The Phillies are the New Yankees?

The Phillies are boldly raising the bar in the national league, says SI.com's Tom Verducci. "The Phillies represent the biggest growth brand in the baseball industry, similar to how the Red Sox began to rise in 2003 under new ownership." The Phillies are slowly doing to the NL what the Yankees have done to the AL. Craig Calcaterra suggests that all they need is a an equally astute rival. I say that they already have one. It's not a divisional opponent like the Sox and Yanks but they have played and beaten the LA Dodgers in the previous 2 NLCS. That, to me, is a rival.

They've been very aggressive," one baseball source said about the Phillies' pursuit of Halladay. "They're putting together a package, even if they need another team. They're trying to find the players [on other teams] the Blue Jays want to get it done."

All signs point to the Phillies being the favorites to land Halladay. How sweet would that be? I fully expect Hamels to come back after an offseason where he isnt leading the "fabulous life". A strong rotation with this more balanced lineup could make the Phillies the favorite's to win the World Series. Wouldn't it be nice to see the Yankees and Red Sox make moves to try and keep pace with the Phils?