10. Carlos Ruiz – The Phillies catcher must love going to work knowing he gets to call games for Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels. Adding Cliff Lee into the mix only makes his job a little slice of heaven..
9. Kristen Lee – Sweet little Kristen gets even with the Yankees after their fans delighted in tormenting her by verbally abusing her during the ALCS this postseason in Yankee Stadium.
8. The Kansas City Royals – Many have reported that the Royals asking price is too steep for their prized right-hander Zach Grienke, but I bet at least two teams may now be willing to pay the piper his due.
7. The Tampa Bay Rays – Grienke isn’t the only young right hander available in a trade, and the Rays just realized that his stock has shot right up into a new stratosphere.
6. Andy Pettitte– The Yankees will pay dearly now to keep their veteran left hander from retiring. But is there any magic left in that arm at age 39?
5. Donald Fehr – The former head of the strongest players union in sports hardly ever smiles, but after landmark contracts to Werth, Crawford and now Lee, I’m sure he couldn’t be any happier as salaries are back on the rise.
4. Ruben Amaro Jr. – The Phillies GM has re-defined the art of making a big splash and he can do it in stealth mode too. He refuses to stay idle each offseason and is one of the most engaged GM’s in baseball during the offseason.
3. Scott Boras – He continues to play each offseason like a hellish version of Monopoly and he always wins. It’s no wonder he keeps drawing some of the biggest names in the game as clients.
2. Charlie Manuel – Ol’ Charlie just increased his odds of getting another money shot like the one above. How easy will his job be next season? Just sit back and relax Charlie, this next season should be all play and no work for you.
1. Cliff Lee – Nobody in the world is happier this morning that Cliff Lee, who goes back to the team he fell in love with for six months in 2009. Lee hopes to lead them to his third straight World Series. He left about $70 million dollars on the table to fulfill his American Dream in where else, but Philadelphia where it all began.
