“The Phillies would love to trade for Morse. Love it. But there is just one problem with that: The Nationals. I can’t see any reason why they would trade Morse to Philadelphia unless the Phils paid a crazy, over-the-top price for him. There is just very little incentive for the Nationals to boost a division rival like that. Don’t bet on it.”

–Todd Zolecki

We’ve talked plenty recently about how nice it would be to see Michael Morse in the Phillies lineup.  He plays a corner outfield position, he’s got some power, he… knows how to win and all that horse shit.

But if you check the climate of the NL East right now, nobody’s really going in a National–>Phillies direction.  The Nats represent the future, judging by the fact that most of them will actually see it.  With a median infield age of 34 in 2013, the Phillies could be a potentially more difficult team to get behind.  Because they’re old and don’t move very fast and come on I’ve got places to be Michael Young geeze.

Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

That, and the really just bizarre, openly jealous nature of the Washington Nationals organization and how resentful they are of the Phillies being better than them for so long.  Now, the Nationals are the better team, and can’t seem to get past the fact that the Phillies have fans and a stadium and other pretty normal things.

But hey!  Whatever.  The point is, I’m sure Ruben Amaro could put together a perfectly ludicrous prospect package for the Nats in exchange for their superfluous OF/1B.  It’s not like we’ve got a hefty farm system to pluck from, but hey, Ruben’s squeezed blood from a stone before.  And then hurled that blood-covered rock through Jayson Werth’s bay window.  You don’t threaten the Phillies.

But no no no, the Nationals don’t want to trade “in-division,” as if there’s some sort of problem with trading a talented player to a team you play 20 times a year and having the deal continuously bite you in the ass.  That’s a pretty general baseball philosophy, but when the Nats are doing it to us, there’s that extra flavor of smarm.

I think I speak for all of us when I scream JUST GIVE US ENOUGH PLAYERS TO FILL OUT THE DAMN LINEUP YOU JERKS.

The Nationals are making it work with Adam LaRoche, which means they will be ready to deal power-punching outfielder Michael Morse.  Like, REALLY ready to deal, for some reason.

Any GMs interested in Michael Morse, he’s now very much available. #Nats will be looking for starting pitching depth and/or LH reliever.

— Mark Zuckerman (@ZuckermanCSN) January 8, 2013

So now that we know what they want, we can still putting together the package that will land this helpful addition.

What?

**Ruben Amaro looks up from smart phone, shakes head, goes back to phone**

Oh, right, I mean… we’re done making moves.  Time to get ready for the season with some double platoons!

**Winks and points at Amaro.  Amaro files restraining order via smart phone.**

“FORGET HIM, HE’S GONE!!” –that baseball’s family, fleeing for their lives Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Starting depth!  We used to have that.  But Joe Blanton and Vance Worley are gone, and we just signed former Nat John Lannan to a deal to potentially replace them, so hopefully there’s a Major League-ready starter in our minor league system.

Well, there isn’t.  Trevor May is gone and nobody’s touching Jesse Biddle, we hope, and even if they were, neither of these guys would have made an opening day roster.  We are rich with pitching in the minors, but none of it is elite, and most of it probably won’t land a starting gig.

Lefty relievers, though–we have those.

Jeremy Horst, Antonio Bastardo, Jake Diekman, Joe Savery, Raul Valdes–southpaws, all of ‘um.  And they’re not all going to make the roster.

None of this seems thick enough to warrant a deal for Morse, given the output the guy is capable of.  But if the Phillies “kicked the tires” on Alfonso Soriano, they better be “checking to see if the doors are unlocked” on Morse.

The Phillies sure want you to get on the John Mayberry train while it’s still moving this slow, and if they truly are ready to face 2013 with two platoons and not even show interest in Morse, then… then I guess we all have to get used to that.

Not that the Nationals would trade in-division, or especially to the Phillies, who they loathe with an almost sociopathic persistence.  But there’s no denying Morse’s appeal in a lineup needing some outfield punch.

#yankees are 1 of teams talking to #nats about morse

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) January 8, 2013