Lidge out, 2000 draftee Bourn in

It only took Wade a couple of months to pull off a major deal and put his stamp on the Astros. Notice the word major, as opposed to blockbuster. Just because 5 players were involved and one is a former All-Star (Lidge) doesn't mean this is a blockbuster. The Phillies landed a closer who has struggled to close games for 2 straight seasons and a utility player (Eric Bruntlett). The Astros landed a speedy CF, who hasn't yet had the opportunity to establish himself as an everyday player (Michael Bourn), a middle reliever (Geoff Geary) and a minor league 3B (Mike Costanzo) who has had nice power seasons in AA and below, but is a strikeout machine. Nothing blockbuster about that.

Now to the deal. It's a shame that the Astros have traded 2 former All-Star closers (Wagner, Lidge) to the Phillies and landed 6 players in return, not one of 'em has given them what they truly need - starting pitching. The 3 they got for Wagner...
Brandon Duckworth - not a quality major league pitcher.
Taylor Buchholz - with the Rockies all year, not selected for playoff roster.
Ezequiel Astacio - minor leaguer, although he did give up the gm-winning HR in WS Gm 3, in 2005.

But I do think this deal makes sense. Geary should immediately become a quality part of the bullpen for the next couple of years. Bourn essentially replaces Taveras and could be better in some areas (XBH) and baserunning, and slightly worse in others (defense, throwing arm) but essentially a wash. Costanzo IMO is the swing player in this deal. His minor league numbers suggest he could be a good power producer over at 3rd base and prior to the '06 season both he and Bourn were rated among the top 6 prospects in the Phillies system. One thing he definitely can do is strikeout and strikeout a lot. More than once per every 4 at-bats.

Bottom line is it would have been nice to get more for Lidge, but after keeping him through two seasons as he floundered, this was likely the best Wade felt he could do. Wade also could have addressed other issues with the team and not CF, if not for the Astros ill-advised dealing of Taveras to Colorado.
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Philly media viewpoint here. Note the fact the Phillies just acquired a pitcher on crutches, who has been demoted from his closer's role multiple times and are currently fooled by the numbers, since they didn't see him pitch on a daily basis.
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