On the Blue Jays potentially trading Roy Halladay

The Blue Jays might trade Roy Halladay today. I hope they don't.

Reasons the Blue Jays shouldn't trade him:

• 6-time MLB All-Star: 2002, 2003, 2005 (was supposed to start but was sidelined with a season-ending injury), 2006, 2008 and 2009 (American League starting pitcher).
• American League Cy Young Award: 2003
• The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year: 2003
• Players Choice Awards (Most Outstanding Pitcher): 2003
• 2 time AL player of the week:
• 3 time AL pitcher of the month: May 2003, September 2003, April 2007.
• Toronto Blue Jays Career Leader in Win–Loss percentage (.670)
• Only Blue Jays pitcher to earn two base hits in one regular season game (vs. Los Angeles Dodgers on June 10, 2007)
• From 2002-2008, Halladay has a .698 winning percentage, 113 wins, 9 shutouts, 37 complete games, and 7.14 innings per start, all of which are the best in the American League in that time frame.

• Derek Jeter was quoted as saying, "He never throws a ball over the middle of the plate," Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter said. "He goes corner-to-corner as good as any pitcher in the game. I've said it before, he's probably the best starter in baseball." ^[13]

• Torii Hunter was quoted as saying, "He's the best there is in the game right now. He throws the ball in and out the zone, out and into the zone. He's one of the best at doing that. There are some pitchers I own, and some pitchers that own me -- he's definitely one of them." " ^[14]

• In an ESPN Magazine about the best hitter/pitcher matchup, Aubrey Huff was quoted as saying "Roy Halladay against Pujols, best against the best. Halladay is as good as I've seen other than Pedro [Martinez] in his heyday. He's not 96-97 [mph], he's not overpowering, but he's got that cutter, that sinker. He hits his spots and he never makes a mistake. He'll throw that cutter in, then throws a sinker away on the black. It's not fair." ^[15]

• In the same article Alex Cora said "He is such a complete pitcher. I've seen him give up four runs to us, then he ends up going nine. He has so many pitches. If the cutter isn't working, he goes with the changeup. If the changeup isn't working, he goes with the breaking ball. If that's not working, he makes something up. I used to tell Petey [Pedro Martinez] that if I was a general manager, and Roy was a free agent, I'd go over to his house, I'd give him a contract, I'd tell him to fill in a number and I'll be happy."

• When asked about his ultimate hitter/pitcher matchup, Hall of Fame Pitcher Jim Palmer said "It would be Halladay against anyone; that's how good he is. I saw [Rangers pitching coach] Mike Maddux the other day. He ran up to me and said, 'I just saw Halladay for the first time! He's unbelievable!'"

• "Asked what makes Roy Halladay the best pitcher in baseball, the Yankees slugger Mark Teixeira^[16] widened his eyes with respect and wonder: 'All his pitches start in the same place and end in a different place.'"

• In the same article, Raul Ibanez said "He’s definitely got the best stuff that I’ve seen — I’d put him right up there with Pedro [Martinez] in 1999. His sinker and his cutter, they’re going in completely opposite directions. Even if you guess right, it doesn’t mean you hit it, because he locates them so well. If he was in New York or Boston, fans would know more about him. But in baseball circles, he’s the best. Respectfully, he’s so good that it’s fun to try to compete against him. "He comes right at you. Even if you take an 0 for 4, you’re so locked in — you want to face the best. He’s the biggest challenge out there."

• In an interview with Politico.com, then President George W. Bush also claimed that, if given the choice of one pitcher and one position player with which to build a team, he would pick Roy Halladay and Chase Utley: "Roy Halladay from the Toronto Blue Jays is a great pitcher. He's a steady guy, he burns up innings."^[17]