I am fully recovered from the World Series loss. The healing process began far before the last out in Game 6. When the Phils were down 7-1 in the bottom of the fifth, I had already resigned myself to the fact that the Phillies were not winning this thing. Even Ryan Howard’s two-run shot in the top of the sixth did not move me. I refused to give in to the notion of a possible rally, especially with Mariano Rivera looming 2 innings or so away.

When the last pitch was thrown, I didn’t immediately turn off the game. I watched probably 10-15 seconds of the Yankees celebrating. My opinion? Lame compare to the Phillies last year. Sorry, but the Yankees and their fans just do not match the Phillies for intensity. They were the better team in the World Series, no doubt. But we smoke ‘em in World Series celebrations. The same goes for their Parade. They can talk about the Canyon of Heroes all they want, but when the crowd size is defined as “many thousands” in a city of 8.5 million, color me unimpressed.

Anyway, thoughts already move to the hot stove and what the Phillies can do to make themselves better and to bridge the gap that exists between themselves and the Yankees. Imagine for a moment that this is where we are as Phillies fans. Instead of talking about what our favorite team would be doing to contend again, we’re talking about what we can do to match up better with the other League’s best team to give ourselves the best chance possible for a successful return to the World Series.

Based on early spitballing by local and national media, I must say I am thrilled to have Ruben Amaro Jr., and not Rich Hoffman as our GM. Rich thinks we should reopen talks with the Blue Jays for Roy Halladay because, “maybe the new Toronto general manager values the Phillies’ prospects differently.”

Essentially, Rich is looking to win in 2010, and then never again. If you could guarantee a World Series win because we traded for Roy Halladay and gave away the top couple of farmhands, I would do it. But winning a World Series has a lot to do with luck also. Injuries, getting hot at the right time are essential complements to talent in winning the whole thing. If the Phils acquired Roy Halladay, they would be unable to retain both he and Cliff Lee after the 2010 season. Hoffman doesn’t take you any further beyond his thought process other than “do it”.

Then I heard the Delco Times’ Jack McCaffrey entertaining all kinds of ridiculous trade proposals by clueless listeners on 97.5 last night, and he he even agreed with some, including the idea of trading Cole Hamels, Michael Taylor and Kyle Drabek for Zack Greinke. He did this after also telling us that we should not give up on Hamels after his disappointing 2009 season. Think a year back – would you have traded Hamels 1 year ago today along with those 2 prospects for Zack Greinke? No. You wouldn’t have even trade Hamels straight up for Greinke. So if we’re not supposed to be “giving up” on Hamels, why would we now trade him along with our top pitching prospect and another highly rated prospect?

Jack also continued to refer to Cole Hamels as deserving of nothing higher than consideration as the team’s Number 3 starter, with no detail on who would be the Number 2.

The one thing McCaffrey did comment on that I agreed with wholeheartedly was the curious use of J.A. Happ during the postseason. There seemed to be a real lack of confidence in Happ’s ability to start for the Phils, and Pedro got the nod instead. Pedro pitched well in his Game 2 starts in the NLCS and World Series, but was brutal in Game 6 of the World Series.

Lastly, Andy Martino’s first hot stove report hit a sour note with me as well, with Martino suggesting that it’s too early to think about an extension for Cliff Lee, but that the Phils would be wise to bring back Matt Stairs. I appreciate Matt Stairs’ contributions to the 2008 campaign, specifically his clutch homer in game 4 of the NLCS when he hit that 8th inning moonshot to break the Dodger’s backs. But enough is enough. This guy is not what the Phillies need on their bench. We need versatility. We need guys who can play multiple positions in the field to spell our starting 8 once in a while. We need someone with some speed who could go from first to home on a double in a tight game.