Philadelphia Phillies: Falling Back in Love with Cliff Lee on Valentine’s Day

As expected, most of the questions at Monday’s press conference in Clearwater, Florida featuring the entire starting rotation for the Philadelphia Phillies were directed at Cliff Lee, the surprise free-agent signing of baseball’s offseason. When not asked about his decision-making in returning to Philadelphia via free agency, Lee handled himself quite well sitting in the middle of the table and reiterating that he was just happy to be a part of the team.

“Basically, it’s spring training,” Lee said. “Just preparing for the season. I’m honored to be around these guys. But I’m just getting ready for the season.”

Lee joins a staff featuring the 2010 National League Cy Young award-winning Roy Halladay, a player Lee was practically traded for following the 2009 offseason, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels. It is a foursome of starting pitchers that has caught the baseball world by storm, but Lee made sure to point out that there are five pitchers in the rotation, including Joe Blanton.

When asked about their thoughts about nicknames that have been thrown around in the media and on the Internet referencing the four ace pitchers, Lee told the media that there were five pitchers and none of the nicknames he had been presented with in the press conference were good because the number five was not included. Clearly, Lee was voicing out the thoughts shared by his fellow starters in red pinstripe pants and red practice jerseys, but it came through as though Lee was taking the lead in speaking on the behalf of the starting rotation.

Not Halladay, the soft-spoken Cy Young award winner who tossed a perfect game and a postseason no-hitter last year. Not the veteran Oswalt, who prefers to sit back and let others do all the talking. Not Hamels, who has become the senior member of the Phillies pitching staff in terms of time with the club. And certainly not Blanton, who had to remind the media on one occasion that he won a World Series ring with the Phillies.

All eyes were focused on Lee, and it was easy to see why. He is the new guy, again. He was the top free agent in baseball this offseason and this was his first time meeting with the media in Clearwater. Lee is the guy who Phillies fans have fallen in love with all over again.

“I felt like this was the best chance to win a world championship. That’s what it’s all about,” Lee said. “I felt that if I got an opportunity to come back, I would take advantage of it.”

Few doubt that Lee will have a successful season in Philadelphia this year if he stays healthy, but the question is whether or not he will be more of a vocal leader moving forward.

“We haven’t thrown a single pitch yet, so it’s a little early to be compared to another rotation,” Lee said when asked what rotation the Phillies aces would be compared to. “I remember the Braves‘ rotation [John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux] was very good.”

It will not be much longer before we can truly see where this pitching rotation ranks in baseball history, once and for all.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com