Tomorrow night Roy Oswalt will take the mound in a Philadelphia uniform.
After the 32-year-old ace dropped his no-trade clause and accepted the move from the Houston Astros to the Philadelphia Phillies, Oswalt joins a team dedicated to winning. That is exactly what Oswalt is looking for, and he may be exactly what the Phillies need in order to win their second World Series in three years.
The Phillies were the clear winner in this trade with the Astros. The Phillies received one of the best pitchers in the league along with $11 million. In return, the Astros received J.A. Happ and two prospects, Anthony Gose and Jonathan Villar.
With Oswalt, the Phillies immediately jump into World Series contention.
Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels lead a Philly pitching rotation that could prove to be the best in the league.
Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. agrees as he said, “To have Roy Oswalt, Roy Halladay, and additionally Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton and Kyle Kendrick, we stack ourselves up as one of the best rotations in baseball.”
It is a rare luxury as a manager to sit back and think to yourself, “Who should I start tonight, the active league leader in complete games, a World Series MVP, or a three-time All-Star?”
Sure, Amaro, Jr., is rectifying a mistake when he let Cliff Lee go, but at least he realized his mistake, and made sure to go out there and get Roy Oswalt. This pitching rotation will prove to be something special, but that is not all that has people smiling in the City of Brotherly Love.
Dominic Brown, their new prospect called up due to a Shane Victorino injury, proved to be a success.
In his first at bat in “The Show,” Brown nearly hit a home run, but settled for a double. Brown’s major league debut was something special, as he went 2-3 at the plate, with two RBI and two runs scored.
Could this be a taste of the future?
With Brown having so much success in his first ever Major League game, we can be sure to see more of this young slugger as the Phillies look to win the NL East and contend for their second World Series title.
The Phillies are riding a seven-game win streak and look to continue tomorrow night at Washington against the Nationals.
With Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Shane Victorino, and Jamie Moyer all on the disabled list, Roy Oswalt and Domonic Brown are exactly what the Phillies need at this integral part of the season to continue their winning ways.
Even with all these injuries, the Phillies look as good as they have all season, but they’re not done yet. They are still 2.5 games back of the Atlanta Braves in the NL East race with two very important games against the Nationals coming this Friday and Saturday.
The Phillies should be thanking their lucky stars for Oswalt and Brown, who will prove to be essential in their mission to win the NL East and return to the World Series.
This team is on a seven-game winning streak with four of their star players on the DL; imagine what they will do at full strength.
And the cherry, or cherries on top, are Roy Oswalt and Domonic Brown.
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