Lee on trade: 'At first, I didn't believe it'
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Lee on trade: 'At first, I didn't believe it'
Paul Hagen
Cliff Lee was introduced to the Seattle media in a conference call tonight, but many of the questions were about his departure from the Phillies.
Lee was traded yesterday for three prospects as a precursor to the deal that brought Roy Halladay to the Phillies.
“At first I didn’t believe it," Lee said of the trade. "I thought we were working out an extension with the Phillies and I was going to spend the rest of my career there. That’s when I guess you know it’s a business ...
“Disbelief. Shock. Initially I was disappointed," Lee said when asked to expound on his emotions. "Obviously, it was great being part of a team that went to the World Series for the second year in a row and I was looking forward to trying for a third. That’s a great group of guys. I enjoyed every second I was there. Now I’m in Seattle and I have to make the best of it.”
Many fans wanted the Phillies to keep Lee and get Halladay, making for a superstar rotation with Cole Hamels.
“I was told it was possible," Lee said. "I heard two different stories. I think the Phillies would have liked that to have happened, but they didn’t want to diminish their farm system. That’s their prerogative. They’re trying run a business and you have to respect that. Until you have a full no-trade clause, you’re at their mercy.”
Read more in tomorrow's Daily News
Comments (55)
jrquixote, I know you're not familiar with the term "fourth estate." But are you familiar with Roy Halladay? Have you ever seen him pitch? Do you have ANY idea how good this guy is? Would you be upset if we gave up Howard and got Albert Pujols? Do you know who Albert Pujols is?— PhilaLogic- Does anyone know for sure what Lee "wanted" in terms of salary and years? He said what he said when he was with the Indians. He didn't say anything about contract length or amount while a Phillie. Anyone who said he did is listening to rumors and journalists trying to sell their story as being the most informed. Phils had Lee at a bargain basement price of $9m this year and turned him down. 3 prospects who played A ball last year. That's 3 shots in the dark. It wasn't a baseball move. Little bit of the new Phillies (Halladay trade) and a little bit of the old Phillies (trading Lee away). We were on the cusp of dominance this coming year and traded it away b/c we needed three bodies in our farm system -- BS! Reggiedunlop, do you think these 3 prospects are gonna serve to replenish some roles as you put it? How many players on the farm to the Phils currently have? About a 100? How many are gonna make it to the big leagues? Not many. Percentages say that adding those 3 from Seattle ain't gonna make a bit of difference. This year, next year or the years after. They are shots in the dark who ownership is using to reason with the fan base why they couldn't keep Lee.— jbob123451
- jbob, I'm not loving who we got from Seattle. But your numbers are misleading. Yes, most of our minor leaguers won't achieve much in the majors, but as someone here wrote, you need a quantity OF quality prospects. That's the best you can do. We gave up 3 of our top 10 or 15 prospects to get Halladay. We got back 3 of Seattle's top 10 or 15 prospects. That's the portion of the farm system that MUST stay stocked -- the high-end prospects. Because you need them to make trades if you're contending; and a much higher percentage of your top 15 prospects WILL make a big league impact than will the percentage of ALL your minor leaguers. Your comparison is irrelevant. The relevant comparison is whether we could have gotten more from Seattle or another club for Lee. Or, perhaps you don't believe a farm system needs high-end prospects in any quantity whatsoever.— PhilaLogic
- How does anyone know what Cliff Lee was willing to accept? It didn't seem as if there was much by way of negotiation. Phillies have $8 million to pay a washed up Moyer and $7 million to a bloated Blanton (and let's not forget the amount owed the immortal Adam Eaton), but they couldn't scrape together enough cash to keep Lee? There must be more to this story as it doesn't make any sense.— Manor2009
- Would Lee and his agent be talking this way if the Phillies had traded him to Boston or NY? I really like Lee, but he never gave any indication he wanted to sign here, unless it was for big FA money. If the Phils have to pay Halladay $20 mil, Lee would want more. They couldn't tie up over $40 mil on two players, especially with Werth's contract up next year and Howard coming up in two. What the gripers seem to forget is that the team must also pay for CBP, the coaches' and office salaries, the minor league teams, the scouts, etc.— mike l
- What's not to understand, manor? Virtually every player -- with rare exceptions like Roy Halladay -- tries to maximize his market value when he comes up for free agency. See: virtually every player in baseball. With a strong 2010 season, Lee's market value projects as 6-7 years for upwards of $150 million. At any MOMENT since we acquired him, he could have expressed to the Phillies he'd take less (as Halladay did). Eaton or Moyer's money is irrelevant to this issue. Whether we kept him for only one season at $9 million and got back draft picks then becomes a separate question. When you conflate the two points, as you did, then yes, it won't make any sense.— PhilaLogic
- Trading Lee is serious bad karma, and I don't even believe in karma. I hope the Phils did not outsmart themselves on this deal.— bcsk
- "Until you have a full no-trade clause, you’re at their mercy.” Cliff, you were great for us but you're wrong. Until you get real soften your demands, you're at their mercy.— Bob1
Yo Doubtful, a year from now, when Lee is a free agent, he will sign with the Yankmees for CC +10% money. That's his prerogative, but he shouldn't act like a jilted lover now just because Ruben dumped him before he dumped us.— tornadoh- I agree with many posters here that Lee's agent is likely at fault for meeting with the Phillies a few weeks ago and not getting a deal done. First the reports said the Phils were talking to Lee's agent. Then right after that the rumor mill started again on Halladay. What happened in those talks to make Amaro take a sharp left? I doubt Amaro would have gone after Halladay if Lee was ready to sign for the type of contract extension Halladay just got. That's competition for you.— everydayguy
- But we'll miss ya, Cliff. Hopefully you're back starting in 2011.— everydayguy
- Rube is a boob! Period. Plain and simple. He traded all the prospects necessary to have BOTH Roy and Cliff for the '09 run. He just didn't execute them correctly (screwed up the timing). So he traded enough to get one post-season run with BOTH of them but ended up with zero post-season runs with BOTH of them. How's this to make the point: He paid for a Mercedes. Drove away with a Honda. He could have done both trades in July and done the Lee trade now and ended up in the same place we find ourselves. That's not a genius executive. That's a mid-level manager in over his head. This is terrible leadership. People with real jobs get fired for this sort of gaffe. Its not hard to acquire the best pitcher in baseball when he'll only take a trade to NYY, BOS or Philly, particularly when everyone knows the Jays would never send Roy to NYY or BOS. Yay! We won the competition of one. I'd say Rubes couldn't even mess that up, but then I'm reminded of the 2-year Moyer deal... This guy couldn't deconstruct this team faster with a sledgehammer.— bm2626
- For someone that grew up in this city with the Phillies organization like RAJ, it is startling how little he grasps the Philadelphia mindset. We have 1 championship to our name in 25 years, and yet feels that just being a contender in the NL year after year is good enough. RAJ -- are people satisfied with the Eagles doing that year in, year out? No. There is no one, not one person on this board, that would not trade a guaranteed third WS ring (and two in the past three years) for a few players that may or may not be good down the line. Halladay is awesome, NOW. Lee is awesome, NOW. Prospects may be good in the FUTURE. Halladay and Lee in the same rotation, coupled with the still prime AL-style offensive core, is as close to a guaranteed ring as you can get in modern sports, assuming no injuries. So RAJ baby, listen for future reference: THE PHILADELPHIA FAN WANTS A CHAMPIONSHIP NOW, NOT LATER. This deal is a punch in the gut, regardless of how good Halladay is next year.— evolutionary
- JBob, Maybe some of these guys won't amount to anything, but to say most won't is purely guessing.Do you think most people thought a 5th round first baseman named Ryan Howard would have amounted to the best RBI man in baseball? Anyone who answers yes is full of it. They are a few of Seattle's better prospects and they can be used down the road sometime as trade bait or for our team. What do think is going to happen in a few years? Are the Phils going to resign Werth and Victorino? How much do you think they'll each want? Howard is going to want A-Rod money at the end of his extension, etc. for our other "studs". To simply dismiss the acquisition of minor league talent to replenish the minors is stupid. The Phils were major players in the trade market for Lee and Halladay because they had one of the best farms in the majors the past few years. If you keep trading away your young talent, you're heading for disaster.— reggiedunlop
- How do you know Bob Shay was being said about money when Amaro and Lee's agent, huh? I'm tired of you fans claiming how hard can it be, when your not on the inside. People like you act like you know all, and it's really pathetic....— phigglesfan75
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