Imagine this guy with a Red Sox or Yankees uniform on. Hold on, I’ll get the bucket.

I suppose this was as inevitable as Michael Bay producing another summer “blockbuster” devoid of intellect but full of explosions: Toronto Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi has stated that he will listen to trade offers for Roy Halladay, the staff ace and longtime team icon. I can only offer this unbiased statement to Mr. Halladay: FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, DON’T LEAVE US, ROY!

I’ve watched as this team went from meteoric heights to predictably-numbing mediocrity. I’ve seen Jays media attempt to spin a rotation that, including tonight’s start by Mark Rzepczynski has thrown out five (five!) starters making their major league debut prior to the All-Star Break. Hell, I saw the fan’s collective bright spot turn from, “My God, we might actually win the division with this team!” to “Well, the wild card is still attainable,” to “I sure hope Scott Rolen keeps up his hitting streak!” And now we have to deal with the prospect of trading away our ace, the one man who has given us SOMETHING positive through the last few years.

I understand the motives. I know that Halladay can opt for free agency soon given the clause in his contract. I know that A.J. Burnett walked last year and all we got was a couple draft picks. I know that a player like Halladay can command a king’s ransom in return, considering that not only is he arguably the best pitcher in the AL but his work ethic and conditioning mean he saves your bullpen every fifth day.

I also know our ballclub has fared notoriously poorly when attempting to trade the staff ace. Roger Clemens, who won two Cy Young awards with the Jays in 1997 and 1998, was promptly traded halfway through his contract for Boomer Wells (who had only left the Blue Jays three years prior to that), a servicable middle reliever named Graeme Lloyd, and the incomparable Homer Bush. Wells was then infamously traded two years later to the White Sox in the Mike Sirotka swindle deal, and we all remember how wonderfully that worked.

Odds are, the suitors (New York, Boston, Philadelphia) will come a-knocking. And I’m willing to bet the house any of those teams would be willing two start with their best two prospects and then some to get a guy like Halladay, who can easily be a team’s piece to capturing a World Series.

But I want him to capture it for us. Call me selfish; call me jaded (as a Packers fan, I’m having horrifying visions of Brett Favre in a Vikings uniform). I don’t care. This is the guy that has made it largely bearable to be a Jays fan. He’s worth the $15+ million he’s scheduled to make next year, the last year of his contract. If I have to imagine this team without him, well, it just won’t be nearly as fun to root them on.