Monday, November 9, 2009

The Fog of War

Things just ain't right inside my thoughthole these days; thankfully I'm well aware and able to trace the source. November despair mixed with general Blue Jays malaise is leading me down a dangerous path though I'm going without a fight.

The heavily-rumored (way to keep it close to the vest AA!) Overbay-for-Snyder deal fell apart on the weekend. Understandable concern for the surgically repaired back of a catcher reportedly queered the deal. As much as I enjoy Overbay and all that he does, I was okay with the move. Overbay would absolutely kill it in that overheated bandbox while Synder potentially brought decent numbers for a catcher with the Snakes footing some of the bill.

So I started to think of other catchers that would work within the Jays indentured servitude youth movement. My mind first came to Chris Iannetta, the somewhat disposed catcher for the Colorado Rockies. Iannetta disappointed the Rockies in 2009 with a low batting average (who cares!) but still posted an excellent walk rate (!), high Ks (meh), and too many fly balls. Basically he swung at too many bad balls and developed a penchant for home run swings. He lost his job to Yorvit Torrealba down the stretch in 2009 though the Rockies had the good sense to decline Yorvit's 2010 option. Iannetta is cheap and under team control for 3 more years, meaning he wouldn't come cheap.

Naturally I strained to think what the Jays could offer to prize the young backstop from the Rockies clutches. Then I remembered I would want to take Matt Murton along with Iannetta. The Rockies have no need for Overbay or any other disposable Blue Jays piece, then my mind turned the corner.
The Jays should trade Roy Halladay to the Rockies.
Have I lost my mind? I'd freely sign up for a 1984-styled Thought Police service if it kept me from even thinking these awful, awful thoughts. After I finished bathing myself in astringents I realized what I'd done. My mind willingly attached Roy Halladay to a trade. The horror! But Halladay is exactly what the Rockies want and need. He's induces ground balls and limits dingers. He's Roy fucking Halladay. He's local. The Rocks have space in their rotation and Halladay would pretty much guarantee them many Rocktobers to come.

What would I demand back from the Rockies in exchange for The Blue Jay? Troy Tulowitzki, obviously. The perverse nature of trading for a player you easily could have drafted is dimished by AA pulling the trigger with Beeston behind him. The taint of passing doesn't stick to them so they can start with Tulo and build from there. That Tulowitzki signed a hilariously team-friendly deal long before Evan Longoria makes it all the sweeter. Throw in Iannetta, and the excellent Dexter Fowler.

Pie in the sky? Probably. Detached from reality? Indeed. A package that includes, basically, the three best Rockie prospects is borderline insane. But so is trading Roy Halladay!! If Tulowitzki is a deal-breaker, replace the face of the franchise (before Halladay would assume the title) with Christian Friedrich. Admitting that Roy Halladay is going to be gone next year is hard enough, don't expect me to take it well.

If AA is going to do it (and many people think he will) he'd better land himself 3 major league ready players. At least. Distant prospects are fine and good, but the Blue Jays' boat will rock with such force that a fleet of kids will do more harm than good.

17 comments:

  1. I'm on board. Tulo, Fowler, Ianetta for Halladay. Done and done.

    Let's push things forward.

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  2. Can you imagine how even more deadly Halladay would be in the Rockies? Hitters already don't have a hope in hell - add the elevation and Doc basically wins himself six straight Cy Young's.

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  3. Well they say the altitude hurts your curveball, but Roy would just develop his change even more.

    Against those weak sisters in the NL West though...

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  4. I can't imagine the Rockies would deal Tulowitzki even straight up for Halladay. That being said, I do like a few of the Rockies prospects. How about:

    Iannetta, Jouhlys Chacin and Fowler for Halladay?

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  5. HE'S ROY FUCKING HALLADAY!!!!1

    It would be ironic for AA to go out and acquire Tulo, wouldn't it?

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  6. Friedrich would be a very nice pitcher as well, I'd probably take him over Chacin, just so that I don't have to think about Gustavo any more than I half to.

    Stop the Tulo dreaming! The Rockies are not going to give up 5 years of Tulo at below market salary, for 1 year of Halladay.

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  7. "HE'S ROY FUCKING HALLADAY!!!!1"

    "Friedrich or GTFO"

    I believe we have our first two t-shirt slogans for the offseason.

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  8. I can't see the Rockies dealing Tulowitzki unless they have another high-ceiling SS waiting in the wings, or can readily acquire one. They were a playoff team last year - yes, Halladay would improve them, but as a playoff team, you'd have to think they'd be less than thrilled with the idea of removing a key piece from their ML roster.

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  9. You're absolutely right. There is pretty much no way the Rockies are giving up Tulo.

    WELP, GUESS WE'RE STUCK WITH HALLADAY! Moon or bust.

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  10. I'd do that trade in a second. Don't think the Rockies would though. Maybe you're on to something here. Maybe Roy agrees to a hometown(his hometown that is) discount as part of the package?

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  11. As much as I am loathe to say it, Halladay isn't worth Tulo straight up. Not even close, really.

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  12. Yeah, the contract makes Tulo too valuable to move. This is something of a self-sabotage, fear of success type of thing. I don't want to create a decent package for Halladay because I don't want him to go.

    Fowler, Iannetta, and Friedrich is a reasonable package me thinks.

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  13. I still don't think it would happen, though. Trading away your starting center fielder and catcher (the 2 positions, along with shortstop, that are hardest to replace) isn't really something the Rockies would be wanting to do, I don't think. I think a better target from the Rockies would be Carlos Gonzalez. They have him playing left field and, even though he's really a centerfielder, his perceived value would be lower due to the stigma of him being a "corner outfeilder" who would be more easily replaceable.

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  14. I remember watching BP before the WBC and seeing someone taking cuts for Team USA that I thought was Matt Holliday. Every swing was a smashed frozen rope to at least the left field fence, if not beyond. After arguing with my Dad for roughly 15 minutes about wether or not it WAS Matt Holliday, we finally saw the player in question come out of the dugout for the starting lineup and reveal himself to be Chris Ianetta.

    Needless to say, my mancrush for Chris Ianetta was born.

    Also odd, I'd previously developed mad man love for Tulow and was the first guy driving the "I'm all about Dexter Fowler" bandwagon around the office.

    I suppose, then, it becomes assumed that I'm in favour of pretty much everything you just said, even with Halladay departing.

    It's going to be a long, long winter.

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  15. I may actually prefer Carlos Gonzales over Fowler.

    One thing to consider about dealing Halladay, writers keep suggesting that Haladay won't have much value on the trade market now that teams are only getting one year of his services. However, they are completely ignoring one significant factor, they would also be getting two 1st round draft choices.

    Many people (me included) think that the Leafs got robbed for giving up two first round picks for Phil Kessel, therefore why does the value of these picks in baseball continue to be ignored. They are worth a substantial prospect alone, plus you would be getting one year of the best pitcher in baseball.

    AA should be selling this fact when negotiating any deal for Halladay.

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  16. Yea Drew, I kept waiting for your to mention Gonzalez somewhere in there. I'm a big fan of his. Tulo, Fowler, Gonzalez, and Ubaldo or GTFO OF MY OFFICE!!

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