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BALTIMORE -- Roy Halladay wanted to set the record straight.
During those crazy days at the end of July when J.P. Ricciardi was testing the trade market for Halladay, it was presumed by many that the Blue Jays GM was unnecessarily embarrassing the franchise's crown jewel.
Not true, says Halladay.
"J.P. always looked out for my best interests," Halladay said yesterday. "That was lost in a lot of that. I think people blamed him for that. Knowing the situation, the team was in and my situation, he was looking out for my best interests.
"He took a lot of flak for that and he shouldn't have. I'll always appreciate that he did stand up and defend me. I always thought that he was in my corner. He is a tremendous man and somebody I enjoyed working with. He had a lot to do with my career."
Halladay said he listened with interest to the message delivered yesterday to the team by Paul Beeston and especially Rogers president Tony Viner, liking what he heard.
"It's a positive organization," Halladay said. "Beeston carries that mentality. It's hard to come out of that meeting and not feel good about it. The commitment to winning is the biggest thing.
"Obviously, there's a lot that the organization has to decide and what direction they're going to go. That will play a large part in what I hope to do the rest of my career."
Halladay is under contract to the Jays through next year but there is a chance they will attempt to trade him again this off-season to try to get a package of talent that could be with the team for years to come.
