By FRANK WARD
DailyPhiladelphian.com Editor

Noble patricians, patrons of my right,
Defend the justice of my cause with arms,
And, countrymen, my loving followers,
Plead my successive title with your swords:
— Shakespeare, “Titus Andronicus”

Hundreds of years later, the opening lines from a Shakespeare play ring true in the City of Brotherly Love. The Phillies need arms to defend our cause — winning a fourth consecutive NL East Title, or, at the very least, a playoff birth.

Blanton, Happ, Moyer. All have been or are on the DL, causing the Phillies to supplement the rotation with guys who would otherwise be in the bullpen or Triple A.

With Kyle Kendrick being demoted to Allentown and Jamie Moyer headed to the DL with an elbow issue for the first time in his career, pitching is scarce. As it stands, the team has three guys who have started games this year on the roster in Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Joe Blanton.

Last year’s rookie sensation JA Happ is one of the reinforcements on the way. He was supposedly sharp last night, according to the Daily News’ David Murphy. Still, he has not faced big league hitters this year and is coming back from a major injury. Who knows how he will respond?

Then, you still have another hole that will be filled by a a trade if you are to read into Ruben Amaro’s statements and numerous trade rumors across the Internet. Roy Oswalt is the top name out there that the Phils are linked to. It was believed that moving Jayson Werth would help acquire the pieces to grab Oswalt.

Could Roy Oswalt be the answer to the Phillies starting rotation woes? No matter what, the Phils need another starter now that Jamie Moyer is down.

Oswalt is an ace and, combined with Halladay, Hamels and Happ, could form the top rotation in the NL for the next two years and change.

The other name being dagnled is Dan haren from Arizona. While not on a Halladay or Oswalt level, he’d still help fortify the Philies rotation beyind this year.

Honestly, it doesn’t matter who the Phils get as long as it’s someone and, in the words of Jimmy Conway from Goodfellas it’s done today. Not tomorrow. Not a week from now. Today.

Now, will trading for a pitcher guarantee the Phils a trip to the World Series? Hell, will it guarantee another postseason birth?

Not unless the team starts hitting. Losing Werth creates a hole in the lineup, but not as much as you would have thought back in April or early May. Weth’s struggles are well documented so why waste time discussing them?

And, with the NL East race practically over — the Braves have a seven game lead and are only getting better — you have to hope for a Wild Card birth. The Phils sit four games behind the Reds in that race. That number isn’t the problem.

The problem lies in the fact that they must jump five teams for the Wild Card lead. That’s a tall order. It’s like going from last to first in a division. If the Phils seriously hope to stay in — and win — that race, they have to stop the bleeding. And, they have to stop it today. Not next week. Not a month from now. Today.

Furthermore, a move for Oswalt or Haren isn’t just about this year, but the next two years. Whether or not the Phils make the postseason in 2010, a rotation with two legit aces and two No. 2s — Happ is a two when healthy — makes your offseason job a tad easier. With Domonic Brown set to patrol right field next year, you’d really just need to find a bad to platoon with Ibanez in left.

For now, we need to focus on the season at hand. Ruben is on the hot seat for the second time during his reign as General Manager. Last year, he stole Cliff Lee from Cleveland. What heist can he come up with this year?