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MLB

Lee Makes Phils Class of the NL (Again)

Posted Jul 29, 2009 7:11PM By Ed Price (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Phillies, MLB Trade Deadline

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Cliff Lee / Raul Ibanez, Shane VictorinoNo National League team has gone to back-to-back World Series since the 1995-96 Braves.

Until now.

OK, the Phillies could miss out on a second straight pennant. They could cough up a seven-game lead on the NL East. They could lose in a short playoff series.

But with the addition of Cliff Lee on Wednesday, they are more than the defending NL champions in name. Even though the Dodgers have a better record, Los Angeles will need to knock Philadelphia off of its perch.
"I think there is no doubt about it ... they were the [NL] favorites to start the day," an AL executive said of the Phillies, "and I think they're the favorites now. I think they match up with L.A. very well."

The Phillies are 3-4 against the Dodgers this year -- but were out-scored just 26-25. And Philadelphia won last year's NLCS matchup.

A scout from an NL team was slightly less definitive.

"I'm not sure it pushes them over [the top]," he said. "[Roy] Halladay pushes them over.

"I think they've closed the gap. Although I think they were going to beat L.A. anyway because they're so much tougher."

Speaking of tougher, Lee moves from the tougher American League to the NL East. He is 12-2 with a 3.18 ERA in 22 career starts against NL teams, although he has never faced the Nationals or Mets, with one start against the Braves and two against the Marlins.

Remember, when CC Sabathia went from Cleveland to the NL last year, he went 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA. Lee could benefit the same way, the scout said.

"He's coming to the National League, where they have half the hitters," the scout said. "It may be a Sabathia situation. The comparisons with Sabathia in Cleveland are eerie. [Lee] may go on a tear."

Although Lee was just 7-9 for the Tribe, his run support was awful and his 3.14 ERA was seventh-best in the AL. He also led the league in innings (152) and was sixth in fewest walks per nine innings (2.0). Lee was also third in the NL in fewest homers allowed per nine innings, which will come in handy at Citizens Bank Park.

"One of our goals during the course of this year is to try to add someone to our rotation that we felt would be kind of a difference-maker," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro said.

Amaro denied this deal was more about October than the final two months of the regular season.

"I absolutely cannot lose fact of the sight that there's a lot of baseball to be played here. There are some very, very good teams in our division. ... By no means do we take for granted where we are in the standings right now. There's no question that getting a top-of-the-rotation caliber pitcher, you would think that would help you, if you get the opportunity to get to the playoffs, to get deeper into the playoffs. But our goal is pretty singular now, and that's to get to the playoffs and see where things fall."

Lee has faced the Dodgers once, in June 2008, and he allowed one run in 7 1/3 innings, with six hits and one walk. But he has never pitched in the postseason.

"It may be a [CC] Sabathia situation. The comparisons with Sabathia in Cleveland are eerie. [Lee] may go on a tear."
-- An NL Scout Throw-in Ben Francisco fills the other need Philadelphia was concerned about, a right-handed bat off the bench. Francisco has a career .359 on-base percentage and .451 slugging percentage against lefties.

So the Phillies now have a No. 1-type pitcher, one of the better No. 2s in Cole Hamels, the league's best offense (most runs and homers, both overall and on the road) and a grind-to-the-last-out toughness that can't quite be quantified.

Oh, and they've won 19 of their past 22 even without Lee.

To their credit, the Phillies didn't "mortgage the future." Lee can be kept next year for an $8 million team option. And while right-hander Jason Knapp has high-end potential, he was only in Sinlge-A. The Phillies were able to keep more advanced prospects such as Double-A right-hander Kyle Drabek and Triple-A outfielder Michael Taylor.

Amaro wouldn't address his pursuit of Halladay, but when he said, "We just felt like this was the proper fit for us," it meant that Lee didn't cost as much in terms of prospects, and that mattered.

About the only quibble with the Phillies is their lefty-heavy starting corps, with Lee, Hamels, Jamie Moyer and J.A. Happ. (Then there's Joe Blanton and, when Pedro Martinez is ready, someone has to go).

Having so many lefties in the rotation "is OK," the AL executive said, "as long as they're good in the rotation."

It should be noted that the Dodgers have the NL's best team OPS against left-handed pitching (.819), and an 18-11 record when facing a southpaw starter.

What can't be measured is the psychological boost the Phillies got today. From a team that won the World Series, they have subtracted Pat Burrell and added Raul Ibanez and Lee. Amaro reportedly got an ovation from his team when he entered the clubhouse after the trade was finalized.

"I think it's important," Amaro said, "to show our guys on the field that we're making every effort to try to make us the best ballclub we can be."

The players know this move wasn't made to help them get to the playoffs, it was made to help them win in the playoffs again.

And they should.

Tags: ben+francisco, cliff+lee, jason+knapp, kyle+drabek, michael+taylor, ruben+amaro, RubenAmaro

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