I know the thought of parting with Cliff Lee after what he did for us in the playoffs and World Series sounds ridiculous but it makes sense when you sit back and think about it.
You might think Phils general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. is crazy but he’s trying to put the keep the Phils in position to continue making runs at titles.
Former Cy Young award winner Lee wants to test the free agent market and refuses to sign a long term deal, while Toronto flame thrower and yes, former Cy Young award winner Roy Halladay is willing to sign a long term deal.
They will lose Lee after next season if they do nothing, while making a deal would allow them to hang onto Halladay for four seasons.
They’re not the Yankees so they can’t afford to hang onto to both of them. They must make a choice one or the other.
Halladay is considered to be slightly more dominant a pitcher than Lee although we won’t soon forget Lee’s dominance last season in the post-season.
They’ve got to do the deal because they’ll likely only have Ryan Howard for a few additional seasons and having Halladay around along with a hopefully 2008 version of Cole Hamels will make the Phils a favorite to go to the World Series each year.
Hanging onto Lee and begging him to sign a long term deal when he’s already said he wants to test free agency makes no sense.
Do the deal Ruben it makes sense.
