Halladay open to playing in the Bronx

Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum have both been tabbed to start the tomorrow’s All-Star Game. However, when made available to the media, rather than answering questions regarding Tuesday’s start, Halladay was mostly bombarded with trade speculation and, specifically, trade speculation in relation to the Yankees (though the Phillies are still seen as the favorites to land him). Here’s what he had to say via Ken Davidoff (Newsday).

“There’s a point in your career where you know need to take a chance and try it, and win,” Halladay, who has a full no-trade clause, said in general of playing in a market larger than Toronto. “I’ve always hoped that’s going to be Toronto. I’ve believed in what we’ve done. It could still be.

“But I think at this point, I’m ready to take a chance on trying to win. Again, I honestly hope that it’s in Toronto. But you never know.”

Halladay surrendered three home runs in his July 4 start in the Bronx, his first start at the new Yankee Stadium, and he laughed Monday when a reporter asked him about making the ballpark his new home.

“It wasn’t a lot of fun the one time we went there,” Halladay said. “It’s baseball everywhere. Both sides are playing the same field.”

The right-hander danced around the topic of whether he would demand something — like a contract extension, for instance — in return for waiving his no-trade clause. He did make clear, however, that he would gladly switch to the National League.

“I think once you go from the American League East, not that there aren’t great teams out there … it’s a tough division,” Halladay said. “I’d rather hit than have to face [ Derek] Jeter and A-Rod, [Hideki] Matsui and [ Mark] Teixeira and all of the other guys. I think it’s a little different when you’re coming from someplace like that.”

Halladay offers a generic “I’m looking to win” answer, which means that he is definitely open to playing for a number of teams including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, LA (both teams), etc. Remember, he has a no-trade clause and therefore can veto moves to unfavorable locations. He seems to like the idea of going to the NL, though, which is his likeliest destination.