On The Dan Patrick Show Wednesday, Jimmy Rollins voiced his displeasure about the Cliff Lee trade to Seattle.

“When the trade happened, I actually got a text from Jayson Werth and he was like, ‘What are we doing?’ And I was like, ‘Didn’t we get Halladay?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, but we traded Lee.’ And my mouth dropped like, ‘That wasn’t part of the deal.’ I really don’t know. I thought we had enough to keep him. I thought we could have done enough to keep him. I guess that’s just a move the Yankees do. … That’s just the truth. The Yankees would have been like, ‘Hey, we got a chance to keep both of them. We’ll pay them both for a year or two and we got a chance to win a championship.’”

Chase Utley admitted that it would have been cool had the Phillies somehow managed to keep Cliff Lee for the 2010 season.

In a perfect world, the Phillies would be the odds-on favorite to WIN the World Series.

Utley spoke to reporters Tuesday and said he looks forward to playing behind the Phillies’ new ace.

In his first public comments since The Trade, Chase Utley backed the Phillies' decision to acquire Roy Halladay.

“He’s one of the best pitchers in baseball,” Utley said. “Ive heard a lot of good things about him. Everybody I’ve talked to who’s played with him or against him has nothing but good things to say about him. His preparation is off the charts. I’m excited to see him work.

“Cliff Lee, I had a good time playing behind Cliff. Obviously, he pitched outstanding. Hopefully at some point I get to play with him again. But it’s a business. We all realize this now. Every year there are new faces in the clubhouse no matter what.”

Phillies representatives were one of 20-plus clubs in Louisiana to watch Ben Sheets’ pitching session Tuesday.

Sheets, 31, missed all of last season due to injury.

The Phillies are not considered a “leading suitor” for Sheets, according to MLB.com.

Eric Gagne, the former dominant closer whose name was included in the Mitchell Report, was had a tryout on Wednesday.

Christ Almighty, what are they doing????? Instead of doing whatever they can, within the realm of possibility, to keep Chan Ho Park around, we’re looking at Gagne??? The same guy who sucked so badly after Tommy John surgery in 2005, he played in some  Quebec semi-pro beer league (That’s in Canada, folks!) and sucked it up even more (6-6, 4.65 ERA). Ya gotta be kidding.

However, GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said that he has “no expectations, at all” regarding Gagne. Funny.

Sheets, on the other hand, is a guy I would LOVE TO HAVE. What’s the risk, really?? Roll the dice on the guy and, who knows, maybe he’ll be 3/4 of what Cliff Lee was last year?? And maybe, just maybe, I can stop hearing people complain about not having Lee around anymore.

Cliff Lee was disappointed to learn he was traded Wednesday.

“At first I didn’t believe it,” Lee said, according to Phillies.com and several other reports. “I thought we were working out an extension with the Phillies. I thought I would spend the rest of my career there.”

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said the Phillies approached Lee about an extension, but couldn’t come to an agreement.

“We made what we thought was a pretty substantial offer. We had some preliminary discussions, but other than that … it was amicable. Like I said before, I just didn’t feel comfortable that we were going to be able to get to the finish line. And so we ended up moving toward the Halladay situation.”

It seems that Lee was willing to re-sign with the Phillies, but wanted at least four years in addition to 2010, which is the last year on his current deal. The Phillies have a long history of not signing pitchers to more than three years. Roy Halladay received a three-year deal on top of the one year remaining on his contract with Toronto.

“As I have always said, I get very uncomfortable with length [of contracts] on pitchers,” Amaro said. “Frankly, I wouldn’t want to go any more than four years. Three years has been kind of our standard on pitching, and I’d like to stay with that standard. That said, when you’re talking about a guy like Halladay who has the kind of track record that he has, sometimes special circumstances lead themselves to a different way of thinking. And that’s why we were comfortable guaranteeing four, including this year.”

Lee added that when Amaro told him the news about the trade, he thought that Amaro’s phone call was to further discuss the contract situation.

It’s official: Roy Halladay is a Phillie.

The Phillies acquired Halladay and $6 million cash in exchange for prospects Michael Taylor (OF), who was promptly shipped to Oakland for prospect Brett Wallace (1B/3B), Kyle Drabek (RHP) and Travis d’Arnaud (C).

The Phillies receive prospects Phillippe Aumont (RHP), Tyson Gillies (OF) and J.C. Ramirez (RHP) from Seattle.

The Mariners get Cliff Lee.

I  understand why some (most?) Phillies fans are baffled by the Roy Halladay-for-Cliff Lee trade. So, I’ll try to break it all down by arguing some basic points coming out of this deal …

Contention

 Cliff Lee was awesome last season. It’s stupid that we are trading our best pitcher.

Rebuttal

Yes, Lee carried the pitching staff and without him, a return trip to the World Series might not have happened. However, fans have to realize two things: A) Lee is a free agent after 2010 and he will not re-sign with the Phillies, and B) Halladay is better. Period.

Fact is, had we not traded Lee right now, we would get nothing in return of equal or greater value once he bailed for more money.According to reports, the Phillies approached Lee about a contract extension recently, and he declined. Simply put, he wants to test free agency.

In addition, from what I understand, Lee isn’t  thrilled to be in Philadelphia. In other words, I’m not so sure he’s ever been very comfortable here, which is yet another reason why the Phillies have zero chance to sign him.

Roy Halladay is better and he wants to be here. Look at the career numbers and compare. Some fans of the Phillies do not know Halladay, thus they are reluctant to trade Lee. Well, all I have to say is… just wait.  There’s a reason why Halladay is considered the best pitcher of this decade.

One more thing to consider: Lee wasn’t necessarily dominant during the regular season. After a strong start, he was awful from late-August to the end of September. I don’t think you’ll get a more consistently good-to-great pitcher than Halladay.

Contention

We could have kept Cliff Lee and traded Cole Hamels instead.

Rebuttal

Uh, no, we couldn’t.

Fact is, Lee was sexy trade bait because he’s earning an affordable salary and he’s in the last year of his contract. Hamels, on the other hand, is locked up for the next three seasons and is coming off a terrible year. Hamels’ trade value is at an all-time low.

Fact the facts: Cliff Lee was a one-year rental at best. On the other hand, we’re getting Halladay for at least four seasons.

Contention

The Phillies gave up a lot of prospects to get Lee. Now, we traded Lee and even more of our best prospects for Halladay. That’s dumb!

Rebuttal

On paper, yes, it appears the Phillies emptied their farm system for, essentially, one player.

But I’ll tell you to take another look. A harder look.

The Phillies, by most accounts, traded an average package of prospects to get Lee. I’m sure catcher Lou Marson will be a starter at some point, but what about pitcher Carlos Carrasco and infielder Jason Donald? Carrasco was horrendous in his September call-up, while Donald projects to be a career back up. The young flame-thrower, Jason Knapp, is coming off major surgery and is still four or five years away from the bigs.

Now, on to the Halladay deal…

I was initially disappointed to learn that Kyle Drabek, arguably the Phillies’ best pitching prospect, would be dealt to Toronto. I think everyone in the Philadelphia area  hyped up this kid to be The Next Big Thing … but, upon further review, the Phillies are getting two of the Mariners’ best prospects, INCLUDING THEIR VERY BEST, right-hander Phillippe Aumont, who is basically Seattle’s version of Drabek.

Outfielder Tyson Gillies is supposed to be the Phillies’ version of Michael Taylor, who is headed to Oakland.

So, all in all, it looks like a pretty fair trade.

Look at it this way: The Phillies are getting the best pitcher in baseball, one of the best pitching prospects in baseball (Aumont), two more quality prospects (Gillies and RHP Juan Ramirez) and $6 million cash!

In conclusion, this trade works well in the Phillies’ favor. Embrace the fact that Halladay is coming to town and will dominant the National League over the next several years.

Sounds good, right?

According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, Roy Halladay has agreed to a contract extension with the Phillies. Terms of the contract are undisclosed.

Here’s the breakdown on the four-team blockbuster, which now includes Oakland

Phillies Acquire (from Toronto)

• RHP Roy Halladay
• RHP Phillippe Aumont  (minor leaguer)
• OF Tyson Gillies (minor leaguer)
• RHP Juan Ramirez (minor leaguer)
• $6 million cash

Toronto Acquires (From Philadelphia/Oakland)

• C Travis d’Arnaud (minor leaguer)
• RHP Kyle Drabek (minor leaguer)
• 1B/3B Brett Wallace (minor league)

Seattle Acquires

• LHP Cliff Lee

Oakland Acquires (From Toronto via Phillies)

• OF Michael Taylor (minor leaguer)

More reaction to come …

According to SI.com, Roy Halladay has been traded to the Phillies and will sign a contract extension.

The three-team deal could involve Cliff Lee heading to Seattle, but nothing has been confirmed, according to the report.

According to reports, including CSNPhilly.com, Roy Halladay and his agent are in Philadelphia today discussing a potential contract extension.

All indications are that a trade involving Halladay is imminent. The specifics of the deal are unknown at this time. However, the Phillies absolutely want to sign Halladay to extension before they make a trade.

Sources told CSNPhilly.com that Halladay could undergo a physical as early as Monday night. While Halladay has a no-trade clause in his current contract, he would waive it to come to Philadelphia,

OK… So what does this all mean? It’s very possible that Cliff Lee is a part of a mega three-way deal for Halladay.  Lee is attractive trade bait because of his desire to test free agency after 2010. However, it’s still possible that the Phillies would trade J.A. Happ and prospects (Michael Taylor, Domonic Brown or Kyle Drabek). I expect a major announcement in the next few hours …

Pedro Martinez remains interested in a return to the Phillies.

The three-time Cy Young award winner told the Associated Press Saturday, “(The Phillies) treated me very well and they were very professional. They will always have the door open.”

While the Phillies will passively attempt to upgrade their starting rotation, the focus during the offseason is the bullpen. As it stands now, the Phillies’ rotation consists of Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, J.A. Happ and Joe Blanton next year. It’s very possible that Jamie Moyer returns, if deemed healthy, or top pitching prospect Kyle Drabek wins a job out of spring training.

Chances Pedro is a Phillie next year are slim and none.

Also, I absolutely do not expect them to empty the farm system for Roy Halladay or sign second-tier starting pitchers, such as Jason Marquis or Randy Wolf …