Ed Stefanski chose to stay with a team that is 20-33, has miserable attendance ratings, and 3 cumbersome contracts.  Now I know everyone likes to pretend to be GM, but this time, I am truly at a loss.

It is apparent that the Sixers are an inferior team.  They have been for years.  The problem is that they are one of those slightly dangerous yet inferior teams, always in between a high lotto pick and a playoff spot.  When Stefanski and co. checked in they could sell that, because potential sells.

“If I’ve told you once I’ve told you a hundred times. It’s high screen pick-and-roll and then…jazzhands!”

That ship has been lost at sea for Sixer fans for too long.

There were two big deals on the table: Andre Iguodala and Sam Dalembert to Houston for Tracy Mcgrady’s expiring contract and Chase Buddinger, or Amare Stoudemire and either Jason Richardon or Leandro Barbosa from Phoenix.  Either of these deals would have been better than doing nothing.  The fact that we could have shed 2 out of our 3 cap-throttling contracts – but didn’t – blows my mind.  Who cares if Amare “might not opt out”?  Oh well, then I guess we just need to play with a bonafide All Star on our team for another year, or at least until we trade his expiring contract.

There is honestly no point to watch them play for the rest of the season.  Are Jrue Holiday, Mo Speights, and Thad Young going to play 30-35 min a night?  “Doubtful!” says downtrodden Sixers coach, Eddie Jordan.  Other direct quotes:

“I love Willie Green!”

“Brand will play center!”

“The Princeton Offense!”

“It works! I swear!”

(in actuality, Ed Stefanski was quoted this week as saying “we don’t really run the Princeton offense much” … great hire, genius)

So now we must endure another two months of Iggy overextending himself, Brand being put up against guys 4 inches taller than him, and Iverson…well, Iverson might not even show up.

“Something stinks!” Raptors guard Jarrett Jack gasps.

Other teams in similar positions to us made trades.  I swear the Knicks made like 12 trades.  Donnie Walsh moves fast for an old guy.

The Wizards just blew the thing up.  Traded Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, and Gilbert Arenas’ entire arsenal of guns. That is how you start over.

That is really what the Sixers have to do.  Teams that were irrelevant and are becoming relevant again score in the draft, and savvy trades.  Kevin Durant, Brandon Jennings, Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans.  Their teams have significance again, and fan interest.

My only hope is that between now and the beginning of the 2010-2011 season, something big happens.  Maybe it will be the firing of Eddie Jordan, Ed Stefanski, or the movement of the franchise to Toledo.

Sixer diehards are truly being tested this time.

-DNA

This year though, we get to watch two genuinely likable teams. High-powered offenses, two great quarterbacks, lots of personality on both sides, a great story of the city of New Orleans, Manning’s continued quest to be the greatest of all time, and lest we forget – gratuitous views of Kim Kardashian in the owners box.

The Saints didn’t win the NFC Championship as much as Minnesota Favre’d themselves in the foot, but here they are – 25th ranked defense and all. In fact, this entire Superbowl defies the logic that Superbowl teams “run the ball and play solid defense” …these two teams are to defense what Beyonce is to acting.

That being said, that Saints number 25 ranking in overall defense does not tell the whole story. What they also are is amongst the leaders in causing turnovers (+11 on the year), and red zone defense. Remember the Eagles D and “bend, don’t break”? This squad should be sponsored by bungee cords. They are going to need to play exactly this way in order to beat the Colts. They will have to make them settle for field goals, disguise coverages, and hurry Peyton into throwing passes. Lately you’ve been seeing him smartly take sacks rather than throwing into tight coverage, but if they can build a lead – every quarterback eventually starts to feel more pressure than Jackeé’s personal trainer.

So what else do the Saints have to do in order to exorcise the ghosts of Bobby Hebert(remember him? …and how to pronounce it?) and Archie Manning? At least these two things:

1. Run the ball / control the clock.

The Saints not only have 39 running backs, they also have a top-five offensive line. Even though it only takes moments for Manning to mount a comeback against you (see game 2 vs. Miami) you want to give him as few chances on the field as possible. The more he sees your defense, the more likely he is to find the holes in it. Kind of like how your girlfriend was okay with your wardrobe for the first few months, then she figures out all the ways you need help.

Freeney’s limitedness in this game will dramatically affect the Sants ability to run the ball, perhaps just as much as it does in the run game.

2. Don’t give up big plays.

Manning loves to carve up defenses for bite-sized chunks of yardage, but he also loves to go directly for the jugular and hit a big play. Long touchdowns sap the life out of a defense, they make players start questioning their teammates and themselves. They also can create a false sense of urgency on the offensive side of the ball to come right back and match the score. If they can force the checkdowns and 3-4-5 yard gains, they can slow the game down and perhaps cause some fumbles or one of those interceptions when the ball is a little high and takes a weird bounce.

So Murdock took the Colts huh? Alright, well for the sake of argument – I’ll take the Saints.

Prediction: Saints 34 – Colts 30

We’ll be live tweeting during the game, don’t miss out!
www.twitter.com/officialreview

- Magnum

What are your predictions for the game?

The Saints have been a really nice and cute story, and America loves cute stories, but the bottom line is Peyton Manning is the best there ever was, and he knows exactly what he needs to do in order to lead his team to victory in Miami on Sunday night. The Saints were and are a nice story, but the best players are what wins in the NFL, not the best stories. the Saints were lucky that the Vikings turned the ball over 75,000 times in the NFC Championship, or they wouldn’t even be in this game.

The Saints haven’t played well since they blew the Patriots out on Monday night on November 30th, excluding their first playoff game against the Arizona Roadkill. Since that time, they won a game in overtime against the Redskins, when Washington’s kicker missed a 27 yard field goal that would have iced the game with 2 minutes left. They then beat Atlanta by 3 points, followed by 3 straight losses to end the season. Any of this sound in the least bit impressive to you? New Orleans is the typical, great offensive team that starts out like a ball of fire, but starts to peter out toward the end of the season, and eventually loses (see Patriots: 2007). I just don’t think they have the squad to beat Indianapolis with all the marbles on the line. Maybe if Indy turns it over like the Minnesota Chokings (what, too soon?) did a couple of weeks ago, then they can win, but beyond that scenario, I just don’t see it happening.

Prediction: Colts 38 – Saints 28, Manning wins the MVP

Leave some comments: tell us who you think will win, some reasons why they will win, and what you think the final score will be.

Tomorrow Magnum will be posting his Super Bowl Preview from the Saints’ perspective.

- Murdock

In Sunday’s first game the Mannings fell quickly behind the Jets by a second quarter score of 17-6. Of course, the Peyton Colts had them right where they wanted them and proceeded to absolutely smoke them from 2:00 remaining in the second quarter through the end of the game resulting in a final score of 30-17. Manning threw for over 370 yards and 3 TDs, and the score wouldn’t even have been that close if not for a couple of early field goals that Indy was forced to kick from close range.

After dispatching the Jets, Peyton orders McDonalds for the team.

The Jets got their early lead by going away from what got them there (paging: Jim Fregosi). Their offense had consisted mostly of running the ball, running the ball, with a few running plays mixed in. They actually started throwing the ball on first down in the first half against the Colts, which is something that the Mannings clearly did not see coming (and how could they, considering that the Jets had shown absolutely no propensity to open up their offense at all in their first couple of playoff games?). A couple of the first down plays led to big plays by the Jets, resulting in the two first half touchdowns. However, the Colts have always been great at adjustments, and Sunday was no different. The Jets rookie QB had decent numbers in the first half (5-7, 124 yds, 2 TDs, 153.3 QB Rating), but those number turned abysmal after halftime (12-23, 133 yds, 1 INT, 51.5 QB Rating). Peyton Manning made perfect throw after perfect throw, and soon enough the inevitable became all too clear for the Jets, that Indy was headed back to Miami (fun fact: the Colts have made it to 4 Super Bowls, and each one was played in Miami).

The Saints path was not as easy as Indy’s path (if you can call an 11 point, first half deficit easy); they faced the Minnesota Vikings, who had the best mix of offense and defense of any team in the playoffs (they were ranked 5th in offense and 6th in defense). The Vikings pretty much marched the ball up and down the field all day against the Saints, but the Saints were somehow able to become the first team in NFL postseason history to be out-gained by more than 200 yards (218 to be exact) and still claim victory. If you missed the NFC Championship, but you are a football fan, you are most likely saying to yourself, “The only way I could see that happening is a lot of turnovers.” Indeed, you’re totally right. (also, punch yourself for missing this game) Minnesota turned the ball over 5 TIMES to the Saints 1 turnover. Honestly, they recover 3 more of their own fumbles, so their turnover margin could have easily been 8 to 1 if the ball had bounced in a more unlucky way once or twice.

There is only one word I can think of for a team who completely dominates another team in a conference championship game, but turn the ball over five times so as to barely lose by 3 points: CHOKE. Sorry, Vikings fans, that was the ultimate choke job by the entire team, from the coaches to the star players. Adrian Peterson and Brett Favre were the chief culprits on the field, but despite their first 4 turnovers, the score was still 28-28 with around a minute left in the game and Minnesota was at the Saints’ 33 yard line with a first down. This is where Minnesota’s decision to hire Brad Childress was proven to be a terrible one. The Vikings had 2 timeouts, and were within range of a 50 yard field goal (keep in mind, this is inside the Superdome, and kickers usually can kick longer field goals indoors). That being said, a 50 yard field goal to go to the Super Bowl is far from a gimme. On first down everyone on the planet knew that Childress was going to run the safe play and run the ball. A play-action fake right there could have been the final nail in the Saints coffin. No one would have expected it, and I would have been shocked if the play wouldn’t have gotten at least 10 yards – and it could have easily resulted in a touchdown also, but Childress call 2 ultra-safe running plays which gained 0 yards, and he burned both timeouts. So now, it is 3rd down with 18 seconds left.

Then, Childress somehow sends 12 MEN IN FROM A TIMEOUT!!!!! Remind me again how this man makes millions of dollars being an NFL coach, but can’t make simple things happen like the correct amount of players go in after a timeout? This is incredible to me, and yet that is what happened. You know the rest, 5 yard penalty, pushing the Vikings from field goal range, and then Favre’s ill-advised pass that ended up being possibly the final throw that he’ll ever make (who knows, but that’s another story for another time). The Saints won the coin toss, and marched the ball right down the field in overtime, and when their own 40 yard field goal sailed right through the middle of the uprights, the Saints were marching into the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history. Blame Favre, blame Adrian Peterson for his 3 fumbles (only 1 of which was lost, but that was 5 yards away from an end of the first half touchdown), blame all the players if you must, but I blame Brad Childress most of all. Here is a man calling timid plays as if a 50 yard field goal with time expiring was a sure thing. Victory is achieved by the bold, not the timid! NFL coaches often times get too passive in end of the game situations, and become easy to defend, Childress fell into that same trap, and it cost him the victory, well that and the fact that he doesn’t know how many players are allowed to be on the field at the same time.

Regardless of the stupidity of most of the members of the Minnesota Vikings on this day, the game was a classic, and will be remembered for a long, long time (especially if Favre FINALLY retires). I can’t help but shake the feeling that Minnesota was the better team, despite their many mistakes, and would have given Indy more of a challenge in the Super Bowl. The Saints haven’t looked very strong since they lost to the Cowboys, with the exception of their first playoff game against the Arizona Roadkill, if that counts as a real game. However, if the Saints can recapture their early season form against the Colts, the buckle your seatbelts, cause we’re gonna be in for a heck of a ride come Super Sunday.

- Murdock

I’ve been trying and trying to forget last weeks debacle…and also looking forward to getting an opportunity to use the word “debacle”…’cause it’s cool sounding.

Being an Eagles fan and watching last Sunday’s game I have compared with being Italian and trying to watch Jersey Shore. (Thursday @ 10 on MTV … maybe that’ll get us some search engine hits) It was an absolute travesty from kickoff until the unnecessary running-off-the-field interviews. Not one element of the Eagles play looked sharp. The Eagles D looked better in the second half – sure, but the Cowboys were also playing more conservatively, being up by 3+ scores.

There are a few positives we can take from that game…albeit small ones:
1. We’re not the Giants or the Redskins
2. We’re the 2nd youngest team in the league
3. We had opportunities, we just missed them

Let’s clear up some misconceptions too -
a. The Cowboys did NOT shut down DeSean Jackson. If you watch replays, you can see he’s consistently open.
b. DeMarcus Ware and Jay Ratliff did not control the line of scrimmage – Donovan actually had time most of the game. Anthony Spencer had two sacks, but other than him the Dallas D did not dominate the line.

Since I’m clearly on a roll with these numbered and lettered lists, let’s try one more:

The Three Things the Eagles NEED to do to win this Saturday:

Stop the run – This can’t be emphasized enough. The Eagles ran SIX offensive plays in the first quarter last week. SIX. Gilbert Arenas carries more guns than that on a routine trip to Subway. If the Cowboys control the clock, we’ve got another long day ahead of us. Times like this are when we really miss Stewart Bradley.

Score early - The Cowboys are feeling the pressure of having to beat us again as well as the whole “no playoff wins since ‘96″ reality. A dubious record they share with only the Detroit Lions. If the Eagles score early and make the team get a little worried, they’re likely to start pressing and make mistakes – something Tony Romo is infamous for.

Normally, I hate to see a man cry - unless it's a Cowboy player, then I love every snot-dripping, tissue-grabbing second.

Don’t get away from what got you here. The Eagles are 8-0 I believe when we run more than 25 times. As much as I love Westbrook, LeSean McCoy hits the hole faster, and Leonard Weaver hits it harder. The more they can sell the run, the more they can open it up for Jackson and Maclin.

Hmm. That kind of sounds like a undercover cop duo – JACKSON AND MACLIN: “You can’t outrun the law! CBS Thursdays!”

Call me an optimist, but it’s not just me – lots of analysts see the Eagles taking it this Saturday night. Let’s hope so. I left losing to Dallas in the playoffs in the 90’s.

All together now…

Eddie Jordan’s starters and rotations are killing me.  He is so insistent on playing small, even while we all witness us getting dominated on the boards and physically beat up inside.  Brand is a tough defender and a good rebounder, but he is no center.  The fact that he isn’t starting is logic defying.  The fact that Willie Green is starting is an outright crime. Seriously, I’m thinking Danny Ocean is in charge here.

In a completely contrary move, lately there have been lineups that have had Brand, Marreese Speights, and Jason Smith in at the same time. Maybe Eddie thinks leading the league in “combined height on  the floor” would be a positive thing to lead in.

A highly effective method of coaching known as: "wishing really hard."

Jrue Holiday’s extended minutes during Lou’s injury showed us that kid clearly has talent and playmaking ability.  He’s the only point guard on this team.  EJ himself has even said that nobody runs his offense better.  He has clearly shown to be a much better defender than Lou Will.  We aren’t winning any championships anytime soon.  We aren’t winning any games either.  If he really is the future at point guard, why not begin the future today?  Give the kid some tic.  He’ll make rookie mistakes, but he has already shown poise and a high basketball IQ.  It doesn’t seem that his psyche is as fragile as Jordan thinks it is.

Brand needs to be reinserted into the starting five which should be Jrue, Lou or AI (pretty much interchangeable, -insert undersized scorer who can’t defend here-), Iggy, Brand, Dalembert.  I love you Thad, but either Lou or Iverson needs to start, which makes you odd man out.  We could really use your scoring abilities off the bench anyway.

Brand has been making his displeasure public.  Trade demands coming?

Ed Stefanski will surely open the floor up for anything as the trade deadline looms.  No player will be untouchable.  Ideally, we would like to keep Jrue, Thad, and Speights.  Lou and Iguodala should be expendable, having exhausted their upside.   Obviously, Dalembert has been being shopped like the ShamWow for a while now, but his remaining hefty 2 years and 15% trade kicker is a massive deterrent.  It might be best to just wait until next season when he will have a big expiring contract, and we can finally bid adieu to this stone-handed albatross.

The re-signing of Iverson has proven to do absolutely nothing as there has been no resultant wins, and AI has missed the past few games with arthritis in his knee.  Who knows how much more we will even see of him.  This may end up being nothing more than a quick smash-n-grab by the front office, but all they can really claim is a profitable week in a 7 month schedule. As for the rest of us, we’ll just have to get by watching highlights from the 2001 season.

At least until we get John Wall.

(please John, we’ll be your best friend)

-DNA

Perhaps I’m being a little harsh on Caldwell, but it doesn’t take much of a memory to remember at least 3 other Colts teams who were in a similar position just this decade. At least 3 other times they had clinched early, and their previous coach, Tony Dungy rested the starters for the final game or two. Each time they lost their momentum, and lost early in the Playoffs. The Colts never seem to learn that the football gods do not favor gutless, losing strategies. This time their plan was much, much worse – an undefeated season was on the line! We could have finally heard our last story of the pathetic 1972 Dolphins, who celebrate other teams’ misfortune year after year. I saw an interview with the quarterback of that team, Bob Greise, a couple weeks ago (when the Saints and Colts were still undefeated), and he was asked to give advice to those teams. His advice was that they should each lose a game before the playoffs so as “not to have that monkey on their backs”. Really, Bob? Is that what would have been best for those teams, or would that just be best for you, so your precious undefeated season could still be the only one. That’s pathetic if you ask me.

One needs to look no further than the 2007 Giants to see exactly what strategy works for a team entering the playoffs. The final game of the 2007 pitted the New York football Giants against the 15-0 New England Patriots. The Giants were 10-5, and had clinched the playoffs, but were locked into their seed (I believe they were the 6 seed, but they might have been the 5th – regardless, they were a wild card team, and there was nothing for them to gain by playing the game). However, the Giants played their hearts out, they played their starters the entire game, and nearly ruined the Patriots perfect season, eventually falling by a score of 38-35 on a last minute TD drive by Tom Brady and the Patriots. Yes, they lost, but the point is that they played like men, then from there they did not lose again for the rest of the year, winning 3 road games, and finally doing the unthinkable, and beating the 18-0 Patriots in the Super Bowl. They also beat a 13-3 Cowboys team and a 14-3 Packers teams in their own stadiums. That is about as impressive of a 3 game performance as you will ever see.

But the Colts, as they do so often, got scared of injuries, and let their fear decide their plan of action. A fearful head coach does not a champion make. The Colts should have learned from their own history, and that of the New York Giants. Peyton Manning has never been injured in his entire career, and I doubt that the final two quarters of yesterday’s game would have been time for the first. Football is a game for the manliest of men, and the Colts’ coach, Jim Caldwell, can certainly not be counted among that fraternity. Time will tell if their strategy works or not, but I would be shocked if the Colts win the Super Bowl come February. They had a chance to do something that no team ever had, and to finally shut up the ‘72 Dolphins (worth it just for that), but instead they will most likely just go down as yet another team that got scared, then lost momentum, then just lost.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree with the Colts strategy?

- Murdock

Sorry DeSean, but we can't help it.

The Eagles, riding a 5 game winning streak, find themselves in the enviable position of being in line to win the NFC East and, with a little luck, actually clinch a first round bye and the #2 seed overall in the NFC. Not long ago, the Birds were staring at a 5-4 record, coming off of losses to San Diego and *gasp* the Oakland Raiders. Now, their prospects are so much brighter. They have clinched a playoff berth (at least a wild card), and have the big, bad Vikings set square in their sights. So, on Christmas day, I thought I’d run through a few playoff scenarios involving our beloved Eagles, specifically focusing on the action coming up this weekend. Before that though, the schedules of the 3 major teams involved (all times Eastern Standard Time).

12/28/09 – Minnesota Vikings @ Chicago Bears 8:30 pm
01/03/10 – New York Giants @ Minnesota Vikings 1:00 pm

12/27/09 – Dallas Cowboys @ Washington Redskins 8:20 pm
01/03/10 – Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys 1:00 pm

12/27/09 – Denver Broncos @ Philadelphia Eagles 4:15 pm
01/03/10 – Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys 1:00 pm

Scenario #1 (best case) – The Eagles win over the Broncos, and the Cowboys and Vikings both lose. This would be truly wonderful, because the Eagles would clinch the NFC East if the above happens. They would also pass the Vikings, at least for one week, for the #2 seed. The benefit of this would be that the Eagles could then lose their final game to the hated Cowboys, and still get the first round bye as long as the Giants also beat the Vikings on the final day of the regular season. Obviously, in this case the Eagles would also clinch a first round bye with a win over Dallas, no matter what happened between the Giants and Vikings.

Scenario #2 (all or nothing) – The Eagles and Cowboys both win this weekend, and the Vikings lose their final game against the Giants (who win both of their last 2 games). This sets up the biggest Eagles – Cowboys game in recent memory. If the Eagles won that game they would be the #2 seed, with the highly coveted first round bye. However, if they lost they would be slide all the way down to the #5 seed, and a road date with either the Cardinals or Cowboys in the wild card round. If the Cowboys won, they would clinch the East, and get either the #3 or the #4 seed and a home game in the wild card round. However, should Dallas lose that game, they would actually miss the playoffs. That would be an insanely tense game, otherwise known as the Alka-Seltzer Bowl.

Scenario #3 (worst case) – If the Vikings beat the Bears and the Broncos beat the Eagles, then the Vikings will clinch at least the #2 seed, and the Eagles-Cowboys game will simply mean the difference between a first round home game, or a first round road contest for the Birds. It would still most likely mean the difference between Dallas making or missing the playoffs, however. This, to me wouldn’t be nearly as big of a deal as getting the bye in that first round, and playing a team who has already survived what could be a hellacious battle against a very good, playoff team in the first round. The Eagles can win playoff games on the road, as they have proved throughout the Andy Reid – Donovan McNabb decade.

One other quick side note, on the final week of the regular season, there are no night games, so every game is played on Sunday at either 1 pm or 4 pm. I assume that this is to ensure that no team gets more rest than their opponents for the playoff game. That is definitely a smart rule, but how the hell does the Eagles-Cowboys game not have a 4:00 start time? I don’t get this for the life of me. That has to be the marquee matchup of the weekend, especially considering what will be at stake (most likely the division title, and at the very least, whether the Cowboys make the playoffs, and whether the Eagles get a first round bye).

Regardless of what happens these last two weeks, we know one thing for sure – it’s gonna be exciting. Have fun and be safe during this holiday season – and GO EAGLES!!!

- Murdock

Step 2 is figuring out what seed we’re going to be. With some help from the Vikings, the Eagles could be as high as the #2 seed, which means a first-round bye.

But first things first. The Broncos are in town this Sunday, which means the return of Weapon X, aka Brian Dawkins - arguably the most loved Eagles player of ALL time.  He had everything that makes up the heart of Philadelphia: Honesty, toughness, heart, determination, class, and passion. Even when he was clearly losing a step during the regular season last year – Eagles fans gave him a pass…which typically we do for no one. (re: Cole Hamels, Donovan McNabb, etc) During the playoffs however, he stepped up and played fantastic.

Part of what made Dawkins so captivating was his complete transformation from caring, churchgoing, well-spoken family man off the field to a ravenous, terrifying, invincible super-soldier on the field – hence the nickname taken from comics, “Weapon X”. (better known as Wolverine)

Ideal stat line: Dawkins with 20 tackles, 5 sacks and 3 picks. Eagles win 54-0.

I’m an Eagles fan down to my DNA, so much so I won’t even play fantasy team players playing against the Eagles.  If I see someone wearing another teams jersey in Philadelphia I will audibly boo them. It doesn’t even have to be a Sunday, or a Cowboys jersey.

However, I will make an exception for Brian Dawkins. Wearing his jersey will earn you a coke and a smile. I sincerely hope Eagles fans at the game give the guy the respect he deserves with an ovation.

Sports is big business, so it never really surprises me when players leave teams for financial reasons…but it still hurts when I think that Dawk won’t end his career here in Philly. Ultimately though, he will go into the Hall of Fame as an Eagle, and I’ll be happy that I was one of those who got to watch him every week.

I leave you with some highlights of the living legend himself.

…and of course: MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all our readers and followers. Be back soon with more NFL coverage.

- Magnum

Leave a comment – what’s your favorite Brian Dawkins moment?

Not all the news is good however, in a separate trade, Cliff Lee has been traded to the Seattle Mariners for 3 of their top prospects (minor league outfielder Tyson Gillies and right-handers Phillipe Aumont and Juan Ramirez). General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said he had to get some prospects back to avoid the proverbial cupboard being bare. Reading in between the lines on this, I think clearly there were some monetary constraints that he was working under. As much as it would have been so beautiful to keep both Lee and Halladay for this year, I do not believe that Lee would have resigned with us after this year, so I think Roy Halladay for 4 years is clearly much better than Cliff Lee for 1 year.

All in all, I love this trade. Last July I would have given up all the prospects we traded away for Lee, plus the ones we just traded for Halladay without even getting 3 players back from the Mariners. Considering what we got back, I think it’s a no-brainer. In July, Toronto wanted J.A. Happ and our top outfield prospect, Domonic Brown (who is a higher rated player than Michael Taylor).

Enjoy this time while it lasts, Phillies’ fans, this is the golden era of the Philadelphia Phillies. The best players in the game are naming Philadelphia as their most choice of destinations, and we are trading for a different Cy Young Award winner every 4 months or so. Instead of constantly watching the big fish going to New York and Boston every single time, they are coming to us. This trade should ensure that the Phillies are standing atop the NL East for the next few years, and with a heck of a chance to win a second or even third championship, and to me, that’s all we can ask for. We’ll miss you Cliff Lee, but 3 cheers for Ruben Amaro Jr. and the thought of Roy Halladay pitching every 5th day for the next 4 years.

Do you like the trade? Do you hate it? What are your thoughts?

- Murdock