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Does Cliff Lee equal a second title?
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Lee and Francisco (left) are the newest Phils' (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
In case you missed it, the Philadelphia Phillies made the biggest splash of the trade deadline deals so far by acquiring Cliff Lee from the Cleveland Indians.
Lee comes to Philadelphia with outfielder Ben Francisco in exchange for minor leaguers Jason Knapp, Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson, and Jason Donald. In 2009, Lee, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, is 7-9 with a 3.14 ERA.
It’s a humongous deal made by the defending champs just before the July 31 cutoff point. Not only does his presence solidify the rotation, giving them a legitimate one-two punch at the top, but it helps other aspects of the team as well.
Starting with the new look staff, it is now Lee, teamed with Hamels, Blanton, Moyer, and Happ for the time being. There have been whispers that Happ may be the odd man out, considering the Phillies also recently signed Pedro Martinez. The Phils have made it clear that Moyer will not pitch out of the bullpen, nor will Pedro. The Lee trade has already made for some interesting queries.
As for the bullpen, the relief pitching has been hit with the injury bug as of late, and bringing Lee into the fold can only mean increased rest for a beleaguered group. With J.C. Romero, Chad Durbin, and Clay Condrey all on the shelf with various ailments, you can expect Lee to take the ball every fifth day and run with it. He will go long, and he will go strong. Eight times this season, Lee has gone at least eight innings in a start.
The team aspect surrounding the move is also a positive one. Without giving up Happ, the young lefty is here to stay for the long haul. He can finally rest easy knowing he is staying in Philadelphia.
The Phillies are also now the strongest team from top to bottom in the National League. Los Angeles may have the best record in the NL, but they have too many question marks. St. Louis, Chicago, and Milwaukee continually beat up on each other in the evenly matched Central, so those teams can now step aside. It’s the Phillies, and everyone else. And you can thank Cliff Lee for that.
You can also thank Ruben Amaro for a job well done. He landed on of the top arms in all of baseball for a relatively smallish package. That’s not to say the four players he gave up will not be great someday. However, the word around the league is that the Phillies were the winners in this trade. Still, Cleveland now has a brighter future with Carrasco, Marson, and Donald all nearly ready to contribute on an everyday basis. Add the 18-year old Knapp into that mix, and the Indians got a pretty good package.
But the true winners in all of this, the Phillies, are prepping for yet another run to the Fall Classic. With an offense as good as any in the history of this franchise, now coupled with a stellar pitching staff, the sky is the limit for the Phillies in 2009.
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