MLB Betting Update – Cliff Lee Returns To Philadelphia Phillies

Cliff Lee has but the MLB betting world on its ear by re-signing with…the Philadelphia Phillies?

Out of nowhere, the team he played for at the end of 2009 suddenly wooed him back to their embrace. A five-year, $100 million contract sometimes has that affect on people.

This is a bad turn of events for the New York Yankees, who were thought to be the front-runners in the Cliff Lee sweepstakes. It’s an even bigger kick to the balls of the Texas Rangers who have no notable pitching on the mound now that Lee is off the market.

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I still have no idea how Philadelphia pulled this off. Nobody does. It doesn’t make any sense, which is pretty on par with how MLB betting has turned out this season. The San Francisco Giants are your World Series Champions after all.

From Lee’s standpoint, I totally get it. It’s not just about money. He got $100 million from Philadelphia, but had to leave upwards of thirty million dollars on the table from the free spending Yankees or the desperate Rangers. What could possibly propel him to abandon that kind of money?

I think the 2009 and 2010 World Series put the fear of God in him. He was “the man” for two teams that eventually lost, and the pressure had to be unreal for him. I mean, he’s considered the best post season pitcher in history, and posted two losses to the Giants in one of the biggest MLB betting upsets ever, allowing 14 hits and 9 earned runs in just 11.2 innings. My guess is that he was sick of it.

The Phillies depended on Lee a year ago and he delivered. The Rangers depended on him this year and he couldn’t handle the pressure. On top of that, the Rangers couldn’t bail him out. Enough was enough.

The situation wouldn’t have changed in Texas, and nobody in their right mind would say that the stable of Sabathia, Hughes and Burnett is strong enough to take the load off of Lee. Maybe Lee was just tired from playing in the American League for a whole half-season.

So instead of enduring a whole season against the stiff bats of the American League, Lee went to the National League where the games are easier and he’s surrounded by All-Star pitchers. The Phillies already have Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels. Adding Lee to the mix gives them the best four-man rotation in all of MLB baseball betting.

You want proof? Well the Phillies were +400 to win the 2011 World Series in MLB futures betting before the Lee signing. Since then, the books have unanimously moved Philadelphia to the front of the line at around +180, sliding them ahead of the Yankees and every other team in the league.

The Phillies’ great odds aren’t just because of Lee. It’s because of the Four Horseman at the mound. I mean, how is anyone in the National League going to compete with that type of pitching?

Let’s not kid ourselves here either. Leaving $30 million on the table seems like a lot, but it’s a bit fuzzier when you’re banking $100 million anyways. Cliff Lee is back in Philadelphia, and now any MLB baseball betting on the National League seems like a foregone conclusion.

Geez, it’s not even 2011 yet!

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