There wasn’t a Phillies fan in town who wasn’t upset to see the Phils move Cliff Lee to the Mariners this past offseason.¬† Lee was just about everything Philly could have hoped for in a high-end starting pitcher.
But, it happened and it is what it is.¬† We’ll be forced to try to win another World Series with a scrub like Roy Halladay instead.¬† It happens.¬† Woe is us.
But if it makes you feel any better (and if you are into schadenfreude, it will), Lee is having a rough go of it this spring.¬† First, he popped the Diamondbacks’ Chris Snyder in a Spring Training game and that little incident earned him a five-game suspension to start the year.¬† He’s appealing it, but good luck with that.
Then he had a mild abdominal strain that could have knocked him out of his first start of the year (I’m assuming it would be the first one he is scheduled to start after serving his suspension).¬† But it could be worse than that.
Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse says that the Seattle Mariners are looking for some pitching help since the newly acquired Lee has an abdominal strain. Would they be looking to add a pitcher if they only had to cover for one start?
“Cliff Lee injury has #Mariners strongly considering acquiring a starting pitcher, perhaps a free agent or someone released elsewhere,” Price tweets.
The Mariners could always call Chad Gaudin and/or Jarrod Washburn if need be.¬† They are free agents and don‚Äôt seem to be all that busy. ¬† Also, the Detroit Tigers are believed to be shopping Nate Robertson, but I’m not so sure that the Mariners would want to invest even more through trades.
Then again, it depends on how badly Cliff Lee is really hurt.¬† One would think that it’s potentially serious if the Mariners are really trying to add another starter at this point in spring training.¬† Want Jamie Moyer back?
Any serious injury to Lee would be a huge blow to the Mariners, who actually have a chance to win the AL West this year.¬† The Angels lost Chone Figgins (who the Mariners scooped up), John Lackey and Vladdy Daddy.¬† The Mariners added Lee to pair up with King Felix at the top of the rotation.¬† That’s a serious 1-2 punch.
