Roy Halladay is the star of of the trade deadline marketplace.

His team, the Blue Jays, is hopelessly mired in the American League East pack — miles behind the big-spending Red Sox and Yankees. It is difficult to imagine Toronto winning another division title in our lifetime.

Halladay has another year on his contract, so he offers tremendous values to contending teams. He very much wants to pitch for a contender.

But . . . the Blue Jays will need to get the world for him in a deal, since trading Halladay is the equivalent of waving the white flag. How does the team sell tickets after surrendering?

Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports summed up the scenario: “Tthe Blue Jays’ general manager is not yet acting like a man backed into a corner. J.P Ricciardi is either going to redecorate the place with what he can acquire for Halladay or take him to the winter meetings and try again there.”

Halladay would look great in the Cards rotation, of course, but this team lacks the front-line starting pitching prospects to make that deal happen.

Brown suggested the Dodgers make a home-run play for Halladay, since the Jason Schmidt Comeback doesn’t offer much promise.

ESPN.com’s Buster Olney argues that Philly should do whatever it takes to land him: “Halladay is perfect for the Phillies in every way possible. He’s got a great contract in that it’s not too long and not overloaded with long-term obligation, and he would make the Phillies the favorites to repeat as NL champions. If I were sitting in Ruben Amaro’s chair, I’d overpay to get him.”

Ricciardi insists he won’t let trade talks go to the deadline, so the next week will be fun. Stay tuned to the Internet for 24/7 updates.

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Questions to ponder while wondering what the Cardinals will do with the No. 5 spot in the rotation:

• Now that Mark DeRosa has whacked a couple of home runs – and Ryan Ludwick has sustained his midseason upturn –  will the Cards offense finally start coming together?
• Why has Pacific Coast League all-star Jess Todd (4-1, 2.12 ERA, 22 saves) made just one appearance as a Cardinal this season? What else must he do to get an extended look this season?
• For that matter, why hasn’t Blake Hawksworth (3.00 ERA in eight earlier Cardinal appearances) gotten a longer run in the bullpen?
• With Shaquille O’Neal and Terrell Owens starring in their own reality shows, is it time to let several sports figures in on this action?
• Is emulating professional wrestling antics in your back yard ever a good idea?

LIFE (SORT OF) IN THE PUBLIC EYE

Tipsheet and Co. recently visited New York to see Daughter No. 1, Jennifer, who flourishing as the health intern at Family Circle magazine. We’re looking forward to reading her bylined stories this fall.

On the flight back, we ran into numerous St. Louisans. Some sort of recognized your cyber-correspondent, but they weren’t quite sure why. (One airline passenger did remark, “So, the cyber-correspondent is on vacation?”)

This is inspired Daughter No. 2, Cara, to write this mock commercial script:

Bud Light Presents, Real Men of Genius (Real Men of Genius)
Today we salute you, Mr. Vaguely Familiar Sport’s Media Guy.
(Mr. Vaguely Familiar Sport’s Media Guy)
We see your name in the newspaper. We hear your voice on the radio. And sometimes, we see your picture on your blogs.
(You’re everywhere)
You may have never played sports, so you do the next best thing—comment on it on every available media outlet.
(I need my sports facts)
We may not know your name, but we know we know you from . . . somewhere.
(Aren’t you that guy?)
So crack open an ice cold Bud Light oh pro of the pros. Thanks to you, we have sports everywhere we turn, and another face to vaguely recognize.
(Mr.Vaguely Familiar Sport’s Media Guy)

ON THAT NOTE

Let us present another classic “Real Men Of Genius” ad from the archives:

QUIPS ‘R US

Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:

Jeff Schultz, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “The Miami Dolphins announced Marc  Anthony has been added as a minority owner, joining entertainers Gloria and  Emilio Estefan. And where you get Marc Anthony, you get Jennifer Lopez. So at  the very least, the Dolphins will not be short for anthem singers. The good news  is, this probably makes a miserable human being like Bill Parcells go crazy. But  with J-Lo now hanging around the complex, at least he’s got someone to compare  butt sizes with.”

Scott Ostler, San Francisco Chronicle: “Agent Jeff Borris says, ‘I know the Giants are dying for power, and they’re in (the pennant race). They wouldn’t have to look beyond their backyard.’ Oh lord, Barry Bonds is camping out in Willie Mays Plaza?”

Greg Couch, FanHouse: “It’s cold-truth time for golf now that we’ve had a day to catch our breath from the Tom Watson Open, won by Stewart Cink. Watson’s run at the British Open was a great moment for golf, and particularly needed in a tournament where Tiger Woods failed and Phil Mickelson stayed home. But while everyone marveled at a 59-year old stepping up, what did that mean? It was fun to watch at the time, but it didn’t say much about the game. It said that the younger generation pulled a vanishing act when its two leaders were gone.”

Dan Daly, Washington Times: “The real reason President Obama was invited to throw out the first pitch at the All-Star Game: So Tim Wakefield, Mr. 68 MPH Knuckleball, would feel better about himself.”

MEGAPHONE

“We’re fortunate that a team like St. Louis didn’t play scalding baseball and  build like an eight- or 10-game lead. We were basically .500 the whole first  half and two or three games out the whole time. The way we played, a team could  have run away with it. We’re still in striking distance, so we’ll take it.”

Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee, to ESPN.com