"So our 9-year-old made the call. He made the decision. I know that sounds utterly ridiculous, but we're a tight family. If the kids weren't happy . . . "
Roy Halladay would still be a Blue Jay today?
And Cliff Lee would still be here?
"He's been so involved in all of this," Roy Halladay said of the eldest of his two sons. "And he's a diehard fan. So as much as we could, we tried to keep him involved. And he made the right choice. So we'll go home and tell him he made the right call."
The right call. The only call. The more Brandy and her man spoke yesterday, the more you understood why this happened, why he would agree to only a 3-year extension with the Phillies while other pitchers of his pedigree have sought - and obtained - 5 or more. Why he would forego the chance to guarantee $40 million more in salary just so he could pitch here, now.
And why they knew what Braden would say before the call was made.
"Braden was printing out Phillies rosters last week," Brandy said. "He knows everything about this team. He's really into them."
The Halladays make their home in Odessa, Fla., just north of where both the Blue Jays and the Phillies conduct spring training. So they get that part about the Phillies being different now as compared to when they first moved there. They get that this organization is far from its days of having a red X slashed across its emblem, that its core of stars will peak over the next two seasons.
They don't have to be told about the city, either, or about the booing, or about the tough media.
"I've heard you guys are a little ruthless at times if you don't like us," Brandy said. "So I'm just gonna smile and suck up the best I can to the media. And hope that works in my favor."
