There is nothing more in sports that has angered me over the past few weeks than hearing all the Phillies needed to do to add an ace to their pitching staff was pull the trigger.
According to reports, Dontrelle Willis would have been in a Phillies uniform had they been willing to give up prized prospect Cole Hammels and another prospect.
No doubt, Philadelphia is high on Hammels. And why not, the numbers he put up in the minors were phenominal - 36 starts, 18 of them not allowing a run.
But I have two problems with not pulling off this deal.
First is that Hammels pitched well in the minors, not the majors. Willis is a proven big-league stud. He is only 1-5 this year, but plays for a horrible Marlins team. Willis was 22-10 last year with seven complete games. He burst onto the scene in 2004 with his different windup and dominated opposing hitters.
Second is that Hammels is a walking time bomb. He is constantly getting injured. And now that the Phillies did not pull the trigger on trading Hammels when he was worth a lot, he popped his shoulder and now carries little value.
Philadelphia missed a great opportunity. They need pitching. They need an ace. And they had one in their lap.
Ed Wade would not have made this trade. I would have expected Pat Gillick to make the deal.
Maybe things have not changed as much as we thought they would.
