The trade deadline has come and gone and the Phillies roster looks exactly as it did yesterday. Rumors for Manny Ramirez died with an after hours trade to the LA Dodgers. Hopes of landing reliever Brian Fuentes were lost when the slumping Colorado Rockies raised their asking price for the lefty. Now this team (we think) will be the one that finishes the season. But is that really a bad thing?

Thankfully Pat Gillick didn’t pull the trigger on Manny Ramirez. He would have had his tenure as the Phils GM defined by a deal of that magnitude and it probably wouldn’t have worked out considering what they would have had to give up. Yes, his bat would have been nice to have in the Phillies lineup, but unfortunately he would also have had to grace our outfield. His fielding skills rival the little kids who dance around the outfield at the Home Run Derby trying to chase down ’so close yet so far’ baseballs.  Also the Phillies would have had to part with many of their prospects or perhaps Pat Burrell to get the 36-year-old who makes a filthy $20 million this season.

Perhaps the most pressing need was pitching. Even with big Joe Blanton getting lucky in his two starts that were terrible, but still ended up being Phillie wins, starting pitching needs work. J.A. Happ has been recalled and Charlie Manuel probably wants him to get another start. Brett Myers finally had a good start his last time out, and Hamels, Moyer, and Kendrick have each been at least decent to this point. Hopefully Myers can find the form that he once had, and Oakland’s Opening Day starter Blanton, can show the stuff he had last year.

The Phillies could have used a left-handed arm in relief too to help out J.C Romero, but as long as starting pitching can go relatively deep on a regular basis, the Phils’ bullpen (which has been among the best in the majors all year), should be able to handle the load. Pat Gillick also noted that the Phils would have liked having another right-handed bat at the plate, but now that the team is in place (after the non-waiver deadline at least).

Hopefully the Phillies can feel secure at the plate now that the trade deadline has passed, and play more relaxed. Someone who was rumored to possibly move but played well anyway was Shane Victorino. He batted .327 in July and hit seven of his nine home-runs. One of the highlights of the month was the play at the plate where he concused Atlanta catcher Brian McCann (although he was called out).

Thankfully for the Fightin’s no one in the division made a big move. The biggest move in the NL East was the Marlins trading for reliever and former Phil, Arthur Rhodes. The door was open for the Phillies to have made a move to put them ahead in the division and perhaps make them a NL favorite. Although they didn’t make a move, the Phillies keep their highly regarded prospects like Carlos Carrasco, and Olympic-bound prospects Lou Marson and Jason Donald.

Obviously the Phillies front office has faith in this lineup and in this core of pitchers. The Phils played it ’safe’ here in not making a move and keeping their bargaining chips. But since no one else in the division made a deal either in one of the most anti-climactic deadlines in recent memory, time will tell whether the Phils were wise to stay put, or foolish not to pull the trigger on a big move when the door was open.