His numbers in Texas were #2 starter numbers on the surface, but he pitched the EXACT same way as in Seattle (look at his xFIPs). It’s just that a) it’s hard to have a sub-3 ERA in that park, and b) he got unlucky with home runs, even in Texas, and unluckier still with baserunning scoring.

And of COURSE you’d feel more comfortable giving a 7-year deal to Lester or Felix or Price. But as Fiorentino said, that’s because they’re really young, and pitchers don’t reach FA before 30, generally. And even those three guys, they’re younger, but they haven’t been better the last several years.

@proudly: “average in Seattle”? Are you looking at the same numbers I am? Most people would point to his surface numbers in Texas if they want to pick a nit. (And then you’d just look deeper and realize he was just as good in Texas.)

But if you play things like that, you will never succeed. Look at your team…I bet if this blog were around in 1990, you would be on here saying “WTF was Pat Gillick thinking??? He just traded the Crime Dog and Fernandez for Joe Carter and Alomar…who??? We are dead” 2 World Series Championships later, Pat would have been proven to be correct to have the balls to make the deal. Gotta take a chance.

Then again, I’m the guy who just accidentally bought 5,000 business cards because they just kept getting cheaper per card.

It’s not as if you are getting Barry Zito here…this is Cliff freaking Lee. If you have plans to make the playoffs over the next few years, he is the guy you want to have out there, isn’t he? 6 years…7 years….what difference does it make? I’ll take 4-5 monster years, 3 world series appearances and 1 or 2 titles followed by a couple of lean years over 1 playoff appearance and 6 middling pennant races that result in no championships any day.