A Rotation to Marvel At

Cliff Lee + Roy Halladay + Roy Oswalt + Cole Hammels = possibly the best rotation in all of baseball next season? I think so.

Cole Hammels had an ERA of 3.06 in the 2010 season with 211 strikeouts. Roy Oswalt's ERA was 2.76 with 193 strikeouts. Roy Halladay had 219 strikeouts, a 2.44 ERA, and a no-hitter in last season's postseason, and to add to this talent, Cliff Lee had an ERA of 3.18 with 185 strikeouts. So, is there another trip to the postseason in the future with this stellar rotation?

When it was announced this week that Cliff Lee would be joining this already exquisite rotation, people began to talk about the possibilities that this team might have next season. Usually a team has one strong starter that they can continually count on and then just middle-of-the-road starters from there. But when looking at the Phillies starting rotation, they could all be considered the ace of the rotation. However, could all of this publicity and pressure possibly backfire on the club? Come April, what if they aren't producing like we all expected them to? Or since they are all such strong, successful pitchers, what if all of them try to be the main leader and they end up not working well together? There are many things that have to be thought about in the midst of all of this excitement. However, I'm not going to lie, I have immense faith in this new Phillies rotation and I hope that they can succeed, because with a rotation like that, it would suck if they didn't.

What did Halladay have to say about the acquisition? "I'm thrilled Cliff is here. I would have loved to have played with him last year, but I understood the business of it. I understood we traded all these young players and we were trying to get some back. But once [Amaro] said they had a chance we could get him back again, I was thrilled. It's better for us. He's going to make us a better team." This statement alone gives me the impression that these four unbelievable pitchers will work wonders together.