I Suggest You Hit, Sir

July 29, 2009
Jul
29
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J.P. Ricciardi has another day or two to decide if he wants to keep his ace or be flush with prospects, but for its part, SportsNation isn't sure if the Jays' general manager is Austin Powers or Mike McDermott at the table (come to think of it, among Hollywood card players, John Turturro might be a better fit for the Ricciardi role).

Voters ranked Ricciardi a tepid No. 19 in their GM Power Rankings. That's not Omar Minaya territory or anything quite so disastrous, but it's way down the ladder from the affection SportsNation showed Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. at No. 6. And Amaro is very much in the high-stakes game of dealing for a stud pitcher at the deadline.

Perhaps it's a bluff designed to make Ricciardi nervous, but the Phillies seemed to have turned their attention to Indians ace Cliff Lee after finding the price for Roy Halladay prohibitive. Voters in Pennsylvania remain convinced the Phillies will land either Lee or Halladay, but the rest of the country isn't so sure a deal will get done. Not that many outside Red Sox Nation are convinced the Phillies can't win without a big addition.

Edit: We knew Amaro was a big SportsNation blog fan, but that was an impressive turnaround. We post; he reportedly trades. We feel heady with power).

ghostsof1948
“

If the contenders lowball Shapiro, Lee will finish the season in Cleveland. They should have learned their lesson last year. Sabathia's price tag should have included Mat Gamel. The Brewers got away with sending a mediocre LHP with no future in Jackson, damaged goods in Bryson, and two guys that were at least a season away from being big league talent. The Indians will (should) walk away from anyone trying to get Lee at a discount. The worst case scenario is that they deal him at deadline time next year.

” -- Ghostsof1948
robytooj
“

I don't understand alot of this talk...the only reason we would trade Lee is because we won't pay him after next year....if he is looking for Sabathia or even Zambrano money i think we should get the most that we can for him...i would hold out like Toronto for the best players teams have! We hold all the cards, lee is signed through next year, so we are in no pressure mode.

” -- robytooj
mblakes03
“

if were (the phillies) so worried about not getting rid of drabek then why dont we have him in our rotation already? I mean if were so worried about not dealing him then why aren't we using him since our pitching hasn't been great this year and everyone keeps landing on the dl. i say put him in the deal and lets get hallady who we all know will dominate

” -- mblakes03

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Tags:

Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, J.A. Happ, Clay Buchholz

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