"It was definitely both ways," Halladay said of the professional and mutual angst for both men. "They label you as the No. 1 guy and you have a guy here who has more talent than you that you know, as soon as he figures it out, you're not going to be there anymore. It's a different feeling than in the past where it's just kind of handed to you. You have to embrace that and work with it."

Burnett admitted earlier this spring that his relationship with Halladay inside the Jays' clubhouse improved in the last year-and-a-half once Burnett stopped being a, self-described idiot. The first-year-and-a-half Burnett's numbers and focus were not as good as they should have been and his relationship with Halladay was strained.

"The only difference was I felt towards the end we were working together," Halladay said. "We were both pulling for each other, whereas the first part of it there was a little bit of that competition between each other, which can be good, but if you're always fighting to try and get out of shadows or get the attention, it's hard. Once we were able to work together, it made a big difference."

They are now friends. It's funny how life works, but somehow in Burnett's new position as Yankees No. 2 starter behind C.C. Sabathia, reports from the clubhouse claim that A.J. has taken to mentoring some of the younger starters, passing on many of the same lessons regarding pacing that he accepted from Halladay.

"He wanted to go out and strike everyone out," Halladay recalled of his arrival in free agency. "He wanted to go hard all the time. It's hard to do that at that intensity level, not only for a whole game, but for an entire year. I think he learned to use his breaking ball and other pitches more and not always blow them away right from the get-go."