Halladay refuses to let another Toronto lead slip away as Jays beat A's 6-1

TORONTO — Cito Gaston's personal all-time starting rotation features greats like Roger Clemens, Dave Stieb, David Cone and Jack Morris.

But if the Blue Jays manager could take his dream team to the World Series, Roy Halladay would be a strong candidate to start Game 1.

Gaston was comparing Halladay favourably to every other starter he has managed after watching the Jays ace overmatch the free-falling Oakland A's in a 6-1 win on Monday before a crowd of 24,761 at the Rogers Centre.

"Right there at the top, if not the top," Gaston said when asked to rank Halladay on his personal list.

"He has just been absolutely outstanding and he's the type of guy that works hard ... You walk in the video room (when) he's watching tapes (and) you can stand there for a half-hour and he won't know you're there. He's concentrating and trying to get the job done."