Farewell To Lee, and Happy Halladay

Get Halladay into a Phillies uniform. Please.

Reports are currently surfacing that both Roy Halladay and his agent are in Philly. This could presumably mean only one thing, Halladay is here to sign a contract extension.

Details on the tentative trade are surfacing, but it seems that the most likely scenario involves the Phillies trading Cliff Lee to a third team for prospects, and then packaging those prospects with some of their own for the Toronto Blue Jays' Roy Halladay.

This sounds like a crazy deal, and it honestly is a swap more likely to be seen in a video game. Superstar ace, acquired at the trade deadline and fantastic in the playoffs, traded for a superduperstar ace, and Philly's first true love.

Cliff Lee has been fantastic as a Phillie, and there should be no way that Ruben Amaro can make this trade right now. Secretly, Cliff Lee's agent has been working behind the scenes to ensure that Lee gets the biggest contract possible next offseason, and the Phillies may not even be favorites to resign him.

On the other hand, Roy Halladay will not waive his trade clause unless he signs a contract extension with his destination. Luckily, Roy misses Philly more than Philly misses Roy. The Phillies can happily make this trade expecting even better production from Halladay.

Think about it, how happy will Halladay this year? He will have a career year; he will be switching over to the Nerf ball National League and he will be ecstatic about leaving Toronto for a championship team.

Halladay is apparently asking for less money than Santana. The Phillies can make this trade with only minor negative impacts towards their future salary cap and farm system.

Halladay is also considered the more durable of the two aces, this was the general consensus during last year's trade deadline when the two of them were compared numerous times. Halladay could also elongate his career by being teammates with Father Time, aka Jamie Moyer.

Cliff Lee has been great, but let's be honest, he was never our first choice. No, ever since Halladay has been linked to the Phillies, Philly fans have been romanticising about the day when Halladay would put on a Phillie uniform. We convinced ourselves that Lee was a decent replacement, but when he didn't pitch on 3 days rest in the World Series, he disappointed us. "Roy Halladay would never let us down", I would mutter to myself.

This three way love triangle between the Phillies, Cliff Lee, and Roy Halladay is exactly like Twilight... without the shirtlessness and screaming girls.

It is a little harsh to say Lee disappointed, he did not lose a start in the playoffs, yet I know Roy Halladay could have pitched on three days rest. You don't think Halladay could have performed better than Lee? Just like Halladay, Lee never pitched in a playoff game before this season and we know how well he performed. 

This brings us to the real reason Philly fans should rejoice this trade. Halladay is a Yankee-killer. In the past three years, he is 9-2 with a 2.51 era against the Yankees. Halladay could have been the deciding factor in that series.

There was talk before about the Phillies only having a small window, but now with a potential long term deal for Halladay, the nucleus of this team could theoretically remain together for a while. As long as the Phillies keep winning, they will sell out every game and their cap will grow.

This trade signals that the Phillies are a superpower in this league now. The National League now has a team that can compete with the titans in the American League. The Phillies are going for players that thrive against top teams, and they are also blocking trades to these teams.

The Yankees and Red Sox were both in talks to get Halladay, yet the Red Sox look like they will be picking up Lackey and the Phillies blocked both from getting Halladay. The Phil's may also send Cliff Lee to the Mariners, a team less threatening than a Koala bear.

Another sign of the Phillies newfound dominance, Philadelphia has become one of the most attractive teams in the league for free agents.

I had always assumed that power moves and the best players were reserved elite American League teams, but the Phillies are changing the status quo.

If the Phillies can secure this trade, it may usher in a long, new era where the Phillies reign supreme in the National League.