Cliff Lee, the top free agent of the offseason, could have signed a contract which was believed to be between $140-$160 million deal and could have etched his name among Yankee greats.
But to the dismay of Yankee Nation, Lee turned against the Empire, and shocked the baseball world with his decision.
Unlike former Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth, Lee decided to take a five-year, $120 deal to re-join the Philadelphia Phillies, despite the team’s decision to trade him to the Seattle Mariners last offseason after acquiring Roy Halladay. Clearly there are no hard feelings between the two sides.
Werth did receive an offer from the Phillies, which would have kept the right fielder in Philly had he accepted the offer, but he became blinded by the money – $126 million, that is.
Instead of remaining on a team that was expected to win the NL East before adding Cliff Lee, Werth decided to play for a team that has lived in the NL East basement since moving to Washington.
I guess Werth is satisfied with his one World Series ring, whereas Lee is still in search of a World Series crown. With that on his mind, he must have felt that Philadelphia presented him with the best chance to win right away, and who can blame him?
The Yankees are good, but aren’t getting any younger. The Rangers had their chance last year and collapsed against the Giants. Both teams will compete in 2011, but the Red Sox, who acquired Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez this off-season, should win the AL East, and I expect both the Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics to improve this off-season, as well.
However, the Phillies, who fell to the Giants in the NLCS, are starving for another World Series appearance and are constructing what could be the greatest rotation in the modern-era.
That rotation, which consists of Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels, and now Lee, holds claim to three Cy Young awards (Halladay ‘03, ‘10/Lee ‘08), 13 All-Star selections (Halladay 7, Oswalt 3, Lee 2, Hamels 1), and numerous postseason honors, including Hamels’ World Series MVP honors in 2008 and Oswalt’s NLCS MVP award in 2005.
Oh, and don’t forget about the reigning Cy Young award winner and his two no-hitters (one being a perfect game).
In a previous article I wrote, I mentioned how Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels will look to compete with Halladay for the 2011 Cy Young, which is quite impressive since all three lie in the same rotation. But it looks like Halladay will have more competition… from another teammate.
There hasn’t been a rotation like that since the Atlanta Braves had Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and Greg Maddux in the 90’s.
But even with their pitching, the Phillies still need their bats to come through.
That shouldn’t be a problem, though. Aside from their struggles towards the end of 2010 and into the playoffs, the Phillies have very good hitters. Placido Polance is arguably their best hitter, at least average-wise, and Ryan Howard still puts fear in opposing pitchers. Add Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins to the equation, both of whom are looking for strong bounce-back seasons in 2011, and the Phillies will return a high-powered offense, in addition to “The Feared Four” pitching rotation.
I wonder how the New York Mets are feeling now…
Cliff Lee Says He And Jayson Werth Planned On Playing On The Same Team
by Mike Prada • Dec 15, 2010 3:57 PM EST
Cliff Lee shocked the baseball world when he decided to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies. The New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers were seen as the primary contenders, and seemed like the two teams that had reason to be annoyed that Lee left a lot of money on the table to return to Philadelphia.
But is it possible that the Washington Nationals have the biggest gripe? They were always seen as the longshot for Lee’s services, something general manager Mike Rizzo consistently confirmed. If that’s the case, then Lee’s comments during his press conference introducing him as a member of the Phillies merit a second look.
Lee was asked about Jayson Werth heading to the Nationals, and revealed that the two of them talked to each other about ending up on the same team. Werth, of course, signed with the Nationals quickly, so if they had followed the plan, Lee should be a Washington National.
In the end, though, Lee changed his mind, and Werth wasn’t too thrilled about it. Via SB Nation Philly:
“When he found out I was coming here, he wasn’t the happiest person in the world is all I’ll say.”
Maybe that explains why Werth was so salty about the Phillies in his press conference earlier today. Werth’s first comments on Lee? “They got their boy back, I guess.”