Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies Agree to Deal: Greatest Rotation Ever?

Jed Jacobsohn/Getty ImagesIf you thought Carl Crawford to the Red Sox was stunning, listen to this: Cliff Lee is returning to Philadelphia.The news comes as a jaw-dropping conclusion to the Cliff Lee saga, slamming the door on months of widely accepted speculation that the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers were the only two realistic landing spots for the former Cy Young winner.The deal is reportedly for five-years and $120 million—one year and $18 million less than the six-year, $138 milliondeal (with a player option for a seventh year) offered by Texas, and two Detroit Lions
years and $30 million less than the seven-year, $150 milliondeal reportedly offered by New York.Clearly,Lee's decisionwas notaboutthe money,ashe lefttens of millions of dollarson the table by returning to the team he led to the 2009 World Series.Lee's five-year deal establishes some much-needed stability for a man who's played for four different teams over the past two years. Originally acquired by Philadelphia at the 2009 trading deadline, Lee carried the Fightin' Phils to the pennant, going 7-4 with a 3.39 ERA down the stretch, and then topping that with one of the greatest postseason performances in Major League history, going 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA with two complete games.Following Philadelphia's loss to New York in the Fall Classic, and after failing to sign Lee to a contract extension, Phillies' GM Ruben Amaro Jr. shipped the lefty to Seattle in a three-team mega-deal that brought 2010 Cy Young award winner Roy Halladay to Philly (it all seems worth it now, doesn't it?).Which Pitching Rotation Would You Prefer?Which Pitching Rotation Would You Prefer?2011 Philadelphia Phillies79.3%Mid-90's Atlanta Braves10.3%Early-70's Baltimore Orioles10.3%Mid-60's Los Angeles Dodgers0.0%Total votes: 58One of the lone stars on a struggling Mariners team, Lee was traded again on July Green Bay Packers jersey
9 to the Texas Rangers—only after a deal to send Lee to the Yankees fell through at the last minute.Lee promptly led his new club to the pennant for the second year in a row while putting together another masterful postseason performance, going 3-0 while sporting an ERA under one in the ALDS and ALCS en route to the Rangers' first pennant in franchise history.Although he did struggle in the World Series—losing both starts to the Giants while garnering a 6.94 ERA—Lee is deservedly creditedas one of the best postseason pitchers of all-time for his efforts in the past two Octobers.Lee will now join an already formidable Philadelphia rotation, which already features Roy Halladay,Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels,to create what is the most dominant rotation in recent baseball history— Houston Texans jersey
with the potential to be one of the best in baseball history.If all four pitchers continue pitching to their recent standards, it will surely rival the pitching staffs of the mid-'90s Atlanta Braves, early-'70s Baltimore Orioles and mid-'60s Los Angeles Dodgers.Look out, Major League Baseball—pitching wins championships, andthePhiladelphia Phillieslook primed for success for years to come.