Phils acquire Cliff Lee

[Blade]

Great trade, we are going back this year for sure.

No one in the NL has the resources to trade of Halladay. They want way toooooo much. The Yanks have already passed on a trade with the Jays. The Angels have a good shot, because they are not within division of the Jays. Red Sox are desperate enough and have already dangled Buchholz.

BTW anyone who things Dodgers are still the favorite after this trade, needs to check their brain. Hamels is finally starting to turn it on, exactly like last year and Lee needs run support, otherwise he has won 3 games in a row with 3 or less runs of support.

 

[Obst]

Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times hears from a source who says the Dodgers aren't willing to part with the talent it would take to acquire Halladay or Cliff Lee. Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley are off-limits.

So unless you guys give up one of your young MLB pitchers, which your GM said he isn't breaking up your MLB team, then no Halladay.

 

[Miami Flash15]

They already captured the NL East so they don't really have to worry about that.

 

[Hasselbeck]

Carlos Carrasco and Jason Donald are still very good prospects. Seems like a pretty fair trade to me.

Hamels
Lee
Blanton
Moyer
Happ

FUCK! World Series Champions!!!!

If Lee flops that's still a very average rotation.

If Lee pitches like he did last year.. the Phillies are scary.

 

[mcstl25]

I didn't even know that Lee was on the market. Nice trade for the Phillies.

 

[kbpsu]

GREAT, great move. We keep the prospects that the Jays wanted and we get a very solid, and younger, pitcher. Not to mention, his contract is smaller than Halladay's.

I think this makes us the clear cut favorite in the NL now. Obviously, I am going to be a biased, but its hard not to think this. With our rotation going something like: Hamels, Lee, Happ, Blanton, Moyer/Pedro (maybe). Blanton is having a very good year so far, better than I (and probably most of the fanbase) expected. We will be getting Meyers back toward the end of the season, who will likely be in the bullpen, but still another good arm.

That is just our pitching. With our offense, I think it is really hard not to believe the Phils have a very (if not the best) chance at representing the NL in the World Series.

 

[NAHSTE]

If Lee flops that's still a very average rotation.

If Lee pitches like he did last year.. the Phillies are scary.

He's been posting a 2.66 ERA since May or something like that. And it's not like his total ERA is anything to sneeze at either. He's pitched very well this season considering.

Great move for Philadelphia, because even if Lee is just average and the rotation is average, they are still just as good as they were last year, if not better. Also means one fewer inexperienced pitcher has to start a playoff game.

 

[kbpsu]

He's been posting a 2.66 ERA since May or something like that. And it's not like his total ERA is anything to sneeze at either. He's pitched very well this season considering.

Great move for Philadelphia, because even if Lee is just average and the rotation is average, they are still just as good as they were last year, if not better. Also means one fewer inexperienced pitcher has to start a playoff game.

Speaking of playoffs, I couldnt be more confident going into a 5 or 7 game series with this starting rotation.

 

[BWEISS]

Speaking of playoffs, I couldnt be more confident going into a 5 or 7 game series with this starting rotation.

Our rotation would be better in the playoffs because we wouldn't have to worry about Jamie Moyer this year, hopefully. He's not a guy I want pitching in playoffs after his performance last year.

Hamels/Lee/Blanton/Happ or Pedro.... I'm hoping anyway.

 

[chazmaniandevil]

i completely forgot about pedro lol, love this trade for the phils though

v-mart has to be leaving, hafner-vmart-santana-marson aint guna work with 2 or 3 spots available

 

[Miami Flash15]

If Lee pitches like he did last year, the Phils are an even scarier team ready to make a run for a repeat.

 

[NAHSTE]

If Lee pitches like he did last year, the Phils are an even scarier team ready to make a run for a repeat.

He pretty much has been pitching likke he did last year lately. Plus the NL is weaker offensively. I think he'll be great for the rest of the year....Should be interesting what he does in the playoffs though.

One thing though-What if Cliff Lee cracks under the bright lights once he realizes he's not in Cleveland anymore? Philly is known to be harsh on players as is, how patient will the fans there be if "the other Cy Young winner" doesn't live up to the expectations, given that the fans were expecting Halladay this whole time?

 

[SethMode]

He pretty much has been pitching likke he did last year lately. Plus the NL is weaker offensively. I think he'll be great for the rest of the year....Should be interesting what he does in the playoffs though.

One thing though-What if Cliff Lee cracks under the bright lights once he realizes he's not in Cleveland anymore? Philly is known to be harsh on players as is, how patient will the fans there be if "the other Cy Young winner" doesn't live up to the expectations, given that the fans were expecting Halladay this whole time?

The media here isn't too hard on people not named Brett Myers, so he'll have some time to settle in before fans get restless. Still, the expectations are high. Here's hoping he isn't driven to throwing at a superstar's head again...

 

[Blade]

Blanton lived up to expectations and he still is living up to them and surpassing them. Moyer came and did fine in the regular season, and provided a 7 inning gem in the WS last year although he was shaky in the Division and LCS but he showed up at home. Also, don't look now but Moyer is having one of his typical August/September surges. Happ is 26 and is pitching with a Greg Maddux mentality. Nothing to say about Hamels, the guy will tear it up.

Lee is a gamer, gamers are fueled by expectations and the powderkeg The Bank can turn into. I am glad we traded for this guy. He won't have problems at The Bank. The reason Lee had 22 wins last year, is because the Indians had one of the better ranked offenses. This year its harder, when you are giving up only 3 runs and losing 1 run games.

Best rotation in the NL, the Dodgers and Giants can suck on it.

 

[Blade]

The media here isn't too hard on people not named Brett Myers, so he'll have some time to settle in before fans get restless. Still, the expectations are high. Here's hoping he isn't driven to throwing at a superstar's head again...

What so wrong with throwing at Manny's head? The guy crowds the plate, and intimidation is part of his game too, Myers pretty much sent a message in that series and so did Victorino in the deciding game. The Phills are real, and don't count us out. Everyone was expecting the Dodgers to win the LCS.

Myers gets shit because, he beat his wife 3 years ago, was head case last year in the first half, but he has turn his life and play around. The media and the fans have given him credit for that.

 

[SethMode]

What so wrong with throwing at Manny's head? The guy crowds the plate, and intimidation is part of his game too, Myers pretty much sent a message in that series and so did Victorino in the deciding game. The Phills are real, and don't count us out. Everyone was expecting the Dodgers to win the LCS.

Myers gets shit because, he beat his wife 3 years ago, was head case last year in the first half, but he has turn his life and play around. The media and the fans have given him credit for that.

No no, I was more just referring to him popping Sammy Sosa in the head on the night they were honoring Sosa's 600th HR for virtually no reason. If I remember correctly, even Victor Martinez was infuriated. Regardless, I was pretty much just kidding. I just wouldn't want one of our pitchers pissing off our catcher and sparking a team meeting afterwards.

Also, I'm not sure I'm okay with throwing at anyone's head, even as much as I hate Ramirez. You can brush him off with out trying to potentially kill him.

And hey, I'm a Phils fan. I know that this team is for real. As far as Myers is concerned, I'm not sure people in general are as on board with him as you think (at least, people that I know). Hopefully he can change that when he comes back as a reliever (which I think he's better suited for anyway). I still think he's a head case, personally, but he did pitch some great games in the playoffs last year.