Cliff Lee

Every MLB season, the All-Star break is viewed as the halfway point of the 162 games season. Even with still a lot of baseball to play, this is the time when a team’s reputation and attitude have been backed by enough play on the field.

At this point, there are the obvious observations that only a miracle could change, but there are many more what if’s than anything.

Courtesy of Yankees 'n More

Texas Rangers' CEO Chuck Greenberg is trying his best to create some sort of rivalry with the New York Yankees, no doubt hoping to coattail his Rangers away from their insignificant perch upon the MLB landscape.

The only big difference between these two starting pitchers is their throwing arm.

They each throw four plus pitches, all for strikes and on both sides of the plate; two-seam fastball, cutter, curveball, sinker and changeup.

Philosophically, they both approach pitching the same way. 

They don't get flustered, and they want the ball.

So, I had to pick someone, and I'd rather take Halladay.

Here's ten reasons why.....

The Philadelphia Phillies have re-raised the bar for their own expectations in the coming 2011 season.  As if expectations hadn't already been sky high over the past few years, 2011 may be the most hyped season in team history.  

The topic of trades has been a hot debate in Philadelphia Phillies fan circles, ever since the Phillies traded Cliff Lee away to the Seattle Mariners for Philippe Aumont, Tyson Gillies and J.C. Ramirez. 

But, the Cliff Lee trade a year later may turn out to be one of the more underrated deals in Philadelphia Phillies history.  The challenges of a general manager are many, and may not be the very obvious things that a fan wants to see or hear. 

But in the end, the success of the general manager depends on how the trade has worked out long term. 

If you're unfamiliar with the Philadelphia Phillies 2011 pitching rotation, then chances are you've been living under a rock.

This off season the Phillies made one of the highest profile signings of the year. In December, Cliff Lee signed a $120 million contract to rejoin the team that he unwillingly left a few years earlier.

Pitching is a vital part of the game, and with the Phillies rotation we are expecting a few World Series championships.

With Cliff Lee going along with Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels, we are all expecting the greatest starting rotation of the decade, or even of our lives!

The Phillies free-agent signing of starting pitcher Cliff Lee sent shockwaves throughout the country.  Lee was supposed to bolt to the Yankees or stay with the Rangers.  In the biggest swerve of the offseason, Lee decided to return to the City of Brotherly Love.

Philadelphia already had the Big Three of Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt.  Now it's the Big Four, or whatever moniker you desire, with the addition of Lee. 

It’s hard to believe, with all the snow we’ve gotten here in the Northeast, that spring training is just a few weeks away. As a fan of the New York Yankees, this hasn’t been the best of offseasons, so I would like nothing more than to fast forward to mid-February to see how the team is going to answer all of the questions that haunt them right now.

Spring Training will be here sooner than we think. The Phillies come into the 2011 season with some lofty expectations for themselves. They have mustered up one of the best rotations in the history of baseball with the surprising signing of former Phillie Cliff Lee.

Along with the rotation, the Phillies offense looks to get back on track after having a down year for what they've come to expect over the past few seasons. They still have the core group of players on the team, but they are all aging.