first six, too, going 22-7 in his Cy Young 2003. He's almost certain to be among the top three in Cy voting this time around but probably falls in behind Cleveland's 22-3 Cliff Lee and possibly back of the Angels' 62-save man, Francisco Rodriguez, as well."
Doc has no remedy for Jays for next year
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September 21
Toronto Star
 
"Forget Groundhog Day. What movie title best describes the prospects for next year's, er, youthful Toronto Blue Jay rotation? Running on Empty? Breakdown? Hopefully not Les Enfants Terribles. Roy Halladay famously likened being a Blue Jay to living in a Bill Murray-esque world where every season turns out the same as the last – that is to say, disappointingly. Though the team has improved since he made those comments at July's All-Star Game, its relative place in the rankings hasn't. Toronto is looking at third place, again. And that's no sure thing. After yesterday's effort – a slogging, workmanlike six innings against the Red Sox which resulted in a 6-3 victory and Halladay's 19th win of ..."
Club has seen enough of Toronto’s Roy Halladay
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September 21
Boston Herald
 
"The magic number may remain the same, but the Red Sox did manage to put one rather large obstacle in the rear-view mirror yesterday. After five helpings of Roy Halladay this season, the Sox have had their fill of the Toronto Blue Jays ace. Not that the Sox haven’t had some success against the lanky right-hander, both in the past and this year. It’s just been harder to come by in 2008. They did manage to beat the man twice in those five meetings, but win or lose Halladay has made the Sox work hard each time out. In the five starts, Halladay averaged 7 2/3 innings and allowed just over 2.5 runs. Yesterday, he threw six innings of three-run baseball and it was actually one of the more ..."
Halladay, Wells like way Blue Jays have responded
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September 16
Toronto Star
 
"Long ago, in a galaxy much like this one, the Toronto Blue Jays almost always found their Septembers full of meaning. Those particular annals are a little dusty now, but you could look it up. From 1985, the year of their first division title, through 1993, the year of their repeat World Series win, the Jays, between clinch dates and official elimination dates, played an astounding total of only 24 games that were of no consequence in the final scheme of things. That's not even three per season – none at all in 1987 or 1990 when they weren't eliminated until game No.162. In both 1989 and 1992, they clinched in game No.161; in '85, they nailed it with No.160. Twice, they had six left to play ..."
The Doc issues a warning
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September 15
Toronto Sun
 columnist Ken Fidlin
"It felt like the end. It looked like the end. And for all practical purposes, it was the end of the Blue Jays season. They came to Boston needing to steamroll and, instead, got steamrolled. By the same token, with 12 games left on the schedule, including three more against the Red Sox in Toronto next weekend, any Blue Jay detected mailing it in down the stretch may have to deal with Roy Halladay. If you plan to be a player on the Blue Jays going forward, it's not a good idea to get on the wrong side of the Jays ace. "It's tough," said Halladay, after yesterday's 4-3 defeat at the hands of the Red Sox pushed the Jays 81/2 games back in the wild-card race. "We obviously put ourselves in a ..."
Halladay may start at Fenway on short rest
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September 9
Globe and Mail
 
"Winning eight games in a row can do strange things to a baseball team. Witness the Toronto Blue Jays, puffed up after winning eight in a row for the first time since 1999, a string that launched them ahead of the New York Yankees and into third place in the American League East standings as of Monday morning. In the AL wild-card race, the Blue Jays, 76-66, are also in third place, eight games behind the pace-setting Boston Red Sox before last night's game with 20 games left in the regular season. Not quite out of it, but really not quite in it, either. Yesterday, when the Windy City became the Rainy City and caused the postponement of the Blue Jays' series opener against the Chicago White ..."
Halladay up for extra starts
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September 9
Toronto Star
 
"We now have a deadline on the Blue Jays' 2008 season. A few minutes after last night's game in Chicago was postponed due to rain, Jays manager Cito Gaston put staff ace Roy Halladay on notice. With the Jays' eight-game winning streak intact and a longshot playoff berth still a possibility, Halladay was told that he will pitch Sunday in Boston on three days rest if the team is successful in the Windy City. Gaston measures "success" in Chicago as taking at least three of four games. It also depends on how Tampa fares in its series with Boston this week, Gaston said. "That's too far ahead for me," Halladay said, smiling slightly. "I'll pitch (in Chicago tomorrow night) and, based on how the ..."
Doc gets room to operate
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August 27
Toronto Star
 
"The Yankees, then Red Sox last week; the Yankees again this coming weekend. ... Man, this is some kind of division scramble, huh? Even if the Blue Jays are on the outskirts. Oh, right, and the Tampa Bay Rays, merely right there with the L.A. Angels for league's best. The Jays need 'em all and, in kicking off their third and final visit last night, so far, so good – if not a little late. Before all of the 13,478 locals with pennant fever, the Jays took it 6-2 behind a mostly solid Roy Halladay and a near-spotless effort from four relievers. And, of course, the usual homer and three RBIs from Vernon Wells. Wells has been downplaying his recent run, joking that he hasn't really had much of an ..."
Doc Halladay, A.J. Burnett make pitch for Jays history
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August 25
Toronto Star
 
"Even though A.J. Burnett escaped yesterday's 6-5 loss to the Red Sox with no decision, keeping alive his personal six-game win streak, he was not about to let himself off the hook in terms of where the fault lay for the Jays' devastating defeat. "The bottom line is it's my fault," Burnett mea culpa'd. "I had the lead twice and gave it back twice with balls out over the plate." It's nice to hear responsibility being taken and is an accurate assessment by the Jays' No.2 starter, but one that doesn't really help the bottom line as the Jays desperately need to win each and every series the rest of the way. The Sox took two of three. Nursing a 2-0 lead in the third, A.J. walked the first two ..."
Doc can't cure this
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August 10
Toronto Sun
 
"On the days that Roy Halladay pitches, the defence behind him usually shines. Brightly. There is something about the crispness and efficiency that Halladay brings to the mound that traditionally brings out the best in the troops behind him. But not this time. Yesterday, the guys in back of him were brutal, had hands of stone. During the 62/3 innings that Halladay worked against the Cleveland Indians, the defence made four dicey plays, two of them going for errors. The extra outs meant extra pitches from Halladay. The two errors resulted in three unearned run and that proved to be the difference as the Indians squeezed out a 4-2 victory at the Rogers Centre. LOTS OF PITCHES Halladay had ..."
Doc cures Jays' blues
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August 5
Toronto Star
 
"After a disappointing turn in Texas, the Blue Jays plane pulled into Toronto early yesterday morning. Most of the players weren't in their beds until 5 a.m. When manager and early riser Cito Gaston arrived at the clubhouse yesterday afternoon, his team's star pupil was hard at work. Roy Halladay had flown home early to prepare for last night's start and was already engrossed in the tunnel vision of his pre-start rituals. "You walk in the video room, he's watching tapes. You could stand there for a half-hour and he won't know you're there," Gaston said. The Jays manager mused about where Halladay stood in the pantheon of great pitchers he's coached – Cy Young winners like Roger Clemens and ..."
Roy Halladay unhappy with Blue Jays
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July 24
Newark Star-Ledger
 
"The whispers just won't go away. Halladay is apparently unhappy in Toronto and has let management know it, and management has apparently responded by doing some quiet surveying of teams (such as St. Louis and the Dodgers) that are far, far away from the AL East in an effort to see what it could get for the 2003 Cy Young Award winner. Apparently, the returns other teams are getting for top-talent pitchers such as C.C. Sabathia, Rich Harden and Erik Bedard has inspired the Blue Jays to at least find out what it could get for one of the best pitchers in the American League. It remains unlikely that they'd deal him, but you never know. Key Stat: Halladay has pitched 33 complete games since ..."
'They shouldn't be worried I'm leaving'
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July 16
Globe and Mail
 
"Paul Godfrey says Roy Halladay is the Toronto Blue Jays' Derek Jeter. In other words, he won't let him go without a fight. "He's the Derek Jeter of our organization because he epitomizes everything you want in a player on and off the field," the Blue Jays president and chief executive officer said yesterday before the All-Star Game, referring to Jeter, the New York Yankees' captain and shortstop. "He's a role model. To be quite honest, the things he said [Monday] were just Roy expressing the opinions and concerns he, I and a lot of people have with respect to the way the club has functioned in the last few years. "It's not for lack of money. It's not for lack of trying. But you don't ..."
Frustration grows for Halladay
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July 15
Globe and Mail
 
"Roy Halladay has a lot on his mind — and that's something to concern the folks in the board rooms of both the Toronto Blue Jays and team owner Rogers Communications Inc. Doomsday looms. The state of their team is, first and foremost, a consumer confidence issue — and these days consumer confidence is high only when Halladay is on the mound. So when the club's lone All-Star Game representative starts sounding like someone doing some deep thinking about things — when frustration mixes in with his natural introspection — well, it's time to listen. Of course, Halladay should be starting tonight's All-Star Game."
Jays need to show progress
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July 15
Toronto Star
 
"It's just a reflection of his situation as the AL's best pitcher playing for the French Foreign Legion of baseball, but there was Roy Halladay at the all-star press conference yesterday talking to a small group of earnest Canadian media while players of lesser talent around the hotel's ballroom were overwhelmed by attention. "Yeah, obviously . . . I don't know if I move on, but I want to play for a team that can win a World Series," Halladay said of yet another disappointing season. "That's the one thing I really want to accomplish in the rest of my time is winning a World Series.""
Halladay not upset with starting snub
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July 15
Toronto Sun
 
"Be upset all you want about Cleveland Indians lefty Cliff Lee getting the nod over Roy Halladay to start tonight's 79th all-star game. But Halladay wasn't. "It just wasn't a priority to me," Halladay told reporters yesterday. "This is something to share with my kids and tell my grandkids about." Asked about the AL dominance, Halladay cut off the reporter's question. "I don't think the dominance is that great, I know I was on the hook for two losses," Halladay said."
Is Doc ready to walk?
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July 15
Toronto Sun
 columnist Bob Elliott
"Pitching for the Blue Jays is getting to be like the film Groundhog Day for Roy Halladay. And that's bad news for Jays management. If Halladay, the face of the franchise, is finding pitching for the Jays repetitive, tiresome and frustrating, how long will he be with the Jays? A.J. Burnett and Scott Rolen may earn more, Vernon Wells may have longer security, but Halladay has given the Jays the best return on their investment. Halladay, 31, was asked yesterday during the American League all-star players' briefing if the time was near that he'd have to move on to win a World Series. "I don't know if I'll move on, but I want to play for a team that can win a World Series," ..."
Vintage Halladay Renders Yanks'Bats Feeble
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July 12
New York Times
 
"Halladay is an old soul, a pitcher who tries to finish each start by pounding the strike zone and forcing hitters to flail at his zigging and zagging stuff. The Yankees were no match Friday night, with two hits and dozens of awkward swings in a 5-0 loss at the Rogers Centre."
The indispensable Doc
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July 8
Toronto Sun
 columnist Ken Fidlin
"In the moments following Sunday's last game of this stinker of a trip, Cito Gaston was asked if there was anything positive to be gleaned from two wins in six games. He tried hard and came up with pats on the back for Vernon Wells and Alex Rios, both of whom have been struggling to light up the Blue Jays offence but started making solid contact in Anaheim. That Gaston ignored the obvious -- two absolute gems pitched by Roy Halladay for the team's only wins -- reflects not that he is taking his ace for granted. More likely, it's an unwillingness to even contemplate what life would be like without him. Now that's a scary thought. Since June 1, the Jays have won just four of 16 ..."
All-star Doc going solo, again
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July 7
Toronto Sun
 
"For the fifth time in the past seven years, Roy Halladay will be representing the Blue Jays at the all-star game next week at Yankee Stadium. Halladay, with a 10-6 record and a 2.88 ERA, leads the league in complete games (six) and innings pitched (137.1) and is third in strikeouts with 113. He was an easy choice, as selected by a player ballot, from a Jays team that has few other worthy candidates."
Halladay on all-star team for fifth time
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July 7
Toronto Star
 
"If they had been looking for a reliever, they'd have gone with Scott Downs; a defender, they would have taken Scott Rolen; or a utilityman who has been more than that, Marco Scutaro. But they were looking for a Blue Jays all-star and, for that, there was no more logical and deserving choice than Roy Halladay. "It's an honour, a nice perk," Halladay said after being named to his fifth all-star team, two shy of Dave Stieb's franchise-record seven."
Halladay likely the only Jay at all-star game
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July 5
Toronto Star
 
"The fans have spoken, all-star voting has ended and, unless the AL players step up and vote in a Blue Jays position player via their portion of the balloting, it's likely that Toronto will have only one representative at Yankee Stadium on July 15. That should be starter Roy Halladay. Tomorrow the all-star selection show will be televised at 2 p.m. with all 31 players for both the NL and AL teams being revealed."
Halladay settling back into his groove
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July 2
Toronto Sun
 columnist Ken Fidlin
"Nobody expects more from Roy Halladay than Roy Halladay. Maybe that quest for perfection is why there was a slight smile playing at the edges of his mouth as he talked about his 2-0 victory here Monday night. There was something truly special about the way Halladay dominated the Mariners and he almost allowed himself some brief moments of satisfaction. Halladay limited Seattle to just four singles. Only one baserunner advanced past first base and when that happened, with runners at first and third in the seventh inning, Halladay reached back for something extra against young Jeff Clement and blew him away on three pitches. "This was the best I've seen," catcher Rod Barajas said."
Halladay on top of his game in series opener
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July 1
Toronto Star
 
"Back in the "AL-only" kind of world, the Blue Jays last night began the process of making up the ground they lost during interleague play. Leave it to Roy Halladay to help make it happen with a complete-game four-hit nugget, a 2-0 win over the Seattle Mariners. Halladay's major league-leading sixth complete game was also his 10th career shutout – the first since last July 22, also against Seattle. Before a rowdy house of 30,179 – many who ventured down from British Columbia for both the holiday break and to watch Halladay pitch – the Toronto ace used up 116 pitches in improving to 9-6 on the year with his first win in four decisions."
Halladays step up to the plate to help others
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June 14
Toronto Star
 columnist Richard Griffin
"Cynicism runs rampant in pro sports. Whenever an athlete steps forward with a personalized charity effort in the community, critics suggest it's a tax dodge or som