We got Joe Blanton eh? http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/...tml?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Does this move seriously bum anyone out? We go from talking about Cliff Lee, to a guy that hasn't had an ERA under 4 since 2007 (and it was 3.95). If a lot of people hate Chad, then this guy is going to be eaten alive.
He's pitched well since the all-star break and I am not going to post the stats so as not to jinx the newest Dodger.
Only cost us ptbnl and the Phils wanted way too much in return for Cliff Lee and they refused to pay any of his salary. Not doing cartwheels however, we shall see.
The more I think about what we gave up and what he'll be used for, the more I like the move. We really could use a top of the roto guy though. Bills is gonna have a huge responsibility.
almost has to be us fwiw, Kershaw/Lee/Bills/Blanton would be pretty formidable in the postseason Cliff Lee Claimed On WaiversBy Ben Nicholson-Smith [August 3 at 3:46pm CST]Phillies left-hander Cliff Lee has been claimed on waivers, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). The Phillies can now pull Lee back off of waivers, assign his contract to the team that won the claim, or work a trade out with the claiming team. Lee can block trades and claims to 21 teams, which could limit the Phillies' flexibility, depending on the identity of the claiming team.The team(s) that claimed Lee showed a willingness to take on approximately $95MM in future commitments. Lee earns $21.5MM in 2012 and $25MM per season through 2015. His contract includes a $27.5MM vesting option for 2016 with a $12.5MM buyout. If the Phillies can assign Lee to the claiming team without his permission, they will now have to decide whether they value Lee's performance more than the flexibility they'd obtain by letting him go. If multiple teams claimed Lee, National League teams have priority over American League teams.Lee, who turns 34 this month, has a 3.73 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 125 1/3 innings so far this year. He has averaged seven innings per start and contributed 2.7 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs.The Red Sox didn't claim Lee, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports (on Twitter). More than 58% of 14,000 MLBTR readers correctly predicted that Lee would be claimed.
Jon Heyman @JonHeymanCBS cliff lee was claimed by unknown team, but word is #phillies dont see a trade as very likely. http://cbsprt.co/OGhudp
5:16pm: The Dodgers were awarded Lee's claiming rights, tweets Jon Morosi of FOX Sports. Remains unlikely we get him, but damn what a great move. Makes sense why they settled for Blanton if they knew Lee wasn't coming. But man, love the effort.
@jonmorosi: Source: #Dodgers awarded the claiming rights on Cliff Lee. It remains unlikely that they ultimately obtain him from #Phillies. @MLBONFOX
A little history. Joel was a starter with us and never reached expectations. We asked him to become a reliever and he declined and asked for his release and got it. He went to the Nats as a starter and was marginal. It was at that point he accepted and decided to become a reliever and from there he took off. It is part of the overall operation of a farm system to get your young talent into a position where they can be most successful. Failure on the part of a young player to blossom early on can be a function of the player or the farm system. When you see some farm systems producing a bounty of young players and others not is it the air they are breathing? The quality of your draft selections and other signings or a problem with your farm system and how you are running it and who is running it. If you think the Dodger system has been great wonderful but sometimes so called late bloomers who bloom after leaving an organization raise the question what if they had started out elsewhere. The job title General Manager is just that. Being in charge of baseball operations and reporting to the Presiden or owner. It is not just what fans are seeing and reading on a daily basis but developing the operating organization to accomplish your goals.
You have to think that the Phils would consider Lee for a decent package given that contract and their recent Hamel's deal. I truly think he is "gettable" should they decide to negotiate.