Cliff Lee signs with the Phillies

[Jessica]

Hopefully Halladay can get his championship now..

[bobbyfk]

[philswin]

Wow Cliff Lee walked away from a lot of cash he really wanted to go back to the Phillies

[Jonah]

Really? Only five years? How'd they pull that off? Smart to go to the NL as well.

[Tilt360]

Yankee drop the ball again.

[minet123]

Go Phillies

[jayroy25]

100 mill 5 years

[Living The Dream]

He loves philly thats how it happened

Have youe ever been to Philly??? If so then you wouldnt have posted this.. LMAO!!

[RhinoMac23]

This is still not completely broken is it? I looked on the AP site and it is saying "sources say".

[Quagmire27]

yep, and still won't beat the Giants, have fun jerking to that national league east pennant, will be all they get.

[mminkovski]

Do they have salary cap in MLB? Phillies would need to pay a lot of money next season with those pitchers.

[Jive]

I just saw that and yelled at loud "Good grief!" That is one loaded staff.

[jayroy25]

I LOVE HOW HE JUST SMAKD NEW YORK IN THE FACE. ACTUALLY I THINK ITS A BACK HAND

[DeeWizzle]

Thats one sick rotation

[jayroy25]

have youe ever been to philly??? If so then you wouldnt have posted this.. Lmao!!

i live 20 minutes from the bank douche bag. You must be a yankee fan

[RhinoMac23]

Phillies dont win the series this year

[sweethook]

games getting one sided as hell

[SHADYLANKY]

Yeah that is crazy. Especially since none of the talking heads on any of the shows even really gave the Phillies a mention. If they stay healthy that is a loaded staff.

[dynamite140]

This definitely looks like Miami heat.

[Conan]

This is awesome i find joy in all Yankee falures GO SOX!

[jayroy25]

16 players =135 million payed this year in guarenteed payroll

[Ace_of_Spades]

Fuk, the Mets are screwed for years now.

[stealthyburrito]

no one in the nl east even comes close to contending with these guys now.

[KGambler]

Yanks fans and rangers please lets hear ur thoughts

OK. I am a Yankee fan.

I am glad we didn't get Lee. The price was too high. More specifically, the contract length was too long. He's possibly the best pitcher in baseball, but he's not worth it. No one is.

You should dominate the NL. You have awesome starting pitching now. You have the two best pitchers in all of baseball. I am tempted to bet the Phillies +225 to win the NL on Sportsbook just to spite them. I won't because that would be dumb, with the season being so far away, but it would still feel good because I know they will revise that number.

Long term, this is probably bad news for your franchise. These guaranteed 7 year, 9 figure contracts are disastrous almost without exception. You are not the kind of franchise which can absorb such expensive mistakes. In fact, only the Yankees can make these dumb moves and still afford to field a well rounded team. I guess that's why SOP for the Yankees is to sign guys to bad contracts

You need to win the WS within the next two years. The long term future is bleak. Many teams have gone down this road and it doesn't end well. Of course, you happen to have 3 other great starting pitchers to go with him, so this could work out. You just need to win NOW.

Just my opinion...

[jayroy25]

Mission:Here is the 2011 payroll as it stands right now:

Figures in millions

Starting Pitchers (Four guaranteed at at least $43.0 million)
Roy Halladay - 20
Cole Hamels - 9.5
Roy Oswalt - 16.0 (-11.0 from Houston)
Joe Blanton - 8.5

Relievers (Three guaranteed at $18.75 million)
Brad Lidge - 11.5
Ryan Madson - 4.5
Danys Baez - 2.75

Regulars (Seven guaranteed at at least $70.5 million)
Jimmy Rollins - 8.5
Placido Polanco - 5.25 (Could increase by $.500 sign bonus payable b/w Jan. 2011 and Jan. 2012)
Chase Utley - 15
Ryan Howard - 20
Raul Ibanez - 11.5
Shane Victorino - 7.5
Carlos Ruiz - 2.75

Bench (Two guaranteed at $3.1 million)
Ross Gload - 1.6
Brian Schneider - 1.5

TOTAL GUARANTEED: 16 players, at least $135.35 million

Arbitration Elgibles
Kyle Kendrick - 2.0 million (projected)
Ben Francisco - $1.3 million (projected)
Greg Dobbs - Non-tender (projected)

Under Club Control
David Herndon
Domonic Brown
Vance Worley
Antonio Bastardo
Wilson Valdez

Vacancies
-Four relievers (Durbin, Contreras, Romero, Herndon)
-Starting right fielder (Werth)
-Bench Hitter (Dobbs, Sweeney)
-Bench utility player (Wilson Valdez)

[Living The Dream]

i live 20 minutes from the bank douche bag. You must be a yankee fan

You Philly people are so entertaining!! Instead of the "City of Brotherly Love" you should be the "City of Bipolarism"

[philswin]

he took less money and less years to go back to the Phillies. I guess with a select few players it is not all about money. Halladay took a below market extension to go there last year.

[KGambler]

100 mill 5 years

Gotta be 7 years and over 150M

In other word, yet another terrible contract. You only feel the sting of these in years 3-7. OK, sometimes the guy produces for 4-5 years before he's done.

[MendozaLine]

Wow. The rich get richer. How do teams compete with these teams that seem to have endless money?

Barring injuries, Boston is still the team to beat.

[dynamite140]

Oswalt is like Chris Bosh.

[jayroy25]

I love the hatred of you guys i think your all pissed cuz ur met fans

[rake922]

gio gonzalez will find his way to the NYY roster

[Living The Dream]

Maybe he was worried about getting old and not living up to the contract and being torn apart by the NY press...

[Golokhov]

This must be a tough pill to swallow for Texas Rangers fans. Not that anyone really thought Lee would be coming back, but to leave to Philly? For money that Texas could afford? That's a kick in the pants.

[Lint Pockets]

Red Sox vs. Phillies 2011 World Series with Red Sox winning