Cliff Lee shocked the baseball world when he decided to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies. The New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers were seen as the primary contenders, and seemed like the two teams that had reason to be annoyed that Lee left a lot of money on the table to return to Philadelphia.
↵But is it possible that the Washington Nationals have the biggest gripe? They were always seen as the longshot for Lee's services, something general manager Mike Rizzo consistently confirmed. If that's the case, then Lee's comments during his press conference introducing him as a member of the Phillies merit a second look.
↵Lee was asked about Jayson Werth heading to the Nationals, and revealed that the two of them talked to each other about ending up on the same team. Werth, of course, signed with the Nationals quickly, so if they had followed the plan, Lee should be a Washington National.
↵In the end, though, Lee changed his mind, and Werth wasn't too thrilled about it. Via SB Nation Philly:
↵↵↵↵↵"When he found out I was coming here, he wasn't the happiest person in the world is all I'll say."
↵
Maybe that explains why Werth was so salty about the Phillies in his press conference earlier today. Werth's first comments on Lee? "They got their boy back, I guess."