BLOG: The Return Of Cliff Lee
Written By: Bill Campbell
It was almost Christmas and Cliff Lee was still on the market. There had to be something mysterious about the baseball free agent of the year, the target of both the Yankees, who almost always get their man, and the Texas Rangers, whom he helped to the most recent World Series.
The mystery team turned out to be the Phillies, with whom he enjoyed the 2009 World Series before being traded to Seattle. At first, it looked like a move to drum up the price it would cost the Yankees or the Rangers. After all, professional sports these days is all about money, isn't it?
Or maybe there are a few guys, who decide to please their wives or their children, or some who want to play in a pleasant atmosphere or with guys they like. And, apparently, Cliff Lee and Company liked it here and wanted to return even at the cost of a richer deal elsewhere. That this happy soap opera could end this way was never considered. It's hard to contemplate anyone being able to make a decision that would bring so much happiness and joy to so many people.
There are fans still around who have never forgiven the Phillies for trading Cliff Lee in the first place and many who will provide multiple scenarios dealing with how they could have easily retained him.
General Manager Ruben Amaro has heard those opinions for almost a year. Apparently, the departure of Jayson Werth freed up some money and some of it is going to Lee – like a hundred or so million on a five-year deal. But just thinking about a starting rotation of Halladay, Hamels, Oswalt and Lee is really mind-boggling. It's almost impossible to contemplate or even imagine as devastating a foursome. And all this was achieved without the semblance of rumor. That no one publicly so much as guessed it is equally remarkable. Ruben Amaro has not been a general manager very long but I think we all agree that his on-the-job training is accelerating at a rapid rate. He must be a very quick learner.
Another big story this past week was somewhat of a travelogue. There are few organizations more structured, more composed, more mature than the National Football League. In most cases it hums along season after season, the model of professionalism. But the NFL ran into a situation last week that required much last minute anxiety.
Thirty hours after the New York Giants left New Jersey last Saturday, moving to an important game with the Vikings scheduled for Minneapolis, they finally arrived in Detroit - a city that wound up hosting the game on an unscheduled day, in an indifferent place, under inadequate conditions.
The Giants spent a full day in Kansas City trying to negotiate a new starting time while still believing they were going to play in Minneapolis, when they received word that heavy snow had caused the roof to collapse at the Minnesota Metrodome.
A five-alarm fire siren also sounded at their Kansas City hotel, which turned out to be false.
First attempts were made to play at the new University of Minnesota outdoor stadium, but the Giants objected because it would have meant a game in sub-zero temperatures and the team had traveled without any heavy outdoor gear. That Giants objection became moot when the University told the NFL that it would be impossible to get the stadium ready for a pro game in such a short time.
So the issues multiplied: a blizzard, snow on the roof, college hash marks on the field as opposed to pro hash marks, no facility for instant replay, unusable equipment and on and on. Plus tickets being refunded, resulting in a financial loss for the Vikings, and other tickets being distributed free on a first come-first served basis.
And, of course, Bret Favre getting another day to rest his injured shoulder and the Giants getting an extra day to prepare for their next game - an important one against the Eagles. One thing proves a certainty in all of this: no matter how alert, mature or organized, no entity anywhere is any match for Mother Nature.
With everything that happened this past week, for some strange reason a few things have stayed with me. Matt Hasselbeck of the Seattle Seahawks threw four interceptions last Sunday and also lost a fumble all in the same game. That's rather hard to do, if only for the reason that most coaches don't allow a guy to stay in the game that long to cause that much despair.
Among the other things I remember from watching a lot of football last Sunday was seeing the Redskins lose again. They've lost five of their last six, and four straight at home. Donovan McNabb is having a long season. The Skins lost this one 17-16 to Tampa Bay when the holder for the extra point failed to catch the snap from the center and was unable to properly place the ball.
And then there was a play when cornerback Nolan Carroll of the Dolphins was tripped while fielding a punt. The guy who tripped him was the Jets strength and fitness coach who wasn't even in the game. He was sitting on the bench provoking some stern disciplinary measures from the league office, including banishment for the rest of the season.
Cliff Lee's return to Philadelphia had to be the headline of the week if not of the season.
