Hopefully, we can put to bed once and for all the ugly situation that was the Cliff Lee trade. No one wanted to see him go and the Phillies got absolute garbage in return. The team has been ripped since it went down.
But how is that looking now? Lee has been absolutely horrific in the month of August with a 6.35 ERA in seven starts. Today, he saw a doctor who determined that his lower back injury is muscular in nature and gave him a trigger-point injection. I have no clue what that is.
He is scheduled to start on Monday, and right now the Texas Rangers have no plans to alter their rotation. But, that could change based on how he responds to the injection.
On the other hand, Mr. Roy Oswalt has been phenomenal for the Phillies, going 4-1 with a 1.90 ERA in seven starts since the team acquired him. He had a no-hitter into the fifth inning today in a win over the Dodgers and ended up leaving after 6 1/3 and one earned run. Not too bad.
I guess we won’t really know who wins in all of this until we see Oswalt’s post-season performance. What Lee did last year was just filthy. Oswalt does have playoff experience from his time with the Astros, but we’ll need to see him do it for Philly.
But as of right now, Ruben Amaro ain’t looking to bad.
The Lee trade had little or nothing to do with Oswalt trade other than the need for another arm. It was a bad trade, period (Lee). Oswalt trade seems like a winner, but time will tell.
Reuben Amaro for Mayor of Philadephia…
Remember Lee went through similar struggles at around the same time last season for the Phillies. In late August/early September Lee had a number of starts that he got hit pretty hard. Lee has pitched deep into so many games this season, his arm is probably a little dead right now. I wouldn’t be too concerned about Lee after seeing what happened a year ago. I’d be surprised if he wasn’t on top of his game again come playoff time.