Phillies fans… don’t nag your team about Cliff Lee

Have you ever screwed up badly and tried to make up for it?
It might be with your spouse, or significant other or family…

I’m not talking about something huge like adultery or tax evasion.
I’m talking about a judgment call.

A bad investment, inviting the wrong person over, turning down a job that turned into a big windfall, buying the wrong kind of car… something that they could throw a few “I told you so”s at you.

At the exact moment that you knew you screwed up, don’t you tend to overcompensate? Don’t you tend to try to patch things up as quickly as possible?

And while you are fixing the problem if you get a “I don’t know why you just didn’t do what I told you to do before” flung at you, doesn’t it REALLY suck?

When you hear “Why didn’t you do what I told you to do?” don’t you just want to scream “I KNOW! I’M SORRY! I’M FIXING IT! GET OFF MY BACK!”

That’s what the Phillies are doing right now.

They traded for Roy Halladay in the off season. But instead of just trading prospects for Halladay, they decided to replenish their farm system in the process and deal Cliff Lee to get prospects BACK.

And everyone, including yours truly, said “Why didn’t you keep Lee and have the best 1-2 punch in baseball?”

With a shaky bullpen, they could have 2 aces who could throw 9 consistently and give the relievers a rest.

Yet the Phillies tried it out… and Halladay has been solid but Cliff Lee has dominated in both a Mariners and a Rangers uniform. And while the Phillies struggled it was clear they needed a #2 starter.

And oh yeah, the prospects they got for Lee have been stiffs so far.

And even though the Phillies seem to have righted their ship, they went out and traded for Roy Oswalt.

And it cost them prospects (including J. A. Happ) which is what they wanted to save when dealing Cliff Lee.

And Oswalt’s contract is going on for two more years while Cliff Lee’s expires after this year and the Phillies could have let him go and picked up 2 first round picks… which could have helped replenish the farm system.

It’s a solid move for the Phillies, yet virtually everyone is bringing up the Cliff Lee move when talking about the Oswalt trade.

They now have a great 1-2 punch, yet everyone is claiming they told the Phillies so.

The Phillies know!
They are sorry!
They are fixing it!
Get off of their backs!

The Brett Wallace Merry Go Round Continues

Doesn’t anyone want Brett Wallace?
Or does EVERYONE want Brett Wallace?

It’s hard to figure out.

Brett Wallace could very well become a superstar hitter in the big leagues one of these days… Where he will play is anyone’s guess.

Since being picked by the Cardinals in the first round in 2008, he was touted as one of the best power prospects in the bigs.

Since July 24, 2009, he has been part of 4 different organizations… all at the AAA level.

He has yet to play a single game in the bigs (still trailing Jon Ratliff in that category) and has been declared the future for 4 different teams.

He’s the future power slugger for the Cardinals… no wait he’s going to be the new basher in Oakland… did I say Oakland I meant Toronto… or maybe Houston!

After the Astros flipped one of their Phillies prospects in the Oswalt trade, Wallace can now claim he has been involved directly or indirectly with trades for Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Matt Holliday and Roy Oswalt.

Pretty elite company.

But does he have the “Crazy Single Hot Girl” aura around him?

You know when you meet a really hot girl who is single and think “Man, how lucky am I? I can’t believe she is available!” Then you start dating and you realize “Wow, now I know why she’s single. I got to get out of this!”

Kind of like the careers of Kyle Farnsworth, Terrell Owens and Stephon Marbury.

Do the Cardinals, A’s and Blue Jays all know something that the Astros are going to find out?
Or is he really that good a prospect?

If he is traded again, I am declaring because he is too fat.

Don’t believe me?
Check out my post about Wallace I made last year.

Honoring Jon Ratliff’s Cup Of Coffee In The Bigs

Chances are you’ve never heard of Jon Ratliff.

I know I never heard of him. He pitched a grand total of one game in the big leagues for the 2000 Oakland A’s.

That’s one day more than I ever spent in the show.

And Don Marquez, Oakland A’s superfan, friend of Sully Baseball and the author of the wonderful book Generation A’s Fans, wrote a wonderful post on Athletics Nation today about Ratliffs one inning (and 12 pitches) in the bigs and where he is now.

For all of us who wanted the experience of being a big leaguer even for just one day, it’s a fabulous read.

Click HERE to check it out.