Cliff Lee: "Shock and disbelief"
Currently on a conference call introducing Cliff Lee as a Seattle Mariner. He does not sound thrilled. Here is a sampling.
Cliff Lee: "Shock and disbelief"
Andy Martino
Currently on a conference call introducing Cliff Lee as a Seattle Mariner. He does not sound thrilled. Here is a sampling.
"My initial reaction was shock and disbelief...Initially, I was disappointed because making it to the World Series was a lot of fun, and I was looking forward to making a third run at it."
"At first I didn't believe it, because I thought that we were working out an extension with the Phillies and I thought that I was going to spend the rest of my career there...This goes to show this is a business, and you never know what's going to happen until you have a full no-trade clause."
Why do you think it an extension didn't work out?
"There was not enough dialogue. (Also) They had an opportuity to get the best pitcher in baseball, and I can't blame them for choosing Roy Halladay over me...I was under the impression they would keep me for a long time."
"I'm going to be as positive as I can, and go over there and try to make it to the World Series with those guys...it's a new chapter. I've got to go to the Mariners and make the best of it. I'm going to go in with an open mind and do everything I can."
Excited at all about returning to A.L.?
"Uh, yeah. I've got to."
What did you like about the Phillies?
"Those guys are the real deal. It was a true team and I can't say enough about them."
***
UPDATE, 8:25pm
Was able to reach Ruben Amaro for a response. "I am not really going to comment on the negotiations, other than what I said yesterday," he said. "There was nothing contentious about our talks, but it may not have led to something we were comfortable with. I would have loved to have kept both guys on the club. It was a matter of, we felt more comfortable with the deal we could do with Roy than the one we could do with Cliff.
"I hope Cliff Lee pitches tremendously well. We would have loved to have kept him, but it didn't look like we were going to move toward that goal."
Seriously, only in Philly would people be COMPLAINING about signing Roy Halladay. It's almost comical, you people are impossible to please. Lee's gone because our farm system was depleted in the Halladay acquisition and Ruben wanted to replenish our farm systems. You howl when we trade away our 'untouchables' because we're trading away our future, then you moan and complain when we bring in prospects to keep us good for years to come. Get real, you people make no sense.— mikestef100
Somebody is lying. Don't know if it's Rube, Cliff, or the agent. My money is on the agent.— F. Harry Stowe- I am sad to see Cliffy go, but it's important to note the change in mentality when it comes to this team. Whether it be Halladay or Lee or Feliz or Polanco, guys WANT to play here now. Cliff said it best, we're the real deal.— wking410
- Listening to RAJ this morning, it sounds like once their priorities were #1. getting ONE of these guys locked up longterm NOW, then #2, if wasn't going to be Lee, getting some value back into the minor system. In other words, if they couldn't predict with certainty that Lee would commit quickly (with no breakdown in negotiations and opting for free agency at the end of the year), they had no choice but go for Halladay, which was gonna cost them in minor league talent. When that got done they really had no other way to replenish the system other than trading Lee. Worst case would have Phils hoping Lee would go for the extension, having him pull out of talks and opt for free agency, then end up next year with Halladay on the Yankees and Lee on the Red Sox after a monumental bidding war....Lee would have also been the much more costly option imho— HokieMon
- Way to go Rube!— scars73
- Might have helped him if he changed his name to "Phil".. just a thought.— LarryDickman
- Certainly missing Lee already, but Phils dont pan-out 6 yr sabathia type deals..and that was probably Lee's agent going behind HIS back to Amaro saying thats it or nothing. I'll bet Lee wouldve taken same deal, maybe even less $ than what we did w/ Halladay. Get Lee back after this season or maybe soon if we can in July !!— Will.i.Am
- Not Complaining about signing Halladay at all - I am complaining about the Phillies trading Cliff Lee. The Farm System excuse is Bunk - There will always be 'prospects' The chance for having two Cy Young winners like Halladay and Lee heading the rotation comes along once in a generation - And the Phillies just threw it away - IDIOTS!— phillydude
- Lets sign him when he becomes a free agent.— ChrisM
- who's to say that he doesn't have a so-so year with the mariners and wind up signing with the phils this time next year? just sayin, possible. if that happens, we would wind up with lee later rather than sooner and wound up with a few prospects in the process. then we'd look at rube like he's a genius. just sayin, think long term possibilities— allegrabene
- someone said they(phillies)could have had them both.so if thats true,why didn't the pull it off?the 2 of them,and hamels a very potent 3 starters and blanton,and happ in the 5 spot..........dang we'd have the best rotation bar none.too bad.o well..welcome Roy,to philadelphia,so long cliff,darn sure gonna miss u.i would have given up the farm hands to see u2 here,but ruben done what he done,and we gotta move on.wish u all the best,and you will be missed here.— t_darb_56
- OLD DOC better be all the hype and more HOW do u just get rid of LEE the dude proved he was the truth and more last year did anybody in the phils front office pay attention— LUCKis4LOSERS
Comment removed.- I love all these posts about signing him next off-season. Are you kidding? Do you think this guy will ever come close to Amaro and Montgomery again! You don't completely hose a Cy Younger and get another shot at him. He won't step in the same room with us ever again. If you want to fantasize about it, here's what to hope for. Hope that Seattle struggles out of the gate AND Hope that Cliff pitches inconsistently from April to June. BOTH have to happen. Because it will cost more than what we got to get him back at the deadline. No chance this guy comes back to Philly willingly. Why would he? And once he hits the open market, the price will be too high anyway.— bm2626
- the 1 common theme in all of this is PAT GILICK does anybody really know whats going on "behind the scenes"??? I can see it for what it is.— LUCKis4LOSERS
