Cliff Lee

Zack Greinke is finally on the move. The Kansas City Royals ace was traded today to the Milwaukee Brewers for a collection of top prospects, including shortstop Alcides Escobar, center fielder Lorenzo Cain and pitchers Jeffrey Jeffress and Jake Odorizzi. The Brewers will also receive shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt and $2 million in cash.

He who hesitates is lost. Or, in my experience, he who sleeps in misses the bus.

The Yankees were looking good. The assumed front-runners to nab Cliff Lee, the Yankees somehow lost him to a late arrival to the party, the Philadelphia Phillies. Apparently, Lee decided on Philly because of the "fans and a great atmosphere" and also hinted that it may have been what his wife wanted.

So wait. What just happened?

In the span of two weeks, the New York Yankees, my Yankees, the team that can buy any player it wants, just saw two All-Stars go to their biggest rival. Then, on Monday, we saw Cliff Lee, the guy we have been courting like a Shakespearian character for two years, settle for less money with the Philadelphia Phillies.

I am still confused, still wandering aimlessly around my house. How did this happen?

Gonzalez & Crawford

Calm down.

...Relax

...Take a deep breath

Are we good?  Great.

Now, for all you Yankees fans and Yankees haters out there, I just want to let you know your worst fears or best hopes will not come to fruition.  The Yankees will be fine.  Yes, I took the plunge; the Yankees will be fine.*

(*Do I have a crystal ball you ask? No, but do you?)

December 15th is a historical date.  In 1794, the United States Bill of Rights became law.  In 1933, the 21st Amendment went into effect, legalizing alcohol.  Russians landed on Venus in 1970. And now, in the year 2010, Cliff Lee re-signed with the Philadelphia Phillies.

The signing will obviously not impact our society in such way as the Bill of Rights or the 21st Amendment once did.  And it is doubtful that December 15th will be named a national holiday.  However, this is still a historic occasion for the City of Philadelphia.

On Monday night, Cliff Lee shocked the baseball world when he signed a five-year, $132 million dollar contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.  Interest in Lee’s 2011 destination began as soon as he threw his final pitch to the Giants in the World Series, and all signs pointed to New York. 

When the Phillies announced Monday that Lee would become a member of their already elite pitching staff, baseball fans around the country wasted no time in dubbing this fearsome four the best staff in baseball—and possibly, of all time.

I’ll be honest. I don’t watch postseason trades. I find them as futile as foreplay after forty or light beer chasers. But when I read that the phenomenal uniform philler-outer, Jayson Werth, had been signed by a division rival, I burned my bra in defiance.

Then I just had to buy a new one. That’s when I made an important discovery:

Not everything expands when it’s cold.

In this era of disclaimers, stipulations, and legal litigation, let me make one thing vividly clear:

Come on everybody let's sing! "It's the most wonderful time of the year, duh, duh, duh duh duh duh, blah, blah blah blah blah blah, it's the most wonderful time of the year ."

That is, except for the obscenely manic, your compulsive over eaters, and New York Yankee fans already fretting over the state of their team and the very recently improved roster of their hated rival, the Boston Red Sox.  

Philadelphia Phillies fans were devastated when they heard the news, especially the fact that it was so sudden.

It can also be said that it was shocking to see our everyday right fielder, Jayson Werth, be traded to a team within our own division.

Well, like normal, Philadelphia fans panicked immediately, just like every time when something like this happens.

It's hard to admit, but as a Phillies fan myself, it's true.

But let me be the first to tell you that there isn't too much to worry about.

The surprising decision of Cliff Lee signing with the Phillies ultimately had a major impact on our early starting pitcher rankings.  He always was going to be considered one of the better options in the league for 2011, but now he appears to be a borderline Top 5 option.  Let’s see where he ultimately falls, as well as all the rest in our updated rankings.