It was certainly sad to hear Cliff Lee yesterday talking about his trade from Philadelphia and about how shocked he was to get the call from Ruben Amaro. The guy still sounded crushed, though stoic in that way that the best athletes are. He said that he wanted to stay in Philadelphia and retire as a Phillie and thought that negotiations were under way to make that happen. At the same time, he said that he understood totally why the Phillies went with Roy Halladay over himself, saying that anyone who knows baseball knows Halladay's the best pitcher in the game.
One stand-out quote about playing with the Phillies: "Those guys are the real deal. It was a true team and I can't say enough about them." Cliff, we miss you and, again, wish you well. It would be great if you ended up, unlikely as that is, again in Philly. I really cannot imagine liking a player who basically passed through more than I did Cliff Lee.
When Chris Coste signed earlier with the Mets, he actually said to the New York media that he was a Philadelphia Phillie and would always be a Philadelphia Phillie. You can imagine how that went over with the NY fans.
