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Phillies began long-term extension talks with Lee

According to Mark J. Miller of Yahoo Sports, the Phillies have begun preliminary talks with ace Cliff Lee about a contract extension.

The Philadelphia Phillies got Cliff Lee this summer and knew he was good, but didn’t know he’d be that good. The guy cruised through the postseason, making behind-the-back catches, stealing a base, seemingly annoying former Phils ace Cole Hamels, and, of course, racking up wins. He went 4-0 in five starts with a 1.56 ERA in the postseason after going 7-4 in 12 starts for Philadelphia in the regular season.

The Phils would love Lee to continue doing that last one for them for a long time to come and the team and Lee’s agent have apparently entered into talks on a possible long-term contract, according to New York Newsday. Lee’s agent, Darek Braunecker, says that he and the team have had “very preliminary talks” about an extension.

I’ve always been of the mindset that if a club trades multiple prospects for a player that they should lock said player up long-term. After all, if that player was worth giving up part of your future, then he should be worth a long-term investment.

Lee was brilliant for the Phillies last year and there’s no reason to think that he can’t be great again over the course of a full season. Philadelphia is built to win now, so it would make sense that they lock up their ace with an extension.


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Decade Debate: 10 Worst NFL Head Coaching Hires

Perhaps more than any other sport, a bad head coaching hire in the NFL can ruin a franchise for the better part of a decade. When you consider the free agent and draft acquisitions that are made to fit a coach’s style and philosophy, it’s no wonder that it usually takes years for a team to rebound after a bad coaching hire. As part of our ongoing Decade Debate series, here are the 10 worst head coaching hires of the past decade. To be clear, this ranking is based on the result of the hire, and not necessarily the hire itself. (Although the ranking could be a combination of the two.)

10. Eric Mangini, Cleveland Browns, 2009

One might argue that since Mangini hasn’t even gotten through his first year in Cleveland yet that he doesn’t deserve to be on this list. But others will argue that since he was absolutely despised in New York that the Browns should have never hired him in the first place. After all, was the one winning season he had with the Jets worth the Browns giving him a shot? Some of the moves that Mangini has made since arriving in Cleveland haven’t been bad at all: Trading Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow, trading down multiple times to acquire more picks in the draft, acquiring safety Abram Elam, etc. But considering he hasn’t won many players over with his crass attitude, has made two quarterback changes and only has one win under his belt, things couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start in Cleveland. It’ll be interesting to see if the Browns fire him after only one season.

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Yankees acquire Curtis Granderson in three-team deal

According to Jon Morsoi of FOXSports.com, the Yankees have acquired outfielder Curtis Granderson from the Tigers as part of a three-team deal that also includes the Diamondbacks.

Here’s how the trade breaks down:

Yankees Get:
Curtis Granderson (Tigers)

Tigers Get:
Max Scherzer (Diamondbacks)
Daniel Schlereth (Diamondbacks)
Phil Coke (Yankees)
Austin Jackson (Yankees)

Diamondbacks Get:
Edwin Jackson (Tigers)
Ian Kennedy (Yankees)

The Yankees and Tigers did very well in this deal. The Bronx Bombers get a five-tool player in Granderson, who can play either center or left field depending on whether or not the club re-signs Johnny Damon this winter. Granderson struggles hitting lefties, but he’s only 28-years old and his potential is still very high.

The Tigers, meanwhile, get financial flexibility by trading Granderson and also hauled in a coup of young talent. Austin Jackson was highly regarded as the Yankees’ centerfielder of the future. He’s 22 and hit .300 with four home runs, nine triples, 23 doubles, 65 RBI and 24 stolen bases in 132 Triple-A games last year. If he continues to develop, he might turn out to be Detroit’s next Granderson.

Scherzer is a 25-year old, hard-throwing right-hander who can eat up innings and is a workhorse. Schlereth was Arizona’s 2008 first round pick and saw some game action late last season and Coke already has experience at the big league level himself.

Not to take anything away from the Edwin Jackson, but this seems like a lateral move for Arizona. Scherzer is just as talented as Jackson (if not more talented), so why part with him and Schlereth to complete this deal? They better hope Kennedy starts fulfilling some of his potential or this might look like a bad deal for the D-Backs in a couple years.


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