Well played, Ruben
Why the trade for Cliff Lee makes so much sense for the Phillies.
Well played, Ruben
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
I wanted Roy Halladay. You wanted Roy Halladay. Some people said they didn't care what it took to get him. But, well, come on. There had to be some limit, right?
Now it will be Cliff Lee and right-handed bat Ben Francisco, in exchange for Carlos Carrasco, Jason Knapp, Lou Marson and Jason Donald. Lee is not Halladay. Carrasco & Co. are not Kyle Drabek, Jay Happ and Dominic Brown. These are both true facts. The Phillies and their rookie GM, Ruben Amaro Jr., played this right.
Long-term, we all can agree that the Phils are in better shape than if they had traded Drabek and Brown as part of the package to get Halladay. That isn't to say that Carrasco won't be useful and that Knapp -- a big kid with a huge fastball -- won't end up being very, very good. This wasn't theft. The Phillies did give up four players who could very well end up being major-league contributors. But they kept their big pieces -- Drabek, Brown and Michael Taylor. Again, long-term, this is clearly a win.
Short-term -- ignoring Francisco, a need -- we can boil everything down to this question: which would you rather have in October, Halladay alone or the combination of Lee and Happ?
Let's take an opening-round series against San Francisco as one example. In Game 1, you would have Tim Lincecum against either Lee or Halladay. Neither would have a clear-cut advantage over the other. If each man pitched to expectations, the game likely would be decided in the bullpen -- Halladay or Lee, doesn't matter. Now, go to Game 4. In one case, if they trade for Halladay, it is Moyer/Martinez/Lopez vs. whatever able-bodied guy the Giants can find (remember, Randy Johnson is on the 60-day DL, scrambling everything). Again, you are likely looking at a game decided in the bullpen. In the other case, with the Lee trade, you still have Happ and you suddenly have a clear advantage in Game 4.
Again, if you want to argue that Lee isn't Halladay, that's fair. But the differences are incremental, not enormous. The fact that you get to keep Happ turns incremental into something even smaller, and maybe shrinks the difference to nothing. Again, that's in the short-term.
Now, if Halladay ends up in Boston, the conversation might change. But between then and now, Amaro played this exactly right.
Your "the game is decided in the bullpen" tag doesn't exactly give me a warm and fuzzy feeling about our playoff prospects given the way they've pitched lately. Let's hope that gets turned around or Ruben adds a sidecar bullpen deal to the Lee/Francisco trade.— PA Native- Sorry Rich, I disagree. In your example, you use the Giants as the team we face.....they have great pitching in Lincecum and Cain, but they have 0 offense. If the pitching is equal the Phils win those games based on the simple fact that their offense is MUCH better than the Giants. Everyone must see Happ for what he is, Cole Hamels without the great changeup. When other teams see him again it could be a mess. There was another left-hander who came in young, mowed through the competition the first time around because no one had seen him. And today he is Dontrelle Willis. Happ is not as good as advertised, stop the gushing.— kozykoz26
- Rich, you think Lee automatically leapfrogs Hamels as our Game 1 starter? Lee is definitely more established (more career wins, Cy Young award, etc), but lets not forget Cole did win NLCS and WS MVP last year. He may not appreciate being bumped down to the number 2 guy. Then again, knowing him he'll probably be happy not having to be thee guy they always rely on.— toccheyhockey
Great points Rich. Nice job Ruben!— Earl J
Exacto-mundo Rich…Never will forget your blog entry last year before Game 5 of the NLCS in L.A. You described the anticipation of the day beautifully, and for me personally, really set up what winning that game was all about…PHILLY 4-EVER!!!- I like it. Actually not getting Holiday might mean not winning it all again. But frankly I can't forget the lean years and I am glad to keep prospects and just to think the Phillies might be in the pennant race for many years to come. In the past the Phillies have overrated prospects but if Drabek and Happ are even just better than average we will have them for years after Halladay has a career ending injury in the next 3 years.— sportsdead
- I like it. Actually not getting Holiday might mean not winning it all again. But frankly I can't forget the lean years and I am glad to keep prospects and just to think the Phillies might be in the pennant race for many years to come. In the past the Phillies have overrated prospects but if Drabek and Happ are even just better than average we will have them for years after Halladay has a career ending injury in the next 3 years.— sportsdead
- I like it. Actually not getting Holiday might mean not winning it all again. But frankly I can't forget the lean years and I am glad to keep prospects and just to think the Phillies might be in the pennant race for many years to come. In the past the Phillies have overrated prospects but if Drabek and Happ are even just better than average we will have them for years after Halladay has a career ending injury in the next 3 years.— sportsdead
- Phils have the leverage with Toronto now, who are going to become desperate to make a move but will abhor the thought of trading with Bosox. Their parent company has warned that it's cutting costs, which is really how Halladay ended up on the market. If I'm the Phils I go back to Toronto with a lesser deal, maybe throw in a bit of cash, and see if they can get them to bite. The future is now - secure the next two World Series with a rotation of Hamels, Halladay, Lee, Blanton,— lefty1117
- I agree with philsbirdsflys, why not still package Drabek, Happ & Brown for Halladay and really secure our chances for 3 in a row?? I waited from 1953 until 80' for my first champoinship team (including seeing 64' and black friday in person) and another 28 years for number 2. Give me 2 more before I die given that no other Philly franchise will likely pull one off!!!!— RobertD
- I hope to God the Sox don't land Halliday.— KevinRx
- Rueben gets an A & respect for not blinking. Riccardi gets a pink slip— Jim7390
Comment removed.- Comment removed.
- NOW PACKAGE LEE FOR HALLADAY!— Philly Fan in Kuwait
