Despite not thinking that having both Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee was necessary, surprise, the Phillies are looking for starting pitching. Halladay has a 2.33 ERA, but the rest of the starting rotation has not looked too sharp. And thus, the Phillies are targeting Arizona Diamondback Dan Haren.

Haren has been very mediocre, at 7-6 with a 4.38 ERA. It is his highest ERA since 2004. Normally, Haren is an all-star caliber player. This would be a good acquisition for Philadelphia, but not one that should require the Phillies to give up top prospects. But with four games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia is starting to slowly panic.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network

As a Phillies fan, there is no way I would rather have Cliff Lee than Roy Halladay right now. Both are starting off the season well, but Halladay was clearly a good acquisition. Plus, by only giving him a 3-year extension, the Phillies got themselves out of a possible mess a few years down the line. And, Lee stated in the past that he would be looking for a free agent deal similar to what C.C. Sabathia landed with the New York Yankees. Yes, it would be crazy to give that to Lee. But should the Phillies have kept Lee, and had both him and Halladay?

The answer to that question is simply, yes. Right now, except for Roy Halladay, Philadelphia has a very shaky pitching situation. Cole Hamels can go from looking like an ace to a scrub within a one-week change. Jamie Moyer looks like he will be playing forever, but not in a good way. J.A. Happ has been hurt, and Kyle Kendrick shouldn’t even be in the big leagues. If Cliff Lee was on this team, that would be a surreal 1-2 punch. Even though he would leave in the off-season, that would be an incredible World Series push. Once players such as Howard and Utley get old, this team will go through a rebuilding face. So depleting the farm system to have both Halladay and Lee on this team would have been worth it. Philadelphia has one ace, but two aces beats one.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network

Should he plan to make significant changes, or follow the same approach?

“They’re going to watch the video of the last game and make adjustments,” Lee said last night. “They’d be a fool not to. That’s the nature of this game. If you’re not making adjustments, you’re losing ground.”

This situation rarely arises during the regular season.

Jimenez faced the same team in consecutive starts three times this season. In the rematches, he went 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA.


Click here to read the full article – By Gerry Fraley of philly.com

Below are links to memorabilia available for Cliff Lee.

24 August 2009: Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cliff Lee (34) during the Phillies 6-2 win over the Mets at Citi Field in Flushing, NY.

Pressure? Cliff Lee has seen pressure, and starting Game 1 of the National League Division Series today for the Phillies isn’t it.

Pressure for Lee came eight years ago as he watched Jaxon, his 4-month-old son, hooked up to an IV, with tubes dangling everywhere, not knowing if he was going to survive.

Lee and his wife, Kristen, had just heard the devastating diagnosis of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). They were told Jaxon had about a 30 percent chance to live.

Four months later, those chances diminished further when Jaxon suffered a relapse. He had a growth behind his eye that required radiation. He needed a stem cell blood transplant from a donated umbilical cord.


Click here to read the full article – By MARTIN FRANK of The News Journal

Lee has had mixed results in his career against the five AL teams that could reach the World Series, although he recently has enjoyed more success against them.

Click here to read the full article – By Todd Zolecki of MLB.com

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