In the last three seasons the Phils won a World Series and reached another. They played in three straight National League Championship Series and acquired three of the best pitchers in baseball - Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, and Roy Oswalt. Even more remarkable: The Fightin's somehow obtained one of those guys twice.
Lee is back. It's stunning and wonderful and embarrassing in a way. How can Philly be so fortunate? This is a town that was conditioned to expect the worst. That's changed. The Phils have joined the Yankees and the Red Sox as baseball's premier organizations. They are elite. It is a fact and it is staggering.
Nearly one year to the day after Lee was traded to the Mariners to restock the farm system or save money or whatever reason/excuse you actually believe, the Phils have returned him to the Fightin's flock. As if that wasn't enough to make the fans strut, Lee's new contract - reported to be a five-year deal worth $120 million guaranteed - is supposedly less than what was offered by the Rangers and Yankees.
Money can buy you a lot in Texas - most natives opt for the homogenous McMansion/plastic trophy-wife starter kit - but it can't buy you a team that's the odds-on favorite in Las Vegas to win it all next season (9-5 odds). As for New York, Yanks fans might not want to spit on anyone else's wife. People tend to remember that sort of thing.
Ruben Amaro Jr. took a lot of heat for trading Lee. The general manager has atoned for that perceived sin against the city by pulling off a genuine coup. After he was shipped to Seattle, Lee said he was in "shock" and added, "I was thinking I was going to sign an extension with the Phillies." He sounded betrayed. A year ago, the idea of the two sides reconciling seemed implausible. Even a few days ago it felt improbable. The reunion came out of nowhere.
