So it was in this blog a few days back where I begged the Phillies to go get Roy Halladay no matter what.
And they went out and got Cliff Lee from Cleveland, giving up none of the top 3 prospects that they were holding back from Toronto.
And surprisingly, I’m cool with it.
Sure, Halladay is an absolute stud, an ace, a #1 pitcher.
But Cliffie isn’t a slouch either. Last year’s AL Cy Young Award winner, he’s pretty much been a B, B+ kind of pitcher. Not elite, but very very good. And now that he’s on a better team that will give him run support, he’s definitely a great #1-B to go with Cole Hamels.
Lee is actually a year or so younger than Halladay, too.
Honestly, it seems like it came down to the fact that Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi – clinging to his job – wanted back the moon for Halladay, and didn’t get it. So now he’s got to try to rebuild around Halladay for a run at next year, or deal him in the offseason with much less leverage than he had before yesterday’s trade deadline.
Good work, Ruben Amaro, Jr.. When your #1 option became un-gettable, you found a very good #2. Who may turn out to be a solid #1 anyway.
Poppa Culture 