Cliff Lee upset with Halladay trade
by Scott Butler 12/17/09
Cliff decided to let everyone know his feelings about the big trade for Roy Halladay. He was not happy. A clearly emotional Cliff Lee called into 97.5 The Fanatic, during his vacation no less, to give his side.
He said that he was shocked that he was traded, because the Phillies had told his agent not to listen to what he was hearing and that they were all rumors. The next day Cliff Lee was traded.
When asked about the negotiations, Lee said there were none. He said that each side gave an offer, but there were no negotiations beyond that. Additionally, he denied that he was looking for a CC Sabathia type deal. He mentioned several times that his was the most fun he had in his career and he fully hoped and expected to finish his career with the Phillies.
"At first I didn't believe it," Lee said. "I thought we were working out an extension with the Phillies. I thought I would spend the rest of my career there."
Cliff Lee's comments have been troubling to many fans. Most of us assumed by Lee's previous comments that he was looking for nothing less than a huge Sabathia deal, so this comes as a big surprise. And the fact that the Phillies did not even entertain the idea of keeping Cliff Lee here long-term is troubling.
If he really did want to remain in Philadelphia, would it be such a terrible deal to keep him here for another season and see what happens? Worst case scenario, you get a Cy Young winner for a dirt cheap $9 million and two first round draft picks if you can't re-sign him.
Cliff Lee was a guy who pitched his heart out for this team and almost single handedly won the World Series for us. And HE WANTED TO BE HERE! But the Phillies ownership was so dead set on keeping their budget down that they let him walk. That is tough to swallow.
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