This actually made me physically ill when I read about it. Totally killed my fantasy football high.

For the next few years they're set. They should have no problems winning the pennant this year or next at the very least. But after that, it's going to get dicey. They'll be paying insane money to three pitchers in their mid-30s and a fat first baseman who can't hit lefties. Without looking:

Lee: ~$20 million
Halladay: ~$18 million
Oswalt: ~$15 million
Howard: ~$25 million

That's around $80 million for four players. On a $130 million budget.

Maybe...we should all be concerned if they do.

This is unixpected.  I didnt even know they were in the hunt.  The Yankees will buy every free agent left out of spite.

Lee was traded for by the Phillies, shipped off and expressed his bitterness toward them then resignes as a free agent to play second fiddle to the guy he was traded off for. 

They have some long term money tie up but have the best right handed pitcher in the game and the two best left handed pitchers.  Not only that but Roy freaking Oswalt is there 4th pitcher.  I was happy with the Cardinals rotation but the Phillies will carve them up.  Facing the two best lefties in a playoff series would beat the Cardinals all by it self.

"I didnt even know they were in the hunt."

According to the guys I heard on the radio this morning, Lee took the Yankees' offer and told the Phillies he liked playing in Philadelphia and he'd sign if they came close.
As much as I like the idea of someone using the Yankees like a commode, the other half of it is there are now 15 teams in the NL that are playing for the right to get swept by the Phillies in the NLCS.

APRTW wrote:

have the best right handed pitcher in the game and the two best left handed pitchers.

Cliff Lee and Jamie Moyer?!?

alz wrote:

forsberg_us wrote:

APRTW wrote:

You know Lee for 5 years at 15 million is that bad of deal.

It was 5 years, $24M per year

I thought it was 5 yrs, 100 mil.

How is that 24 mil a year, sounds like 20m even to me.

Did I miss something?

ESPN is reporting 5 years, $120M.  That's how I get $24M per year.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5917145

forsberg_us wrote:

APRTW wrote:

You know Lee for 5 years at 15 million is that bad of deal.

It was 5 years, $24M per year

Oh well that is alittle different.

Max wrote:

tkihshbt wrote:

That's around $80 million for four players. On a $130 million budget.

Here is a painful past, present, and future that i see coming from this:

1. The Phillies now become the favorite to win the NL pennant for the next 5 years, and to probably win multiple championships in that time.

That's a pretty bold prediction Max, and one for which I'm not certain there is objective support.

No doubt the Phillies rotation is scary good, but there lineup is aging fast.

Rollins is 32 and is coming off of 3 straight down years
Polanco- 35
Utley- 32
Howard- 31
Victorino- 30
Ruiz- 31

Presumably Dominic Brown enters the lineup and adds some youth, but I think they've gutted their system, so there isn't much reason to expect much more help from within.

Also, let's not forget the anemic Phillies bullpen. 

I would absolutely agree that the Phillies enter 2011 as the NL favorites (maybe favorites to win the World Series), and they may enter 2012 in the same position.  Beyond that, they may be tethered to a lot of contracts they wish they didn't have.

Having said that, it wouldnt' suck to be a Phillies fan, at least for now.

Max wrote:

forsberg_us wrote:

That's a pretty bold prediction Max, and one for which I'm not certain there is objective support. . . . I would absolutely agree that the Phillies enter 2011 as the NL favorites (maybe favorites to win the World Series), and they may enter 2012 in the same position.  Beyond that, they may be tethered to a lot of contracts they wish they didn't have.

To play your game, who do you think is the favorite to win the NL Pennant in 2013?

Honestly, I don't have a clue.

As of today, the Phillies have 4 players under contract for 2013: Halladay, Lee, Howard, Utley.  We saw firsthand last season that Pujols, Holliday, Wainwright and Carpenter wasn't good enough to even make the playoffs let alone win a pennant, and I'd argue that the Cardinals current 4 are better than a 36 year old Halladay, a 35 year old Lee, a 33 year old Howard and a 35 year old Utley.

Last edited by forsberg_us (12/14/2010 1:30 pm)

As I was saying, Phillies ownership will have to keep expanding payroll if they want to keep winning.

Hamels, Rollins and Ibanez are due for free agency after next season. Hamels is going to get $80 million easy. Ibanez will probably retire, and knowing the Phillies, they will want to overpay for Rollins because he won an undeserved MVP and their fans have a stupid nickname for him.

The cost of keeping Hamels and Rollins alone would cost them around $105 million (est.) for eight players.

Let's not forget that they have one ascending player on offense (Brown). The rest of their position players are all about to exit their primes. Halladay and Lee are both approaching their mid-30s. Oswalt as well. They have about a two-year window to win, IMO.

I know Lee called them but I figure there is only one reason that the Phillies did this.  the only reason any owner does anything and that is because they think they can make money.  It isnt like they needed Lee to be the NL favorite or had extra cash that fans expected them to burn.  This wont sell anymore tickets because the seats would have already been full.  They must figure that an small increase in national TV games and a good chance of making the world series will offset the long term cost of Lee. 

Or maybe they plan on trading him to the Yankees.

Mags wrote:

I'm not that wild about the Cards prospects this year but I'm not ready to crown the Phillies either.  Frankly, I don't think their rotation is as strong as the one Cleveland had in the early to mid-fifties -- Bob Lemon, Mike Garcia, Early Wynn, Bob Feller, and Feller's replacement Herb Score.  They also had probably the best two relievers of a lefty/righty combination.  Ray Narleski and Billy Something or other.  Bobby Avilla at second base.  Al Rosen at Third.  Jim Heagan as catcher.  And most of all, baseball's only six tool player, Larry Doby.

Yet they only won the pennant once and lost the world series in 4 straight, with one of baseball's all-time great managers, Al Lopez.

Which only goes to prove that shit happens. For the record, I haven't crowned anybody, only pointed out the obvious that they are the favorites.