I'd love to see Roy Halladay in a Red Sox uniform.

Just as I'd love to see a Lamborghini in my garage, love to have a home on the beach, love to cruise the Mediterranean all summer on a private yacht.

Unlike me, the Red Sox can afford luxuries. The question, as they once again battle their traditional archrivals, the Yankees, for first place in the A.L. East, is whether they're willing to pay the hefty price Halladay deservedly will command; whether they think he'll be worth what it will cost to get him.

What it comes down to, really, is whether the Sox feel they can afford to let him go to the Yankees.

Anywhere else, it doesn't really matter. But if Halladay winds up in either Boston or New York, he'll tip the balance of power in the division.

He is, after all, a two-time 20-game winner. He won the Cy Young Award in 2003, when he went 22-7, and was second in the balloting last season, when he was 20-11 with an ERA of 2.78. Just selected for his sixth All-Star Game, Halladay is 10-3 this season with 2.85 ERA. He's durable, having pitched at least 220 innings in five of the last seven seasons, and, with 123 innings so far this year, he's on track to do it again. He won 19 games in 2002 and twice has won 16 — in 2006 and again in 2007. Only 32, he still should have some prime years ahead of him.

It's not as if the Sox haven't overpaid for players in the recent past. Think Edgar Renteria and Julio Lugo. Think $103 million for the disabled Dice-K. Think $14 million a year for J.D. Drew, to name just a few.

Then think of what adding Halladay to a rotation headed by Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and 11-game winner Tim Wakefield would do for Boston. Does anyone doubt it would enable the Sox to once again distance themselves from the surging Yankees?

On the other hand, if Halladay were to wind up in New York, the Sox likely would find themselves in second place at the end of the season.

But is that really so bad? As long, of course, as Boston wins the wild card?

As famous football coach Bill Parcells — who's also a huge baseball fan — likes to say about the NFL season: It's all about getting into “the tournament,” as the Tuna likes to call the playoffs.

Even if the Yankees were to win the division, who's to say the Red Sox still wouldn't win the pennant? While Halladay certainly would give New York an edge in the rest of July, August and September, it'll all come down to which team can win four games against the other in October.

With Theo Epstein as general manager and under the ownership of John Henry, the Red Sox have qualified for the postseason in five of the last six years. Four times they've played for the A.L. championship, winning twice — when they then went on to record a pair of World Series sweeps, beating the Cardinals in 2004 and the Rockies in 2007, for the franchise's first titles since 1918.

They have become a team built to contend every year, with a farm system rich in talent.

To obtain Halladay, the Sox would have to seriously deplete that system. Certainly, top pitching prospect Clay Buchholz would be included in the deal, along with at least two other highly regarded farmhands. Which also would go against the successful system the Sox have established of scouting and developing most of their own talent.

The fact that Toronto is shopping Halladay is a clear indication the Jays have all but given up on catching the Red Sox, Yankees, and the defending A.L. champion — but currently third-place — Tampa Bay Rays this season. The Rays, by the way, beat Halladay on Thursday, sweeping a three-game series from the visiting Jays.

By trading Halladay and acquiring an array of promising young players, Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi could begin rebuilding for the future.

Is his counterpart in Boston, Epstein, willing to sell off a large piece of the Red Sox' future to help assure success this season?

Here's hoping he's not.

Even if the Yankees were to acquire Halladay, the Sox still could finish first, although that would become significantly more difficult. In any event, Boston would remain the favorite to win the wildcard, which then would set the stage for a best-of-seven confrontation in the ALCS.

Thanks in large part to their consistently productive farm system, the Sox are perennial contenders in the toughest division in baseball. After this season, they're going to have to decide whether they can retain the services of Jason Bay, their RBI machine in left field. Beckett's contract is up after the 2010 season, which also is when Halladay's current deal will expire.

It's not as if the Red Sox can't afford all of those players. And it's not as if it wouldn't be very nice to see Halladay in a Boston uniform. But, if you ask me, I don't think he's worth the asking price.

jdonalds @projo.com