Opinion

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. 

In the middle of the night, while many East Coast baseball fans were sleeping, possibly dreaming of the glorious news that the Yankees had finalized a deal to bring Cliff Lee to the Bronx, the unthinkable occurred: somehow, the Yankees didn't get their man.

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.

Cliff Lee agreed with the Philadelphia Phillies Monday night, leaving many people across the country to wake up to a piece of surprising news. Since when did the Yankees not get who they wanted? And when were the Phillies ever in the conversation?

The contract is said to be a five-year deal worth $120 million, $30 million less than he could have gotten from the Yankees. In all likelihood, Lee wanted to go back to a place where he felt like he'd be at home again. 

He wanted to rekindle the magic of his 2009 World Series run.

Zack Greinke trade rumors have kicked up a few notches over the last 12 hours after reports surfaced that prized free agent Cliff Lee signed with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Lee's decision to sign with the Phillies over a larger offer from the New York Yankees and extreme interest from the Texas Rangers all but shocked the baseball world.

Lee joins Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels in what will be perhaps the top starting rotation in all of baseball.

George Steinbrenner was more than a mere baseball mogul. For better or worse, his time at the top of the New York Yankees ladder changed the game forever. During the latter years of the Steinbrenner era, as the landscape became the free market free-for-all Steinbrenner so encouraged during the first two decades of free agency, the Yankees became a symbol, an empire that ruled baseball with an iron (golden) fist.

Late last night, it was reported that the New York Yankees were out of the running to sign free agent pitcher Cliff Lee and that the Philadelphia Phillies were making a late push.

As I fell asleep last night, I couldn't help but wonder about the timing of those two reports. The Yankees were out and the Phillies were suddenly in it? It could only mean one thing:

Free agent pitcher Cliff Lee agreed to a five-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies Monday night, just the most recent example of Major League Baseball being incredibly cruel to New York Mets fans in recent years.

Just when you thought it was safe to say the Atlanta Braves were serious contenders to topple the Philadelphia Phillies from the top of the NL East, the Phillies pull a magic rabbit out of the hat. 

The rabbit in the form of former Texas Ranger ace, Cliff Lee.

Cliff Lee shocked 'em, didn't he?

He left the Texas Rangers scratching their heads.

He left the New York Yankees in a state of offseason panic, wondering what to do now.

He did the unthinkable, the improbable, the unforeseeable.