Kingdom

Did anyone notice that the Phillies brought former GM and recently fired GM of the Houston Astros, Ed Wade, back as a consultant? Doesn't seem like a big deal, but it's all too ironic given the big names Wade traded from Houston to Philly. So, on this episode, we're going to look back at Ed Wade's masterful work. And I'll let you decide if I was just being sarcastic or not.


In 2003, Mr. Wade sent forth closer Billy Wagner for a package of Brandon Duckworth, Taylor Buchholz, and Ezequiel Astacio. You're immediately thinking how awful this looks. And you would be thinking correctly. Duckworth only had one good season and it was his rookie season. Buchholz took awhile to come around and has carved a niche as a solid reliever for the Rockies and Mets. And finally, as one DirtyKash can attest to, Ezequiel is an easy top ten for ugliest baseball player... ever. This deal would have made Omar Minaya cry.

In 2007, Brad Lidge was dealt for Michael Bourn, Mike Costanzo, and Geoff Geary. Geary had a couple solid years a reliever, before completely falling off the map in 2009. To my knowledge, Costanzo has never made it to the big leagues. Bourn, on the other hand, turned out to be a good pick up. He's a gold glove centerfielder, one of the best base stealers in the league, and turned into a quality lead off man. Interestingly enough, Bourn was originally drafted by Houston but did not sign. Bourn was later dealt for a mish mash of Atlanta Braves' fodder.

In 2010, Roy Oswalt was dealt for JA Happ, Anthony Gose, and Jonathan Villar. On the bright side, Gose and Villar are still really young and could blossom into something decent. Happ was very good for the Phillies and then last season, he was very bad for the Astros. The sneaky part of this deal that many may actually not realize, is that Happ is 29 already. He wasn't a prospect, just a cheap replacement.

In 2011, Hunter Pence was dealt for Jarred Cosart, Jonathan Singleton, Josh Zeid, and Domingo Santana. Cosart has some hype and one Hell of nasty curve ball. They at least got some prospects with a little bit of potential. But Pence may have been the best player of this bunch that Wade sent to his beloved Phillies. Pence had a good 2011 and did even better once with the Phillies.