Phillies Nation

My friend and I were drinking on my roof after the game and talking about how amazing it would be if the Phillies got Halladay in that rotation. This team is playing incredible baseball right now. If they can start winning at home it’ll be insane to see what they can do.

Scary good!!! Phils are doing this with Jimmayyyyy (southpark reference) slumping… hitting 224 in the leadoff spot.

2 years ago the phils would have be toast w/o him….and prob same for last year..

Just think how good phils will be when Jimmayyy is hitting again…stealing bases and creating all kinds of havoc for pitchers.

i think he needs to get back on the st st sttt steerroids..

The Phillies are playing WFC caliber baseball, and I love it.

I’d give up Bastardo and Carrasco, Donald, and Marson to get Halladay

I really don’t think the Blue Jays trade him though.. they would want Drabek, Bastardo, Donald, and one of the OF prospects (Taylor or Brown)..

that’s way too much to give up.. but imagine if our rotation was

Halladay
Hamels
Blanton
Happ
Moyer

.. nasty

The best thing about it is they haven’t needed to rely on Lidge all that much….good considering the year he’s been having.

Even still the phils are in a great position b/c lets say lidge loses his swagger… we have Madson…. the future closer waiting in the on-deck spot…

I agree..I would give up a lot for Halladay but not Drabek. Id give up like Brown OR Taylor OR Mayberry (though theyd want more if they took Mayberry), Carrasco, Donald & Marson.

Geoff.. you are absolutely right…expecially in baseball…as a pitcher…your only as good as your last start..

I came up with a scenario last year where I said.. if we were guaranteed a World Series.. but then we wouldn’t be competitive for the next 10 seasons.. would people take it..

vs.

You aren’t guaranteed anything.. you take your chances, and every year you have that hope that you can do it..

I chose option #2 and got REAMED for it.. but I think that is the best part of baseball.. right now, it doesn’t matter that we won last year, last month, last week, or last night.. it only matters what we can do from here on out.

THAT is what makes sports great.. not knowing, but having that faith in your team!

I would do that trade in a heartbeat, which no doubt means the other side wouldn’t.

Geoff Says:
June 5th, 2009 at 11:20 am

Id give up like Brown OR Taylor OR Mayberry (though theyd want more if they took Mayberry), Carrasco, Donald & Marson.

As long as the Jays keep losing (3-7 in their last 10), Gillick should be on the phone every day with Ricciardi and anyone he still knows in that organization trying to figure a way to get Halladay. The problem is that it’s basically Ricciardi’s job on the line – if he trades Doc, that’s the white flag on the next two years, and he will almost certainly be canned. That’s why he would need to get a HAUL to justify the trade, and it will only be possible if the Jays tank for the next month and a half and there is no reason to think they can get back in the race (8-10 games out by July 20 should do the trick).

In my opinion, NO ONE is untouchable if Halladay is on the table. Not Drabek, not Taylor, not Carrasco. Doc is the best pitcher in baseball, and he’s signed through 2010. If the Jays want Drabek, Carrasco, Taylor, Donald and Marson, you make the trade. Look at it this way – who would the Yankees rather have right now, Santana or Hughes? Hamels + Halladay + this lineup = we contend for the WS for the next two years.

Two years of Halladay would give us a damn good shot at two more rings, so I’d give up any 4 prospects. I’d say our top 6 are Drabek, Happ, Bastardo, Carrasco, Taylor, and Brown. It would probably take 4 of those to equate what the Red Sox or Yankees or Rangers would offer.

Drabek? Argh, for Halladay and only for Halladay, I’d grit my teeth and give him up.

“If the Jays want Drabek, Carrasco, Taylor, Donald and Marson, you make the trade.”

I never sway… I’m always optimistic. At times, you have to be realistic (we will need a number 2 starter for the playoffs) but I’m going to root for my team and stand behind them because they’ve earned it.

What did you guys think about the lineup last night? Werth in the three hole… they all responded pretty well but it goes against conventional wisdom (your best “hitter” should bat third). If it works, that’s fine but it’s going to take RBI chances away from Chase… would rather see Jimmy and Werth 1-2.

Things are never as good as they seem, and they are never as bad. Phillies are playing great baseball right now and the equation is simple – Great Pitching and Great Defense.

Jamie – I know, but I thought he was still some kind of consultant for them? Maybe not; either way, someone in the FO should be prodding the Jays on a regular basis, especially if Toronto keeps losing.

ChuckP – Didn’t like the lineup when I saw it, but I guess it worked well enough. The real problem is Jimmy’s abysmal OBP in the leadoff spot, but with Vic out there really isn’t another good option. I know this sounds crazy, but Ruiz’ OBP is something like .430 this year, and he did flash some speed with a steal last night, so maybe he could bat #1. Since that won’t happen, I think we’re going to see this lineup till Vic is back. The only thing to recommend Werth in the 3 hole over Utley is that they were facing a LH starter, so Chollie wanted (I assume) to split up the lefties.

The issue with guys like Halladay isn’t so much what your giving up as the situation the other team are in, it’s not going to cost 5 ‘top’ prospects to get him. It’ll be headed by top prospects but no organisation gives up all of its prospects some ‘blockbuster’ deals just seem better in hindsight like the Teix deal for the Rangers. If a bidding war ensues it’ll be the value of the guys heading the deal that make the difference and where the Phils might loose against an organisation with a LaPorta type.

The Phils have a great opportunity with too phase in very talented prospects with the big club, of course you take a shot at a Halladay but if you trade away your kids and give barely and a chance to make it up then your saying you don’t trust your organisations ability to produce major leaguers and that your prospects don’t have the upside enough to give them a chance.

Wow, who would have thought just a week ago that we would be using the words “brilliant” and “starting pitching” in the same sentence? Its still too close to the bad stretch they just had to say that everyone has officially recovered and we will have good pitching from this point on but things are certainly looking a lot better. When our pitching is solid there is no team we can’t beat.

I don’t know how much of a shot we have to get Halladay but, if we could pull that off, I would try to catch a flight to see his first start in Philly. I think it would be that special. I’ve been a big fan of his and I think that with his addition the Phillies move from champions to start talking about the “D” word.

Seriously, its way too early to talk about playoffs or title defense. To be honest I am just enjoying the ride right now. Thats whats great about this team is that they have already won a championship and they are still competitive this year. It makes being a fan relaxing almost to see them play well early. This is one of the most frustrating things about the Eagles is no matter how good they play in the regular season, you are still anxious for their inevitable playoff collapse.

As a lifelong Philly sports fan this is such a new and welcome experience to have team coming off a world championship and still competing for the prize again. Like Tim said in post not too long ago, we should not be too critical of the team and just enjoy whats happening now, cause we know all too well how it feels at the other side of the spectrum.

Who really give’s a rat’s ass whether Halladay or Cole is #1 or #2? Seriously……….it makes no difference and I really don’t think those two guys would care either as long as they get to take the mound every five games and have a real shot at winning.

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm – Gillick is gone and SD has aa decent offense. They had the worst in 2008 and Gillick was the GM in 2008.

I seriously do not think we need to trade for anything or anyone until June 30. Let’s give these people a CHANCE. This is a tough month, we are 4 games up – leave it be for now. The Jays have a serious chance to get back into first, so why should they trade their ace? If I were their GM I would laugh off any requests. They are sure to sink if they get rid of him. That is like trading Ibanez and Hamels for a bunch of prospects. This whole trade talk is not necessary until June 30 when we see how everyone did. I agree, we need to see Bastardo against the Mets, Sox and Yanks. I agree, we need to test Happ and Bastardo under pressure. But if we trade half the team and farm system, how would we know?

Halladay is 32. Drabek is 21. In my opinion, Drabek should be untouchable. He has enormous potential and the Phillies should NEVER unload him, I don’t care who they would get in return.

Not sure how I feel about Bedard either. Do we really need another headcase in the clubhouse??? Dominant pitcher for Baltimore but after he went to Seattle he kind of fizzled. The Orioles timing on that deal was amazing considering that they got Adam Jones (last I checked was in the top 10 in a few offensive categories in the AL) and George Sherrill. My first choice is Halladay if the deal is right and then Oswalt.

And the beat goes on.. and on… for the daydreaming Gm wanna be’s
and their desire for glamour names such as Halladay. ;-)

Oh well, I for one will just enjoy the Phillies’ current joyride of success (7 game winning streak that is due largely to great pitching) and padded their lead to 4 games ( 32-20) in the division. As a few posters here wisely suggests, patience is the keyword. Certainly, looking from the management’s perspective, with the winning record and lead, they have the luxury of time to gauge the rotation’s performance and accurately determine if there is a need for a starter from outside the organization.

Oh, and to Chuck P, that was a makeshift lineup vs lefty Kershaw because of the injury to Victorino (day to day situation). Werth, as righthande batter, was put in the 3 hole to balance the lefty/righty lineup. Personally, am anxious to see Victorino back in his familiar second spot in lineup. He is following his success of last year with a banner season to date. With Rollins’ slump, the flyin’ Hawaiin has stepped up to be the offensive catalyst for the team.

I agree some prospects can be made available like Donald, Marson and Carrasco now he’s not the only high upside pitching prospect but ONLY in the right deal for the right guy who’ll be a feature in the rotation for as long as we choose to keep him.

I can understand the position some here have with throwing everything in for a 2-3 year window while he have the core currently signed but other successful teams have shown you can draft, develop and get guys up and performing in that time if your committed to giving youth an opportunity. Plenty of teams are improved by living with the growing pains of young guys when their still contending and several have had success. It’s too much to expect an instant Halladay (especially since it took him time to become dominant) but we have guys here that can be the next Gallardo or Wainwright’s, that turns a 3 year window into a much longer one and the young controllable guys gives a chance to keep Cole, extend Howard if wanted and go after top tier free agents.

You wouldn’t take the best pitcher of the past decade, who has gone against the toughest division in baseball

for an unproven, 21-year-old prospect, with a good last name, but with Tommy John surgery, and a long list of maturity issues in his past?

REALLY?

If Drabek turned out to be half the pitcher that Halladay is, that would be impressive