Will The Halladay Deal Work Out For Philadelphia?

If you haven't heard yet Roy Halladay has been the topic of conversation amongst baseball circles this week. As you probably know the Toronto Blue Jays ace has been rumored in several possible trades since before the trade deadline last season. Will he or will he not be traded?

Well, all the suspense is nearly gone. "Doc" is close to begin dealt to the NL Champion Philadelphia Phillies in a three team trade that would in turn send Philadelphia lefty Cliff Lee to the Seattle Mariners   The big question is however, will this blockbuster trade work out for the "Fightin' Phils"?

I say yes for three reasons.

1. Roy Halladay is now on a contending team. For the past 2 seasons Philadelphia has been at the top of the mountain, winning the World Series in 2008, and nearly doing it again in 2009 but eventually falling short to the New York Yankees, while the Blue Jays have not been on top since their back-to-back glory years of 1992-93.

2. General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. is committed to staying on top. At the trade deadline in 2009 he was able to acquire the 2008 Cy Young award winner Cliff Lee from the Cleveland Indians to help boost the starting pitching staff. Not to mention signing former Cy Young award recipient Pedro Martinez.

3. Lastly, but certainly not least "Doc" Halladay is pitching in the National League for the first time. Usually pitchers have the upper hand when they face teams for the first time and the Majority of the National League has never faced the dominating hurler before, with the exceptions being the occasional interleague match-ups and an inning or two in All-Star games. History is also on the side of the hurler as well in the names of Randy Johnson and Curt Shilling as examples. When Randy Johnson and Curt Shilling went to the senior circuit (National League) they won co-World Series MVP for the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks. 

Time will tell on if this trade works out for Philadelphia but, at the surface level it looks like it just might for this overpowering right hander and the Phillies.