Phillies vs. Sixers

It's ironic that the Phillies, the current world champions and on the verge of running away with their division this year, have been the ones making national headlines in the trade and free agent markets whereas their neighbors in South Philly, the going-no-place-fast Sixers, have been in hibernation for the summer - the best they could come up with so far was signing a shooting specialist with a lifetime 7.5 ppg average, hiring a journeyman coach with a sub-.500 winning percentage, and a failure to re-sign their point guard.

Of course, the structures of major league baseball and pro basketball are very different and the Phillies have far more options. And last year, it was the Sixers who made the blockbuster deal. The deal to acquire Elton Brand may have been defensible at the time but unfortunately it ended up blowing up in the team's face and the fallout from that explosion could last for years to come.

Even in the worst case scenario, it is hard to foresee the acquisitions of Pedro Martinez and now Cliff Lee undermining the baseball franchise. In fact, it's hard to see how Lee in particular does not make the Phillies a better team. But enthusiasm should be tempered. A National League pennant is not a slam dunk. More on that in the next post.