In an effort to gain some perspective on the Mets’ divisional rivals we have enlisted the help of a local sportswriter for each NL East team. Today’s installment features Paul Hagen of the Philadephia Daily News, who fills us in on some of the Phillies’ offseason plans.

MetsGeek: What are your thoughts on the Brad Lidge deal? Given his problems with the longball the past two seasons, how do you expect him to adjust to CBP? Are there any lingering concerns about his failure to perform in the 2005 playoffs? Do they see Lidge as a 1 year rental or is there a long term deal in the works?

Paul Hagen: It’s a high-risk, high-reward deal.

First, let’s look at what they gave up. For me, Geoff Geary wasn’t a factor. There was a chance they weren’t even going to offer him arbitration.

[Michael] Bourn, at this point of his career, is pretty much a one-tool player. And even his speed is offset to some extent by his lack of baseball instincts at this point. He can also go get a ball in the outfield pretty well. I don’t think he’ll ever hit for power and whether he hits for average is a question mark.

[Mike] Costanzo is the player I think they might regret giving up. I know some scouts aren’t that high on him, but some are. And with the need to go with the [Wes] Helms-[Greg] Dobbs platoon at third again this year, this leaves the Phillies without a third baseman of the future.

I also have a couple of hesitations from the other side. Lidge is a guy who has lost the closer’s role four times in the last two years. The fact that Citizens Bank Park is short, especially to left, doesn’t worry me that much. This guy has pitched with the Crawford Boxes over his shoulder, although obviously there is more room for error overall at Minute Maid than there is at CBP.

There is still a question in my mind about how effective he is. I don’t think it’s a hangover from 2005. But the reality is that he hasn’t been as effective. He still has good stuff? I don’t care about that. Getting people out is what matters. So we’ll see.

I can’t imagine the Phillies even thinking about extending Lidge until they see what they’ve got. Bottom line: They don’t have a lot of resources and were able to improve both the rotation the bullpen with one move. It may backfire but it was a gamble they had to take.

MetsGeek: What can we expect from Brett Myers in his return to the rotation? He apparently wasn’t thrilled to be moved back to the rotation from the bullpen, and struggled in his three starts in 2007 (0-2, 9.39 ERA).

Paul Hagen: I have a real concern about Myers going back to the rotation. I keep hearing about what a great starter he was. He wasn’t. He could be at times but he had never put it together. He still might, but he loved being the closer. This will be a big adjustment for him.

And I don’t base that on the three starts he had last year. I base that on the starts he had before that.

MetsGeek: With no obvious choice at 3B for the Phillies, do you see them getting involved in the Alex Rodriguez sweepstakes? If not, are there any other big moves we can expect the Phils to make?

Paul Hagen: A-Rod? No way. They don’t have that kind of money to spend and even if they did, they wouldn’t put that much of their payroll into one player.

Now that they’ve re-signed J.C. Romero, they’d like to get one more starter. I think they’ll at least kick the tires on Hiroki Kuroda. But they may end up taking a chance on a guy coming off an injury or a down year that they can sign relatively cheaply. Somebody like Bartolo Colon, who Charlie Manuel knows from Cleveland.

Assuming they don’t re-sign Aaron Rowand — and it doesn’t look like they will — they’ll also look for a fourth or fifth outfielder type to add some depth.

MetsGeek: If Pat Burrell had never played a game against the Mets in his career, would he still have a starting job?

Paul Hagen: Sure. Burrell will have a job for at least one more year. They’re not going to sit a guy making $14 million on the bench. I’m sure they’d move him if they could but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of interest out there right now.

MetsGeek: The Phillies pitching ranked in the bottom 20 for ERA, WHIP and BAA (Batting Average Against) this season. They began to fix their bullpen with the Lidge deal, but is there anything we should be expecting to see them do to fix their rotation?

Paul Hagen: See No. 3. I know they’re still looking for another starter. Whether or not they can accomplish that, we’ll see.