But here's the thing:

a) Can you have $70M or so tied up in 3 starters?

b) If the Phils answer to that question is no, why not trade him and get something instead of playing out the season and getting what, picks?

It all depends on the trade, but I don't think trading him in every case is idiotic.

You didn't answer the question...if the Phils FO is convinced they're not re-signing him, I don't think trading him is a bad idea in all cases.

NO, here is the thing. If you trade Hamels you have a loss and a gain. Now, you must, to make a valid decision put the plusses against the minuses.

Plus: You will likely gain ONE decent offensive player

Cons: You lose one heck of a pitcher
Cons: You replace Hamels with a pitcher likely to be the ability of Blanton at best.

What you gain, simply will not make up for what you lose. I just dont see how this can even be a distant thought. Are we weak in the offensive area? It certainly looks like that dont it? Will one player, regardless of how over the top you want to go, make a HUGE difference? I do not think so! The offense is aging and hurt, it will take more than one impact player to get what many of you think we will gain out of one trade.

If only things were as simple as you imply they are.

But I'm not saying they should trade Hamels to get a bat for this season. I'm simply stating if the Phils FO is convinced they can't re-sign him, then I think they should seriously consider trading him. My pt is people just wanna dismiss ANY AND ALL potential Hamels trade as "idiotic, etc," but in reality, ANY AND ALL potential trades involving Hamels probably aren't "idiotic, etc."

There are far too many "ifs" for me to make such a gamble IMO. What if Chase really just cant make it back and decides to retire due to the injury next year. I have a ton of respect for Chase and just dont see him limping our his contract, he is just not that type of player. And that is not ruling out a healthy return either if not. I do believe they are covered under insurance for his remaining contract and it would open up some room next year no? There must be other money coming off the books next year as well? I just say go for the chance to win it all this year. Offense or no offense I do not think there is one playoff team that will want to face our top three. They make a tough battle and I am pretty confident the offense is not going to stay as bad as some make it out to be.

Unfortunately it isn't as cut & dry as you make it. I agree with emurph and Pess on this one.

My fundamental belief is that there is NO such thing as an "untradeable" commodity in baseball. I know I've said in the past that I wouldn't like to move Valle or Gillies, but if the right deal is there, maybe you pull the trigger on a deal.

I'm one of those idiots that wanted Hamels traded before the season started to maximize the return.....I do not think the Phillies will have $70 million a season tied to 3 pitchers. Hamels is the #1 FA commodity next fall and in all likelihood he will test the open market.

Let me translate the above for you:
I do not want to trade Cole, but if you look at the financial commitments this team has going forward it's hard to imagine they could keep him. Reality vs. Want

--------"Hamels is the kind of player you TRADE FOR if you want to win the World Series!"------------

Perfectly put. I find it hard to believe that RA would risk re-living the Cliff Lee trade scenario, which he admitted was a mistake. A youthful pitcher like Cole should be part of the foundation for long-term success. We aren't trading any pitchers, but if we were, we would be better off trading Lee or Halladay, who are already signed, and who could contribute to a team's future success. Teams in the market for a short-term pitching solution would have to be gearing up for a WS run, and that kind of team is not going to surrender a quality hitter to us in the midst of a pennant race.

Nobody wanted to trade him because they thought he <sucked.

" A youthful pitcher like Cole should be part of the foundation for long-term success."

No, THAT is put perfectly!!! You are absolutely correct. (IF) it becomes neccessary to get offense by trading away a pitcher like Cole, than it is time for at least some rebuilding and he is one of those cogs you rebuild around. If its not time to rebuild, than why in Sams Hill would you trade him. In my book, in either case is a stupid move.

Nobody wants to trade Hamels.

Most of us want the Phils to sign him longterm.

However, if they decide they are not going to sign him, they should trade him and get some important pieces back.

The thing that bothers me the most is that there is no mystery to what Hamels' value is. The Phils either want to pay it or don't.

agreed.

But....

Think about this:

Just how MAD will you be, assuming the phillies make the playoffs........

They repeat the same thing again and the

Pitching is there, offense is not?

and we lose again due to lack of offense

....

I will not be happy to say the least

"Just how MAD will you be, assuming the phillies make the playoffs........

They repeat the same thing again and the

Pitching is there, offense is not?

and we lose again due to lack of offense"

Great question and Ill answer it from my perspective. Pitching wins over the long haul, hence the very correct addage "Good pitching beats good hitting". BUT , that is based on the long numbers of statistics. In a short series, almost anything can and often does happen. Offense in a short series plays into it more because generally speaking in the playoffs most of the teams will have pretty good pitching and therefore , the team that gets hot offensively will likely prevail.

Having said that, you can not get TO the playoffs without winning the regular season which is those long numbers and pitching I am speaking about. Sooooo, Id rather go to the post season 10 times and not have quite as good a chance to win it all than only get to the post season once or twice and have a better chance. NEVER did I mock or insult Atlanta for its string of unsuccessful post seasons. Ill take it every year, year in and year out. The post season is maybe a two week piece of my life, 162 takes up all the summer.

So, in general, the regular season is MUCH more important to me. There is NOTHING worse than being out of contention early in the summer and suffering through MLB with no hope. At those times, I just want the season to end.

Good post, I agree with pretty much all of it.

Good point there tuner. Can't argue with that.

BUT,

Still..... it is a snoozefest watching the phillies sometimes.

Because its just SO predictable any more.

Each inning, its like a fact that you know the phillies will not score lol

You know what will happen before it happens.

Each inning same inning.... 3 up..... 3 down...

Swings and misses.....