Durbin

Chad Durbin is a Cleveland Indian. It wasn't exactly the destination that he was hoping for, but after a long offseason where his future lingered in free agency, the pitcher finally signed somewhere. That somewhere just so happened to be home to a team that finished fourth in their division last year, 25 games out of first place in the AL Central.

In his first meeting with Indians reporters today, Durbin seemed to be understanding of the Phillies approach to him, especially after the team signed Cliff Lee to a big deal. Via Todd Zolecki and the Zo Zone

"You know, I would take Cliff Lee over Chad Durbin."

 

Pretty funny for a guy who got much less than he was hoping on the open market. Zolecki did mention that "the Phillies actually made him an offer in December worth more than what he got from Cleveland." (He'll make $800k with them in 2011).

About a month ago, we got an email from someone who said they were close to Durbin's agent, Dan Horwits. It was never ran because we couldn't confirm it, but it said the Phillies offered Durbin a $900k "take it or leave it" deal, which didn't guarantee a roster spot. That seems to jive with Zolecki's report.

Regardless of the situation, Durbin had some nice words about his time with the Phils.

"There's no doubt I'm grateful for all three years there," he said of his time with the Phillies. "It made a difference in my life and the way I think and my career and everything involved there."

 

A lot better route to take than say, I don't know, Jayson Werth? All in all, he's in a better situation than any NFL player right now…

…that labor situation is one helluva shitshow.