He’s off to the Phillies, and he took out a full page newspaper ad to say thanks to his long-suffering fans.  Compare that, by the way, to Brett Favre, who’s headline on ESPN today involves him being miffed–still–that the Green Bay owners didn’t want to keep him.  Favre kicked the Packers around on national TV this year…twice.  And he said not a word about the fans who had lived and died with him, some of them for their entire lives.  (Seriously, how old is Favre?  He’s been QBing our entire football-following career, anyhow…)

Halladay, who was drafted by the Blue Jays back in 1995, said in the ad that he felt blessed to have been a part of the organization, and that he’d always have a special place in his heart for Toronto.

Here’s the ad, courtesy of Toronto Mike.

For now, a bit of updated playoff analysis.

Clinched

The Yankees have clinched the division title, but playoff questions remain.  Specifically, after you start C.C. Sabathia, then what happens? A.J. Burnett has been good at times, but terribly inconsistent.  Pettite–despite the sore shoulder–is probably your best bet for a number two, because he at least eats some innings, even when he’s off.  Because of the extra days off in the first series, this won’t be an issue right away.

The Angels have also clinched. But they always get swept in the first round.  Will this year be different?  Well, last year they needed a bat, and got swept despite the addition of Mark Texeira.  This year they didn’t add that bat. So….you be the judge.  (They have, however, added Scott Kazmir, late of Tampa Bay, so their pitching is solider than in past years.)

St. Louis….looks like St. Louis. They clinched their division behind Pujols, and they’ll play in the playoffs behind Pujols.  They’re not especially exciting, but they’re getting the job done. Again.

Playoff Bound

The Dodgers have clinched their second playoff berth in a row under manager Joe Torre, and they look good going into the playoffs.  With Manny Ramirez’s famously torrid postseason play on their side, they could go far.

Questionmarks

The Red Sox had a magic number of 1 to clinch a playoff berth …three days ago.  They still have that 1.  They’re imploding, and if Texas weren’t quite so far back…well, actually this might still be a race.  The Sox just got swept by the Yankees and lost one to Toronto last night. Why? Who knows.

Texas is less than likely to make the playoffs–their collapse in the month of August was nothing short of spectacular.  They control their own destiny only minimally, but hey, miracles happen.

The Rockies, the little team that could, could also still make the playoffs.  We’ll see…

Detroit and Minnesota: playing a doubleheader today with the Twins two games back.  Update on that one later.

Alex Gonzalez to the Red Sox

The struggling Sox’ current best defensive lineup would feature Casey Kotchman (recently acquired from Atlanta after spending years with the Angels) at first, Kevin Youkilis at third.  But the Sox can’t hit lately, and as a result they need the resurgent Mike Lowell in their lineup daily as long as his body holds up.  THAT, in turn, means they need some compensatory defense at short, since Lowell–a gold glove third baseman–doesn’t have the range he once did, especially this year given his injury.  Gonzalez isn’t a heavy bat, but his range to his right is phenomenal, so acquiring him means you can slot Lowell back in at third and let Youk and Victor Martinez have the days off they want or need at first without sacrificing power entirely.  This is big.

Alex Rios to the White Sox

This one was the shocker: a longtime Blue Jay put on waivers–salary dump, clearly.  Four teams professed interest or put in claims, the White Sox won the war.  Rios can play all three outfield positions, giving the White Sox a way to rest the aging Jermaine Dye and Scott Podsednik.  He hits lefties and righties about equally well, too, so you can put him in the lineup every day.  And so far, his RBI numbers have made a difference.  To us, this could push the White Sox over the top.

Greg Zaun and Russ Springer to Tampa Bay Rays

Zaun has spent time with many clubs, mostly Baltimore.  He gives the Rays the kind of veteran bench presence they need if they’re going to pull it together and contend again in their “young guys reaching the playoffs for the first time” mode, as last year.  Springer, a bullpen pitcher claimed off waivers from the As, has bounced around like crazy, but is arguably a serviceable bullpen arm against a righty-heavy lineup (lefties bat .352 off him this year, which means he’ll be useless against the Yankees, but useful against the Sox, both of whom the Rays have to deal with if they want to make the playoffs.)  His ERA on the year is actually slightly lower than his career ERA, and in the last 30 days, his ERA’s under 3. 00.  Good acquisitions both, though under the radar.

Carl Pavano to the Minnesota Twins

…Actually, we’re kidding.  We think Pavano’s done.

Daniel Cabrera to the Diamondbacks

Cabrera is an enigma…he was supposed to be so good, but has struggled with command despite at times having overpowering stuff.  He’s still a couple years shy of thirty and can hit the high nineties on the gun, but Baltimore kept using him as a starter and finding they couldn’t depend on him.  In last year’s down market, he went unsigned in the off season.  The Diamondbacks can use his speed, assuming he can be consistent.  He’s not currently on the roster, so we don’t know how much of a difference he’ll make, but he’s worth noting.

These won’t be the last of them, as we’re still waiting for a lot of people–Ryan Freel et al–to clear waivers or be claimes, but in the meantime who else do you think made a difference? Sound off in the comments….

AL East

It’s hard to believe that the Yankees’ 6.5 game lead isn’t a commanding one at this point, especially given the Sox still-slumping bats (here’s looking at you, Jason Bay), and exhausted bullpen.  The Sox schedule is tough from here on out, too, with lots of games against contenders and plenty of time to face Tampa Bay, seemingly everyone’s nemesis.  (A few years ago, Derek Jeter was quoted as saying that the Devil Rays really had the Yankees’ number that year, and everyone laughed.  Now, nobody in Red Sox Nation’s laughing.)  Meanwhile, the Yankees get to play Oakland and Kansas City. Case closed.

AL Central

This is the AL race that could really surprise us.  Detroit’s in the lead right now, but we think that the White Sox, especially with the addition of Alex Rios, are going to end up taking it: Detroit’s been too spotty in recent years, and while the White Sox have a slightly tougher schedule, they also have a more reliable bullpen, Mark Buehrle, and now, a bat they needed.  Rios has been with the Blue Jays a long time before this, and he might well be one of those players who does phenomenal things when suddenly playing for a contender.  We think the White Sox are a force to be reckoned with, and it’ll be the Tigers doing the reckoning from their couches, come October.

AL West

This one is also close, but the Angels have Guerrero back, are coming off a sweep of the Giants, are used to making the playoffs, and have an easier month of August.  September’s another story for all these teams, when they all play each other like crazy, but we think the Angels are going to slowly pull away from Texas, who are currently hanging just 3.5 games back.  Whether they make it out of the first round of the playoffs, well, that’s been a historical problem for them.  But that’s another column.  (One that’ll piss off one of UPH’s best friends, so we’ll hold off.)  The truth here is that the Angels don’t need rally monkeys–they just need to keep doing what they’re doing and ride the wave.  As for Texas?  See below.

AL Wild Card

Boston, Texas, Detroit, and Tampa Bay are the real contenders here: the White Sox are going to play spoiler, even if they make the playoffs.  They’re 7 games back in the Wild Card race, but we think they’ll end up taking their division, and playing havoc with the rest of the standings in September.  In one crazy period of a bit more than a week, they play Boston, the Angels, and Seattle. and then at the end of the month three versus Detroit.  Meanwhile, the rest of these teams are all playing either each other or other contenders as well.  We’re not really seeing a late surge from Tampa Bay–they don’t seem to have the chemistry they did last year–but we think Texas is hungry, and might finally end up in the playoffs again. We’re looking forward to revisiting this during the craziness of the September schedules, but for now, that’s our pick.