Phillies fans... don't nag your team about Cliff Lee

Have you ever screwed up badly and tried to make up for it?
It might be with your spouse, or significant other or family…

I’m not talking about something huge like adultery or tax evasion.
I’m talking about a judgment call.

A bad investment, inviting the wrong person over, turning down a job that turned into a big windfall, buying the wrong kind of car… something that they could throw a few “I told you so”s at you.

At the exact moment that you knew you screwed up, don’t you tend to overcompensate? Don’t you tend to try to patch things up as quickly as possible?

And while you are fixing the problem if you get a “I don’t know why you just didn’t do what I told you to do before” flung at you, doesn’t it REALLY suck?

When you hear “Why didn’t you do what I told you to do?” don’t you just want to scream “I KNOW! I’M SORRY! I’M FIXING IT! GET OFF MY BACK!”

That’s what the Phillies are doing right now.

They traded for Roy Halladay in the off season. But instead of just trading prospects for Halladay, they decided to replenish their farm system in the process and deal Cliff Lee to get prospects BACK.

And everyone, including yours truly, said “Why didn’t you keep Lee and have the best 1-2 punch in baseball?”

With a shaky bullpen, they could have 2 aces who could throw 9 consistently and give the relievers a rest.

Yet the Phillies tried it out… and Halladay has been solid but Cliff Lee has dominated in both a Mariners and a Rangers uniform. And while the Phillies struggled it was clear they needed a #2 starter.

And oh yeah, the prospects they got for Lee have been stiffs so far.

And even though the Phillies seem to have righted their ship, they went out and traded for Roy Oswalt.

And it cost them prospects (including J. A. Happ) which is what they wanted to save when dealing Cliff Lee.

And Oswalt’s contract is going on for two more years while Cliff Lee’s expires after this year and the Phillies could have let him go and picked up 2 first round picks… which could have helped replenish the farm system.

It’s a solid move for the Phillies, yet virtually everyone is bringing up the Cliff Lee move when talking about the Oswalt trade.

They now have a great 1-2 punch, yet everyone is claiming they told the Phillies so.

The Phillies know!
They are sorry!
They are fixing it!
Get off of their backs!

The Brett Wallace Merry Go Round Continues

Doesn't anyone want Brett Wallace?
Or does EVERYONE want Brett Wallace?

It's hard to figure out.

Brett Wallace could very well become a superstar hitter in the big leagues one of these days... Where he will play is anyone's guess.

Since being picked by the Cardinals in the first round in 2008, he was touted as one of the best power prospects in the bigs.

Since July 24, 2009, he has been part of 4 different organizations... all at the AAA level.

He has yet to play a single game in the bigs (still trailing Jon Ratliff in that category) and has been declared the future for 4 different teams.

He's the future power slugger for the Cardinals... no wait he's going to be the new basher in Oakland... did I say Oakland I meant Toronto... or maybe Houston!

After the Astros flipped one of their Phillies prospects in the Oswalt trade, Wallace can now claim he has been involved directly or indirectly with trades for Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Matt Holliday and Roy Oswalt.

Pretty elite company.

But does he have the "Crazy Single Hot Girl" aura around him?

You know when you meet a really hot girl who is single and think "Man, how lucky am I? I can't believe she is available!" Then you start dating and you realize "Wow, now I know why she's single. I got to get out of this!"

Kind of like the careers of Kyle Farnsworth, Terrell Owens and Stephon Marbury.

Do the Cardinals, A's and Blue Jays all know something that the Astros are going to find out?
Or is he really that good a prospect?

If he is traded again, I am declaring because he is too fat.

Don't believe me?
Check out my post about Wallace I made last year.

Did the Astros blow it?

I've been saying the Astros should deal Roy Oswalt since before the 2009 season... and I've been adamant about it.

And I warned them that if they wait too long they could end up like the Orioles with Brian Roberts... where he was the prime trade chip but they never pulled the trigger. And now he is hurt and has no value.

Well look what happened today. He has a ball hit his ankle and shortens his day.

Now it isn't going to bring back memories of Dave Dravecky's arm snapping, but if he comes back in his next start and stinks, then any trade suitor might think he is damaged goods. And with only 2 weeks until the trade deadline, even one bad start could torpedo a trade.

In other words, the Astros, who should have been wheeling and dealing in the spring, could be sitting on a #1 starter trade chip at the deal deadline and won't be able to move him.

Yeah yeah yeah, his contract is big. Something could have been worked out. The Padres got a bunch of solid young players, including Clayton Richard, for Jake Peavy.

Almost every team could use a pitcher like Oswalt... and they may have let this chance to get a building block or two slip away.

To paraphrase Robert DeNiro in CopLand, you had a chance to deal Roy Oswalt AND YOU BLEW IT!

Roy... it might be time not to insist on that option being picked up

Seriously Roy... after today, you may not want to be playing double hard ball.

As for the Astros, what did I write last Monday?

I said the Astros may have blown their chance to deal Roy Oswalt and get a few darn good pieces to a rebuilding process on the squad.

I've been hounding them to deal Oswalt since before the 2009 season... and all THIS year too.

Then on Monday he leaves a game when a line drive went off his ankle. I said they blew it.
And I got private e mails from Astros fans saying "It's not going to affect his next start."

He looked lights out today... as in the lights are out on a big trade.
6 runs and 9 hits over 5 innings today?

He's combined for 9 innings over his last 2 starts and a not so pretty 7 runs over those 9.

Yeah, he's had a good year this year, but if you were going to mortgage your future AND commit for 2 expensive seasons, would you do it when the prize pitcher was in a slump?

You had your chance Houston...
You had your chance.

Make a deal, Astros...

Seriously... I've been telling you for years to swing a deal for Roy Oswalt... how can his stock get any higher?

He just threw a freaking one hit complete game shutout.

Granted it was against the Pirates, but still. It counts.

Swing a deal.

If the offer for Cliff Lee from Minnesota is real, then he is Twin bound.

So Oswalt will be the best available pitcher on the trade market.

Maybe with the White Sox! They just lost Jake Peavy and they have a penchant for dealing away prospects.

Make that deal before Oswalt walks off the mound with a season ending injury a la Peavy.

But figure it out.

And maybe see if you can throw in Lance Berkman as well.

I mean when is his value going to get higher then when he smacks 2 homers out of the yard.

Pull that trigger Astros.

You get nothing by doing nothing.

THIS ISN’T GOING TO HELP MATTERS FOR THE PHILLIES

I wrote earlier that Phillies fans should refrain from nagging their team regarding Cliff Lee.

They know they screwed up… they’ve brought you flowers and an expensive gift (Roy Oswalt) to make up for it.

Well any hope I had for the “Why didn’t we just keep Lee?” rumblings to stop caught a giant snag.

Yup, Roy Oswalt got his butt kicked tonight by the “Currently Waving a White Flag” Washington Nationals.

OK, 6 innings, 4 earned runs isn’t a whippin’s but it isn’t what the Phillies were hoping for, especially facing a line up that didn’t exactly resemble the Big Red Machine.

With the offense reduced to a Jayson Werth homer (I thought they were going to trade him) they needed a pitcher to shut down the opposition.

Like how about J. A. Happ? He went 6 shutout innings for the Astros against Milwaukee.

You remember Happ? He’s the Phillies pitcher who was sent packing in the Oswalt deal… whom the Phillies could have kept in they also kept Cliff Lee.

Oh Phillies fans won’t be forgetting this any time soon.

Oswalt, like Lee, is holding up his end of the bargain

Well if the Astros are looking to shop Roy Oswalt, they can't ask for much better a "Trade for Me!" performance than tonight.

7 strong innings, 2 runs, 1 walk, lowering his ERA to 3.08 and showing his value.

And it being an Astros game, of course it was a loss as Tim Lincecum is reestablishing his Cy Young credentials.

Both Oswalt and Cliff Lee, as I wrote earlier, are pitching like aces just as they are being shopped around.

And this could be the most exciting trade deadline we've seen in a LONG time where two pitchers could change the pennant races in the right deal and be the difference between glory and golf in October.

But as I wrote earlier about Brian Roberts, you don't want to hold off a trade for TOO long.

And the value might not ever be this high again.

Phillies fans... you are welcome

Back on July 22nd, I wrote about how the Phillies were playing so poorly that I accused them of being pod people, replacing the actual Phillies with soul less replicants.

They were a mere 2 games over .500 and were in danger of hitting break even if they lost to St. Louis and Colorado.

And they were 7 games back of the Braves. They were dead in the water when I called them out.

What's their record since that 5-1 loss to St. Louis?

13-2.

Granted one of those wins was aided by a horrible call in Florida the other night

But in just a little more than 2 weeks, the Phillies have nearly made up a week of games. And it can't all be attributed to the Roy Oswalt trade. They started this tear before his arrival.

I think the Phillies read my post and finally woke up and played as they are capable of doing.

And now I think they will take the division under their arm and run away with it.

I'll take the credit.

I can't think of any other reason for the turn around.

You are welcome.

I should get a playoff share.