The Phillies made a late push and were able to secure Cliff Lee on a five-year contract. A rotation of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt and whoever they start every fifth day after that will be tough to beat, and should be the favorites to win the World Series in 2011. The Phillies made up for their curious decision to trade Lee away when the acquired Halladay last off-season.
The Rangers didn't get Lee, but then again, neither did the Yankees. He was the number one target for both teams going into the off-season, but now they both have to re-group and find different ways to improve their teams for 2011.
I've already seen reports that the Yankees are going to turn their focus to finding relief pitching now, instead of suring up their rotation with one of the lesser names on the market. The Boston Red Sox, having acquired Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford this month, are emerging as the front-runner in the A.L. East going into next year. The Yankees are going to catch all kinds of crap from their fans and media for not being able to get their main target.
I don't think the Rangers will have to deal with that kind of backlash. Heck yeah, it's disappointing that we could not keep him, but the Rangers ownership and front office did everything they possibly could to persuade Lee to re-sign here. Ultimately, it was his decision to go somewhere else.
And while disappointment will be the most prevalent emotion, some might say the Rangers and their fans should be relieved. Relieved, mostly because he did not go to New York, but also because the Rangers did not tie up over $20 million per season for six years to a pitcher who will turn 33 in 2011. He could be great for the next five to seven years, and have a strong late part of his career like Nolan Ryan, Tom Glavine, Randy Johnson, and Jamie Moyer, or he could start to break down like Kevin Brown, Barry Zito, and Mike Hampton did after signing their huge contracts. Time will tell.
The Rangers will get compensation draft picks for losing Lee, since they offered him arbitration. They take over Philadelphia's 2011 first rounder (33rd overall), and get a supplemental pick a handful of slots behind that one.
So what's Plan B for the Rangers? I'll get into that tomorrow. That deserves it's own post, and frankly, I need to rest and research a bit before I can have an informed analysis to share on this blog about the situation.
I'm surprised, but not shocked he did not come back here. I'm sad that we won't get to see an encore of what we had in the playoffs in 2010, with Lee heading our rotation. It would have been great to have him here for a full season to see how good we could have been. The best times might still be just around the corner for the Rangers, but it'll take some re-grouping and maybe a little Jon Daniels magic to field a club that can win the West again next year, let alone make it back to the World Series.
I'll have plenty more tomorrow. Check in sometime after 3PM.
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