Its that time again

Time for another Phillies rant. 2 weeks ago the Phillies had won 12 of 13 games at home and were packing up for a road trip against two of the AL West's lesser teams. So confident was I that they would keep the hot streak alive that I told a friend they would win 5 of 6 against Oakland and Seattle. That may have been asking a bit much, but winning each series? Easily doable to go 2 outta 3 in each town. After all, how much could a 3 hour time zone difference really slow down a team as hot as the Phils? Way too much. The Fightins are hardly that, 3-9 in their last 12 with the exclamation point being swept at home by the Boston Red Sox - a team I have constantly said has no shot of repeating their World Series title run - at home. Figures. So while Pat Burrell and Bobby Abreu have gone ice cold in the Phillies' recent skid, Ed Wade made another typical Ed Wade trade. Ill-timed and trying to do too much by trading Placido Polanco to Detroit for Ugueth Urbina. Make no mistake. I was calling for Polanco to be traded as much as anyone so that it would free up second base and Chase Utley would be able to play every day. But I was not a fan of this particular trade. Polanco was having (and in Detroit still is having) a career year and I felt the Phillies could have gotten more for him. Urbina is a proven closer and god knows the Phils need bullpen help - but the timing? The Phils were in the middle of a red hot home stand which Polanco was a key part of. He was getting on base, and doing the little things to help the team win. If its not broke, don't fix it. There was no reason for the Phillies to make a trade at that point. The bullpen was spread thin, but the Phillies were dealing with it. Wade once again botched a trade opportunity as he has done so many times in his 8 year tenure in Philadelphia. He should have let the Phillies at least cool off before he made a trade - possibly in a effort to reboost the team back to their winning ways. As it stands now, the Phillies only major bargaining chip is AAA phenom Ryan Howard who is absolutely destroying the minor leagues. Jim Thome I'm sure is a nice guy, and you can't wish injuries on people, but he has not done one productive thing for the Phillies this year and the Phillies desperately need Ryan Howard in the middle of the lineup. This like watching the end of a bad action movie knowing whats going to happen and you wish you could change the ending because you know you're going to look back on it and say that was awful. That will be the Phillies in a few years when Ryan Howard is on another team and absolutely tearing up the big leagues while Jim Thome is in the last year of his contract hitting .230 with 7 HRs before the All-Star break. Thats if he's healthy. Anyway back to the task at hand, the Phils could have held onto Polanco and traded him and maybe another reliever or a lesser prospect for a pitcher like Ted Lilly of the Blue Jays. Urbina meanwhile has given up 5 homeruns in 5 2/3 innings since being in the red pinstripes. Another notch in the belt Eddie. The Phillies are sinking faster than U-571 but have a chance here before the All-Star break to prove they can at least give the Wild Card a shot. Little side note...whoever gave up on the Braves 2 weeks ago - have you learned anything in the last 13 years? Guess not...they're heading for their 14th straight NL East title. But the Phils play the Mets, Braves, and Nationals all before the All Star break and the Marlins right after. By the time Bobby Abreu and Pat Burrell pack their bags for Detroit and the All-Star game, Philly fans will know whether or not to continue attending the daily home run derby that is Citizens Bank Park in the second half of the season.