i'm happy. it sucks to lose marson because of how thin the phillies C situation is without him, but at best, he's the 4th most valuable player in the deal, so i'll take it.

also, i think ben francisco was also coming to the phils.

I wonder what this means w/r/t Pedro. I don't think he's going to be happy with anything less than a spot in the starting rotation, yet the Phillies now have Hamels, Lee, Happ, Blanton and Moyer.

Pedro has said his willing to do whatever the Phillies want of him. It's not like the back half of the rotation is all that stable either. God knows the bullpen from Lidge on down has been an adventure too.

IIRC the thinking last year at least was that Pedro's warm-up routine was such that a bullpen role was considered impractical. Of course, it was never tried, and the way that rationale was reported and commented upon may not have been accurate anyway. I guess we shall see.

I wonder what this means w/r/t Pedro. I don't think he's going to be happy with anything less than a spot in the starting rotation,

Given that Pedro's previous role was in the rotation to walk his family's dog, he ought to be happy with whatever Philly gives him

What a great move by the Phils, given that the Blue Jays were simply asking for too much. Lee should really shine in the N.L., and this certainly gives them an even shot against the Dodgers.

I said at the time that the signing of Martinez didn't make a whole lot of sense, and it makes even less sense now after this trade than it did then. Even Moyer has been pitching a lot better lately, so there's not even a guarantee that Martinez will take his spot, assuming that his minor league outing goes fairly well.

Always love the analysis, but Hamels is still the "go-to guy" for the Phillies ;)

Pedro as closer? Now that would be interesting.

Travis D'Arnaud may be rated higher than Marson these days but he is only 20 in the Sally League, so it looks like a few more years of Chooch.

napp is a pitcher the Indians really wanted and I think he has the highest upside of anyone in the trade, a solidly-built hard thrower who has dominated the Sally League this season.

...and who's out with a shoulder injury.

The Phils are nuts not to have done both deals, both this one and the Halladay deal that Toronto offered (Happ, Drabek, Dominic Brown). Would have set them up brilliantly for this year and 2010.

I thought Taylor was part of that deal that TOR offered.

The Phils are nuts not to have done both deals, both this one and the Halladay deal that Toronto offered (Happ, Drabek, Dominic Brown). Would have set them up brilliantly for this year and 2010.

Teams do have budgets.

I don't think Pedro is going to be a starter for the Phils this year. It'll be weird to see him as a reliever.

Teams do have budgets.

A deep playoff run this season would pay for both Lee and Halladay next season.

It would be so badass if Pedro could tack on 5 years as a lights-out closer. I mean, I hate the closer idea, but in this one case, I'd make an exception.

I wonder what this means w/r/t Pedro. I don't think he's going to be happy with anything less than a spot in the starting rotation, yet the Phillies now have Hamels, Lee, Happ, Blanton and Moyer.

I'm sure the Phils would be thrilled to have the problem that all 6 starters were simultaneously healthy and pitching well.

The Phils would be a nightmare in a postseason series with Hamels, Lee and one of the four (Happ/Blanton/Moyer/Martinez) in a three man rotation with the other three coming out of the pen (or with a four man rotation and two of those four coming out of the pen).

But this is what winning teams do... they don't sit back on their laurels, they strike while the iron is hot. Coffee is for closers, as they say.

"Coffee is for closers, as they say."

Second prize is a set of steak knives, right?