Happy Halladays!

Roy is Phillie.  We should be happy, this should be good times.  The Phillies just signed an ace.  A guy to lead the top of the rotation.  A guy to win them big playoff games.  Except, we just had that guy.

In gaining Halladay from the Jays, the Phillies traded away Cliff Lee.  Lee was the guy I just described, he was an ace, a stopper, and unconscious in the World Series.  Ruben Amaro couldn’t justify giving away the farm for Halladay, he had to get something back.  He couldn’t stand the fact that Marson, Donald, Taylor and his prized Drabek had to be swapped for the best pitcher in the game.  Sure, some of those guys brought Lee, but six months later it’s Halladay at the top of our rotation.  It’s not that I’m not thrilled we have Halladay, it’s that we could have had him without giving away Lee.  Ruben just had to get something for the guys he gave away, and trading Lee, who denied reports of not wanting to re-sign, was his only move.  Will Aumont, Gillies, or Ramirez be any good?  Who knows.  Who cares.

We just traded away a guy who turned in one of the top World Series performances ever.  With Lee, the Phillies would have been the odds on favorite to win the World Series.  Without Lee?  We are the same team as last year.

Sure Halladay might be better over the course of the season, but the best he can be in the playoffs is Cliff Lee.  He doesn’t give us any better of a chance to win the World Series.

Can you imagine the Yankees trading away a player like that in a year where they had a chance to win the World Series?  No way.  Maybe that is why they are defending World Champions and we’re not.

So, Happy Halladays, Roy is here.  That sentiment, however, is met with some salt in the wound as we gave away the chance to be truly merry this holiday season.