What the Phils are getting in Lee is a 22-game winning, AL Cy Young winner from last year. This year he is 7-9 with a 3.14 ERA in Cleveland. His ERA clearly indicates that he was a very good pitcher on a very bad team. I think Lee will be a huge boost to the Phils rotation and I'm thrilled with the deal. We traded none of our top 4 prospects (Jason Knapp was definitely the highest rated prospect -- a low A-ball 18 year old who throws in the upper 90s) AND we landed a legitimate #1 pitcher to our rotation. Also, Ben Francisco (a name the Phils fans will have a blast with) gives us the right-handed bat we need off the bench.
The Phils didn't need a great pitcher, they needed a good pitcher to keep them in games. If their staff can keep it close, I fully trust our explosive line-up will continue to win games for us. Cliff Lee happens to be a very good pitcher who will not only keep us in games, but will win them. The million dollar question is whether our bullpen can be as effective as they were last season. That's a whole nother' blog for another day.
Under a heavy heart the Eagles began training camp on Thursday. The good news - football has begun. The bad news - so have the injuries. Asante Samuel, Shaun Andrews, Kevin Curtis and Jason Peters are all hurt. I don't get too worked up about training camp bumps and bruises, but the offensive line needs reps to work on their continuity. I'm hoping Andrews balky back won't continue to be an issue during the season, but I have a feeling it will. Jon Runyan anyone?
The Flyers signed "tough guy" Ole-Kristian Tollefson. Forgive me if you don't see me jumping up and down about a guy who has missed 57% of his games over the last two years. Isn't the term injury-proned tough guy an oxymoron?
The injustice regarding MLB's steroid "list" is disheartening. These players signed a confidentiality agreement stating that their names would remain anonymous. Now, about five names have been leaked from the 103 that tested positive -- including the Roid Sox own David Ortiz & Manny Ramirez. First off, those names should absolutely remain confidential, if that was the agreement. Secondly, how do you release only five of the names? Thirdly, steroids, though illegal, were not listed as banned substances by baseball. Amazing how baseball continues to suffer through the steroid era and simultaneously shoot themselves in the foot (Hey, Plaxico). Maybe they should just have the Roid Wing in the Hall of Fame and be done with it.
In Other News:
- I heard a commercial that the "Most Interesting Man in the World" had been pronounced dead seven times -- I couldn't stop laughing.
- Nice to hear the Atlanta Police Department tried to use their stats to show that violent crime is down in Atlanta. Despite these numbers they still added 139 cops to the force. Maybe the Mayor/Police Chief could better allocate the four cops that sit on E.Roxborough road every morning catching those hideous speeders in the highlands
- The more Joe Jackson opens his yapper, the worse I feel for MJ
- Anyone wanna bet Brett Favre will be on an NFL roster by October?
- Dear Southwest, please come to Atlanta
- My fiance just informed me that the Phils not only traded for Cliff Lee, but that Cy Young was included in the deal. Sweet!
- To anyone who thinks legendary comic Andrew DICE Clay is dead, absolutely MUST watch this clip. This is one of the funniest things I've EVER seen.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M9C6a1K0nI
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