Wow...

Well, looking back on the Cliff Lee acquisition contest, I guess him choosing Philadelphia makes sense.

From Lee's perspective, he gets to further balance and improve a dominant Phillies rotation. Does the 5th pitcher even matter anymore for the Phils? All last season I harped on the fact that the most successful team in October will be the one with the best 4th pitcher. I don't think there's any doubt that the Phillies now possess the best rotation in the league. I think the Phils may still have some bullpen issues to worry about from a pitching perspective, but I think this move will minimize the Phillies current bullpen problems.

From the Phillies perspective, obviously they get a great pitcher who wants to pitch well and succeed in Philly. However, I question their decision-making in improving an already-solid rotation and not using that money to re-sign Werth. In many ways, I see this meaning the Phillies have essentially handcuffed themselves to Dom Brown even though I'm not completely convinced he's big-league ready. It will be interesting to see if the Phillies have more plans this offseason to clear up some room to help pay for Lee. Any move to acquire an outfielder would be indicative of a lack of confidence by the Phillies that Brown is not ready.

Big night of baseball... Happy winter...