Phillies Plus Cliff Lee Minus Four Prospects Equals World Series?

Last week, my post was critical of Ruben Amaro, Jr. because I felt he should put Drabek out there and get the best pitcher in the Majors this season in Doc Halladay. I still don't think I was wrong, but I'm incredibly impressed with the trade Ruben pulled off with the Indians to get reigning Cy Young winner Cliff Lee.

The Phillies got Cliff Lee and a desperately needed right-handed bat in OF Ben Francisco for RHPs Carlos Carrasco, Jason Knapp, catcher Lou Marson and SS Jason Donald. Carrasco is the second-best pitching prospect the Phils had in their system behind Drabek, and Knapp is an 18-year-old who has a 98 mph fastball. Lou Marson hasn't been talked about much in trade talks, but he's a reliable catcher and will fill in nicely for the recently traded Victor Martinez. Finally, Jason Donald, the shortstop who's been trapped behind J-Roll for a while, was traded as well.

All in all, what did the Phillies really give up? The farm system is a little weakened now, but none of Amaro's real “untouchables” were traded. Drabek is still in the minors and J.A. Happ is still in the Phillies rotation. We got a fantastic left-handed fly ball pitcher and a versatile outfielder in Francisco.

Cliff Lee might not be Halladay, but getting a Cy Young winner without selling the farm is pretty remarkable.

Take his first game against the Giants on Friday. He carried a no-hitter into the sixth and wound up with a complete game win, giving up just four hits and one run. He also doubled his career total in hits with two and was only a few feet away from a home run.

Francisco has come in pretty handy too. Mid-week Shane Victorino bruised his knee in Arizona and Francisco was there to fill in. He was solid in the outfield and looked decent enough at the plate.

The trade isn't perfect though. First, Cliff Lee is another LHP, which means the Phillies now have just one RHP in the starting rotation in Blanton (who didn't pitch a terrific game yesterday, but also got no run support in the Phils 2-0 shutout loss against the Giants). Also, one of their starting pitchers (this including Pedro Martinez) will now have to go to the bullpen which creates a bit of tension. It also basically renders them useless to pitch as a starter in the playoffs if they pitch often in the bullpen.

Look, I'm not complaining. The only person who is complaining about this trade is Howard Eskin, who's an ass anyway. Lee's 7-9 record with the Indians is deceptive because they gave him no run support, and except for last night the Phillies have provided plenty of that and more. All in all, this trade looks like it could be the one to not only sets them up for a World Series run this year, but also keeps Drabek, Happ and Dominic Brown for runs in the future.