Philadelphia Phillies

With the Fab Four of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels already locked up in their starting rotation, do the Phillies still need Joe Blanton? 

The righty has two years left on his contract, which will earn him a total of $17 million dollars.

In his two and a half years with the Phillies, Blanton has a combined record of 25-14 with an average 4.36 ERA in 72 starts. For a fifth starter in the rotation, these are pretty good numbers.

The Philadelphia Phillies and their fans are very familiar with Ed Wade and his work.

When Wade assumed the role of General Manager with the Phillies in 1998, he made trades and signings that never sat well with the fans.

During his tenure with the Phillies, he traded franchise cornerstones Curt Schilling and Scott Rolen for little return and made questionable signings on the free agent market, committing multi-year deals to players like Jose Mesa, David Bell, Jim Thome and Jon Lieber.

With the Philadelphia Phillies picking up Cliff Lee in a deal that shocked all of baseball last month, there has been a lot of talk about the how good the Phillies current rotation is, which ranks probably within the best five rotations in baseball history. The 2011 Phillies rotation compares to the rotations of the Atlanta Braves from the mid-1990s, the 1971 Orioles with Jim Palmer, and the 1966 Dodgers with Sandy Koufax.

Vance who?

Vance Worley was selected in the third round of the 2008 MLB Amateur Player Draft.

He became one of the Phillies' top pitching prospects, and perhaps the top pitching prospect after Kyle Drabek, son of former Cy Young Award Winner, Doug Drabek, was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in the Roy Halladay deal.

The Phillies are going into the 2011 season with sky-high expectations. Of course, they earned those expectations with a rotation of the god-like right arm of Roy Halladay, big free agent signing Cliff Lee, 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels, and former 20-game winner Roy Oswalt. But, like an old cliche says, "Nobody is perfect." The Phillies have one big flaw, and that is right field.

The first week in January is one of baseball's most exciting time periods.

Sure, the regular season has been in hibernation for a few months, and a World Series champion has been crowned. The Hot Stove is cooling down quickly, with most big name free agents having already been signed to lucrative deals.

Since the Washington Nationals signed Jayson Werth to a mega deal for $126 million over seven years in December, the Philadelphia Phllies lost Werth's ability to hit for power, which is a valuable asset to have in a player.  However, power is not necessarily what makes or breaks a team.  Many teams are very successful by playing small ball baseball or contact hitting.

1. Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies

2. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners

3. Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals

4. Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies

5. Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado Rockies

6. Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

7. Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants

Unless you live under a rock--and even maybe then--you have heard about the Phillies signing Cliff Lee to go along with Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels in a starting rotation that many consider the best of the decade.  This four-man rotation is the best in baseball by just about any stat category, but is it enough to win them the pennant?  The Phillies are projected to win the NL East easily, and to make a good run into the postseason, but is it a lock?  Not quite is the answer.  The Phillies have almost solved the puzzle for the 2011 season--and possibly beyond

The Phillies' recent acquisition of Cliff Lee is drawing the attention of baseball writers all over the country.  Many of them commend GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and his bold decision to acquire the lefty, but others are not quite as generous.