Derrek Lee Deserves Braves

I’m glad Derrek Lee accepted the trade to Atlanta.
He’s deserving of a winning team and another shot at winning a championship.

I’ve always respected D-Lee the player, but never more so than last year when he rebounded from an awful start to lead the Cubs in home runs, RBI, runs scored, and OPS.

Lee accomplished the feat despite all the nay-sayers, like me, who screamed for Micah Hoffpauir, and despite the Cubs’ poor record, and despite the lack of protection in the lineup.

His second half was so brilliant (1.092 OPS and 92 RBI after the All Star break) that he finished ninth in the MVP voting. Who knew, right?

Dare I say, D-Lee may have even been undervalued heading into the last year of his contract?

Although Lee hasn’t delivered the monstrous season I expected in 2010, he’s again quietly put together a strong second half–at least strong enough for the Braves to deal three young pitchers in return for his services.

Since July 6 Lee is batting .314 with 6 HR, 27 runs, 20 RBI and nine doubles.
And since returning from the bereavement list last Friday, Lee has homered in three straight games batting .454 with 4 HR and five runs scored.

Those numbers only stand to get better with Lee rejuvenated in a playoff race and batting in a lineup along side Jason Heyward, Brian McCann and Alex Gonzalez.

For selfish reason, obviously, I would’ve loved to have seen Lee remain a Chicago Cub, if for only another season or two. However, given the current state of the Cubs, this deal had to get done–mainly for Derrek Lee’s sake.