Cliff Lee agrees to deal with Phillies

[PrinceFielderx1]

dlk9s,

 

I think both Garza and Greinke will cost the same in terms of prospects. I'd rather have Greinke especially if an extension is possible. Greinke would be a bigger statement to Brewers fans in general.

[owbc]

This is a big victory for MLB. The Yankees have come to expect that they can have all of the top free agents, so it's nice to finally have a free agent go elsewhere. For all the terrible luck that the Phillies' franchise has experienced, they are now set to become the Yankees of the NL. With years of sellouts and high revenue in their future, there is no reason why the Phillies will not continue to win the NL East and acquire high priced talent. They will continue to win the AL East the majority of the time unless there is a change in baseball's economic system.

 

The Rangers are unfortunately in the same situation as the 2008 Brewers, with all the momentum from their playoff run slipping away and a season of underachieving in their future.

[pingman]

Well, this sucks for the Braves, Marlins, Nationals, and Mets far more

than it does for the Brewers. Everybody in the NL has to play these

guys 6+ times, so it really shouldn't hurt their playoff chances.

Bingo!

 

As a Braves fan this especially sucks because of Bud-Lite's brainchild called the unbalanced schedule....not only do the Braves have to face Philly 18 times BUT they also face the Red Sox 6 times in intra-league games (as a designated rival) ....makes it an uphill battle even for the wildcard

 

How would you like that schedule for a team with an payroll budget of only $85 million?

[hawing]

That's the annoying thing about the MLB. The problem is we have all this "parity" the pundits will say in the champions because teams have capitalized on their one or two magical runs.

That was the only thing I didn't like about the 2010 World Series - it provided too good an argument for the status quo, because see? Texas made it! The Giants made it! Anything can happen!

 

Like others, I find it refreshing that a player considered something other than the top dollar. Still, although success is never guaranteed, I wouldn't want to be a fan of another NL East team right now.

[dlk9s]

People are forgetting cost of living differences. Staying simple and going on the assumption that he lives in Philly and would have lived in NY, he could "afford" to make less money in Philly. Online cost of living calculators have him needing anywhere between $170 and $200 million in NY to equal his $120 million in Philly.

[Invader3K]

I don't know if he's going to move his family permanently from Arkansas (where they live now). A lot of guys just get a condo or something in the city they play in.

[BritInWI]

It's great reading the Yankees fan boards. They just can't believe it. Mostly calling it "shady" that he signed with the team that traded him for $50-61 million less. Some even calling for the MLBPA to get involved with him accepting such a lesser offer. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/laugh.gif

Doesn't anyone else remember when C.C. was a free agent and the last two teams standing were the Yankees and the Brewers?

 

The "expert analysts" at ESPN were discounting the Brewers long before he actually signed for the Yankees because the "players union wouldn't allow him to leave that much money on the table" - as if they had the power to prevent him from taking whichever deal he preferred. Where are those "experts" now? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/laugh.gif

[Hate those Rodents]

It's great reading the Yankees fan boards. They just can't believe it. Mostly calling it "shady" that he signed with the team that traded him for $50-61 million less. Some even calling for the MLBPA to get involved with him accepting such a lesser offer. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/laugh.gif

Doesn't anyone else remember when C.C. was a free agent and the last two teams standing were the Yankees and the Brewers?

 

The "expert analysts" at ESPN were discounting the Brewers long before he actually signed for the Yankees because the "players union wouldn't allow him to leave that much money on the table" - as if they had the power to prevent him from taking whichever deal he preferred. Where are those "experts" now? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/laugh.gif

 

I believe one of the two LA teams basically matched our offer, and I am not sure it ever got out whether he'd prefer LA to Milwaukee. But I am guessing he'd have preferred LA.

[homer]

This is bad for the Brewers. Good for people that hate the Yankees I suppose.

[dlk9s]

I don't know if he's going to move his family permanently from Arkansas (where they live now). A lot of guys just get a condo or something in the city they play in.

Right. I figured that could be the case. Like I said, I was just using some simple assumptions in my little exercise.

[owbc]

I can't see how this is bad for the Brewers when it knocks down 1/3 of our Wild Card competition. It maybe changes the odds of the Brewers beating the Phillies in the postseason from 10% to 5%.

[TooLiveBrew]

I don't know if the Brewers will ever be in a Sabathia-type situation again, but if they are, maybe this opens the door to keeping a guy who was all but gone.

 

Prince Fielder...if you're out to get the biggest deal possible, no one can fault you for that...but guess what...you're in a unique profession...you don't HAVE TO.

 

Imo the only thing this deal represents is Cliff Lee. Any player out there already knew he didn't have to take the biggest deal available. The Cliff Lees of the MLB world are rare, but like dlk9s points out (nice catch), cost of living & the intangibles factor in as well.

 

I think if Fielder wasn't out after the absolute biggest contract he could get, he would've signed an extension already. The Brewers have offered him a ton of money on more than one occasion.

[Oldcity]

Yeah... Lee really didn't give up all *that* much with all things considered. Certainly not 50 or 60 million.

[homer]

I can't see how this is bad for the Brewers when it knocks down 1/3 of our Wild Card competition. It maybe changes the odds of the Brewers beating the Phillies in the postseason from 10% to 5%.

I suppose but I would really like to win a World Series at some point in my lifetime.

[Invader3K]

I suppose but I would really like to win a World Series at some point in my lifetime.

I'm only 30, but I've pretty much accepted that I'll probably never see the Brewers win the World Series in my lifetime. The odds seem so remote as to not be worth thinking about.

[seattlebrew]

Doesn't the MLBPA put pressure on free agents to take the largest offer available? I thought this was part of the decision that CC made. Seems like he used this excuse to get out of milwaukee.

[Invader3K]

Doesn't the MLBPA put pressure on free agents to take the largest offer available? I thought this was part of the decision that CC made. Seems like he used this excuse to get out of milwaukee.

I think Sabathia was just looking for the most money possible. The "union pressure" thing is a convenient excuse. Guys can sign where they want. The union can't force someone to work somewhere they don't want to.

 

 

[burnzy24]

It seems that the Yankees were plan C for Lee. According to the Rangers Lee would have signed with them if they offered seven years guaranteed. Their final offer was 6 years and $138 million with a 7th year vesting option. This had to be a difficult decision for the Rangers to make.

[trwi7]

Mike Francesa is appointment viewing/listening today. I can't wait to hear him on the Yankee failure and how this wouldn't have happened if George were still around. He'll tie this in with the Jeter insult and how they're printing money with the YES contract and the $2000 seats at the new stadium.

I don't know how anyone can listen to that guy for more than a minute.

[trwi7]

not only do the Braves have to face Philly 18 times BUT they also face the Red Sox 6 times in intra-league games (as a designated rival) ....makes it an uphill battle even for the wildcard

 

How would you like that schedule for a team with an payroll budget of only $85 million?

You probably shouldn't complain about schedules this year. The Brewers have 18 games against the Cardinals, 16 against the Reds with 9 on the road and only 15 against the Pirates and Astros. We also only have 5 against the Padres but 6 against the Giants, 6 against the Dodgers and 9 against the Rockies. We also have 7 against the Phillies, 8 against the Braves and 7 against the Marlins and only 6 against the two worst teams in the NL East.

 

Plus, our interleague schedule is easily the hardest in the league. vs, Minnesota, vs Tampa Bay, @ Minnesota, @ Boston, @ New York.

 

It's also not really fair for us how the Twins are our designated rival while the Cardinals get the Royals and the Reds get the Indians. So don't cry to us about that either. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Warning Track Power]

Haha! Listening to ESPN New York 1050 and the Michael Kay Show (Yankees YES Announcer) and you should hear all these guys thinking that all of a sudden the Mariners are going to trade them King Felix for a bucket of balls. Phil Hughes and Montero are untouchable, but a package headlined by some mediocre A ball players will do it. I hope we aren't so blinded by our own prospects and MLB players.

[Invader3K]

Yeah, usually when the Yankees or Red Sox lose or miss out on a free agent (not that this happens often), their fans and supporting media start to think the rest of the league is their AAAA system.

[JimH5]

Mike Francesa is appointment viewing/listening today. I can't wait to hear him on the Yankee failure and how this wouldn't have happened if George were still around. He'll tie this in with the Jeter insult and how they're printing money with the YES contract and the $2000 seats at the new stadium.

I don't know how anyone can listen to that guy for more than a minute.

He's awesomely entertaining when this kind of stuff happens. Sadly, Francesa is off today, so we didn't get the great rant that I was hoping for.

 

He is definitely a pompous know-it-all, but when things don't go the Yankees' way, and when he thinks there was something they could have done to prevent it, he rips them up and down.

 

I love how he's so lacking in self-awareness that he continues to mispronounce Roy Oswalt's last name. He is the only one in the world who thinks it sounds like "Ahswalt".

 

Get past the frustrating anger part of listening to the show and settle in for some blustering, entitled Yankee talk. It's great humor.

 

Some of the best stuff is when he gets Brian Cashman on for some of Cashman's cliche-laden Yankee corporate speak, where he talks about players as inventory. That's awesome.

[Invader3K]

I enjoyed hearing Brian Cashman somewhat sputtering in a sound bite today. "Plan B is Patience", he said.

[joepepsi]

It may be bad for the Brewers, but Lee choosing Philly over the Yankees is so satisfying as a baseball fan, after the obnoxious Media and Yankee fan blabbering about "future Yankee Cliff Lee" all during the playoffs. It was disrespectful to him and his team.