SEATTLE -- Yankee Stadium, All-Star Game, returning Hall of Famers, World Series home-field advantage again on the line ... Roy Halladay?

The man known by one and all in Toronto as "Doc", amazingly, never has started an All-Star Game. He's been named to four American League teams, played in two games, and based on the numbers, probably will be aced out again this month when AL manager Terry Francona picks his starter.

Halladay only gets 3 1/2 runs of support per game. (Getty Images)

But if Francona has been watching Halladay closely -- and Francona can be forgiven if he hasn't, being that handling the pesky Tampa Bay Rays is becoming a full-time commitment -- he might throw out the numbers and hand the ball to Toronto's ace, anyway.

Doc Distance again leads the majors with six complete games -- double the total of Tampa Bay's James Shields, Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia and Milwaukee's Ben Sheets, who are tied for second -- and 130 1/3 innings pitched.

His 9-6 record might be a little on the bland side, but then again, the guy is getting less than 3½ runs of support per game. Earlier this season, he threw three consecutive complete games -- and lost them all.

Last time that happened in the majors? Back in 1999, when Randy Johnson received criminally low run support from his Arizona teammates.

Last time that happened in Toronto? Back in 1982, when Jim Clancy was grinding out daily exercises in futility.

Halladay is every bit as much of a throwback as the Blue Jays' retro Friday uniforms: He's pitched 32 complete games since 2003, a sum that not only leads the majors, but far out-distances the pack. Livan Hernandez is next at 21, and Mark Mulder's 17 follows that. Halladay's 32 complete games since '03 is more than that of 19 individual teams.

"Doc could pitch any time, in any era. The '70s, '80s, '90s, 2000s," says new/old Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston, who played in the 1960s and 1970s, piloted the Jays to back-to-back World Series titles in 1992 and 1993 and took over for John Gibbons last month. "He's a Hall of Fame-type pitcher if he stays healthy."

Halladay might also lead the majors in being regularly overlooked -- at least, by everyone but the hitters who must face him in his next outing. Pitching on mediocre-to-poor teams in out-of-the-way Toronto has kept him in the shadows far more often than it should.

His determination reminds Gaston of that of three old pitchers who helped the Blue Jays soar back in the day: Jack Morris, Roger Clemens and Pat Hentgen. The way he's able to command four pitches reminds Toronto shortstop David Eckstein of St. Louis Cy Young winner Chris Carpenter.

His four-hit shutout of Seattle on Monday night -- yes, he sometimes wins his complete games -- was as dominant a game as you'll see the rest of the year. "Best I've ever seen him," one veteran AL scout says. "The way he moved those two pitches around, Seattle's guys didn't have a chance."

That would be Halladay's 96 mph fastball and 92 mph cutter, a pitch that behaves almost as a slider does, the scout notes. Mariners rookie Jeff Clement, a highly touted hitter, took three called strikes and, afterward, sounded as helpless as he looked.

"He threw four different pitches, all quality, and you couldn't tell what it was until late," Clement said.

"The cutter and the sinker ... for me, I couldn't tell what it was until it was halfway there," outfielder Jeremy Reed said. "That's tough when one's 95 and the other's 92."

Part of the reason the cutter and sinker are so difficult to decipher: Over the past two seasons, Halladay has been able to refine each so he can work both sides of the plate with them.

"In the past, I mostly threw the cutter to the extension side (away from hitters) and the sinker in on the hands side," Halladay says. "Now, I try to throw both pitches to both sides of the plate."

Whether it will earn him an All-Star start anytime soon -- like, perhaps, this year? -- is a mystery waiting to be revealed. But at 31 and in his seventh full season, this much is clear: Halladay has never been better and, start or no, there are several more All-Star appearances in his future if he stays healthy.

"It's just an honor going," he says. "Any chance you get to be there is great. There are a lot of quality pitchers out there. For me, just to get a chance to go to the game and talk with them, learn things. ..."

A little more knowledge for Doc Distance is a scary proposition.

•  You don't need to be a certified scout to recognize that, at this point, having demoted slumping Brett Myers to the minors this week, the Philadelphia Phillies are scouring the majors for pitching help. One name on their list: Seattle's Erik Bedard. "They are going to have to do something," one NL scout says. "They just sent Myers back to the minors and the lefty, (Cole) Hamels, is the only one pitching for them right now."

•  More indications that Cleveland is gearing up to deal lefty Sabathia. The Indians are said to have scouts blanketing the high-minors of several clubs, analyzing and comparing top prospects.

•  Of the list of names Seattle has made available, scouts say that third baseman Adrian Beltre and outfielder Raul Ibanez carry the most value.

•  So far this season, Tampa Bay has swept Boston twice, Toronto twice, the Los Angeles Angels, Chicago Cubs, Florida Marlins and Baltimore Orioles.

•  They're already nominating B.J. Upton's all-out-sprinting catch in the ninth on Kevin Youklis' ball Wednesday as the catch of the year in Tampa Bay. Manager Joe Maddon called it "Willie Mays-esque."

•  It remains all or nothing for Detroit, even though Jim Leyland's club is playing better. Remember how the Tigers were projected by many to score 1,000 runs? They've now been shut out 10 times, more than anybody else in the majors.

•  Minnesota's emerging Nick Blackburn is the latest to handcuff the Tigers, holding them to three hits over seven innings Tuesday in the Metrodome. Blackburn is one of the key reasons Minnesota continues to contend in the AL Central, even after dealing ace Johan Santana. The right-hander doesn't have overpowering stuff, but he's a typical Minnesota find in that he throws strikes and has excellent command of his fastball. "The way he goes about his business and attacks hitters is impressive," says outfielder Michael Cuddyer, whom the Twins placed on the disabled list this week. "He gives up hits, but he's got good damage control. He keeps us in games."

•  And so it came to pass that Wednesday night, Arizona led the NL West with a 42-43 record. And in the unplanned emergencies department, Randy Johnson, whom the Diamondbacks were hoping could be an effective No. 3 or 4 starter (read: maybe 10-12 victories) now has lost six consecutive games. Of those, his only quality start came against Boston on June 24. It is the second-longest streak of Johnson's career. He lost eight in a row in 1992 with Seattle, the season he led the AL in whiffs and walks.

•  Your weekly update: These 15 teams would be in first place were they playing in the NL West: The Cubs, Cardinals, Brewers, Phillies, Marlins, Angels, Athletics, Rangers, White Sox, Twins, Tigers, Rays, Red Sox, Yankees and Orioles. Throw in the fact that Arizona actually is the first-place team in the NL West, and you've got 16 of baseball's 30 clubs qualifying for the lead in baseball's worst division.

•  The Pittsburgh Pirates, ladies and gentleman, have won back-to-back road games ... exactly twice this season. Heck, if they were in the NL West, they'd be tied with the Dodgers for second, only 1½ games back.

•  By the way, regarding Twins pitching, note that Boof Bonser has legally changed his name to "Boof", so any of you old-school types who preferred calling him "John" -- his given name -- well, sorry, but Lew Alcindor became Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali ... you've gotta change with the times.

•  Now this won't help his trade value: In his past two outings for San Diego, lefty Randy Wolf has surrendered 14 hits, nine earned runs and nine walks in 7 1/3 innings pitched. Ouch.

•  Boy, things sure have gotten better in a hurry for Tampa Bay, now 20 games over .500 for the first time in club history. Before embarking on this week's sweep of Boston, Maddon spent part of his day Monday ordering a new bank card. Yep, a victim of identity theft. Remember the days when nobody even wanted to know the Rays' skipper, let alone steal his identity? "Somebody was charging gasoline in New York City on my debit card," Maddon told Tampa Bay reporters. "With the price of gas these days, I would have preferred they had gone to Tiffany's."

•  Early impressions of new (sort of) Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston, from Jays right-hander A.J. Burnett: "A lot of trust in his starting five (rotation)."

•  Make that two managers in the post-Tony La Russa days who have nothing but high praise for third baseman Scott Rolen. After fired Toronto manager John Gibbons raved about Rolen earlier this year, here's Gaston's early thoughts: "He might be the best third baseman I've ever seen. Kelly Gruber was great, and Doug Rader was, too. But nothing like what I've seen from Rolen these last three weeks. His throws are right on the money. He makes plays on grass, turf ... it's easy to see why he's got seven Gold Gloves."

•  It's all about the pitch counts. And some human beings are capable of counting higher: Halladay threw 115 in Monday's complete game. Gaston, an old-school manager, says the numbers he has in mind for his staff "depend on the person. I can remember Jimmy Key, at best, going 105, 110. Other guys, maybe a few more. Jack Morris was a guy who always had high pitch counts. It depends on the guy. I'm not big on running much longer than 120, 125." On the other hand, Seattle coach Sam Perlozzo was talking about when he had Erik Bedard in Baltimore, and the numbers usually were much lower. "Sometimes he'd be 85 and done," Perlozzo says. "He's a max-effort guy. There would be times Leo (Mazzone, former Orioles pitching coach) would say, 'He's about done.' And I'd say, 'Leo, it's only the sixth inning and he's only at 85 pitches.' And Leo would say, 'Yeah, but they were a hard 85.'"

•  Look out when the bases are loaded and Cleveland is in the field. Indians pitchers have served up eight grand slams already this year. The club record is nine.

•  Yes, it's true: Detroit's Brandon Inge reinjured his oblique ... reaching for a pillow. Something about being in bed with his wife and his 3-year-old son, and he attempted to readjust a pillow. Let that be a lesson to you: It's better for children and their parents if the kids sleep in their own bed!

•  Rainmen: The Yankees have had 12 games either postponed or delayed by rain so far this year.

•  You know how one of the great things about baseball is you have a chance every day to see something at the ballpark you've never before seen? Well, Seattle shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt walked Wednesday night -- yep, really, in the seventh inning. Five walks now this season for the Impatient Mariner -- in 298 plate appearances.

•  Have a safe, happy Fourth of July, and keep the fireworks where they should be: In the sky or at a game in which Barry Zito is pitching.