NL East

Philadelphia has just acquired another ace in Cliff Lee. The lefty has arguably been one of the best postseason pitchers of all time. Lee will be joining a rotation that already consists of Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels. 

While we were all waiting to see if Cliff Lee would choose to be in Texas or the Bronx in 2011, he went out and LeBron-d us.

Lee will be taking his talents to the city of brotherly love and join Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, and Roy Oswalt to create one of the, if not the, greatest starting rotations that the world has ever seen.

The Cliff Lee signing has put together one of the greatest pitching staffs in recent memory.

Isn't it ironic that both Cliff Lee and LeBron James got their careers started in Cleveland?

Isn't it also ironic that both men are considered to be at the top of their respective sports in terms of talent and ability, and left via free agency to join teams that have a wealth of top tier talent?

Let's just tap the breaks on that last part for a minute.

I certainly didn’t see this coming.

There was no way that the Phillies could sign Cliff Lee.  While a lot of Phillies fans may have had it in the back of their minds as a wonderful fantasy scenario, most of us were sure that it wasn’t going to happen. 

Cliff Lee just shocked the baseball world by going back to the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Texas Rangers and New York Yankees were widely thought to have been the front-runners for his services, but they're now left in the dark after his signing.

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There are many glum faces along the National League East corridor this morning.

The best starting rotation in the league just became the best in all of baseball, perhaps the best in the last half-decade or so.

Suddenly, moves made by the other four teams—the Braves, Marlins, Mets and Nationals—seem to have gone for naught. Instead of being just a few games better than the other contenders, the Philadelphia Phillies are in a division all their own.

And the cackling can be heard straight down I-95.

Joe Blanton might be the only member of the Philadelphia Phillies who wasn't ecstatic to hear that the team signed free agent ace Cliff Lee.

Lee's addition now gives the team two Cy Young winners, a former World Series MVP, and Roy Oswalt. Because he now seems expendable, some reports have Blanton being shipped to the Boston Red Sox.

Cliff Lee Phillies marriage has Boston Red Sox fans giddy this Tuesday morning.

Obviously, the Yankees losing out on a front line starter is a big deal: anytime the Yankees lose anything Red Sox fans have to be happy.

But because the club's biggest offseason acquisitions (outfielder Carl Crawford and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez) were both left handed bats, the Yankees missed out on having a great response to their AL East rival.

Cliff Lee Phillies news is sweeping the nation today and there will likely be many more dominoes to fall.

Although the rest of the NL has to be distraught over the move, teams like the Cubs, Rockies, and World Champion San Francisco Giants, the NL East will suffer the most.

And while the Marlins and Mets could be a factor next summer, it's the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals that are most impacted by the Lee deal.