For Phillies, Acquiring Roy Halladay Is Great, but Giving Up Cliff Lee Is Insane

By CAESAR CLIFFIUS

I am still scratching my head, wondering why you would make a lateral move with two of the best pitchers in baseball.

Phillies, what were you thinking? Roy Halladay is one of the best pitchers in the game today, and it is true that everyone else wants him on their squad.

That is poor reasoning for trading him for the best pitcher you already had. That would be like trading Adam Dunn straight up for Adrian Gonzalez. What are you gaining? It is trading power for power, run production for run production.

I don’t know that I would trade Cliff Lee for Halladay. Roy is two years older than Lee and has been worked like a rented mule. In 12 seasons, he has pitched 2,046 innings. Lee, in eight campaigns, has thrown just 1,196 innings.

The following comparison is based on 162-game seasons:

In clutch situations throughout his career (two outs, RISP) Lee’s opposing batters are hitting just .238, while Halladay fares a little better at .223.

More to the point of this article, it makes no sense trading a No. 1 starter for a No. 1 starter. That isn’t bolstering or fortifying your rotation, it is merely adding an iota of strength to your No. 1 position.

This deal is part of a complicated three team trade with the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners. Lee would be packing his bags for Seattle if everything works “according to Hoyle.” The Mariners would be sending pitcher Phillipe Aumont and outfielder Tyson Gillies to Philadelphia.

The Phillies are tentatively sending outfielder Michael Taylor, catcher Travis d’Arnaud and pitcher Kyle Drabek to Toronto.

Seattle filled a need by adding to their staff, throwing Lee in the rotation which has been anchored by Felix Hernandez.

The Phillies already had a decent staff with Lee, Cole Hamels, Pedro Martinez, Joe Blanton and Jamie (Methuselah) Moyer on standby.

Halladay and Lee, both Cy Young Award winners, are still excellent pitchers. Halladay is a throwback to the sixties and before, when a starter was expected to finish what he started. Lee, a more “new age” type, is able to give you a quality start seven out of 10 times.

Six or seven strong innings is as much as most clubs require from a starter now, with specialty relievers in the pen.

Who benefited most from this trade?

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