Cliff Lee
Welcome Home

One year ago this very week, Phillies General Manager thanked one of the finest pitchers ever to wear red pinstripes by trading him. This really pissed me off, and I made two predictions. 1. That this trade would wind up biting him in the ass, and 2. that you would see an effort to bring Cliff Lee back to Philadelphia. I will admit to falling a little short in that I believed Lee would be back before the end of the 2010 season, but he was in fact included in a trade - just not with Philly.

I have said before that I was skeptical of the trade that brought Lee to Philly. He made a believer out of me. I was also openly skeptical of the trade that sent him away, in which Roy Halladay made his way into town. Anyone remaining skeptical of that trade after the season Halladay had would have to be a complete dumbass.

Of this deal, I am NOT skeptical. Not only do we now have the Halladay-Lee combination I dreamed of a year ago, but having retained Cole Hamels, and acquiring Roy Oswalt over the course of the season and giving up neither, we can today call Reuben Amaro a genius. At least until he pulls another stupid move.

This could well be the finest starting rotation in baseball history.

Welcome home, Cliff! YOU RULE!

RWR