MLB Predictions: Picking Cliff Lee and the 2011 NL East Preseason All-Stars
January 17, 2011 by Matt Goldberg
Filed under Fan News
When the Phillies, to the surprise of many, re-acquired Cliff Lee last December, many pundits conceded the NL East (and beyond) to Philadelphia.
But where would Cliff Lee rank on an all-NL East team?
Which other pitchers would join him in the five-man rotation, and indeed, who would be flashing him signals from behind the dish?
Brain McCann of the Braves, his own catcher, Carlos Ruiz, or the future surefire Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez of the Nationals?
My goal for this presentation was to pick the mythical All-NL East team. Unlike the real All-Star Game, I view this as more of a seven game series, with this squad battling stars from the other divisions.
Call it east coast bias, but I’d probably give the Al East and the NL East byes if there were to be an actual clash of the six division all-star teams. One could also make a case for the NL West getting a bye, but let’s leave that discussion for another time.
So, here we go starting with our catcher.
Let the games and the debates begin!