Do you feel ok with giving up a poopy load of youngsters for Doc? The only name I heard so far is Kyle Drabek who as I understand is a must in the deal. Because of Doc'a friendship with Carpenter it seems like the Cards have the inside shot as far as Doc waiving his no trade clase. but we shall see what the next few weeks bring out.

We have to make this trade to even have a shot to repeat...I dont care which prospects you have to throw into the trade to get it done...Just get it done!!! What do you expect? He's arguably the best pitcher in the league....

We instantly become NL favorites for the next 2 years and give our team a chance to repeat....imagine going into the playoffs with Halladay,Hamels, and Blanton- with a lineup that looks like this.

Rollins
Victorino
Utley
Howard
Ibanez
Werth
Feliz
Ruiz

Are you kidding me!!!

The only question is does Ruben Amaro have the balls to trade away Drabek and a handful of other prospects in his rookie season as a GM. He says hes not afraid to be aggresive...I guess only time will tell....Other possible prospects to be traded away in the deal....Lou Marson, Jason Donald, Carlos Carrasco,Michael Taylor, J.A. Happ

I'm all about that deal....but the latest news today was that we are trying to sign Pedro Martinez....this was news to me...

does anyone have any insight on this?

they have been following Pedro for the last few weeks and were the only team with interest. They were impressed with his last workout and are working on a deal with $$ being the holdup. IMO if they pay him the $4M reportedly being offerred they are fools.

After originally saying he wouldn't throw for them today (as a follow-up to his impressive simulated game on Tuesday), Martinez has apparently reconsidered and will pitch another simulated inning or two today. And from what I understand, his contract demand is no where near $4M...it is for close to the veteran exemption, with incentives that could bring it to just over $3.5M (which obviously is win-win for everyone).

And make no mistake, signing Martinez will have no bearing whatsoever on whether the Phils go after Halladay. Word we are hearing is that the Blue Jays are posturing that any deal for Halladay would also have to include Vernon Wells (and his ridiculous $105M contract)....only the Yanks would consider this.

Should the Blue jays find the cupboard bare of desire for Wells, and they entertain offers for Halladay alone, the Phils have plenty of talent in the minors to make the deal happen. Question is, is it worth giving up a ton of prospects for a year and a half? the Phils certainly won't pay him the $20M+ he will require in 2011 and beyond once he is a free agent.

I agree....I would be willing to go 3M...but no higher...

Don't forget when Oakland was shopping Tim Hudson a few years back the Phils had a shot but were reluctant to throw in a 2B prospect by the name of Chase Utley. I would love for the Phils to get Halladay but management seems pretty good at judging talent so if they don't want to trade Drabek or Taylor or Brown I'll believe them. Plus I would hate to see the Phils trade away 3 top flight prospects to rent Hallady for a year and a half. Would they be willing to pay $17M-$20M a year for 2-3 more years to sign Halladay to an extension? I doubt it.

You can have Meche or Bannister.

I'm not the biggest baseball fan in the world but being in Canada, the Halladay trade talks have dominated radio up here. Didn't the Phillies GM basically say that Drabek was untradeable?

If you guys can pull this off you will definately be the favorite to repeat. hearing it's about 50/50 and Drabek is part of the deal, it is the other prospects they are deciding on.

At first, I thought the Phillies should definitely do this deal, but, now, I'm not so sure. Happ appears to be the real deal. Yes, Halladay would be an awesome addition, but, they might be able to repeat without him and keep a solid corps of minor league talent in place.

+1

And they have a huge $130M payroll and large debt service on the stadium. They need people in the seats. They can't afford to give up all the guys who will be making rookie wages in the next 2-4 years for a rental player like Halladay, then be left with a bare cupboard in 2-3 years and a lousy team. If this team stinks at some point in the near future, and people stop going, they'll stop spending quickly...and we'll be the Eastern PA version of the Pirates.

While it would be great to have an arm like Halladay for the run this year and next, I think they can be right there without him. Moreover, the favorite very rarely wins the the whole thing in the playoffs....look no further than last year. And not to be negative, but there is a reason some of the great Yankee andRred Sox teams of the last decade failed to repeat....its hard as balls. Even with Halladay the odds are long.

Unless we can negotiate an extension (and he says he wants to test the market) I would be reluctant to move Drabek and Happ for him.

Conversely outside of Hamels we never develop young pitchers so do it!

whenever I hear of that can't miss pitching prospect I always seem to remember the name Tommy Greene....there are reasons to do it and not do it...but if you really think Doc gets you another WS appearance and possible win then I think you have to do it...one thing is for sure there are many more prospects that never live up to their billing than actually do...and with all that said I would hate to see us move Happ and Drabek.

Deal is off, Philly said no to both Happ and Drabek plus another prospect. Ok with one being included but not both.

The other prospect was Dominic Brown, the best player in the Philly system.

I'm all for trading for Halladay, but Happ and Drabek plus Brown is probably too steep of a price for a guy we'll have to let go after next year.

I'd do 2 of the three, plus another lesser prospect, but this deal is too much and I am mostly happy that the Phils turned down the offer. I won't be as happy if he goes to the Dodgers or Cardinals, but it sounds as if the Dodgers aren't willing to give enough to get him either.

Phillies won't land the top guy (Halladay), especially when the asking offer is that ridiculous...

I expect them to land Cliff Lee and call it a day....

I could see Drabek and Brown....along with Kendricks or something...but no Happ....

Agreed. I was all prepared for them to trade of Drabek and Brown, but when I heard that Toronto was asking for Happ as well, I said thanks, but no thanks. It's good too see that others, including the Phillies organization, agree with me. And this is coming from a big supporrter of trading for Halladay. The asking price, as it stands, is too much.

Phillies offered Happ, Carrasco and two other prospects and the Blue Jays rejected it....

I'm hearing Drabek, Brown and Carrasco might get you Doc.

I heard the Jays countered the Phillies today...I guess we'll see what happens...Its gonna be a week full of halladay...

I'd do it....but the Phillies seem to be bent on using Happ as the main trade component...

apparently the Phillies are now willing to give up Happ and Drabek to get Halladay...

we'll see what happens...

We'll take Lee for a substantially lower price of 4 minor leaguers, none of which are named Brown or Drabek and we keep Happ as well.

I like the deal!

+1

Knapp (Single A stud), Carrasco (AAA so-so year), Marsden & Donald (both with potential but works in progress).

Problem is starting rotation is now lefty-heavy. Word is Happ still may be dealt for a solid right-handed bat.

If so, rotation would be:

Hamels
Lee
Blanton
Moyer
Martinez/Lopez

I'll gladly go to playoff-battle with those three at the top of my rotation, this offense, and Myers/Park set to come in for long-relief should anyone falter.

But do we really need another bat, even if it's a right handed one? I like Happ and think he could be a very solid pitcher for years to come.

There was a right handed batter in this deal, no? OF-Ben Francisco.

yeah...we definitely got them to give us Lee for a bunch of decent prospects, but nothing amazing...

I mean...I wish we could also add Halladay by giving up Happ and Drabek but that won't happen...

I love the deal...But I still think we need relief help with all the injuries and inconsistancy in the bullpen...And I guess it looks like Mayberrys gonna be sent down to make room on the roster. I wish it was bruntlett, but since he can play every damn position on the field I guess we have to keep him....yawnnnnnn.

Out of all the players that we dealt away I think we might miss Jason Knapp the most...He's only 19 years old, 6'5 225 pounds but is showing alot of potential by striking out 111 in only 85 innings....His era is kinda high but you gotta love all them strikeouts...I can definatley see him helping out the indians in the future.

word is that Happ would be dealt for a relief pitcher because Lidge is playing hurt....

this way, they can sit him down and make Myers the set-up guy and Madsen the closer..

I heard there looking to get Chad Qualls from Arizona....Dunno if Happ would be included in that trade

Mitch Williams mentioned the guy from Baltimore.....I forget his name though..

yeah, a .250 hitter....not sure if this is the big righthanded bat that many felt we might need, but certainly better than Bruntlett.

If Happ is not dealt, Jayson Stark reported that he will likely move to the bullpen to make way for Martinez in the rotation (1. to give us a more balanced rotation and 2. because they guaranteed him if he came back, he wouldn't be bullpen fodder). Makes sense for everyone, since Happ can pitch long-relief if needed.

If true, they now have (when healthy) a bullpen consisting of Happ, Park, Myers, Ayers, Durbin, Romero, Madsen, & Lidge. Lots of bodies, but with the roster expanding September 1st, they can carry them once they are all back.

And yes, Sherill from Baltimore would be some nice insurance if Lidge is pitching hurt.

I feel like I am missing something... maybe it's because the starting rotation has been pitching well of late, but up until his last start, I thought Happ was arguably the Phillies best (or at least most consistent) starting pitcher thsi season. He's young and been pretty impressive thus far. Why would the Phillies give Happ up for a decent bullpen option and to make room for Pedro, who appears to be a shadow of his former self and has some health concerns?

If we are going to get back to the series we really are going to need Lidge to bust out of his funk...but I have a bad feeling he won't...also Utley needs to turn it up a notch...fingers crossed for a repeat because I think we are gonna need all the luck we can get.

Hey...The only thing that matters is were back....We have a chance. For the most part our SP isnt bad...We know Lee and Hamels can be great....Blanton has been amazing IMO, our best starter for the whole year...and our offense is scary as hell...Utley is struggling but I believe he'll get it going once the playoffs start....

Lidge and the closing situation is a whole different story....We need him back bad but I dont think he has the mind set to get it done this year...Right now its looking like Madson might be closing in the playoffs for us....He looks like he's actually ready to take on the role....Only time will tell...I still have no idea wat Charlies gonna do about it....He has a tough decision to make, thats for sure.

GO PHILS!

true but I want two

maybe this is a good omen...the other day my mom called me to tell me she was going thru a bunch of stuff and found my 1980's Phillies World Series Program that I got at game 6 in 80

Anything less would be disappointing

Go F yourself.

Bake McBride, Mike Schmidt and Tug McGraw can kiss my ass.

Sorry fellas but that was a great series for Phils fans