The Glade 4.0

Phillies sign Cliff Lee for 5 years/120ish million with an easy to reach 6th year option.......or so I've heard thus far......

So now, they have Halladay, Lee, Hammels, Oswalt, Blanton as their current rotation.
Rougly 77 million dollar rotation at this point.

Damn, does someone in philly have compromising pics of Cliff Lee?

He just left two guaranteed years and somewhere between 20 and 50 meeeeelyon dollars on the table in NY and Texas, to go back to the team that dumped him off on the Mariners after they signed Roy Halladay last year.

Go figure....

Anyway, gratz Phillies on the deal of the century. I'm just glad he's not in the AL anymore, although the Phillies do play a three game series at Safeco next year. Oh well... That's just one loss of the hundred or so I expect the Mariners to have next season. =)

Cliff Lee went back to Philadelphia for the same reason Halladay took a pay cut to go there ...

They wanted World Series Rings.

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Heard this on the radio first thing this morning. Suffice it to say that I am pleased.

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This must be Thursday. I could never get the hang of Thursdays.

Word is Blanton is being shopped, and won't be around as part of the ortation this year.

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Ezekiel 23:19-20 

I f'in' hate the frellin' Phillies. They can go die in a fire, preferably a balefire spawned by some twisted demon summoned by the necromantic rituals of the Phillies' owners and Cliff Lee. Alternatively, they could just cease to exist.

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Please no injuries or really bad off-years to screw this up! Baseball... sports in general, in fact, are so much more interesting when there is a truly outstanding force put on the field! Keep it healthy and within a reasonable area of where these 4 pitchers should be and this will be one historical rotation indeed.

Braves fans of all people should be aware of this...

We shall not hold the tandem of Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine over people's heads. We shall not mention that the trio of Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz were nigh unbeatable for the better part of a decade. Nor, for that matter, shall we mention a 5 pitcher rotation that had competent 4th and 5th guys and a pitching stable with the best bullpen in the league for 13 years. These things are not to be mentioned or commented upon to Braves fans.

The Phillies can die in a fire.

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Wow, even without Blanton they will be at 165 million for 17 signed players.

Gonna have to go cheap on the other 8 spots to avoid luxury taxes.

I suspect they will be trading some of their heavy contracts to dump some of that salary. Ibanez name has come up, as have some of the others...

Hey, maybe the Dodgers can pick up some rejects. Ibanez would look good in the outfield, although he's not one of my favorite Phillies. I would take the Flyin' Hawaiian, but I think most of the rest of the Dodgers fan base would freak out.

But, wow, that's some rotation.

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This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Is Ibanez worth $10mil a year? Thats what his contract will cost you. Aren't the Dodgers pinching pennies because of ownership issues?

The problem the phillies will have getting rid of him, is that they overpaid him when they signed him. He's an aging, injury prone outfielder who is probably better suited for a DH role.

My boss lives next door to Cliff, really nice down-to-earth guy. We miss the hell out of him here in Cleveland but I hope he gets his ring.

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Thank you Cliff Lee and the Phillies. I love the fact that Cliff Lee just rejected the Yankees even though they offered him the most money for the most years. It was a beautiful thing. Unfortunately for you Philly fans, the Red Sox are going to win the World Series this year. But thanks for taking Cliff Lee away from the Yankees.

Yeah, they couldn't, or wouldn't, afford $10 million. Payroll is about $110 mil right now, so there's probably not much room for wiggle. But, hey, they can sign a bunch of mediocre guys for $1 or $2 million pop, maybe that will save us.

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This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

The one thing holding back the Dodgers is pitching. They have a good core of position players IIRC. And since you can't really create starting pitching depth from FA signings these days, the best bet is to bolster their pen, which is possible via small signings. And the Giants rotation isn't going to be dominate year to year (it hardly ever is because of wear and tear, ups and downs). So, the Dodgers are likely to be in a much better place this year compared to last year.

Owners are getting the divorce stuff settled, so money won't be as tight or shouldn't be as tight with the uncertainty issue. New manager in Mattingly who should give a boost (love Torre, but he got old quick).

Not saying the Dodgers will make the playoffs, but they should be competitive. I think they will vie for a WC spot.

That's a nice vote of confidence. But, actually, the one thing that saved the Dodgers last season was ... pitching. Kershaw, Billingsley, and even Kuroda were pretty solid. Padilla did well, too, when he was one. You could argue that they've done a good job picking up Garland and signing Lilly, giving them at least a semblance of a starting 5. Padilla re-signed, will be the swingman for the year, most likely.

No, what's holding them back is the lack of a known-quantity, feared run-producer in the middle of the lineup. Kemp or Ethier could be that guy, but they're just reaching that level, if they get back to the form they showed in 2009. But there's a gaping hole in left field, and no good prospect of filling it. Looking more and more like it will be Scott Podsednik (again), giving the Dodgers two (count 'em, two!) leadoff-type guys (with Furcal). I don't know if Mattingly is going to be good at managing that style of ball.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Yay Phills. FU Khross.

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"...but there exists also in the human heart a depraved taste for equality, which impels the weak to attempt to lower the powerful to their own level and reduces men to prefer equality in slavery to inequality with freedom." - De Tocqueville

Oh I get it. Very interesting.

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I'll show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.