In Oswalt's case, it works both ways. The veteran righthander's trade-deadline acquisition from Houston obviously represented good fortune for the Phillies, and his appearances on the mound almost always made dead wood of the opposing team's bats.
After Oswalt lost his initial start with the Phillies at Washington, the team went unbeaten in his next 10 outings and he was 7-0.
For some perspective on exactly how good Oswalt was after joining the Phillies, it is best to compare his first 12 starts in Philadelphia with the first dozen outings of the more celebrated Halladay and Lee.
Halladay, of course, was incredible, going 8-3 with a 2.03 ERA out of the chute last season, mixing in a perfect game at Florida, four complete games, and three shutouts.
Lee, after joining the Phillies at the trade deadline in 2009, was good enough to make everyone forget that general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. could not pry Halladay away from Toronto. Lee was 7-4 with a 3.39 ERA in his 12 regular-season starts and it became a prelude to postseason dominance.
Oswalt, it could be argued, was better than both of them in his first dozen starts in a Phillies uniform. He went 7-1 with a 1.65 ERA and allowed only 53 hits in 812/3 innings.
The new season will officially start for the veteran righthander Wednesday when he makes his Grapefruit League debut against the Baltimore Orioles at Bright House Field. He took a few moments Tuesday to explain why he was so good after joining the Phillies last season.
"The game became fun again," Oswalt said. "Any time you're in a pennant race, that's what it is all about. A lot of times when you're out of it by August, it feels like a job. When you're in a pennant race, it's like playing in a summer league when you're a kid. You just have fun playing the game."
