Ruben Amaro Requires at Least Three Babies for Cliff Lee

Cliff Lee’s market price has been set.

Jul 16, 2013; Flushing, NY, USA; National League pitcher Cliff Lee (33) of the Philadelphia Phillies throws against the American League during the fifth inning of the 2013 All Star Game at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

Amaro is literally asking for three or four of a team’s best prospects – though as Craig Calceterra points out, without believing in the system that ranks them this could be hard.  This price tag is apparently high enough to cross into that “comparisons to biblical babies” threshold, and people seem to be complying.

Everybody wants Cliff, but with 21 teams automatically out of the running due to his ‘I’m not playing for these crap-ass teams’ clause, the list already pretty low.  Then, they have to be teams that require starting pitching, which, if you can believe it, not all of them are.

So there’s a list of – what, six or seven? – teams that probably want Cliff, but knew he’d be expensive, procrastinated about calling Ruben, worked up the nerve, dialed his number, got sent to voicemail, started leaving a voicemail, heard Ruben calling on the other line, rolled their eyes because he always does this, and then asked about Cliff and got the “three whole babies” price tag.

Ruben is digging in, deep, with his unwillingness to deal Utley either being another headline of the day.