Another Thanksgiving Day Deal for Theo?

ESPN.com is reporting that Theo Epstein and the Boston Red Sox are making a serious push for Blue Jays ace, Roy Halladay. Halladay, who has one year left on his contract with Toronto, has told management that he doesn't see them competing for a title any time soon and does not want to resign with them. He has put his team in a catch-22: trade me now or get nothing for me at the end of the year.

The Red Sox were just one of the many teams to actively pursue the former Cy Young winner during the trading deadline. The trade, of course, never went through.

Yet with the news breaking about Halladay right around the start of the holidays gets me thinking. I remember a certain Cy Young-caliber pitcher being traded to the Sawx after Theo discussed the possibility over some turkey and pumpkin pie (how a real American should conduct business, if you ask me).

Yes, that's right. I'm talking about Curt Schilling. Having Schill on the 2004 rotation gave us Pedro, Schilling, and the reliable Derek Lowe as our top three pitchers. If we were to add Halladay our rotation would be Beckett, Lester, and Halladay. I don't even think lineups like the Big Red Machine or the Murderer's Row could handle that much heat.

But before all that can happen, the Sox have got to give up someone first. During the season, they flirted with letting go ace-of-the-future Clay Buchholz, Justin Masterson, and lefty prospect Nick Hagadone in exchange for Halladay. Well Masterson and Hagadone are now wearing Indians uniforms after the Victor Martinez trade and with Buchholz closing out the season on a high note, he will be undoubtedly at the forefront of all trade talks. Flame-throwing sensation Daniel Bard will also be in high demand, who looks to be the heir-apparent to Jonathan Papelbon.

According to ESPN statman Mark Simon, since 2006, Halladay ranks No. 1 in the big leagues in wins (69) and innings pitched (930 1/3), is fourth in ERA (3.11) among pitchers with at least 500 innings pitched and is fourth in opponents' OPS (.655).

And the Elias Sports Bureau proclaimed that among pitchers with a minimum of 20 decisions against the Yankees, Halladay ranks third all time with a .750 winning percentage (18-6 record) versus the Bombers, behind only Hall of Famers Babe Ruth (17-5, .773) and Addie Joss (28-9, .757).

Boston is not the only team bidding for Halladay. The Yankees, despite spending $243.5 million on pitchers CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett last winter, will not let Boston's bid go unchallenged. The Phillies, despite trading for Cliff Lee at July's deadline, still hold prime pieces they could use in a possible deal for Halladay, and they might hold some appeal to Halladay, whose offseason home is very close to Clearwater, Fla., where the Phillies hold spring training. The Cardinals, especially if they don't re-sign Matt Holliday, could be a player, given how close Halladay is with Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter, a former teammate in Toronto.

The Angels, who are likely to lose John Lackey to free agency, have made Halladay "their No, 1 priority, according to their people I've talked to,'' the executive said. "They can give Toronto a shortstop [Maicer Izturis or Erick Aybar], a catcher in [Mike] Napoli, and also have young pitching in their system. Those are all things the Blue Jays need. There could be a match there.

Despite their competition, the Sox's track record at reeling in major pitchers through trades plus the fact that they dropped the ball on being "economical" leads me to believe that the Red Sox should be at the fore-front to land Halladay.