The Cy swap is on
The deal we all knew about finally become official late Wednesday afternoon: Roy Halladay (left) is headed from Toronto to Philadelphia and Cliff Lee is headed to Seattle. What a whopper that is.
There are a lot of ways to look at this one. The Blue Jays had to make a deal with Halladay because he wasn't staying after next year. The Phillies must have felt likewise with Lee, who will be a free agent following the 2010 season. The Mariners feel Lee can help them make a quick strike in the AL West with a 1-2 punch of Felix Hernandez and Lee, and aren't worrying about 2011 just yet.
If everyone stays healthy, the Phillies are a heavy favorite to become the first NL team to go to three straight World Series since the Cardinals did it in the early 1940s. The Mariners quickly ascend to the top of the AL West, especially now that John Lackey has bolted the Angels for Boston.
And as for our poor friends in Toronto? That playoff drought that's 16 years old will certainly hit 17. And probably 18 and 19. Major rebuild job there and the Jays may, in fact, slip behind the Orioles into the AL East cellar. They have to hope their prospect haul matches what the Indians got for Bartolo Colon in 2002, a group that included Lee and helped the Tribe get with a game of the World Series in 2007.
Here's plenty of views on the deals:
In the Seattle Times, Steve Kelley says the Mariners are relevant again. Probably for the first time since their 116-win season in 2001.
In the Toronto Star, Richard Griffin says the Jays owed Halladay this opportunity. As for the prospect haul, only time will tell.
In the Philadelphia Inquirer, Bob Ford says the Phillies were being fiscally prudent but wonders if it will backfire on them not keeping Lee to try to make a run in 2010 with both aces in their rotation. John Gonzalez wonders about the same thing, saying it's strange to feel so greedy now that the Phillies have lots of money and a full ballpark and can act like a true big-market team.
And here's a cheap plug alert: I'll have plenty more thoughts on this deal and lots of other movement this month in a special edition of Inside Baseball coming in Sunday's paper.
---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)
Photo: Halladay meets the media Wednesday in Citizens Bank Park/Getty Images
