As the clock ticks down on Roy Halladay's time as the pre-eminent star on the Toronto sports scene, an uncomfortable realization hits home: Soon, this will be a city of not only inadequate teams, but almost devoid of the natural excitement that performers such as Halladay provide.
Halladay always has been a contradiction of sorts as a modern superstar, so focused to be excellent, so detached personally. We got to know him as a ball player, just never as a person. We saw his fire every fifth day yet were exposed to so little of that fire in between.
He always has been more player than personality, more consistent than colourful but, unlike his team, and unlike the rest of this market, he has been that someone with whom we could depend on. Someone who never disappointed. A straight line in a market of continuing fluctuations.
And now what?
In another Blue Jays summer of paddling in circles, there are no other Halladays around. Vernon Wells and Alex Rios were supposed to be stars, but salary alone doesn't make you special. The reluctant Rios doesn't seem to have the personal makeup to live up to any billing. It is more confounding with Wells, who seemed to welcome being the go-to guy, whose personality appeared suited for the 162-game marathon that is baseball. But he fooled us, just as he fooled his owners, himself and his general manager.
Which leaves the Blue Jays with what? Aaron Hill? Adam Lind? Decent players both but too young to make career judgments on. Halladay, despite his numbers, will get some Hall of Fame talk because over a five-year period or more, he has been arguably the best starting pitcher in baseball.
But when he leaves, so goes some of the cachet of the second-division Jays and Toronto becomes a little poorer for it.
Chris Bosh may not be that far behind when it comes to departures. The face of the Raptors does not have a contract that extends beyond the coming season. He hasn't said if he's staying or going. After Halladay, he lines up as the No. 2 star on the Toronto sporting scene.
And who is No. 3? Begin the debate. There is no heir apparent for Halladay or Bosh in Toronto. Tomas Kaberle is the most decorated of Leafs players but he doesn't excite anyone but capologists. The Leafs stars are of the future -- maybe Jonas Gustavsson, maybe Luke Schenn, maybe Nazem Kadri ... maybe not.
And if Bosh moves on, much as you might appreciate Jose Calderon or Hedo Turkoglu or Andrea Bargnani, but none of them would have the term "all-time" come before or after their names.
It's no different, or likely worse, with the Argos, where Kerry Joseph was brought to Toronto as the CFL's most outstanding player and has been anything but since then. The Argos have won five of 21 games since Joseph's arrival and maybe the only genuine star of that team, Arland Bruce, if he was one, has all but disappeared since Damon Allen went into retirement and Kent Austin was shown the door.
New York has Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, David Wright, Carlos Delgado and Johan Santana and that's just on the baseball field. Los Angeles has Kobe Bryant and Manny Ramirez and Philadelphia has Ryan Howard and Chris Pronger and Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook.
CITY OF CHAMPIONS
And Toronto has ...
Calderon and Kaberle. Lind and Hill. Turkoglu and Bargnani. Dwayne De Rosario?
Just this past year, a player from the Red Sox won the MVP Award, two players from the Boston Bruins and a coach won NHL awards, the Celtics are a year removed from an NBA championship and Tom Brady returns this summer to throw passes to Randy Moss. All of that in one town.
None of it here.
Not now. Not in the immediate future. The biggest star is going, going ... gone. Again, we have no choice but to settle for less.
