Philadelphia Phillies: The rich getting richer?

Are the rich – the Philadelphia Phillies – getting richer, or what?

Don’t forget that these guys are already the defending World Series champions. And don’t forget that they already have World Series MVP Cole Hamels at the top of their pitching rotation.

Now that they didn't get Roy Halladay from Toronto, they have traded for 2008 American League Cy Young winner Cliff Lee of the Cleveland Indians. (And this, without giving up top young pitching prospects A.J. Happ or Kyle Drabek.)

Can you imagine Hamels and Lee, both left-handers, at the top of your rotation? Wow! Add lefties Jamie Moyer and Happ to this rotation and you truly have a top starting four for the playoffs.

And that’s not to mention Pedro Martinez pitching in the minor leagues for the Phils. If he turns out to be half the Pedro he used to be, what an exclamation point that would be.

Then there’s the Phillies lineup that leads off with Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez and Jason Werth. Nobody other than the Los Angeles Dodgers comes close to have a better top-six batters in the NL.

Already, the Phillies have a major-league best record of 19-5 in July. And that’s without the pitching help that is on the way.

Now that Lee has wound up in Philadelphia, that could seal the deal on a second straight World Series title.

Roy Halladay could take many teams to World Series

If the Los Angeles Dodgers can trade for Roy Halladay, go ahead and pencil them in for the World Series.

It’s pretty much ditto for the Philadelphia Phillies, Anaheim Angels, Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees.

If you had one game to win in MLB and could pick any pitcher, Halladay would be the guy to take.

But to get Halladay from the Toronto Blue Jays before the trading deadline of July 31, any team will have to give plenty to get him.

Would the Dodgers give up 21-year-old pitcher Clayton Kershaw, already called by some the next Sandy Koufax?

Would the Phillies trade young pitching phenom Kyle Drabek, among others?

Do the injury-plagued Angels have enough of a package to offer?

How about the Red Sox trading top young pitching prospect Clay Buchholz?

What kind of a package could the Yankees put together?

It would be surprising to see Toronto trade Halladay within the AL East to New York or Boston. In fact, Red Sox Manager Terry Francona would just as soon see Halladay in the National League … unless he goes to Boston.

Consider Francona’s comments after Halladay pitched a complete-game six-hitter to defeat the Red Sox on Sunday, 3-1.

“I stand by what I said the other day,” Francona joked. “They should have traded him the other day, and to a National League team.”

The Dodgers or Phillies would certainly be OK by that.

Los Angeles Dodgers are MLB's best team

How about those Dodgers?

Not only do the Los Angeles Dodgers have MLB’s best record (56-32) at the All-Star break; second-place San Francisco in the NL West leads the wild card chase by two games.

Translated: The Dodgers are nine games in front of the competition for a berth in the 2009 playoffs.

This is a team that can be truly characterized as a “team,” since more than one individual is leading the way.

After all, the Dodgers went 29-21 when Manny Ramirez was on his 50-game drug suspension.

Can you imagine the St. Louis Cardinals going 29-21 without Albert Pujols?

Perhaps the best indication of the Dodgers’ depth is that Juan Pierre – Ramirez’s replacement during his suspension – is the team’s No. 4 outfielder. On any other team in the NL West, Pierre would probably be playing everyday and batting leadoff.

If the Dodgers have a weakness, it is their starting rotation’s inability to go deep into the game (they are second in the league in bullpen innings pitched.)

Chad Billingsley has emerged as the ace and proven to be capable of going 7-8 innings. After him, you rarely get more than 5-6 innings out of Hiroki Kuroda, Randy Wolf or Clayton Kershaw.

The Dodgers would love to get American League All-Star starter Roy Halladay as their ace, but the asking price of Billingsley or Kershaw is too high.

So, General Manager Ned Colletti will likely fill the void by adding a relief pitcher.

How does Manager Joe Torre grade his team at this point?

“Incomplete,” he told the Associated Press after Sunday’s 7-4 win vs. the Milwaukee Brewers. “That's the only thing I can give it at this point because the back half, just like in golf the back nine, is the toughest one to play. We're going to have to go out there and continue to live up to ourselves.”

Don’t be surprised if the Dodgers have a Tiger Woods-like back nine.

Felix Hernandez: Best young pitcher in MLB?

If you needed a pitcher to win one game for you with everything on the line, my pick would be Roy Halladay of the Toronto Blue Jays.

But what if you could have a pitcher to build your staff around for the next 10 years?

The surprise pick here is Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners.

Hernandez, 23, doesn’t get much attention because he plays for a mediocre team in the far away Pacific Northwest.

But when you look at the numbers, it’s hard to argue with someone who is 7-3 with a 2.77 ERA, a 96 mph fastball and some nasty stuff to go with it.

Furthermore, Hernandez has allowed only three earned runs over 35 innings in his last five starts. (And remember, he is facing better hitters in the American League.)

Wow!

For a duo, you can’t beat Tim Lincecum, 25, and Matt Cain, 24, of the San Francisco Giants.

Lincecum, last year’s NL Cy Young winner, is already 6-1 with a 2.66 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 88 innings. Cain, who looks like he may win the Cy Young this year, is 9-1 with a 2.39 ERA.

As for other young pitchers on the rise, how about Zack Greinke of the Kansas City Royals or even Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers?

Greinke, 25, is 8-2 with a 1.72 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 94 1/3 innings.

But he has “slipped” in his last three starts, allowing 11 earned runs in 19 1/3 innings.

Kershaw, 21, may be the most intriguing of all. He doesn’t have the stats at 3-5 with a 4.13 ERA, but he has the stuff to at least be compared to Dodger great Sandy Koufax at the same age.

When Koufax was 21, he was also all over the place with his pitches like Kershaw. As time progresses, we’ll see whether lefty Kershaw progresses to a point where he can be compared to left-hander Koufax in his prime.

Hernandez. The San Francisco duo. Greinke. Kershaw. You probably can’t go wrong with any of them over the long haul.

Will there be an Angels-Dodgers Freeway World Series?

Jake Peavy may very well be a member of the Chicago Cubs before the 2009 MLB season is over.

Too bad that the Cubs would then discover that Peavy is no more successful in the postseason than they are.

On the other hand, the Los Angeles Dodgers are an ace pitcher away from being very good. Don’t be surprised if they turn the corner in July by dealing for the likes of a Roy Halladay from the Toronto Blue Jays.

That being said, here’s one blogger who believes there will be a Southern California Freeway World Series this year between the Dodgers and Anaheim Angels.

Predictions

AL West
Los Angeles
Texas
Oakland
Seattle

AL Central
Cleveland
Minnesota
Detroit
Kansas City
Chicago

AL East
Boston
New York
Tampa Bay
Baltimore
Toronto

NL West
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Arizona
Colorado
San Diego

NL Central
Chicago
Cincinnati
St. Louis
Milwaukee
Houston
Pittsburgh

NL East
Philadelphia
New York
Florida
Atlanta
Washington

Wild Cards: Yankees, Mets

World Series: Angels over Dodgers