Cliff Lee is who we thought he was, and im not saying this in a dick way. The truth is last year he won the Cy Young Award. I have followed this guy for years (That's what happens when you bet everyday, you tend to know every player on every team). When you take a Cy Young winner off of a team that is 30 games under 500. They pitch with even more fire then they did before because now they know they are really playing for something and not just playing to stay out of last place. Cliff Lee is a pro's pro, and the way he carried himself last night was simply amazing. He made it look so easy. Unreal that he went off at +160 last night.
After the fact? I have been on here since the line came out in other threads preaching about the value in Cliff Lee at +160. Lee was the better pitcher in the post-season going into last nights game, and the Phillies have a history of beating CC in the post-season. On top of that Lee already beat the Yankees with Sabathia on the mound with the Indians earlier in the season in New York. I personally thought the price should have been Sabathia -130 Lee +115. The reason the line wasn't what I just suggested it should have been is because people bet the Yankees no matter what the line is because they are the Yankees. The Phillies are the defending World Champions, not a team who went on a one year run to make it to the World Series (Like the Rays last year).
The Phillies would never of given the Jays what they wanted. They were asking for the core players of the team for the next 10 years. Taylor who hit 30 plus homers in the minors and Drabek who could possibly be in the rotation next year. Ruben Amaro knew what he was doing. The Phillies got a killer deal with the Indians. Not only did they get Lee, but they got Francisco, a right handed bat off the bench who can play defense in the late innings, something they desperately needed.
