Baseball's LeBron "takes his talents to Philadelphia"...

This is definitely one of the more sad days of the year, by far. SP Cliff Lee shocked the baseball world last night by signing with his former team, the Philadelphia Phillies. This was an outrage to both the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers, as they were both bidding for Lee's services. The deal offered by Philadelphia is a 5-year deal worth 120 million dollars, with a 6th year player option worth as much as 27.5 million dollars based on performance incentives. The people even more upset were the fans of the Yankees and Rangers, as they lost the opportunity to watch one of the best pitchers in the game pitch for their respective team 30+ times per season.

Now it definitely comes to a surprise to all baseball fans that Lee signed with Philadelphia, but how much does it matter? Well, if you wondered why... IT DEFINITELY MATTERS! The Phillies are now led by a starting rotation of Roy Halladay(perennial All-Star), Cliff Lee(perennial All-Star), Roy Oswalt(perennial All-Star on the right team), and Cole Hamels(would be a #2 starter on any other team). Between the 4, they share a total salary of 70 million dollars alone. Then the Phillies have to pay for the other 26 players on their roster. The Phillies are now one of the top 3 teams among team salary per season. The other 2 being the Yankees and Mets.

Living in New York and being Yankee fans ourselves, both I(The Foz) and Ocho Cinco have been hearing it from all the Met fans out there, laughing at how the Yankees couldn't come up with Lee. There's a problem with their taunting... THE PHILLIES ARE IN THE METS' DIVISION, THE NL EAST. If anything, that's worse for all the NL teams out there, rather than the AL teams. Only a handful of AL teams will have the "luxury" of facing Lee and the star-studded Phillies. The siging of Lee affects the Mets and all the other NL East teams more, for they each play the Phillies 15-18 games per season.

Cliff Lee with Texas

Many have questioned the importance and severity of the Cliff Lee Sweepstakes, since it was heralded more than the CC Sabathia Sweepstakes, or even the Roy Halladay Sweepstakes. Well, a large reason of his importance is due to his postseason career. Lee, who has only pitched in the postseason the past 2 years of his career, and through 10 games, has pitched his way to 7 wins, a 2.13 ERA, a 0.82 WHIP, and 80 strikeouts in 76 innings, including 3 complete games pitched. He has dominated teams the past 2 years in the postseason, receiving consideration, along with former SP Curt Schilling, as the greatest postseason pitcher of all time. Lee has shown complete dominance, and leading up to the World Series in October(he pitched for the Rangers at the time), he was 7-0. The San Francisco Giants out a "giant" blemish on Lee's postseason numbers, as they clobbered him for 10 runs over 2 starts(both being losses). Previous to Lee's 2 starts vs the Giants, he posted a 1.23 ERA in 8 starts. His ERA inflated by almost a whole point. However, Lee hasn't just been dominant after September. Lee's success officially began in 2008, his breakthrough Cy Young award winning campaign. Lee went an astonishing 22-3 that year, and threw for 170 strikeouts and a 2.54 ERA. In 2009, he had a sub-par half-a-season, as he ended his stint with the Cleveland Indians and was traded to the Phillies. He then led the Phillies to the World Series but lost to the Yankees. This past season, Lee, even though he missed the first month and a half of the season, recorded 12 wins and 185 strikeouts, and led the MLB in WHIP(walks and hits per inning). Lee's biggest feat was his ratio of strikeouts-to-walks. Lee threw for 185 K, but only threw an astounding 18 walks, a 10.3 to 1 ratio.

Since people are puzzled on exactly how Lee signed with the Phillies, I'll tell you...
    Well, yesterday afternoon, Lee told agent Derek Braunecker to inform the Texas Rangers and GM Jon Daniels that Lee would be signing with the Rangers. Braunecker and team president Nolan Ryan later on phone called the New York Yankees and Yankees GM Brian Cashman that Lee had made a verbal agreement to sign with the Rangers. The deal was a 6-year deal worth up to 140 million dollars. Then, last night came along, and in the black of the night, a phone call was made to Ryan by Phillies GM Ruben Amaro that THEY had signed Lee to a 5-year, 120 million dollar deal. The Rangers were outraged, and confronted Braunecker. Braunecker confessed to back-stabbing Lee and so-fort, Lee verbally committed to an agreement to become a Philly.

Here are some possible motifs to why Cliff Lee signed with Philadelphia:
1. Salary per season- The Phillies offered the most salary per season, but only by a million dollars or so. This seems unlikely, because they didn't offer as many years as the Yankees or Rangers did.

2. He simply hated the Yankees, and loved his time with Philadelphia more than he did with Texas. He did reach the post-season with both clubs, but seemed to enjoy the atmosphere of Philadelphia a bit more.

3. The Phillies have a better team, as well as a better pitching staff than the Rangers. The Phillies are loaded with talent, more than the Rangers.

4. Mrs. Lee... If you don't quite remember, Lee's wife was spit on and booed during the ALCS between the Yankees and Rangers in Yankee Stadium. She may have played a role on Cliff's decision

5. Last, but not least, and probably the REAL deciding factor... competition. If Lee were to sign with either the Yankees or Rangers, his team would have to deal with the other team, as well as the Red Sox, Rays, White Sox, Twins, and Angels, all teams being considered contenders. Lee formed a monopoly in the NL with the Phillies, just like LeBron pulled one with the Miami Heat. Lee is now surrounded by 3 other All-Star calibur pitchers, as well as one of the best infields, if not the best infield, in all of baseball. There seems to be no true team able to match Philadelphia's power. The NL looks weak this season. The only true team able to contest against the Phillies will be the Atlanta Braves, whom reside within the same division as the Phillies. Even with the Braves' powerful line-up thanks to the acquisition of 2B Dan Uggla, the Braves don't nearly have enough pitching to out-perform that of the Phillies' rotation.

All in all, in conclusion, or whatever you want to fill in the blank with, this is not a good day for baseball, just like July 9th was a terrible day for basketball. A monopily has formed in the NL, and it seems that no one will be able to stop Lee and the Phillies, that is, until they possibly reach the World Series.