The above link takes you to a recap of the stunning signing of Cliff Lee by the Philadelphia Phillies
SportsReaction
Boston Red Sox vs. Philadelphia Phillies in the 2011 World Series….there’s your reaction!
Wow, what a great day to be a Red Sox fan. It was clearly known that in order for the Yankees to offset the Red Sox signings of Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford they would have to get the big lefty…and they didn’t! When was the last time the Yankees didn’t get their man? I mean, think about it, two seasons ago C.C. Sabathia clearly did NOT want to become a Yankee, but they threw so much money at him he couldn’t resist.
The $120 million for five seasons of Cliff Lee is already a better deal than the Rangers or Yankees would have gotten simply because it’s for less years. While I still think five years is too much for any pitcher; it’s a lot better than the seven.
Forget the money, though, and take a look at the Phillies rotation next season, and their 2011 projected FIP as per Bill James:
| Pitcher | FIP | FIP+ |
| Roy Halladay | 3.19 | 128 |
| Cliff Lee | 3.41 | 120 |
| Roy Oswalt | 3.48 | 117 |
| Cole Hamels | 3.7 | 110 |
| Kyle Kendrick | 4.66 | 88 |
| Joe Blanton | 4.29 | 95 |
| Average | 4.08 | 100 |
I’ve included the league average FIP as a reference point. Pay close attention to the column titled FIP+ which indicates how much better that pitcher’s FIP would be than league average (100 is exactly league average). Every point above 100 indicates a percentage point above league average. So in this case Roy Halladay is projected to be 28% better than league average in 2011!
Now, this rotation looks awesome, but let’s not forget about the aforementioned Boston Red Sox and their projected 2011 rotation:
| Pitcher | FIP | FIP+ |
| Jon Lester | 3.45 | 118 |
| John Lackey | 3.81 | 107 |
| Clay Buchholz | 3.71 | 110 |
| Josh Beckett | 3.78 | 108 |
| Daisuke Matsuzaka | 3.94 | 104 |
| Average | 4.08 | 100 |
Let’s not be so quick to deem the Phillies rotation the best in baseball just yet.
Also, don’t be fooled when the Phillies raw numbers look better than the Red Sox next season as they pitch in the National League. That’s why I used FIP, a stat adjusted for league, in the preceding tables.
Are the Phillies in a great position to win the National League in 2011? Yes. Will they have one of the best rotations in the game? Yes. But, I don’t think it’s unfair to say that from top to bottom the Boston Red Sox rotation compares very favorably with the Phillies “Dream Rotation.”
What a great World Series it will be!
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