The most stunning news in baseball this winter has fallen into the Phillies' lap like a pot of gold-- except one that they're spending. Despite how disrespectfully and foolishly the Phils discarded (then ace) Cliff Lee at the end of his awesome, dominating postseason for them in 2010, Lee has decided that the relationships he formed with teammates and the bond he forged with fans in Philadelphia were an unforgettable draw.The deal is worth $100 million over 5 years with an option for a 6th year that would total $120 million.
Lee turned down significantly more from the Yankees, who had offered a reported $160 million over 7 seasons during their extensive courtship of the left-hander.
However, in a rarely seen and startling spurning of the Yankees, Cliff Lee led with heart, not wallet. It's now plain to see that while the Phils left their heart in S.F. in 2010, Cliff Lee's has remained in Philadelphia since 2009.
When the Phillies traded him to Seattle a year ago, Lee expressed "disbelief and shock." He had been excited to rejoin the Phillies for another World Series run. Instead, the Phils sent him packing to his 3rd team in 5 months. A couple months later, he would be traded again, to Texas, for whom he would start the opening game of the World Series, as he had the previous season for the Phils.
"It's never easy trading a player of Cliff's caliber, but we felt it was the right move to make at this time," General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said a year ago this week, when he cast off Lee. "We've acquired three players that we think have big upsides and will strengthen our player development system."
The 3 players haven't amounted to a hill of beans in the year since Amaro Jr. made the worst mistake of his managerial career in trading Lee, a trade many fans and analysts, as well as Curt Shilling and Shane Victorino, among others, felt was infamously one of the worst trades in the history of the Phillies. It was a move I called at the time an "Irrevocable Error." Well, it turned out to be more revocable than anyone could have ever imagined.
Amaro Jr. admitted his mistake when he acquired Roy Oswalt as a conciliatory move to fans, the team, even, perhaps, himself. Now, he has gone a step further in attempting to undo or "delete" the error he made in trading Lee in the first place.
In December '09, when Lee learned he was traded by the 1st place Phils to the last place Mariners, his hurt was palpable. "At first, I didn't believe it. I thought we were working out an extension with the Phillies," Lee said. "I thought I'd be spending the rest of my career there. ... I was under the impression they wanted to keep me there for a long time."
Before the smoke had cleared and everyone became aware that Amaro Jr. and the Phils could've had both Halladay and Lee and that the trade of Lee and acquisition of Halladay were entirely separate transactions, Lee had high praise for his now teammate: "Basically, they had an opportunity to get the best pitcher in baseball," Lee said. "I can't blame them for choosing Roy Halladay over me."
However, if it is strange that Cliff Lee would come back to the open arms of the man, Amaro Jr., and front office that cast him aside, it is stranger still that the Phillies would seek as star-studded and dominant a starting 4 as they have in light of the hole that Jayson Werth has left in the lineup. When the Phils 1st closed the door on Werth, I thought they might be pursuing Carl Crawford. Now that Crawford is a Red Sox centerpiece and the Phillies are shopping Ibanez and Blanton, I wonder if they have another major name in mind to fill Werth's all-star shoes in the outfield? They can't honestly believe that Ben Fransisco and Ross Gload can lead the team to glory, as Amaro has been claiming in recent weeks.
Remember, in the playoffs, their 4-man monster rotation may possibly serve them no better than a 3-man superstar rotation would. Meanwhile, the lack of hitting that truly sunk them in the '10 playoffs has plummeted further with the winter loss of Werth, a lineup hole they aren't filling with the $100 million+ paycheck to Lee.
One thing is for certain: the Phils have officially re-defined themselves as a pitching team, which they became somewhat by accident in 2010. This erases the doubts and concerns about the middle relief, because the bullpen will be much less needed with 4 strong studs in the rotation. Madson and Lidge, if they can repeat their 2008 & 2010 success, will be plenty to rely on.
By all accounts, the Yankees and Rangers were stunned Monday, while the Phillies suddenly boast arguably one of the greatest starting rotations in baseball history heading toward the 2011 season.
