Hold on a second. I'm not going to sit here and defend everything Riccardi's ever done, but I've got a big problem with this article. Griffin seems to have a bone to pick; this article is all spin.
First of all, from everything I can gather this is just wrong:
Everyone knew that the Jays could not satisfy him the next time and that Halladay would explore free agency if he ever wanted to get A.J. Burnett money – the type of five-year contract he earned through his hard work and talent.
Beeston has always said that there's money there, all he has to do is ask for it. Moreover, he stated unequivocally just the other day that "money will not be a factor" in resigning Hallday, but of course this became a moot point as soon as Hallday said he wouldn't resign.
On that note: Do people think Riccardi is lying? I certainly believe him when he says Halladay told him that he doesn't want to sign an extension. Frankly, that's virtually the only reason that you would want to trade him. And you know what? Riccardi is absolutely doing the right thing by exploring trade possibilities. You can't let an asset like this get away for nothing. I honestly don't understand how people can become so angry about these comments. I categorically disagree with the assertion that he's "dragging [Halladay's] name through the mud." It's just not true. All he's doing is answering a question honestly. "Blaming" has a deliberate negative connotation. He's merely offering an explanation, not criticism. To my knowledge, Riccardi hasn't said a single negative thing about Halladay, ever. That headline and the general tone of the article are very misleading, and it really bothers me that Griffin is painting this situation this way.
I've also got to reject the idea that Riccardi has lowered Hallday's value with these comments. We know that the pitcher has offered list of team's to which he's willing to go, and we also know that negotiations have been going on for a couple of weeks. Therefore it's safe to assume that while this revelation is news to us, it's certainly not news to any of the other GMs in the league. Because of Halladay's list, every GM must have known for a while that Hallday has made this declaration, where he's willing to go, and all parties involved would understand the effect (if any) it has on his trade value.
It seems to me that people are just (understandably) very frustrated about the prospect of losing Halladay, but I really dislike the witchhunting and scapegoating that's going on here. I'll say it again: I don't have a problem with how Riccardi has handled this. Let's at least wait until a deal gets done before we break out the toches and pitchforks.
