Best team in MLB? Phils fit the bill with Lee

Let's forget forever the idea that baseball is stacked unalterably and unfairly in favor of only the Yankees and the Red Sox.
Let's forget the idea that whatever the Yankees and Red Sox truly want, the Yankees and Red Sox get.
And most of all, let's forget the idea that the mighty American League East includes the two best teams in the game.
It doesn't, because today, it doesn't even include the best team in the game.
Are the Yankees better than the Phillies, I asked one veteran scout who works for another National League team.
No.
Are the Red Sox better than the Phillies?
No.
At the risk of more nasty e-mails from Giants fans, I'll say again that the Phillies ended the 2010 regular season as the best team in the game. And now they've gotten even better.
"Oh, I always thought Cole Hamels was a fourth starter, anyway," the scout said, obviously joking.
Signing Cliff Lee doesn't guarantee the Phillies a spot in next year's World Series, any more than the Big 3 of Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Hamels got them a spot in the World Series this past season.
But signing Cliff Lee does establish what maybe we should have acknowledged already, which is that when you start talking about the elite teams in baseball, the Phillies fit in very close to the top.
We won't believe them -- and neither will rival teams -- the next time the Phillies claim they don't have any money. We won't forget them as a contender for the services of any big-name player.
The Yankees are always in on everybody. So are the Red Sox. And so, we'll assume until proven otherwise, are the Phillies.
Their revenues, for now, don't really match up (they reportedly ranked 10th in baseball). But they act like the biggest of big-market teams, and they deserve to be treated that way.
And it is worth noting that until they find a new home for Joe Blanton, the Phillies have about $80 million committed to starting pitchers, which is about what the rival Braves will spend on their entire team.
What makes this most interesting is where the Phillies came from, and how fast it has all happened.
As recently as early September 2007, the Phils were still the team that hadn't made the playoffs in 14 years, the team that hadn't won a World Series in a quarter of a century, the team that had won only one World Series ever.
They had a decent new ballpark that they were starting to fill, and an interesting young team. But in a discussion of baseball's elite teams, they would have been far, far down the list.
Then the Mets collapsed, as the Phillies surged. Then 2008 happened. Then came the midseason trade for Lee in 2009, followed by the December trade for Halladay.
And now this, a signing that not only shows the Phils' financial might (while they were outbid by the Rangers and Yankees on total dollars, they also just guaranteed a pitcher a record $24 million a season), but also shows what a draw they've become to players (Lee did, after all, take less guaranteed money).
They have a ballpark that is filled every night, with fans who have belied Philadelphia's reputation as the land where they only boo. They have a manager who players respect, and a clubhouse atmosphere that players want to join.
They're not afraid to spend big to keep someone they want (witness Ryan Howard's $125 million contract), but will let someone go who they don't think he's worth big money (witness Jayson Werth heading to Washington).
Their next big decision will be on Jimmy Rollins, but it's already pretty clear where it's heading. If Rollins continues a decline that was obvious this past year, the Phillies will let him go and find someone else. If Rollins goes back to being the guy who helped make that offense go, then there's little doubt the Phillies will find the money to sign him.
They understand what an opportunity this is for this franchise, and they've done everything they can to widen the window to win. That same logic went into the decision, right or wrong, to basically exchange Lee for Halladay last winter.
And it has everything to do with the decision to bring Lee back.
As one Phillies person put it Tuesday, they may have just lengthened their window from two more years to four.
To really be considered a great team, the Phillies are going to need to win again. For all their division titles, the Braves always got hit with the reality that they won only one World Series in that time. The Indians, who had something good going in the late 1990s, made it to the World Series twice but never won.
These Phillies have four straight division titles, two NL pennants and one World Series title. They have a chance to extend that, a chance to make this run truly special.
Right now, the best team in the game doesn't live in New York, and it doesn't live in Boston.
Right now, it's the Phillies.

extracted from cbssports.com