"Shocked by trade" Cliff Lee

Poor Cliff Lee, he just got shafted. The Phillies traded him to Seattle in a three team deal that landed them Roy Halladay. Big deal. But I think I woulda kept those top notch prospects (as much as I hate prospects) and kept Cliff Lee, who dominated in a Philli uniform. But you can never complain when getting the best pitcher in the majors, yes I truly believe Roy is the best pitcher in the majors. But that's not what caught my eye, believe it or not, in this huge, blockbuster deal. What did was an interview with Cliff Lee that I saw last night on baseball tonight. Cliff's reaction to the trade, one you hope you never hear out of a super star and a class act like him. He was shocked, blindsided, and upset that he was traded away. He was told by his agent (who was told by the Phillies) to not believe the rumors. Next day, gone. Both times he got calls from his agent he was on his way to a nice relaxing day of deer hunting, then that bombshell was dropped. Just imagine your employer or whatever saying to you, sorry, but we're shipping you across the country. It would suck right? Cliff honestly believed that after the trade from Cleveland and the run to the world series with Phili that this was the last stop on the journey of Cliff Lee. He wanted to sign a long-term deal. But the Phillies said that Lee was unwilling to ink a long-term deal. That question was brought up to him in the interview. And Lee responded with an appalled tone that was the farthest thing from the truth. It really disheartens me to hear this kinda thing. Cliff deserved better than to be unexpectedly traded for false reasons. He was told not to believe the rumors, and then the organization said it was because they believed they wouldn't have been able to ink a deal. Sure as hell sounded to me like Cliff would have negotiated a contract that would have worked for both sides. But who do you believe? I tend to believe the athlete in situations like this. The organization usually just tries to justify and cover their ass after trades like this, or when disgruntled athletes come out and speak their mind. It's all about damage control.
Shifting over to hockey, the Red Wings won 3-0 over the Tampa Bay Lightning. I know it's Tampa, but I can't help but get excited. Four in a row now, hitting the groove, and so many key players are still out. Zetterberg left the game and never game back after getting absolutely crushed by Matias Ohlund. Skate with your heads up boys. But my point is this: We've won four in a row, we have so many missing pieces, are you "fans" still wanting to jump into the Detroit River? I cannot tell you how many times I heard people telling me, "Oh this is the year" "I have no faith in this squad" "We have no chance at the cup." We are the Detroit Red Wings, the greatest franchise in the NHL, no in all of sports, we always have a cup chance on sheer name alone. I've been saying this all year long, and I will not back down from my opinion. 2010 Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red WIngs. I never back down from a prediction until I am wrong. I made this the day after we lost to Pitt, and I'm sticking to it. HERE WE GO RED WINGS, HERE WE GO! ALL THE WAY TO THE STANLEY CUP!

On a side note, I would like to take this chance to thank someone who has been very kind to me and has really helped me make important strives toward my future goal of being a sports broadcaster. This person is Professor Michael Stamm. He's the one that pushed me to do this blog, showed me a good place to set it up, and pushed me into just doing things to get my name out there. It's been an absolute pleasure, nay, a privilege to have him for class. We talked every class day, just about whatever in the world of sports, or whatever was bugging us that morning. Today I just took the final, so had my last class with him, for the year at the very least. If you are a student at MSU, or incoming freshman reading this, I highly recommend Intro to Mass media with him, great class, fun class. Only downside was the 9 am time slot, but what are ya gonna do? So once again, Thanks for everything Professor.


Link to CLiff Lee interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qVYyqFgYF8