Cliff Lee ain't worth the long-term deal ... here's why

Hey, Texas stRangers fans, do you REALLY want to give Cliffy Lee a long-term contract, when he wears too long a dress to volunteer to pitch on short rest? Remember, he didn't offer for Philly last years, either. (I bet Halladay will, and of course, Sabethia has before.)

Jeff Passan lays down the smackdown:

The deeper truth: (The Rangers) didn’t trust Lee enough, and they never heard him request the assignment, because, he said, “I’m not going to go in there and demand anything.”

For somebody who wants more than $100 million to lead a pitching staff this offseason, Lee’s passivity is stark. There is an ethos in baseball, fair or not, that top-of-the-line pitchers ask for the ball under all circumstances. Lee refuses to ask for the ball; as such, he gives off the impression he doesn’t want it.

And, the Phillies saw that a year ago. That's why, when Ruben Amaro had a chance to, in essence, exchange Uncle Cliffy for Doc Halladay, he jumped.

Update: Now that the stRangers have whiffed on closing things out in Game 4, we'll see if Uncle Cliffy can trump momentum and a return to Tampa to win Game 5 on full rest.

Sabethia is again ready to go on short rest, too.