Done Deal: the Phillies acquire Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco

The Phillies got themselves the rotation help they needed. Cliff Lee, the 2008 AL Cy Young winner, was acquired from the Indians, along with outfielder Ben Francisco, for pitchers Carlos Carrasco and Jason Knapp, infielder Jason Donald and catcher Lou Marson.

Ever since Brett Myers went down, the Phillies needed someone to help them at the top of the rotation. While the Phillies would have loved to get Roy Halladay, when the price was determined to be too steep, the Phillies went to Plan B, getting a pitcher that wasn't quite at Halladay's level, but was still a top pitcher in the game. Cliff Lee immediately shores up the top of the Phillies rotation, giving them a great one-two punch with Cole Hamels.

To make the deal even better, the Indians threw in the right handed bench bat that the Phillies have been wanting, Ben Francisco. Francisco will be a nice piece off the bench, and his acquisition likely means John Mayberry is headed back the Triple A, where he belongs.

The Phillies did have to give up four prospects, but none figures to be a major loss. Carrasco was supposed to be an untouchable pitcher for the Phillies the last few years, but he has struggled mightily this season, posting an ERA over 5 in Triple A. Carrasco will probably turn out to be a decent back of the rotation starter in the majors, nothing more.

Donald was a solid minor leaguer with plenty of upside, unfortunately, his best two positions were second and short, two spots that are filled for the foreseeable future by Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley. Having no position to play made Donald expendable.

Losing Marson and Knapp are the two bigger blows to the Phillies. Marson figured to be their catcher of the future, on course to be a backup to Carlos Ruiz next year and be a starter in the coming seasons. Knapp also has tremendous potential, but he is still very young and only in Single A, so who knows what the future will hold for him. You have to give up something good to get something good, so the Phillies rightfully parted with these two.

In all, an excellent move by the Phillies. They get their top of the rotation starter without having to give up J.A. Happ or Kyle Drabek, two players that the Blue Jays demanded in return for Roy Halladay. In addition, the Phillies didn't even have to give up their best two outfield prospects in Michael Taylor and Dominic Brown, so Ruben Amaro comes out looking great in this deal. Adding Lee to this team gives them a rotation of Hamels, Lee, Joe Blanton, Happ and Jamie Moyer, with Pedro Martinez waiting in the wings, although I wouldn't count on him contributing at all for the Phillies. While some may be disappointed with not getting Roy Halladay, you have to be happy that the Phillies got a great pitcher without mortgaging away their future. This move doesn't guarantee a return to the World Series for the Phillies, but it sure makes it much more likely.

A not-so-triumphant return for King Cole

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Cole Hamels' performance today couldn't look further from what we have come to expect from the World Series MVP. After being pushed back from starting on Opening Day due to a sore elbow, Hamels made his season debut today and put up this sparkling line: 3.2 innings pitched, 1 strikeout, 1 walk, 11 hits allowed and 7 earned runs, an outing that gives him an ERA of 17.18. Needless to say, the Phillies lost to the Colorado Rockies 10-3.

Hamels looked fine in the first inning after he became the first Phillie pitcher to get out of the first frame without giving up a run this season. After that, everything melted down. Hamels had very little velocity on his pitches, topping out around 86 miles per hour, and also had trouble with his location, a definite recipe for disaster, especially in the hitters haven known as Colorado. It's pretty clear that Hamels tried to rush back to the mound when he isn't anywhere near ready to pitch in a real game. Health wise, Hamels may be fine but his arm needs to be stretched out a lot more than it is right now. There is no word yet on whether he will make his next start.

Hamels' poor performance put the offense in a bad position yet again as they were forced to try to overcome a large deficit. The Phils managed only 7 hits in the game, 4 of them coming from Jayson Werth, who doubled and homered and scored all 3 Phillie runs.

To make a bad game even worse, Carlos Ruiz strained a muscle in his rib cage in the game and may go on the DL. The Phillies have already asked minor leaguer Lou Marson to fly out to Denver and be ready should the team need another catcher.

With the Ruiz injury and another poor performance by a starting pitcher, not much has gone right for the Phillies so far this season. It's still early, but every game in the season counts the same in the standings no matter when it's played. Hopefully another slow April start won't hurt them come September.

Phils send Kendrick, two others to the minors

And the race for the Phillies 5th starter is down to two: the Phillies have demoted pitcher Kyle Kendrick. Kendrick, who has an ERA over 9 in Spring Training, was optioned to Lehigh Valley along with catcher Lou Marson and infielder Brad Harman. The demotion leaves J.A. Happ and Chan Ho Park as the remaining candidates for the Phillies 5th starter.

Kendrick, despite being 21-13 in his career, has fallen like a rock since his rookie season. Last season, he was 11-9 but had an ERA of 5.49 and a 1.61 WHIP before being pulled from the rotation late in the year for Happ. The Phillies want Kendrick to start every 5th day at Lehigh with the hopes that he can learn how to get batters out again. He might not be a regular starter in the major leagues again, but he could be a useful long reliever out of the bullpen.

As for Marson and Harman, neither should be surprised about being demoted. Both ended the season last year with the big club, but Marson is still a few years away from being part of the Phillies plans and Harman may end up being a career minor leaguer.