Just two Phillies made it to Anaheim to represent the two-time NL Champions in the All-Star Game on Tuesday and the individual results weren’t great.

Slugger Ryan Howard went 0-for-2 as the NL’s starting designated hitter. Generally, a $25-million-per-year man hopes to do a tad better in the All-Star Game, especially when his manager was chastised for taking him in the first place, and then for starting him.

Charlie manuel guided the NL to a 3-1 All-Star Game victory Tuesday night.

Ace pitcher Halladay didn’t even last a full inning. He gave up two hits on 17 pitches in .2 innings.

As bad as the results may have looked, give Charlie Manuel credit for getting his guys in and out of the game so as to not injure themselves.

Halladay won’t pitch again until the fourth game back from the break on Sunday.

While the Phils stars didn’t make much of an impression Tuesday night, the NL got the 3-1 win and home field advantage in the World Series. If the Phils can overcome the odds and go for a third consecutive year, Uncle Charlie can take some credit.

Oh, and in case you are wondering, Cliff Lee pitched a perfect inning in relief.

By FRANK WARD
DailyPhiladelphian.com Editor

The Greater Philadelphia Region is blowing up Baseball America’s midseason Top 25 prospect list that was released Friday.

Domonic Brown, the Phillies future star outfielder who was recently promoted to Triple A Lehigh valley, heads the list. That really is no surprise. Brown has torn apart minor league pitching after a torrid spring in Clearwater. He’ll likely get a September call-up at a minimum, and a starting gig in Philly if the team moves Jayson Werth or Raul Ibanez before the trade deadline.

Phillies prospect Domonic Brown, the heir apparent to Jayson Werth, is the top rated pospect in "Baseball America's" midseason rankings.

Brown hit .318 with 15 homers and 47 RBI in 65 games at Reading. In 15 games with the Ironpigs, he’s racked up a studly .364 average with four home runs and 12 RBI.

Baseball America writes the following about Brown: “The power has come through as the Phillies predicted, as Brown has started to fill out at age 22 and surpassed his career home runs total in his first 65 games at Double-A Reading. Then he went out and hit four in his first 13 games after a promotion to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He ranks 10th in the minors in OPS, and he’s doing it with big tools at upper levels. His still-raw defensive skills (his defensive tools are fine) are his only major flaw.”

While Brown is on the verge of making The Show, 2009 Millville High School graduate Mike Trout is quickly rising through the Angels system. He’s hitting .362 in Single A ball and has put up sox home runs and 39 RBI.

Baseball America writes: “Trout hasn’t done much wrong. He ranked first in the minors in runs (74), second in batting (.362) and stolen bases (42), was tied for fourth in on-base percentage (.447) and ranks first in scouts’ enthusiasm. Trout hasn’t committed an error, plays hard and seems to be thriving rather than shrinking from the grind.”

Millville graduate Mike Trout is the second ranked prospect at the midseason point.

Look for his rise to the next stop on his minor league tour sometime this month. How can the Angels not move him to Double A?

In the list of the 26th to 50th top prospects, the Phils have two players — pitcher Jared Cosart and first baseman Jonathan Singleton.

For those curious, two players traded away over the last year also make the list — both from the Roy Halladay deal. Kyle Drabek comes in at 23, while catcher Travis d’Arnaud makes the top 50 list. Nobody in either Cliff Lee deal makes the list.

Breathe easier Phillies fans, Cliff Lee will not come back to haunt you in the National League, and likely, not at all this year.

Lee, the former Phils ace dealt to Seattle for garbage this winter, was just moved from Seattle to Texas, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

“I have learned deal done with #Rangers, Smoak and 3 others for Lee and reliever Mark Lowe,” he tweeted.

Cliff Lee has reportedly been traded to the Texas Rangers. Phillies fans can breathe a bit easier.

This follows a crazy 24 hours in which Lee was all but in Yankee pinstripes. Apparently, the Yankees wanted to be aggressive and made a power play. It backfired when they couldn’t complete the deal and other teams stepped up their offers.

Had Lee joined the Reds, the Phillies likely would have had to deal with him in the NL playoffs if they were lucky enough to make the postseason. Had he joined the Yankees, the Evil Empire could have made room in the trophy case today like the Miami Heat are doing.

This is the best case scenario for Phillies fans. he stays in the AL, and we likely won’t have to face him this year.

Jayson Werth may be dealt, but don’t look for it to happen anytime soon. The Phillies aren’t simply going to ship their power hitting rightfielder unless they get the right package in return — think a solid No. 2 or top No. 3 pitcher as ESPN’s Buster Olney tweeted yesterday. Can you say Dan Haren?

One place he could end up is New York if the Yankees land Cliff Lee. That deal appears to be falling apart, however, as the Rangers and Reds are on the verge of stepping up their offers, according to reports this afternoon.

If Lee did end up with the Evil Empire, he could be moved for Javier Vazquez, although we fail to see how that dramatically improves the team.

The Phillies would rather move Ibanez instead of Werth.

Even if Vazquez was available, don’t expect the Phillies to jump at the chance to trade Werth. As Olney tweeted this afternoon, “Heard this: The Phillies’ preference is to move Raul Ibanez, rather than Jayson Werth, but it’s hard to imagine anybody biting on that.”

That’s hardly earth shattering news. Who wouldn’t want to move Ibanez right now? With another year and $13 million owed to the left fielder after this season, the Phils would likely jump at the chance to move him and use his money to resign Werth in the offseason. And, yes, they could combine both players’ salaries to afford Werth since Domonic Brown is ticketed for Philly next year at a minimum salary.

The bottom line is that Werth could be dealt especially if Philly falls further out of the division race. But, he won’t be dealt until later this month, if at all.

By FRANK WARD
DailyPhiladelphian.com Editor

Ruben Amaro is on the verge of facing a full out firestorm, the likes of which he has not had to endure since striking out in a crucial situation during his playing days.

Let’s face it, the man has had a nice run as assistant GM to Pat Gillick, and GM of a World Series champion. He’s had to tweak here and there to keep the Phillies among the class of the National League.

That all changed Monday night.

The second Chase Utley hurt a ligament in his thumb, and Placido Polanco couldn’t bounce back from elbow soreness, Amaro was put in a situation he had yet to face — upgrade the team significantly during the season.

The injuries to Placido Polanco and Chase Utley are going to test the GM ability of Ruben Amaro.

Sure, he acquired Cliff Lee last year, a move that helped the Phils reach the Fall Classic for the second straight season.

A year later, Lee may just be the player to push Amaro’s reputation under the dump truck.

See, when the Phillies acquired Roy Halladay last winter, Amaro also had to dump Cliff Lee. At the time, the company line indicated that the Phillies payroll couldn’t absorb both Halladay and Lee.

Amaro had a mancrush on Halladay for a year and decided to make his move. He got the player he lusted after, and now could fall for pursuing one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

The Phillies, citing a need to replenish the farm system with prospects for future deals, dealt Lee to the Mariners for Phillippe Aumont, Tyson Gillies and JC Ramirez.

The Phillies are now in need of prospects to deal for infield help. Cliff Lee was dealt for just this situation. Where are the prospects?

Honestly, at the time, you could almost accept Amaro’s reasoning. Sure, the greedy fan in us all wanted Halladay and Lee in the same rotation. However, you know injuries happen and every team needs to tweak its roster for the stretch drive. Getting prospects to move for bullpen help and to bolster the bench would be essential.

As of Tuesday, when Utley and Placido Polanco were both placed on the DL, Amaro was placed in a position to show the City of Brotherly Love and baseball executives just how smart he was with his foresight.

No amount of pitching depth could make up for the losses of Utley and Polanco. If you disagree, just look at all the games Roy Halladay has lost this year in which he’s given up three or less earned runs. Try four games.

With the hits the Phillies projected everyday lineup has taken, Amaro now needs to deal prospects for starting-caliber infielders.

The problem? Who beyond Domonic Brown do the Phillies have that would interest teams.

The three players the Phillies got for Lee have other GMs salivating like the CEO of BP Oil awaiting the next stockholders meeting. Aumont has a 5.06 ERA in four games at Single A Clearwater after posting a 7.43 in 11 starts at Double A Reading.

Gillies is batting a studly .238 at Reading, while Ramirez has an ERA north of 5.00 at Reading.

As of right now, you have to think Amaro got hosed in the Lee deal. If he can’t dupe a dope into handing him a legit major league infielder soon, Amaro’s name will be mud in Philly.

It’s a firestorm alright. A firestorm he created.

By FRANK WARD
DailyPhiladelphian.com Editor

He’s baaaaaccckkkk!

Cole Hamels, the onetime ace and World Series MVP for the Philadelphia Phillies, has officially regained the form that made him the centerpiece of the Phillies rotation just two years ago.

Cole Hamels has bounced back from a terrible 2009 campaign. He's pitched great in eight of his last nine starts.

A season removed from a career-high 4.32 ERA and a 10-11 record, Hamels has pitched well in eight of his nine last starts. In that stretch, he has not allowed more than three earned runs in a game, although he allowed three in two-thirds of an inning in Atlanta on June 1.

On April 28, Hamels went to sleep with an ungodly 5.28 ERA. Tonight, he’ll travel to Manhattan with a sub 4.00 ERA. In fact, he’s allowed just 15 earned runs in his last 48.2 innings.

Going into the season, many said Hamels was the key to the Cliff Lee deal and the Phillies season. The theory was the Phils could trade Lee because they expected Hamels to rebound and fill the No. 2 spot behind Roy Halladay.

Early on, that didn’t appear to be the case. Now, Hamels is the least of the Phils concerns. Instead, getting him run support is an issue.

Coming into Sunday’s 5-3 win against Boston, Hamels had lost his last three. However, in games against the Padres and Mets, Cole had given up a total of four earned runs. The Phils offense gave him one run in the two outings combined.

If Hamels can keep this up, nobody can blame the Phils lack of wins on dealing Lee. That’s not to say the Phillies are a better team without Lee. However, Hamels has picked up the slack and then some. Now, if the team could just hit more consistently.

Lovely!

The centerpiece of the infamous Cluff Lee deal, Phillipe Aumont, moved right along the organizational ladder on Sunday.

He was demoted from Reading to Clearwater. I’m no expert but I thought 21-year-old prospects were supposed to move up, not down, the farm system.

Aumont has hardly dazzled thus year, posting a 1-7 record in 11 starts. His ERA north of 7 isn’t exactly the type if thing that will keep him on the Top 100 Prospect list in baseball.

A reliever in the Seattle system, the Phillies saw Aumont and his 6-7 frame as a starter. They may need to rethink that since his height is the only thing going for him.

Granted, he is still very young, but his inclusion in the deal that sent 2009 postseason hero Lee out if town leaves him very little leeway.

By FRANK WARD
DailyPhiladelphian.com Editor

By the end of the year, Phillies fans will understand why trading Cliff Lee to the Mariners made sense. Forget about the fact that he is out for the first month of the season, the answer lies in the Phillies bullpen — the pen that’s still in Clearwater.

Pitching won the Phillies the 2008 World Series, not hitting. The bullpen that year was the Phillies best in decades. Since then, it’s been held together by bandages.

The team starts this year with the same situation that killed them last year. The lack of a solid pen has been hidden thanks to the Phillies red hot bats, but the fact is the team will need to acquire relief help by the trade deadline, if not before.

Chan Ho Park is gone and Jose Contreras hasn’t looked too solid. The team needs a legit lefty. Oh, and there is the matter of a stud closer. The team wants the Vegas Strip Brad Lidge to bounce back from a pitiful 2009 season. However, his first outing of the year didn’t go quite as planned.

Will this be the lasting image of Lidge for Phils fans? Or will it be Lidge turning his head to watch balls flying out of the park?

The 2008 All-Star allowed four runs in 2/3 of an inning in Single-A ball on Saturday. That is far from a guy you can bank on this season. While Ruben Amaro can try to paint a rosy picture right now, he knows he’s going to have to address the closer roles at some point. He’s being loyal to Lidge right now, but that will change soon.

So how does the Lee trade play into all of this? Without getting prospects back, the Phillies would have had no legit chips to deal for a true closer that can help the Phillies bullpen match up with the Yankees.

Now, Amaro has ammunition to make trades for a closer and bench help later this summer.

By FRANK WARD
DailyPhiladelphian.com Editor

The good news: your Philadelphia Phillies have two Top 100 prospects according to Baseball America’s 21st annual rankings. The bad news: The Fightins traded away four guys on the list in the last seven months.

Before anyone gets all riled up upon learning the identities of those on the list, just keep in mind these are rankings of prospects. Some will pan out and many others will not. In fact, a year ago players by the name of Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald and Lou Marson made the list. This year, none of them are in the top 100.

Here are the Phillies who made the list: Dominic Brown (15) and Phillippe Aumont (93).

Dominic Brown is the top ranked Phillies prospect according to Baseball America.

Brown is up from being listed as the 48th best a year ago. Aumont, who came over in the Cliff Lee deal was no. 93 on the list in 2009 as well.

In listing the former Phillies farmhands who are on the list, let’s start with the man we gave up to get Lee — Jason Knapp, who comes in at no. 64. In essence, you could argue the Phils traded Knapp and the above former Top 100 prospects for Aumont and two other guys who have yet to crack the rankings.

The other former Phillies all were part of the Roy Halladay package: Travis d’Arnaud (81), Michael Taylor (29), and Kyle Drabek (25).

On paper, it looks like the Phillies have given up a lot to get Halladay. They did, but keep in mind two things.

First, Halladay is worth every player given up as he increases the Phillies chances of holding another parade this fall. The Phillies window is now, not three years from now.

Second, prospects are just that — prospects. Check back in a year to see if these guys are still climbing the rankings, or if they’ve fallen off the way Carrasco, Donald and Marson did.

By FRANK WARD
DailyPhiladelphian.com Editor

That Ruben Amaro Jr. is one shrewd and sneaky swapper. Just when many were ripping him for dealing Cliff Lee, it looks like he’s going to get the last laugh.

Amaro dealt damaged goods to the Mariners. Lee recently had surgery on his foot to take care of some bone spurs and may miss the rest of the offseason. Without Lee, the Mariners won’t win a single game before March.

Seattle is screwed.

Cliff Lee won't be ready until the second week of Spring Training due to minor foot surgery.

And, if that wasn’t bad enough, Bill Conlin has a very informative article on how the all-important prospects the Phillies got for Lee are viewed within the inner circle of baseball’s talent evaluators.

In a list of the top 100 prospects from ESPN, Phillipe Aumont, Tyson Gillies and J.C. Ramirez rank … umm, hold on. They didn’t make the list.

Meanwhile, Michael Taylor, Kyle Drabek and Travis D’Arnaud all cracked the top 99.

In fairness, another list ranks Aumont and Gillies in the top 50. This really goes to show how different opinions can be when ranking prospects and how much of a crapshoot it really is.

The bottom line is the Phillies didn’t get major prospects in return. However, you can argue that they got more than they gave up for him. In the interest of the Phillies future and the flexibility to make moves later this season should an injury occur, we still like the move to get Halladay and deal Lee.

Having said that, the Phillies better get to the World Series or Ruben Amaro is gonna have some ’splainin’ to do.