TORONTO - The feeling that this was goodbye was everywhere.
The standing ovation as Roy Halladay walked from the bullpen to the dugout after warming up. The cheers from a crowd of 24,151 that were more effusive and frequent than normal, including a lengthy second standing ovation after the ace right-hander recorded the final out in the top of the ninth. The chants asking the Toronto Blue Jays not to trade him.
It very well may have been goodbye. Maybe it wasn't. But just in case, fans made the sure to let the team's lone superstar know how much they appreciate him, and in return he gave them another, perhaps final, signature performance.
Halladay threw nine brilliant innings Friday night, striking out 10 batters and taking a no-decision in what ended up as a 4-2, 10-inning loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Closer Scott Downs (1-2) replaced Halladay to start the 10th, getting booed on his way in, and surrendered a two-out bloop double to Evan Longoria that scored two runs to break open a tie game.
J.P. Howell picked up his 11th save in the bottom of the frame, closing things out for Matt Garza (7-7), who was strong in matching zeros with Halladay for nine innings.
Halladay's next start is scheduled for Wednesday in Seattle and it wouldn't be surprising if he was in another uniform by then. General manager J.P. Ricciardi has set a loose cutoff of Tuesday for getting a trade done, although he'll push that back right up to the July 31 non-waiver deadline if enough groundwork is in place.
Indications are that talks are getting serious with the Philadelphia Phillies. For the second time this week a top Blue Jays official was scouting one of the defending World Series champion's prospects, this time watching Carlos Carrasco give up six runs in six innings for triple-A Lehigh Valley at Gwinnett.
FoxSports.com reported that the sides have made progress toward a deal, although nothing is imminent.
Ricciardi declined comment before the game - a change of pace as he's been one of the most frequently quoted men in sports since using the media to announce he'd listen to offers for Halladay nearly three weeks ago.
"We're done talking about it," Ricciardi told a throng of reporters, long before fans engaged in long chants of "Trade J.P."
The new silence comes after Ricciardi stirred up a firestorm with his statement Thursday that the Blue Jays were only exploring a trade for the ace right-hander because he "wants to try to become a free agent" once his contract expires in 2010.
Interim CEO Paul Beeston, unimpressed with how publicly this has all played out, didn't want to say much Friday, either: "No more talk. That doesn't mean I don't have a lot to say, but I'm not going to say it."
That, however, won't stop others, and even commissioner Bud Selig weighed in.
"I think, from everything I'm hearing - and that could change now, you know, this is a very fluid situation - but I think if he gets traded he's going to wind up in the National League," Selig told Mad Dog Radio on SIRIUS XM Radio.
The contest brought out a larger than normal media contingent, including a small handful of national writers from the U.S. ESPN even did a pre-game hit from the field, underlining the level of interest in the Halladay story south of the border.
Manager Cito Gaston opened his pre-game chat by asking the assembled horde, "What are we going to talk about that we haven't talked about already?" The answer, obviously, was nothing and the subject returned to Halladay, whose starts remain pencilled in through next month.
Asked if he'd considered what life would be like post-Halladay, Gaston shook his head and answered: "I don't even want to think about it."
There's little wonder why after watching how Halladay cut through the Rays, who had beaten him twice previously this season.
They opened the scoring in the third on sacrifice flies by Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria, and then Halladay retired the next 14 batters. Only three balls left the infield during that span, a run broken up by Jason Bartlett's double in the eighth.
Halladay didn't flinch. He got B.J. Upton on a soft liner to centre and struck out Crawford on three pitches to escape unscathed.
The Blue Jays tied the game in the bottom of the third on an RBI single by Marco Scutaro, who is generating lots of interest in trade talk, and run-scoring double by Aaron Hill. Garza held them in check from there, and left after allowing just five hits and nine strikeout.
The fan reaction underscored how much Halladay means to the franchise, and how much hostility there is directed at Ricciardi.
While one sign read "Thx 4 Memories Doc," another urged "Keep Doc, Trade JP." A rare "Ha-lla-day" chant went on for a while in the ninth, followed by a "We want Roy" when he didn't answer the request for a curtain call.
Gaston believes Halladay means as much to franchise as some of the greatest stars in team history.
"Roberto Alomar, Paul Molitor, Joe Carter, Dave Stieb, Pat Hentgen, a whole lot of them," he said. "Doc is the superstar here and Doc, I think, is going to be a Hall of Famer.
"So you're going to see a little bit more (emotion for) him than anyone else here, for sure."
Notes: The Blue Jays activated reliever Casey Janssen from his rehab stint and optioned him to triple-A Las Vegas. ... Brian Tallet (5-6, 4.95) will come out of the bullpen to start Saturday to start against Tampa phenom and fellow lefty David Price (3-4, 4.86). ... Former shortstop Alex Gonzalez was the Blue Jays' Flashback Friday guest.
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The feeling that this was goodbye was everywhere.
The standing ovation as Roy Halladay walked from the bullpen to the dugout after warming up. The cheers from a crowd of 24,151 that were more effusive and frequent than normal, including a lengthy second standing ovation after the ace right-hander recorded the final out in the top of the ninth. The chants asking the Toronto Blue Jays not to trade him.
It very well may have been goodbye. Maybe it wasn't. But just in case, fans made the sure to let the team's lone superstar know how much they appreciate him, and in return he gave them another, perhaps final, signature performance.
Halladay threw nine brilliant innings Friday night, striking out 10 batters and taking a no-decision in what ended up as a 4-2, 10-inning loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Closer Scott Downs (1-2) replaced Halladay to start the 10th, getting booed on his way in, and surrendered a two-out bloop double to Evan Longoria that scored two runs to break open a tie game.
J.P. Howell picked up his 11th save in the bottom of the frame, closing things out for Matt Garza (7-7), who was strong in matching zeros with Halladay for nine innings.
Halladay's next start is scheduled for Wednesday in Seattle and it wouldn't be surprising if he was in another uniform by then. General manager J.P. Ricciardi has set a loose cutoff of Tuesday for getting a trade done, although he'll push that back right up to the July 31 non-waiver deadline if enough groundwork is in place.
Indications are that talks are getting serious with the Philadelphia Phillies. For the second time this week a top Blue Jays official was scouting one of the defending World Series champion's prospects, this time watching Carlos Carrasco give up six runs in six innings for triple-A Lehigh Valley at Gwinnett.
FoxSports.com reported that the sides have made progress toward a deal, although nothing is imminent.
Ricciardi declined comment before the game - a change of pace as he's been one of the most frequently quoted men in sports since using the media to announce he'd listen to offers for Halladay nearly three weeks ago.
"We're done talking about it," Ricciardi told a throng of reporters, long before fans engaged in long chants of "Trade J.P."
The new silence comes after Ricciardi stirred up a firestorm with his statement Thursday that the Blue Jays were only exploring a trade for the ace right-hander because he "wants to try to become a free agent" once his contract expires in 2010.
Interim CEO Paul Beeston, unimpressed with how publicly this has all played out, didn't want to say much Friday, either: "No more talk. That doesn't mean I don't have a lot to say, but I'm not going to say it."
That, however, won't stop others, and even commissioner Bud Selig weighed in.
"I think, from everything I'm hearing - and that could change now, you know, this is a very fluid situation - but I think if he gets traded he's going to wind up in the National League," Selig told Mad Dog Radio on SIRIUS XM Radio.
The contest brought out a larger than normal media contingent, including a small handful of national writers from the U.S. ESPN even did a pre-game hit from the field, underlining the level of interest in the Halladay story south of the border.
Manager Cito Gaston opened his pre-game chat by asking the assembled horde, "What are we going to talk about that we haven't talked about already?" The answer, obviously, was nothing and the subject returned to Halladay, whose starts remain pencilled in through next month.
Asked if he'd considered what life would be like post-Halladay, Gaston shook his head and answered: "I don't even want to think about it."
There's little wonder why after watching how Halladay cut through the Rays, who had beaten him twice previously this season.
They opened the scoring in the third on sacrifice flies by Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria, and then Halladay retired the next 14 batters. Only three balls left the infield during that span, a run broken up by Jason Bartlett's double in the eighth.
Halladay didn't flinch. He got B.J. Upton on a soft liner to centre and struck out Crawford on three pitches to escape unscathed.
The Blue Jays tied the game in the bottom of the third on an RBI single by Marco Scutaro, who is generating lots of interest in trade talk, and run-scoring double by Aaron Hill. Garza held them in check from there, and left after allowing just five hits and nine strikeout.
The fan reaction underscored how much Halladay means to the franchise, and how much hostility there is directed at Ricciardi.
While one sign read "Thx 4 Memories Doc," another urged "Keep Doc, Trade JP." A rare "Ha-lla-day" chant went on for a while in the ninth, followed by a "We want Roy" when he didn't answer the request for a curtain call.
Gaston believes Halladay means as much to franchise as some of the greatest stars in team history.
"Roberto Alomar, Paul Molitor, Joe Carter, Dave Stieb, Pat Hentgen, a whole lot of them," he said. "Doc is the superstar here and Doc, I think, is going to be a Hall of Famer.
"So you're going to see a little bit more (emotion for) him than anyone else here, for sure."
Notes: The Blue Jays activated reliever Casey Janssen from his rehab stint and optioned him to triple-A Las Vegas. ... Brian Tallet (5-6, 4.95) will come out of the bullpen to start Saturday to start against Tampa phenom and fellow lefty David Price (3-4, 4.86). ... Former shortstop Alex Gonzalez was the Blue Jays' Flashback Friday guest.
