Did Cliff Lee Punch The Philadelphia Phillies Ticket?

As many of us slept last night, the Philadelphia Phillies were busy putting together one of the greatest starting rotations in baseball history. Yes they have Roy Halladay, and Cole Hamels, and Roy Oswalt, and now, it appears they are bringing back Cliff Lee.

[adinserter block=”2″]It was announced yesterday that the Phillies had jumped back into the Lee sweepstakes which also included the New York Yankees, and the Texas Rangers, which is where Lee finished last season, pitching for them in the World Series. As the night carried on, it was becoming evident that the Yankees had enough of the bartering and the Rangers were just sitting and waiting. The deal is rumored to be around 5 years and 100 million dollars, and is the healing to all of the fans that were hurt by the loss of Jayson Werth.

Cliff Lee pitched with the Phillies in 2009, after coming in a trade with the Cleveland Indians, and his masterful work in the post-season made him a highly coveted pitcher in the league. He has been to 2 straight World Series, and now with the staff here, he will be another huge piece, instead of being leaned on to carry the load. The Phillies seem more than confident that Lee along with the other 3 big starters will be enough to take command of the National League and bring them their 3rd National League pennant in 4 years.

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Not since the days of Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz and Avery in Atlanta have we seen so much fire power from one team. Truly the Phillies are sending the message that pitching beats all, and in the end it is the key to success. However, they also still pack good punch on offense with Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and some good pieces like Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino. Sure, we all know you never crown a champion before the season, but this makes LeBron James going to Miami look like just any old signing. Forget the big 3, the Phils have now locked down the Fab 4, and with Joe Blanton as the number 5 (as of now) there is not a huge drop off there either.

[adinserter block=”1″]It is expected that the Phillies may still try and move Joe Blanton to free up some money, but if not they will still have a very formidable pitcher to send out on the 5th day. The bullpen could still use some work, but maybe the philosophy is that they will be more than set now. Suddenly the Phillies look a lot like the Red Sox and the Yankees, laying out huge bucks to get what they want. For years a city known as under-achieving has to be thrilled about the new wave.

Now I won’t bore you with all the stats of all these guys, but I can promise you that we are looking at 4 of the top 10 pitchers in baseball right now, all on the same team. The “pin-stripes” that were known as the Yankees signature now has a competitor. The Phillies red and whites now mean a whole lot to baseball. Being a born and raised Philly guy, I am as happy as I can possibly be, and think this is an unbelievable move. How it will play out remains to be seen, but for the “City Of Brotherly Love” Christmas has come a little bit early.

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