myerstownherald.com

By ERIC FISHER
Remember the not-too-distant “bad old days” when the Phillies would invariably acquire a mediocre middle reliever or two at the trade deadline?
Those days are over. As the acquisition of left-handed starter Cliff Lee demonstrates, the “new” Phillies are willing to do what it takes to win championships.
All right, they didn’t get their No. 1 target. But once they determined the asking price for Toronto ace Roy Halladay was too high, the Phillies turned to their No. 2 target: Cliff Lee.
Lee isn’t Halladay, but he isn’t chopped liver. Lee won the American League Cy Young Award last season with a remarkable 22-3 record while pitching for the average-at-best Cleveland Indians.
The Phillies acquired Lee, along with outfielder Ben Francisco, who provides a needed right-handed bat off the bench, without giving up any of the top prospects the Blue Jays were asking for in return for Halladay. Most importantly, the Phillies didn’t give up anyone, such as J.A. Happ, contributing in the majors this season.
The Phillies added Lee and Francisco to their big-league roster without trading anyone off that roster. That is why their chances for postseason success received such a big boost from this trade.
Postseason success is what this trade is all about. The Phillies could probably have won the National League East and made the playoffs without acquiring Lee. But the playoffs were a different story.
The importance of having several good pitchers at the top of the rotation is magnified in the playoffs. The rotation is usually reduced to four, and sometimes even three, pitchers. In a five-game series, three or four games will be pitched by your top two pitchers. In a seven-game series, four or five games will be pitched by your top two pitchers.
The Phillies’ rotation is significantly better with Lee inserted alongside Cole Hamels than without him. The top three pitchers now are Hamels, Lee and Joe Blanton. If the Phillies need a fourth starter during the playoffs, they will have a choice between Happ, Jamie Moyer and possibly Pedro Martinez. Without Lee, the top two consists of Hamels and Blanton, with the third pitcher being Happ, Moyer or Martinez.
With no disrespect intended toward the other pitchers in the rotation, the Phillies’ playoff options are a lot better with Lee in the mix.
Lee is just 7-9 this season, but he has had poor run support. That shouldn’t be a problem with the slugging Phillies. Lee’s 3.14 ERA is a much better indication of his performance this season than his record.
So what’s the catch? There has to be a catch, right?
Well, if you’re looking for a black lining in the silver cloud, it’s that Lee gives up a lot of fly balls. That could be a problem in Citizens Bank Park.
A potential long-term problem could be that pitchers Jason Knapp and Carlos Carrasco become stars. Knapp, 18, is 6-foot-5 and throws 98 mph. Carrasco is just 22. Catcher Lou Marson and infielder Jason Donald could also become everyday players with the Indians.
Worrying about potential pitfalls down the road, however, is the old way of thinking. These are the new Phillies. This team tries to win championships. The attitude of the day is optimism, not pessimism.
So we won’t dwell on Halladay getting away. We won’t point out that one year ago Carrasco, Marson and Donald were highly thought of within the organization, just as pitcher Kyle Drabek and outfielders Michael Taylor and Dominic Brown – the minor-league prospects Toronto reportedly wanted, along with Happ, in exchange for Halladay – are today.
All that matters is the Phillies are closer to winning a World Series today than they were before the Lee trade. It’s clear that winning one World Series wasn’t enough for the Phillies. They are willing to do what it takes to win it again.
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Excuse me for cutting the Phillies trade column short, but Jim Johnson deserves a mention in this space. Actually, Johnson deserves an entire column dedicated to his accomplishments, but the former Eagles defensive coordinator never did care about being in the spotlight.
Johnson died of melanoma Tuesday at age 68. He leaves an impressive legacy, on and off the field.
Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid may have been the faces of the franchise for the past 10 years, but the heart and soul of the Eagles was their aggressive, hard-hitting defense. The defense connected with the fans. Its nasty, blue-collar style was a perfect match for Philadelphia.
The defensive style was also a recipe for success. We frequently hear that the Eagles have been to five NFC championship games with McNabb as quarterback and Reid as head coach. What we didn’t hear often enough was that the Eagles reached five NFC championship games during Johnson’s decade as their defensive coordinator.
Johnson was as “old school” as it gets, yet he was an innovator with regard to defensive schemes. This old dog was always willing to try new tricks.
Despite his relatively common name, there was only one Jim Johnson.