Roy Halladay remembers a lot of late Julys during his 12 years with the Blue Jays when he got his hopes up as the trade deadline approached, only to be disappointed year after year when team officials didnt make a major move.
Maybe thats why Toronto never reached the playoffs while Halladay was in a Blue Jays uniform.
While he was winning 148 games and a Cy Young Award, going to six All-Star Games and winning 20 games twice, the Blue Jays were good enough to post eight winning seasons but never made the moves necessary to take that next step down the stretch.
One of the reasons Halladay is now a Phillie is his confidence in this organization making deadline moves to improve the roster. No matter how good the roster already is.
It was always frustrating watching New York and Boston do it whenever we got close around the break, so it's nice to be on a team that goes out and gets those guys, whether it's in the winter or during the break or whenever, Halladay said after beating the Padres Sunday afternoon for his 12th win. They're always trying to make us better.
The Blue Jays havent been to the playoffs since beating the Phillies in the 1993 World Series. They were always pretty good while Halladay was in Torontothey won at least 80 games in nine of his 12 yearsbut those blockbuster late-season moves?
Thats what the other teams in the AL East did.
MLB
With the Phillies, Halladay expects those moves. And thats one of the big reasons hes here.
"Not just this week, but (moves like) going to get Cliff (Lee) this winter, he said. That's a big part of it. Teams that win and do it consistently, they do those things and they are aggressive and they go out and get players, and that's a big part of being here.
With the trade deadline just six days away, the Phillies are 64-36 going into todays series finale against the Padres at Citizens Bank Park.
They have the best record in the majors, and theyre 27-11 since June 10thats .710 baseball over the past six weeks. Theyve won five straight games and havent lost a series since mid-June. They havent lost a home series since the first week of May.
With Halladay, Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee and Vance Worley a combined 39-16, the Phillies now have a season-best-matching six-game lead over the Braves and appear to be sailing toward their fifth straight division title.
But nonetheless Halladay, 12-4 with a 2.55 ERA and a candidate for his third Cy Young Award, said he expects the Phillies to be active this week.
You're always hoping to get better, he said. There's definitely a lot of things that go into it. Knowing Im only here for a certain amount of years, yeah, I'd sell the farm. But they have to look out for the interest of the franchise beyond what we're doing right now, so it's a delicate balance.
Wed love to have guys, but I think we all understand that we have players here to win. We have players here to do it. But any time you can get better, you'll take it.
No matter how many games the Phillies win, Manager Charlie Manuel continues to insist that hed like to see General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. bolster the teams offense with a deadline move.
Although the Phillies have started to hit much better in recent weeks, theyre still17th in the majors in hitting (.250), 19th in home runs (87), 21st in doubles (159), 13th in runs scored (431) and 19th in slugging percentage (.385).
Ill play with what we got, but at the same time I think our organization in my communication with them, we're always looking to be better, Manuel said. The better our team, the better chance we have to get in (the playoffs) and win.
I feel like we need to get better. Yeah, we've got a good record ... but you don't take nothing for granted, and I see places we can improve, and as long as I see them, I'll always talk to Ruben about those.
We got guys hitting .220, .230, .240, and from a hitting standpoint, that's not good. I don't care what anybody says. We should try to get better. That's how I look at it. ... I just want our team to be the best it can possibly be.
Historically, the Phillies have been active at the trade deadline, both under newly minted Hall of Fame GM Pat Gillick and Amaro. Usually, theyre bringing in pitching helpJamie Moyer in 2006, Kyle Lohse in 2007, Joe Blanton in 2008, Lee in 2009, Roy Oswalt in 2010.
This year, they dont need starting pitching, but bullpen experience and a right-hand-hitting corner outfielder wouldnt hurt.
There's always room for improvement, Halladay said. Unless you're undefeated and 10-running everybody, there's definitely a long way to go. We've done a lot of thigns right, but I know as a pitcher, every time you go out there, you give up hits and runs, there's definitely room for improvement. I know the pitchers feel that way and as a team, as well as we've played, we feel like we can be better in lots of areas.
E-mail Reuben Frank at rfrank@comcastsportsnet.com
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