Blue Jays just released B.J. Ryan. Guess its a good thing we didn't keep him. They got to eat $10 mil next year for it too.

Roy Halladay has been my favorite pitcher in baseball for the last 5 or 6 years.

For the Orioles to get him it would be awesome i mean the guy is almost an automatic win and complete game everytime he goes out there which is really a rarity in baseball these days.

I doubt the Orioles will go after him but you can always cross your fingers I guess. In reality what team wouldn't want Halladay that had a shot at making the playoffs this year.

Can't see it happening. For them to trade him to a division rival would pretty much require said rival to come up with an offer that, far and away, beats the next best non-division offer.

Signing Halladay at any point would be contradictory to the "grow the arms, buy the bats" plan, which I happen to agree with. Maybe there won't be any big bats available in winter 2010-11, but Halladay will also be two years older, which would make him significantly less appealling.

Lots to happen between now and then though. In the meantime, the Orioles should pass on a trade; we need more than one part to get to the promised land.

Come on, Pete, you know how folks around here think. They believe that if we package enough of our junk that other teams will give us their quality. How long before someone proposes that we should offer them Mora, Pie, Salazar, and Koji in exchange for Halladay. Not that I personally am calling any or all of those guys junk, just that individually they don't have all that much trade value to add up to one proven ace pitcher.

And, by the way, if Toronto would take that deal, I'd make it in a heartbeat.

Pete,

Any chance the O's give BJ Ryan another shot?

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Pete's reply: Sure, there's a chance, but I don't know how much of one.

Can't believe you considered it for more than a minute. What about Sherrill, Huff, and two or three of these guys - Pauley, Mariotti, Deza, Bascom and Liz. It'd be a great way to finish this season, along with bringing up Tillman and, maybe, Arrieta and/or Matusz. And it really would give the organization a chance next year. An opportunity like that, along with giving him a bit of money, could keep him around for 3 more years. Push it through Pete... What do ya think??

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Pete's reply: The Blue Jays would be rebuilding at that point and you named a half-season rental player, a veteran reliever and a bunch of medium prospects. If you're not talking Arrieta, Tillman and Reimold, I don't think the Blue Jays would be interested in sending their best pitcher to a division rival.

I think we'd have to give away too much of our future to get Roy, great pitcher but not worth giving up what the GM has accomplished so far.

20/20 hindsight show how smart the O's were, and lots of us fans complained about the O's not being big time when we didn't win the bidding war for BJ:
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Toronto Blue Jays have released one-time closer B.J. Ryan and activated current closer Scott Downs from the 15-day disabled list.

Toronto announced the moves before Wednesday night's game against Tampa Bay.

Ryan has struggled this season, going 1-1 with a 6.53 ERA in 25 relief appearances. The left-hander allowed 22 hits, including five homers, and 17 walks over 20 2-3 innings.

Downs had been sidelined by a left big toe injury.

Peter, I think AM has been pretty clear he will not buy an arm - only bats. I see no way they have even moderate interest in him---plus he has injury problems and is going to be 33 next year (wheh it would matter)...he also ha sa no-trade I believe, and he's not waiving it to come here.

Lastly, Nick Markakis is the biggest issue with this offense - he has not been clutch, not moderately productive since the first month. My concern is this is who he is---a .290 hitter with decent OBP and 18-20 homers. Pretty discouraging right now. on the bright side, another strong performance from hernandez.

Halladay is awesome but the price would be astronomical for Baltimore. We'll take our chances on Tillman, Matusz, Bergensen etc.

Whoo hoo.....bout them O's??? Bout that Garrett Olsen???? Another example of a guy dumping on the O's after they dumped on him. Yet another example of a guy finding himself AFTER AND ONLY AFTER he LEAVES Baltimore. Pitching coach's fault? I think so. And bout that Wiggington hitting into his 10,000th double play?

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Pete's reply: Quitter.

Peter......the O's getting Halladay under ANY circumstances whatsoever? Give me a break. Can anyone say "Angelos"?

I've been a big believer in the "buy bats, grow arms" theory of AM.

that said, there are very few pitchers in the Majors that'd be worth trading for/buying. Doc is one of them though.

The O's need a leader in the Rotation, and even if it's not Doc, I still think there has to be a #1. that is traded for or bought to take the pressure off the younger arms coming up. A Vet is needed badly, and from reports the Jays are looking for a SS.

So the offer I'd make if I were AM; Andino, Riemold (don't forget Lou Montenze is still around and Pie won't get a trade done) Patton plus 2.

I agree with you Pete...it's definatly something the O's must look at. If the O's are supposed to be competitive in 2010 (really?? try 2012 in all honesty) they're going to need a shut down Ace. I love the prospects coming up, but they're not going be instantly amazing.

Get Doc. but as someone else pointed out...inside the division trades for an Ace like Doc, is going to require alot.

Pete,

I didn't even have the O's in the Halladay equation. From what is being reported they are looking for a Bedard type of deal and we aren't there to be able to accomodate. I myself would look at John Lackey in the free agent market myself and a top of the rotation type guy!

0.00000000000004 % chance Halladay becomes an Oriole.

Come on people, use your head!

Not gonna happen. The O's would be throwing a huge monkey wrench into the rebuilding program if they made an offer good enough to get him. You don't abandon the program just as it's about to pay off, that's the way they used to do things.

It's time to put Andy McPhail's "grow the arms, buy the bats" philosophy into context. What he's suggesting is that the Orioles develop their own starting pitching, which is exactly what they're doing. It doesn't mean, however, that they won't consider securing one via any other means, like a trade or free agency. And if you think Roy Halladay in an O's uniform doesn't make sense, ask yourself one question: Who would you like to see on the mound Opening Day 2010? If the answer is Jeremy Guthrie or one of the kids, we see things differently. Make sure we can sign him long term and don't give up tooooo much, but by all means explore the possibility.

Peter, Reimold and a pitching prospect? You must be dizzy from visiting the Space Needle. The general consensus is it's going to take four or five players to get this guy. Reimold? The Phillies are talking about sending the Jays CF/RF Jayson Werth (19hrs/50rbis), starter J.A. Happ (5-0 in a quarter of a season), and at least two top prospects. Reimold and a prospect? No wonder we need pitching help if you are echoing the current sentiment in the front office.

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Pete's reply: I meant Reimold and a Tillman or Arrieta, but maybe that wouldn't be enough. Remember, the guy is unsigned, so you're only getting him for a year and a half if they trade him. Now, if they can get a contract extension done, that's different. I also wonder if the Bedard deal is going to cause some other teams to think twice before giving up so much for one guy.

Pete, Thanks for the response. Interesting interview w/Halladay in the BlueJays.com blog. He will accept a trade if, (1) it's to a contender and, (2) the trade improves the Jays. A player with a conscience? What's the world coming to?... Philadelphia looks like a front runner in this derby. They have all these superior players locked down under contract for several years, and Matt Stairs (Halladay's bud's) is there to greet him. As long as Halladay leaves the AL East, I wish him luck.

Hey, The last place Halladay wants to come is Baltimore...he beats us 4-5 times per year so he'd have to pick those up somewhere else and the O's are the only team worse than the Jays so he won't be competing for any World Series anytime soon.
Things are unravelling in a hurry for the Jays and you have to wonder how long before their cocky GM Riccairdi is canned. Look at some of his brutal long term costly deals-Wells, Rios and Ryan...