Kuzul

Well, after a much ballyhooed week of throwing money on the table at Cliff Lee, both the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers ended up coming home empty handed as the Philadelphia Phillies came out of nowhere to win the sweepstakes.

Now, the world seems to have stopped considering the fact that four nine-figure contracts have been doled out so far this offseason, and none of them are being paid for by the Yankees.

Well, all is not lost with New York yet. Sure, they have a rotation that can be considered shaky at best, with a considerable head case in A.J Burnett waiting to give up seven runs in any given inning and Andy Pettite remaining unsigned, but it’s not the end of the world.

The good news is that the failed experiment that was Javier Vazquez’s second stint in the Bronx is over, and Yankee fans will not have to deal with watching him yak away a game in the second inning.

There are still some veritable options out there to fill in for a season or two before either a trade happens or a young guy steps up to fill the role.

So, let’s take a look at the guys still out there who have the ability to step in and be the man somewhere near the back of the rotation for the season.

Begin Slideshow

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:

Cliff Lee was going to leave millions on the table to add his name to a rotation that already includes Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt to form the best rotation in baseball.

And so he did. He turned down an offer which, at one time, was reported at $161 million from the Yankees.

He left as much as $40 million on the table to return to the team which traded him away to the Seattle Mariners just a season ago.

Not only that. But he left two whole years on the table.

The Yankees began with a six-year offer, which they later added a $16 million player option which would have brought the deal to around $148 million, according to an unnamed source (as usual).

So instead of seven-years, $161 million, Lee chose the Phillies’ five-year, $120 million offer which came like a bolt from the blue.

Lee’s agreement with the Phillies is the third-richest contract for a pitcher in baseball, behind the Yankees’ CC Sabathia ( $161 million) and the San Francisco Giants‘ Barry Zito ($126 million).

In July 2009, the Phillies acquired Lee from the Cleveland Indians and he carried them on his back into the World Series, posting a 4-0 record and a 1.56 ERA in the playoffs.

Lee came to love Philadelphia during his time there and when the Phillies traded Lee to the Seattle Mariners last December, after acquiring Roy Halladay from the Toronto Blue Jays, Lee and his wife, Kristen were “heartbroken.”

So how did Lee repay the Phillies’ kindness?

He took a $40 million pay cut and came crawling back.

Trading Lee to Seattle enabled the Phillies to complete their trade for Halladay. Did Lee sacrifice himself to ensure the Phillies obtained Halladay, knowing he’d return once he hit free agency?

Sure, he didn’t know he’d then be traded again, this time to the Texas Rangers, but he knew he’d hit free agency at the end of the season, so whether he was traded or not before that didn’t matter.

Lee could have accepted the Yankees’ offer, like everyone expected from the beginning, and salvaged their starting rotation. He would have slid in right behind fellow lefty CC Sabathia and given the Yankees a tremendous one-two punch.

Or he could have gone back to the Texas Rangers, the second team in two seasons that Lee came to halfway through the season to lead into October. Rangers fans had held out hope for weeks that Lee might return, and were bolstered by the Rangers’ ability to hang in with the Yankees’ offers all offseason.

So after all the wondering; after all the theorizing and praying from Yankees and Rangers fans alike, the Phillies swoop in like a thief in the night with their low-ball offer and steal Lee away.

The Phillies’ GM Rubin Amaro Jr. threw the club’s handbook out the window in order to sign Lee. Previously, the Phillies never went beyond three years with any pitcher. After trading for Halladay, the Phillies signed him to a three-year, $60 million contract.

That wasn’t going to get it done with Lee, so the Phillies pulled out all the stops.

We’ll never know, and it’s probably sour grapes on my part, but was an eventual return to Philadelphia once Lee hit free agency discussed before the Phillies shipped Lee to Seattle?

Outfielder Jayson Werth, one of the fan-favorites on the Phillies, became a free agent this season, and most people expected the Phillies to make a push to resign him. They made him an offer which was considered enough to bring Werth back, but instead he bolted for Washington DC and signed a seven-year, $125 million contract with the Nationals.

Given the reports surrounding another free agent outfielder, Carl Crawford and the type of contract he was looking for, and given Werth’s agent is Scott Boras, the Phillies had to know that a contract of anything less than six-years and $100 million wasn’t going to be enough for Werth.

But they offered less than that.

Did they know Werth wouldn’t take it? Maybe.

But by making an offer they knew Boras and Werth would decline, no one could say they didn’t try to resign him and they could then direct that money towards another free agent, say, Cliff Lee.

A contract of five-years, $120 million for Werth would have raised some eyebrows, but it would have looked realistic in the face of Crawford’s seven-year, $142 million deal with the Boston Red Sox.

Instead, that $120 million sat in their back pocket until the doomsday clock reached five minutes to midnight and they swooped in to sign Cliff Lee and leave the Yankees and Rangers out in the cold.

Some said seven years on a pitcher of Cliff Lee’s age (32) was too long. Well, the Phillies got him for just five years. Some said spending $140-150 million on Lee was too much. Well, the Phillies got him for the basement price of $120 million.

Less years and less money got Lee to Philadelphia. Interesting.

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For weeks, the baseball world has been waiting on the edge of their seats for the decision by Cliff Lee.  The assumption had long been that Lee would milk his free agency for every last dollar, likely spurning the Texas Rangers, who he had helped lead to their for World Series just weeks earlier, for the New York Yankees. 

The Rangers held out hope that they could sway him, not only with comparable dollars but also with the proximity to his Arkansas home.  At the end of the day, both teams have been left with a huge void at the top of their rotations.

Indeed, there was a “mystery” team in the mix as rumors indicated.  Lee apparently enjoyed his brief stay in Philadelphia so much, as well as the allure of pitching in potentially the best rotation in baseball, to spurn both the Yankees and Rangers.  The appeal was so strong that he took less guaranteed money in the process.

The Phillies likely have some creative bookkeeping in their future in order to make things work, if it is trading away Joe Blanton or Raul Ibanez or another move we have not yet heard about. 

Right now, those are worries for another day. 

Instead, Phillie fans rejoice what should have come to fruition 12 months earlier.  They have their dynamic one-two punch of Lee and Roy Halladay atop the rotation, and have added Roy Oswalt in the process to make up for their previous gaffe.  Of course, that doesn’t mention the presence of Cole Hamels to boot.

From a fantasy perspective, this does little to change Lee’s value.  Sure, the move back to the NL may aid his numbers slightly, but we all had a good idea of the performance he was going to put on.  That’s not the story for today.  The impact on the baseball world and what it does to two organizations are much more pressing.

With Andy Pettitte’s future in limbo, the Yankees are left with CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes and a black hole for the final three spots.  Can A.J. Burnett rebound?  Can they really trust Ivan Nova, Sergio Mitre or some other prospect at the backend of the rotation?

The Rangers, meanwhile, have long been a team looking for pitching.  They paid a hefty price in Justin Smoak and other prospects to secure their ace for three brief months.  Were the rewards worth the premium they paid?  They put themselves in position to challenge for a World Series title, so you have to say it was, but that doesn’t bring solace to Ranger fans today.

This isn’t the end of the story.  I wouldn’t expect either team to stop their pursuit of rotation help as they were both clearly willing to pay a hefty sum for an anchor to their pitching staff.  We will hear the ludicrous (Felix Hernandez or Francisco Liriano).  We will hear the more reasonable (Matt Garza or Zack Greinke or Ricky Nolasco).  We will hear about reclamation projects (Brandon Webb).  We will hear about everything in between

Today, however, is not a happy day for Yankee or Ranger fans.  In Philadelphia, things could not look any better.  They are an aging ball club with a small window left for success.  Yes, Lee is a 32-year old pitcher with back problems.  Maybe in three or four years they will regret the contract they just handed out, but in the here and now they can rejoice.  They have positioned themselves for another run at a World Series title and put the rest of the NL on notice.

While the rest of the baseball world struggles with accepting the fallout from this stunning development, the fans in Philly are getting ready to celebrate what many will say is the inevitable.  Luckily, baseball isn’t played on paper, though that certainly is a tough idea to accept.

Make sure to check out Rotoprofessor’s early 2011 rankings:

• Top 15 Catchers
• Top 15 First Basemen
• Top 15 Second Basemen
• Top 15 Third Basemen
• Top 15 Shortstops
• Top 20 Starting Pitchers
• 2011 Fantasy Draft First Round Breakdown

THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO FEATURED ON WWW.ROTOPROFESSOR.COM

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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.

Carlos Beltran was caught looking at strike three in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS with the bases loaded. Then the Mets had back-to-back September collapses. The Phillies went on to win the World Series and faced the Yankees in the World Series the following season. 

Mets fans have spent a lot of time hating the Phillies over the last few seasons, and with good reason. A long dynasty was supposed to start for the Mets in 2006.

That dynasty crashed before it even got off the ground. 

Instead the Phillies have won the division ever since, they’ve won a World Series and returned to the World Series the following season. They have been in the NLCS three years in a row. 

With Cliff Lee joining a Phillies rotation that already features former Cy Young award-winner Roy Halladay, former World Series MVP Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt, the Phillies are becoming a more hated team then the Yankees and are drawing comparisons to the Miami Heat.

But while all of baseball is busy sympathizing with Mets fans, it is no longer possible for the Mets to hate the Phillies.

The Mets and Phillies do not have a storied rivalry. In fact, their rivalry has been very brief and recent. Up until 2006, one of the two teams, if not both, was always terrible. In 2006, the Mets were dominant while the Phillies were becoming good. In 2007, it picked up when the Phillies overtook the Mets for first place in September.

By 2008, every Mets fan hated the Phillies, and vice versa, and the Phillies once again overtook the Mets in September.

But by 2009, the Mets were once again awful. The only people who could believe there is still a rivalry between the two teams are people that are living in the past.

But that’s not a reason why Mets fans can’t hate the Phillies anymore, there is a bigger reason there.

This isn’t a rivalry between two relatively evenly-matched teams with one team just constantly getting the better of the other.

For example, until 2004, whenever the Red Sox were good, they always ran into the Yankees and fell to them. Red Sox fans hated the Yankees, as the Yankees were always in their way, Yankees fans, meanwhile, just laughed at Red Sox fans. 

The difference between the Mets and the Phillies is not on the field, but rather in the management of the clubs. 

In the last few years, the Phillies have built an incredibly strong team. They grew homegrown talent and went out and got the right pieces to complement them. They locked down Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels.

They won the World Series with that team. 

But after they won, they decided they needed to get better—they went out and signed Raul Ibanez. When the trade deadline came, they weren’t afraid of what kind of prospects they needed to give up when they traded for Cliff Lee. The following season, they spent big on Roy Halladay. 

When that didn’t work, they opened the checkbook for Cliff Lee.

Meanwhile, the Mets are constantly passing on making moves at the trade deadline. The Mets are saying they don’t need to bring in free agents, that they are happy with what they have. The Mets are handing massive contracts out to Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez. When the Mets needed pitching, they threw $66 million at outfielder Jason Bay. 

The Mets stayed out of the free agent market after the season. It is no secret that Fred Wilpon, the team’s owner, lost a lot of money in the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme, but Wilpon constantly says the Mets still have money, even though they won’t spend any of it.

Wilpon is simply lying to his fan base to keep up the illusion that the Mets could make a splash every offseason, so fan interest and ticket sales will go up. 

The Mets are tied down by bad contracts to old players. Players that hurt the team just by playing. The team would be much better off losing because they are rebuilding and have young prospects on the field.

Instead, the Mets opt to play these bad players because of their contracts. 

Whether these players remain in the lineup or get released, the Mets would have to pay them. If the Mets were committed to winning, they would pay them to leave and give their young players a shot. 

In Philadelphia, there are no doubts about how committed management is to winning. They will spend the money on players and are not afraid of shipping away prospects if it will give them that piece that will put them over the top. 

The most telling tidbit is this: last season, several free agents turned down the Mets even though the Mets offered the most money. They wanted no part of this organization.

This season, Cliff Lee left $50 million on the table just to return to Philly. 

While there may be a lot of animosity between these two teams and their fan bases, as a Mets fan who roots for a team who’s management is not committed to winning, how could you hate a team who’s management is committed to winning. 

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So, I guess there was a mystery team after all.

Usually when an agent tells everyone there is a “mystery team,” it’s nine times out of 10 just him trying to make agent speak and trying to drum up interest in his client.

It’s like when a girl tells you she is leaving for another guy. You kind of don’t believe it, but in the end, it proves to be true.

Unfortunately for the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers, there was a mystery team involved in the Cliff Lee sweepstakes, and that team was the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Phillies shocked baseball early this morning when they signed Lee to a five-year, $120 million contract. The contract also includes a vesting option for a sixth year.

I am for one, am shocked. I thought if there really was a mystery team, it would have been the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. I thought they might have been desperate enough to outbid everyone.

I am not shocked, however, that Lee spurned the Yankees. I called this back in November in my Free Agent Primer.

Let’s go back to two winters ago and the CC Sabathia negotiations. It seemed Sabathia had very little interest in pitching in New York. By all accounts, he wanted to stay in California. But because he was a free agent in the most depressed baseball market in years, no other team could afford him except for the Yankees.

Even then, Brian Cashman had to fly to California, bid against himself and practically beg Sabathia to come to NY. If any of the California teams were seriously interested in Sabathia at that time, I would bet he would be pitching with those teams instead of the Yankees right now.

My point is, this time around the Yankees had serious competition and the player they were going after had options. The Yankees weren’t the only game in town.

Lee never showed to have much interest in NY and choose the best situation for him and his family. The key word in that last sentence is “choose.”

Unlike Sabathia, Lee didn’t have to sign with the Yankees out of default.

Lee clearly liked his time spent in Philadelphia back in 2009 and now gives the Phillies a rotation for the ages. Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton and Lee is one ridiculous five-man rotation.

The Phillies now have $147 million tied up into 11 players. Look for them to try to trade Blanton or Raul Ibanez to free up some money.

So the question is, which team lost out more on not getting Lee? The Rangers or the Yankees?

I am going to say the Rangers on this one. Despite the fact that Lee wouldn’t have taken up a good chunk of their payroll, he gave them something they haven’t had in years—a true, bona fide, punch-you-in-the-mouth ace.

Lee made the Rangers a World Series contender. He gave them someone that can walk into any stadium and shut another team down.

Now the Rangers have a bunch of No. 2 and 3 starters in their rotation. That might be good enough to win the division, but, as they found out this season, aces win the World Series, not No. 3 starters.

Expect the “Zack Greinke to the Rangers” trade rumors to heat up.

The reason the Yankees don’t hurt as much as the Rangers do in this one is because they still have Sabathia and Phil Hughes. Would Lee have shifted the balance of power back in the Yankees’ favor in the AL East? Yes it would have. But it’s not the end of the world.

Expect the Yankees to bring back Andy Pettitte to fill out the rotation. I don’t expect them to pursue Greinke at all.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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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.

Lee was reportedly close to signing a mega-deal with either the Rangers or New York Yankees for seven years, $138 million. 

Yet, the Phillies—like a thief in the night—came in from nowhere and got Lee for less money and a shorter deal.  It is reported Philadelphia will pay the lefty $120 million over the next five years. 

It is truly highway robbery when you consider the Phils rotation will now consist of Cy Young-winner Roy Halladay, former World Series MVP Cole Hammels, two-time 20-game-winner Roy Oswalt and 2008 AL Cy Young award-winner Cliff Lee.

The Lee signing comes on the heels of Philadelphia losing outfielder Jayson Werth to the Washington Nationals via free agency and the Atlanta Braves, the Phillies’ biggest threat to unseat them from the top of the NL East, traded for All-Star second baseman Dan Uggla to bolster their offense.

It appeared the Braves had gotten much better and the Phillies had gotten worse, until Tuesday morning. 

With the addition of Cliff Lee to Philadelphia’s rotation, it once again makes Philly head and shoulders above anyone in their division, including the Atlanta Braves. 

What does this mean for the Braves? 

It means come September the Braves will once again be looking up at the Phillies trying to run them down in the NL East, and instead will end up with a wild card berth for 2011.

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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.

He left $30 million on the table to go to the City of Brotherly Love, a place that he deemed a good fit for him, a place of comfort, a place where he will make the pitching staff the strongest in all of Major League Baseball.

What a novel idea! Take a lower offer, do what feels good to you.

It may not be that novel, after all, once you reach that $100 million plateau, what’s another $30 million? Makes you think back to Bud Fox asking Gordon Gekko in the original Wall Street movie: “How many yachts can you ski behind, Gordon?”

Yeah, you’d figure a guy who lives in Arkansas can do that. Leave $30 million on the table and prove that you can go home again.

The Yanks and Rangers never saw this one coming.

The Rangers and the Yankees, like two big-stake poker players, were staring at each other across the table. At the last moment, it’s as if James Bond walked into the casino, joined the game at the last moment, then stole the pot, or in this case, stole Cliff Lee.

The Yankees pushed probably $150 million worth of chips into the middle of the table, the Rangers equalled it then raised the ante to $161 million, reportedly.

Little did those two high-rollers realize that Lee would choose the best hand, the team holding three aces—the two Roys—Halladay and Oswalt—and Cole Hamels. Aces high.

Best staff ever in Major League Baseball? You’d be hard-pressed to equal it unless you go back to the Jim Palmer-era Orioles or the Greg Maddux Braves.

These Phillies are now simply loaded for bear and the only downside is that come the eighth or ninth inning, the Phils may have to put the baseball in the hands of a lesser pitcher in a close contest.

Still, you gotta love how miffed Brian Cashman must feel today. And no doubt Nolan Ryan needs some sort of stomach antacid.

The Players Union has to hate this. Signing for less money?  How dare he!

In the end, at the 11th hour, Lee didn’t take what was behind door No. 1 or door No. 2, and to the surprise of just about everyone, he revealed that there was actually a door No. 3.

Shock and awesome, baby.

He took less money and came up with the novel idea that Greed Isn’t Good.

Sorry Gordon.

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MLB Rumors are starting to turn into fact.

Cliff Lee has a familiar new home for the 2011 season (and far beyond).

Where does that leave Zack Greinke, who many would consider the next in line to be shopped to a contender?

But Greinke and Lee aren’t the only ones out there who could be changing addresses.

As free agency continues on there will be much more dealing by general managers desperate to make their team better.

And since things seem to be changing by the minute, we will try to keep you informed of what is taking place out there on this Tuesday morning.

Check out these quick hits.

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Many Phillies fan’s rolled out of bed this morning and had to pinch themselves to make sure they were not dreaming. 

Next, came a glance at the calendar to verify that they had not time travelled to April Fool’s Day. 

And when all that was done, the reality hit like a freight train, only in a good way.  Sleepy eyes widened and fans began to jump for joy! 

Cliff Lee is back!

Phillies fans were treated to the exact same mind-boggling experience last offseason, just without the happy ending. Lee was sent to Seattle to free up prospects and acquire Roy Halladay which was a serious shock. 

It takes a big man to admit he was wrong. Not only has GM Ruben Amaro Jr. done that, he has redeemed himself completely with this signing.

And Cliff Lee has just established himself as almost God-like in the still sleepy eyes of Phillies fans everywhere. Lee accepted less money and fewer years to come back to Philadelphia simply because he loved it here. His wife Kristen loved it here. 

And Philadelphia loved them right back.

The deal is reportedly for five years and $120 million with a vesting option for a 6th year. The Yankees offered six years, $138 million and another option to bring the total to $154 million. 

The Yankees must be equally stunned as the Phillies are with this turn of events. 

A player choosing happiness over money is not something you see every day.

The Yankees fans who probably feel the worst about this news are the ones who harassed and spit on Cliff Lee’s wife Kristen during the ALCS in New York this past October. These fans may be to partly blame for sending the Lee family on this journey back to Philadelphia. 

Phillies fans thank you.

As far as making room for Lee, the Phillies made an exception to their payroll to make the deal happen. It is also rumored that they are shopping pitchers Joe Blanton and Kyle Kendrick plus outfielder Raul Ibanez. 

Whether any teams will bite remains to be seen.

For now, Phillies fans should feel free to celebrate. The Phils now have the best rotation in the majors with Lee, Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt. 

And while no one faults Jayson Werth for taking the money and going to Washington, Cliff Lee will be appreciated that much more in Philly for choosing this team over the money. 

And what an amazing team it is. 

You can all take the masking tape off your HalLEEday tee-shirts now.

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Sports Irreverence and More from The Other Tip of the Goldberg

This will teach me to go to bed early and avoid the news from 9:00 PM on.

Hey, I was spending some quality time with my two year-old son. We can joyously read and play together until midnight, and my boy will still want more Q-time from my wife and me.

But that’s a whole other story; back to the task at hand. Besides, as much as I love him and there’s no close runner-up there, I can only read and play-act The Three Little Pigs and The Big, Bad Wolf so many times.

On the way back from an evening meeting, I heard one of the local (Philly) sports talk radio hosts conjecture that the Phillies might be in the running for Cliff Lee, who pitched so memorably in his very short tenure with Philadelphia in 2009.

But of course, they were just trying to make Phillies Nation feel better after letting Jayson Werth go to the Nationals.

Surely, this was just idle chatter, or was it? No! There is some fire behind this smoke, and the Phillies and GM Ruben Amaro are on fire.

In case you have not heard the news, it has been reported from multiple sources that coveted free agent left-handed pitcher Cliff Lee has signed with the Phillies for five years, with a vesting option for a sixth year.

According to MLB.com, the five-year deal is in the $120 million range.

There has been talk that Lee left some money on the table in spurning longer-term offers with the Yankees and possibly the Rangers, who had him for a few months.

But let’s not laud Lee like he’s giving up huge money to work anonymously in the slums of Calcutta.

Three things here:

He is getting $24 million per year until age 37; so what if he turned down a sixth year for another $18 million or so.

When I leave money on the table, it’s a ratty one-dollar bill  and a couple quarters from my pocket.

I’m not bashing Lee at all; truth be told, I’m a lifelong Phillies fan who was in mourning when “we” let him go last year on the same day that we signed Roy “Doc” Halladay (who incidentally may be the best starting pitcher in the sport).

So, I am receiving this news happi-Lee, ecstatic-Lee, shocking-Lee…but enough of the Lee rejoinders and onto something more important.

THE GREAT ROTATION

In the coming days and weeks (and even now, if not in this very space), there will be a ton of analysis about what this deal means for:

• The Phillies – I guess they are the prohibitive favorites to get to, and win, the Fall Classic next year.
• Ruben Amaro – Can anyone question him now, as he has now signed Lee, Halladay, Oswalt and Lee again in less than two year’s time.
• Philadelphia – Is this convincing proof that big-time athletes do want to play here, and we’re a second class city (perception-wise) no more?
• Joe Blanton – Frankly, who cares?
• The Yankees – I guess that they don’t always get what/who they want.
• The rest of baseball – The Phillies won’t be viewed like the 2010-11 Miami Heat, unless Lee says that “I’m taking my talents to South Philly.” But yes, the rest of baseball’s true contenders must be sweating about how they can try to match up with Halladay, Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels.
• Cole Hamels -“Wait, I’m now the No. 4 starter?”

R2-C2:

Just a few months ago, I proposed the nickname H20 for the Phillies amazing three-headed monster of Halladay, Hamels and Oswalt. 

Roy, Roy And Cole and … Who Takes The Ball: Pondering The Phillies Rotation

I swear on my beloved two year-old’s future that I had never seen or heard that nickname before my column-produced brainstorm, and I’m okay with “H2O” going viral and lots of t-shirts being sold without a nod to my little column on Bleacher Report, or royalties to my son’s college fund.

Well, I’m kind of okay with that, so here goes, and tell me if you heard it here first:

We now need a new nickname for (on paper) the most potent four-man rotation in modern baseball history. They are a rotation of all-world and even inter-galactic proportions and even though I am not a major sci-fi-guy, I am a nickname-meister of sorts.

So, of course, we now have two Roys (or two R’s) and a Cliff and a Cole (or two C’s). The Phillies have now upgraded the powerful H20 to an other-worldly…

                                                      R2-C2

It’s crisp, it’s clean, it’s powerful and let the rest of the baseball world and civilization as we know it deal with it. 

All I know is that Cliff Lee is back in Philly.

Well, I’ll know it when I see the press conference. 

That’ll teach me to stop watching the news at 9 PM.

For more information on Matt Goldberg’s new books, other writings and appearances, please e-mail: matt@tipofthegoldberg.com.

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