And, with that, comes yet another win for Ruben Amaro Jr. in the trade stock market. This one may not be along the lines of Cliff Lee, Doc Halladay, Hunter Pence, etc. But, it should be one of the more noteworthy ones.

John Mayberry's summer surge has proven Ruben Amaro Jr. correct yet once again.

Who was Amaro’s first trade acquisition as a general manager? Yep, Mayberry. In Novemeber 2008, just days following THE parade down Broad, Amaro shipped Greg Golson to Texas for the Phillies current left fielder.

At the time, the deal was viewed as a swap of first-round busts. Amaro was just going after a fellow Stanford grad and trading a speedy guy for a bat with some potential pop. Until now, the deal still looked like a “my trash for yours” deal.

But, three years later, the Phillies have clearly won this deal. Golson is meandering in the New York Yankees system, stuck in Triple-A Scranton. He’s had a handful of appearances in the majors, mostly with the Yankees who acquired the speedy outfielder last summer. In 30 at bats, he is a .200 hitter.

Mayberry, meanwhile, had to wait his turn but is now flourishing. Getting regular playing time for the first time in his career thanks to suspensions (Victorino) and injuries (Ibanez), Mayberry is that right-handed power bat the Phillies lacked. Of course, Hunter Pence is the five-hole hitter, but Mayberry is a dman good option in the six spot.

The man who could keep Dom Brown down in Allentown next year, is hitting .269 and his 12 home runs are fifth on the team despite having half the at bats as the top four guys. He’s belting a long ball every 16.7 at bats, compared to Ryan Howard’s one long ball every 18 at bats.

In August, Mayberry has played 15 games and torn it up. He’s hitting a red-hot .326 with six homers in 43 at bats.He’s also knocked in 15 runs and scored 11 during that time frame.

And, the fact that he’s done it while an aging veteran, Raul Ibanez, is on the bench with an injury is starting to have people wonder if Mayberry, at 27, is the next coming of Jayson Werth. While that may seem a lot to ask, the fact is Mayberry is in a prime position to do that as he doesn’t have to be THE MAN in the lineup, much like Werth wasn’t in Philly.

Will he be Werth? Doubt it. But, can he be the everyday left fielder for this team? He sure looks like it.

For now, take in this hot stretch and just remember — Mayberry is yet one more example of Ruben Amaro’s incredible baseball acumen.

Offensively, you can make the argument that not having him behind Howard hurt the top of the Phillies lineup. Howard hit 20 bombs in his first 390 at bats (1:19.5) this season without a legit hitter behind him and in the top of the order. Sure, Victorino was used in the five hole, but he and the Phillies are better served with him in the two slot.

Hunter Pence has as many long balls and more RBI than Jayson Werth this year. Both played on horrible teams, making their numbers comparable.

Since the Phillies acquired one Hunter Pence, Howard has launched five beyond the fences in in 46 at bats (1:9.2). Clearly, having a legit .300 hittter in the five slot has made Howard a bit better.

Even if you want to argue that Howard always heats up in August and this recent surge is a coincidence, you can’t look past comparing Pence to Wrth. See, the Phillies let Werth ink a $126 million deal with the nationals last winter. They then took the money and stunned the baseball world by signing Cliff Lee.

The fact of the matter is that the Nationals overpaid for Werth. Would you have liked him back here? Would he have done better in this lineup than by being The Man in DC? Hell, yes.

Jayson Werth has literally played like a headless horseman this year.

But, you knew a bat could be had at the trading deadline. You just never know about pitching. The Phils were lucky to get Lee and Roy Oswalt the last two years. Who knew if another arm would be available and obtainable.

Clearly, Ruben Amaro did the right thing and gambled on acquiring a bat. Pence was The Man on a bad Houston team. Yet, he still hit .300. In fact, look at the numbers and tell me who you’d rather have.

Werth: .227, 14 HRs, 44 RBI, .331 OBP.
Pence: .314, 14 HRs, 71 RBI, .360 OBP.

Take into account that Pence is four years younger and under control for two more years, and the Phillies clearly made the right move. And, look at the big time pitchers who got moved at the deadline this year. Yeah, you can’t find any.

Finally, look at the standings. A 76-win team on August 12 is good enough to know that the Phillies did more than just tread water without a legit bat in RF.

Pence vs. Werth. The numbers don’t lie. Amaro and the Phils came out ahead one more time. And, if you’re still in doubt, tell me when Werth won over a fan base with five simple words.

Yeah, “Good game, let’s go eat!”

He likened the possible addition of Utley to the lineup later this year to making a deadline trade to acquire a stud hitter.

Ruben Amaro hit upon one of his key talking points for the year — payroll flexibility.

“If we stay in this thing, hold our own offensively, it’s like making a trade, like getting a quality bat in the middle of the year. I don’t have a whole lot of flexibility to do much of anything else.”

And, there it is yet again. Amaro is making it seem like the Phillies won’t be able to do much of anything at the deadline this year and they’ll have to go with what they have.

Now, this isn’t necessarily designed to rip Amaro. The fact is the Phils have the second highest payroll in baseball at $172,976,381. They trail only the Yankees payroll that is in excess of $200 million.

Nobody can truly expect a Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt type of deal this year. First, there isn’t the need for it. Second, nobody wants to see the Phillies cross the luxury tax threshold of $178 million.

Having said that, Amaro doesn’t need to keep crying about it and he will be able to make a move or two to strengthen the bullpen and add a bat off the bench. Also, there is still the matter of Joe Blanton. As much as he says he intends to keep Joe, the fact is pitching is a commodity. You only need four guys in October and dealing Blanton could net you the payroll flexibility and/or bullpen help. you need.

In any event, between now and July 31, expect to hear even more about Amaro being handcuffed when it comes to adding a final piece to this year’s puzzle.

We’re like kids on Christmas Eve day waiting for Santa to come so we can unwrap the gifts bought weeks earlier. Only, Ruben Amaro is Santa, and Charlie Manuel is his not-so-small elf.

In just a few short long hours, our gift will be unwrapped. The best starting rotation this side of an all-star squad will take to the mound at Bright House Field at the Carpenter Complex in Clearwater.

In honor of the Phour Aces and Joker Joe (and that’s not a slight as everyone wants the joker in poker), here’s an abridged version of Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Phillies fans are ready to unwrap the gift Ruben Amaro delivered this Halladay Season.

Twas the Night Before our Cliffmas Halladay

Twas the night before Spring Training
When all throughout Philly
Not a pitcher was stirring
Not Oswalt, Hamels, Halladay or even Cliff Lee.

The jerseys were hung in the lockers with care,
In hopes that the Phour Aces soon would be there;
Phillies fans were lying all snug in their beds
With visions of 20-game winners dancing in their heads.

And Ruben with his cell, and Charlie in his cap,
Had just awoken from a long winter’s nap,
When out on the mound there was the core,
a rotation made for Mt. Rushmore.

Away to the plate balls flew like a flash,
The Phillies have indeed learned how to spend their cash.
The cameras were ready to capture The Show
and include the fifth guy named Kentucky Joe

While Kyle Kendrick shed a few tears,
the fans erupted and chugged their beers.
Yes, this rotation is ready to beast.
As the Phillies again take the NL East.

But don’t dare think this is just a charade,
It don’t mean a thing without another parade!

The only dozen or so people in the world I feel more sorry for than Yankees or Rangers fans today are the owners of the other teams in Ruben Amaro Jr.’s fantasy football league.

Seriously, if Amaro can continue to acquire all-star talent, especially in the form of ace pitchers, can you imagine the havoc he wreaks on his fantasy football owners.

Ruben Amaro has added two stud aces to the 2008 World Series champion rotation, and another No. 1 pitcher in Roy Oswalt. He's running the Phillies like a fantasy football team.

As a fantasy owner, your try to acquire all the all-pros you can possibly get, especially at the running back position. Visions of getting Chris Johnson, Adrian Peterson, Jamaal Charles and Arian Foster to go with a Michael Vick and Roddy White would be enough to make any owner thrilled. Imagine being able to pick up Reggie Wayne and Peyton Manning on waivers?

That, in essence, is what Amaro’s done. Only, in this instance, he’s doing it in the real world. Consider the fact that he inherited a World Series champion. Somehow, some way, he’s improved that team tenfold. And, he continues to do so.

Of the five man rotation and eight everyday players from that 2008 WFC team, only seven players remain. Six have changed, including three pitchers.

• Pat Burrell was too slow and not enough of a clutch hitter? Fine. We’ll get Ibanez. Great? No. Improvement? A bit.
• Pedro Feliz not a clutch hitter? Fine, we’ll get Placido Polanco. A more professional hitter you will not find.
• Jayson Werth wants too much money and wants every last cent? OK, see you. We’ll just use that money to get Cliff Lee.
• Moyer, Myers and Eaton are too old, too wild or just plain old suck? No problem, we’ll stack aces like fantasy owners stack running backs.

The last bullet is where Amaro has made his mark. He’s taken the aggressiveness of Pat Gillick and run with it. He’s replaced Moyer, Myers and Eaton with Cliff Lee (twice), Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt in just two years. It’s sick. Really sick.

Halladay, Lee, Hamels and Oswalt. Forget Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz. This rotation, if healthy and as productive as in recent seasons, has a chance to lead parades down Broad St.

You read that right. Not a parade. The word is ‘parades.” Jeff Lurie always references winning “Super Bowls.” You need to win one before you can talk in plural form. The Phillies have one and are on their way to multiple championships.

Oh, and we haven’t even mentioned that Blanton, the third man in the WFC rotation who logs innings and is a solid third starter, is still here — as our fifth starter.

Really, it’s almost not fair. You have to credit Amaro for having a fantasy owner mindset and acting on it — in the real world of sports GM. And, with the way things are going, I wouldn’t be surprised if Zack Greinke was available at the trade deadline in July and Amaro somehow found a way to bring him in as the fifth starter.

Thanks to our buddy @NLEastTalk on Twitter for the heads up on this one, but rumors have the Washington Nationals as a sleeper team for top free agent Cliff Lee.

When Ruben Amaro shipped Lee out of town to make room for Mr. Perfect Roy Halladay last winter, he sent the former Cy Young Award winner to the American League. Amaro figured Lee couldn’t hurt the Phillies, at least for a year. And, even then, Lee would only make it back to the division if he ended up with the Mets.

Cliff Lee may be on the Nationals wish list this winter. Can they come up with the money for the top free agent on the market?

The fact that everything the Mets touch turns to shit made Amaro’s worries nonexistent.

If Lee ends up in Washington, the sting will be back in a big way. The Phils would still be better than the Nationals for now. However, a rotation with Lee and Stephen Strasburg would give the Phillies aging hitters fits in 2012 and beyond.

It’s still a long way from happening, but if the Nationals want to make a statement this winter, Lee would be one hell of a way of doing it.

I was wrong, and so was he.

Today, in The Daily Philadelphian’s debut in a partnership with TheDLeague.com, a new national blog and sports radio talk show, I call for Ruben to stand up next to me like a man. Will he?

We’ll publish at least once a week at The DLeague, and make occasional radio appearances. However, we are far from abandoning The Daily Philadelphian. In fact, this is the next step in continuing our goal of becoming the next premier Philly sports blog that is independent of other media conglomerates. Thanks for those who read our site daily. And, if you’re new to this site, please stop back. The bottom line is, we’re nothing without our readers. You make the site.

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.

Jayson Werth is far from playing his way to another city next season. If anything, he’s playing his way back to Philadelphia for the foreseeable future.

A year removed from his first all-star appearance, Werth has started 2010 on a tear that Phillies outfielders have rarely seen. In 31 games thus far, the man is hitting a team-high .349 (NL rank-3) with 38 hits, 7 home runs (7th), and 26 RBI (6th). He was just named National League Player of the Week for May 3-9.

The first legit player to hit behind and protect Ryan Howard in the line-up is scheduled to hit free agency after the season. The thought of a line-up without Werth is scary and Ruben Amaro Jr. will do everything in his power to keep the long-bearded, blue collar outfielder in red pinstripes.

The Phillies can keep Werth in a couple different scenarios. The bottom line is to keep Werth within the budget the Phillies set aside for their outfield. And, thanks to the imminent arrival of stud prospect Dominic Brown within the next year, it is possible.

Jayson Werth would love to pound a couple pitchers after signing a new deal with the Phils. If Ruben Amaro gets the deal done, the beer is on us at DailyPhiladelphian.com.

First, you have to figure that the Phillies want to keep the outfield payroll at about the $24.5 million range they are paying this year. Shane Victorino is hauling in $5 million in the first year of a three-year extension. Meanwhile, Raul Ibanez is raking in about $12 million, and Werth is being ripped off at a $7.5 million salary.

Werth is set to earn about double his current salary. A better player than the Mets Jason Bay, you have to think he’ll do better than Bay’s four-year, $66 million deal signed last winter. If Bay averages $16.5 million a year, you have to figure Werth gets $17-18 million a year.

The three ways to keep Werth are to:

• Trade Victorino, as our friend Micah at otrsportsonline.com pointed out today
• Trade Ibanez and pay most of his salary
• Keep everyone and underpay Werth in Year 1 and overpay in year 4

Would Shane Victorino be the odd man out of the Phillies resign Jayson Werth?

Let’s look at the salary figures for the next two years and then consider the possibilities.

2011: Victorino-$7.5 million; Ibanez-$12 million; Brown-$400,000 = $20 million
2012: Victorino-$9.5 million; Brown-$500,000 = $10 million

As it stands, you have $5 million to play with next year if you keep everyone, and $15 million to play with in 2012. Paying Werth $17 million in 2012 is not an issue with only $10 million committed to the outfield. An outfield budget of $27 million two years from now is comparable to the $24.5 million this year.

The problem comes next year. You have to figure Werth needs at least $13 million next year, if not $15 million. Adding his salary would balloon the OF budget to $33 million. That’s not going to happen.

Sure, Jamie Moyer and Brad Lidge both could come off the books, freeing up $18 million. However, you then need to replace Moyer and Lidge. Plus, you’ll likely need to throw some of that money at Jimmy Rollins to extend his deal. Oh, and Roy Halladay will eat up $10 million more than he is this year. However, using lesser priced rookie starters could help save $3-5 million needed to pay Werth.

Therefore, you have to make Werth’s contract work within current budget parameters.

Dominic Brown's cheap rookie salary could be key to keeping Jayson Werth in red pinstripes.

Trading Victorino would free up $7.5 million to give Werth. With just Ibanez and Brown making $12.5 million total, you suddenly have $12 million to pay Werth and stay within the $24.5 million budget of 2010. It says here the Phils would come up with the extra million to keep Werth if they deal Victorino.

Dealing the Flyin’ Hawaiian is not the ideal situation, and something Amaro would think twice about. Sure, with Rollins and Polanco hitting 1-2 in the lineup, Victorino is seemingly a hitter without a spot in the 0rder. Still, the team knows what he brings to the team in terms of speed and defense.

Phillies fans want a curtain call to Jayson Werth's first years in Philly. Will the team oblige?

Trading Ibanez is the most likely scenario, if the Phillies can find a buyer. Nobody will take his $12 million-plus salary. Not for a streaky hitter like Ibanez who usually has a 50-game tear each year with mediocrity the other 100 games each season.

However, would a team be willing to pay $5 million for Ibanez? You bet. That means the Phillies need to eat the rest of his $7.5 million salary. Going with those figures, the Phils would be on the hook for $15.5 million before Werth. That basically leaves $10 million for Werth in the first year of his “new deal.”

You need to figure a way to get him at least another $3 million in 2011.

Would he take it as a deferred amount? Would the Phillies find a way to come up with that money by counting on a Kyle Kendrick or Andrew Carpenter to take Moyer’s place?

As you can see, keeping Werth is not a sure thing. Nor is it far from a possibility.

With some ingenuity and maneuvering, Werth will still be in the Phillies lineup protecting Howard next year. As Amaro has shown is his pursuit of Halladay, he’ll do whatever it takes to make his team better within the confines of his salary budget.

Amaro, if you want people to stop complaining about Cliff Lee, find a way to keep Jayson Werth in Philly.

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.