motivated him. He worked hard in the off-season, learned the importance of living in the moment, and started to take Adderall to treat attention deficit disorder. He improved the command of his pitches and had a career-year in 2008, starting the All-Star Game for the American League and finishing 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA to win the AL Cy Young Award.
âI started focusing more on controlling what I could control, focusing on my routine and my preparation,â he said. âDonât leave anything to chance with that. And if I do that, thereâs no reason to be anything other than confident and expect to win. Iâve really been more conscious of that since then.â
Lee had his mojo back, and he was on his way to becoming one of the most coveted pitchers in baseball.
Poof.
Gone.
Nobody imagined the Phillies would trade their Marlboro Man to the Seattle Mariners the same day they acquired Roy Halladay from the Toronto Blue Jays on December 16, 2009. He would make only $9 million in 2010, which was a steal for a pitcher of his caliber. And who wouldnât want
Halladay and Lee in the same rotation? But the relationship between the Phillies and Lee, who could become a free agent following the 2010 season, became strained as the two sides talked about a contract extension.
As a player traded in the middle of a multiyear deal, Lee had the right to demand a trade within 15 days of the last game of the World Series. If he made that request and the Phillies did not trade him by March 15, he would become a free agent. Of course, that right came with a significant catch. Major League Baseballâs Basic Agreement said if Lee requested a trade, the team that acquired him would retain his rights for three seasons. So instead of Lee becoming a free agent following the 2010 season when he was 32, he would became a free agent following the 2012 season when he was 34. Postponing free agency two more years would cost Lee millions, so the possibility of exercising his rights seemed remote. But Darek Braunecker used the clause to leverage the Phillies to pay Lee for not invoking it.
âLetâs have a discussion about what value that has to the organization,â Braunecker told team officials.
This was not unprecedented. Harold Baines used his trade rights in 1989 to add an additional year to his contract with the Texas Rangers. He wasnât the only one. Although Braunecker never threatened to demand a trade, he pressured the Phillies into adding $1 million of incentives to Leeâs 2010 deal. The Phillies took the request as an aggressive act, threatening them without threatening them.
We wonât shoot you, but we have a gun and we can, so hand over your wallet.
It indicated to the Phillies that negotiations could prove difficult in the future.
Less than a month later on December 3, Amaro and Scott Proefrock visited Braunecker at his hotel at the winter meetings in Indianapolis. There the Phillies offered Lee a three-year contract extension worth $18 million per season. The offer included a fourth-year option. The dollars were well received, but the Phillies fell short on the years. Braunecker told them he believed he could find a six- or seven-year contract if Lee became a free agent the following off-season. There had been speculation Lee would settle for nothing less than a monster payday, which was a concern for the Phillies. Lee told the Cleveland Plain Dealer in spring training of 2009 that signing a contract extension less than one year from free agency made no sense âwhen I just watched what CC did.â He was referring to former Indians teammate CC Sabathia, who had just received a seven-year, $161 million contract from the New York Yankees.
âI never indicated to them that he was intent on testing free agency,â Braunecker said in 2011. âBut I was clear on the length of a deal I thought we could get in free agency. I felt like there was going to be a six-to-seven-year
âI started focusing more on controlling what I could control, focusing on my routine and my preparation,â he said. âDonât leave anything to chance with that. And if I do that, thereâs no reason to be anything other than confident and expect to win. Iâve really been more conscious of that since then.â
Lee had his mojo back, and he was on his way to becoming one of the most coveted pitchers in baseball.
Poof.
Gone.
Nobody imagined the Phillies would trade their Marlboro Man to the Seattle Mariners the same day they acquired Roy Halladay from the Toronto Blue Jays on December 16, 2009. He would make only $9 million in 2010, which was a steal for a pitcher of his caliber. And who wouldnât want
Halladay and Lee in the same rotation? But the relationship between the Phillies and Lee, who could become a free agent following the 2010 season, became strained as the two sides talked about a contract extension.
As a player traded in the middle of a multiyear deal, Lee had the right to demand a trade within 15 days of the last game of the World Series. If he made that request and the Phillies did not trade him by March 15, he would become a free agent. Of course, that right came with a significant catch. Major League Baseballâs Basic Agreement said if Lee requested a trade, the team that acquired him would retain his rights for three seasons. So instead of Lee becoming a free agent following the 2010 season when he was 32, he would became a free agent following the 2012 season when he was 34. Postponing free agency two more years would cost Lee millions, so the possibility of exercising his rights seemed remote. But Darek Braunecker used the clause to leverage the Phillies to pay Lee for not invoking it.
âLetâs have a discussion about what value that has to the organization,â Braunecker told team officials.
This was not unprecedented. Harold Baines used his trade rights in 1989 to add an additional year to his contract with the Texas Rangers. He wasnât the only one. Although Braunecker never threatened to demand a trade, he pressured the Phillies into adding $1 million of incentives to Leeâs 2010 deal. The Phillies took the request as an aggressive act, threatening them without threatening them.
We wonât shoot you, but we have a gun and we can, so hand over your wallet.
It indicated to the Phillies that negotiations could prove difficult in the future.
Less than a month later on December 3, Amaro and Scott Proefrock visited Braunecker at his hotel at the winter meetings in Indianapolis. There the Phillies offered Lee a three-year contract extension worth $18 million per season. The offer included a fourth-year option. The dollars were well received, but the Phillies fell short on the years. Braunecker told them he believed he could find a six- or seven-year contract if Lee became a free agent the following off-season. There had been speculation Lee would settle for nothing less than a monster payday, which was a concern for the Phillies. Lee told the Cleveland Plain Dealer in spring training of 2009 that signing a contract extension less than one year from free agency made no sense âwhen I just watched what CC did.â He was referring to former Indians teammate CC Sabathia, who had just received a seven-year, $161 million contract from the New York Yankees.
âI never indicated to them that he was intent on testing free agency,â Braunecker said in 2011. âBut I was clear on the length of a deal I thought we could get in free agency. I felt like there was going to be a six-to-seven-year
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