Phils Finally get Urbina

Congrats to Ed Wade for pulling off a deal to get Ugueth Urbina, maybe a couple of years late, but finally. You see, back in 2003, when the Phillies were hitting the home stretch and leading the division, Jose Mesa had a historic meltdown. At that time, the Phillies badly needed another arm to close in the bullpen and Texas was looking to trade Urbina. However, the Phillies failed to get him (not sure if they even tried) and instead made a terrible move in getting Mike Williams from the Pirates. On another subject, the Pirates ended up trading Lofton and Aramis Ramirez to the Cubs that year for a bag of peanuts. The Phillies desperately needed a centerfielder and 3rd baseman by the end of 2003...but as we said that is another topic.

Back to Urbina, instead of the Phillies nabbing him, the Marlins ended up grabbing him and rode his arm to the National League Wild Card and eventually the World Series. And I'm sure all the Phillies fans remember watching that World Series and thinking, "why the heck aren't we playing the Yankees right now". Maybe it's unfair to blame Mesa for the entire season, after all Millwood had his meltdown too, but the Phillies barely missed the Wild Card, and for the Marlins, Urbina definitely was a difference maker for them that year, just take a look at the closer stats after that trade.

Urbina 3-0 / 6 SV / 1.41 ERA
Mesa 1-2 / 6 SV / 10.50 ERA

It's amazing that Mesa even saved 6 games while allowing a full 9 runs more per 9 innings than Urbina. Mesa broke down so badly that he was barely used by the end of the year, and while Mike Williams was inserted as the closer for a time, he was no better. We would look up Williams' stats, but he is no longer an active player, so you know how bad he was.

But, that was the past, and the Phillies are in contention again this year. Urbina is just the type of quality arm that the bullpen is in need of, especially with the apparent loss of Tim Worrell. He fits in well as the set-up man and backup for Wagner. It is odd that Urbina hasn't been more highly regarded, especially when you look at his stats over the past 3 years.

3.35 ERA
.201 Opponents Batting Average
93 Saves
86% Save Conversion
205 Strike Outs (in 191 innings)

Compare these to Tim Worrell's stats, the role Urbina is filling:

2.95 ERA
.239 Opponents Batting Average
57 Saves
78% Save Conversion
184 Strike Outs (in 228.2 innings)

Ed Wade has certainly done a good job of replacing Tim Worrell, now if we can only get Worrell back and into his old form, this would be one of the strongest pens in the majors.

As for losing Polanco, it is a shame to see him go, but he has been on the bubble for awhile now. Last year at the trading deadline he was almost on the A's, then this off-season he looked destined to return to the Cardinals. Only a down market for his skills and a shocking acceptance of arbitration kept him on the team. While he has been a valuable asset, this paves the way for Chase Utley to play every day, which isn't a bad thing at all.

As for Ramon Martinez the other player the Phillies get in this deal, he is really a Polanco-lite. Guess that would make him more like a Thomas Perez, and that means he can be valuable to the team.

You can look forward to the Phillies closing the door in more convincing fashion the rest of the year with Urbina working the 8th. His presence will save the bullpen, with Madson and Cormier back to 7th inning duties and Wagner exclusively working the 9th (he has been coming into games in the 8th lately). Now all the starters need to do is get the game through 6 innings, a much easier task than 7. So let's give a round of applause to Wade on this one and look forward to an exciting pennant race.