Cliff Lee

For what it's worth...Sportscenter is probably the worst place to get sources.

WOULD the O's do 6 years? "Apparently" the Rangers won't. I could see the Angels doing 7. Their owner already said they're going to SPEND this season. That team may be REALLY good next season if they get all the moves they're working on.

Was Lee at the Winter Meetings?

Anyway...Lee's agent (and Lee if he was there) are on their way home. So their work is done there...they're going to think it over.

Peter Gammons expects the Yankees to still come out of this with Lee as they're probably offering 6 years -- $140 million.

In my opinion...that's all she wrote. It's hard to mess with the Yankees' gameplan of pay more than anyone else is willing to. He's a necessity and in that case...9 times out of 10...they win out.

Alright...Lee wasn't at the meeting. Clearly they knew they weren't signing here.

Braunecker is headed to Arkansas to talk to Lee and family. I wonder when the decision will be.

 

And what is this nonsense I hear about the Angels possibly signing Lee than trading Santana or Weaver for offense? Why would they ever go and trade Weaver (28 years old) so Lee (31 years old) can take over? Trading Santana I can see...but Weaver?

Javy is different. It is obvious that Vazqeuz can't handle the AL. 2 of his 3 years with the CHISOX were bad. Both his years in the Bronx were bad. Javy is a different pitcher in the NL. Grienke has pitched his entie career in the AL. I don't think that the anxiety will be an issue. Why? Because of 2009. He won a CY YOUNG. He won the award after being treated for his personal "problems." Plus Grienke doesn't have to be the ace. That job is reserved for CC. He doesn't have to be the face of the organization. He could go about his business........ winning games. Is it a risk? Certainly. It's a risk that I would take.

 Is Cliff Lee better? Absolutely. The playoff numbers alone make it a no brainer.There is more risk involved with Lee. In my opinion. I would not give Lee 6 years. I certainly wouldn't give him 7. Not at 32. Not with the back/shoulder problems. Not if I am the Yankees. Look at Pedro's contract. Look at Johan's contract. Hard for these guys to stay healthy.

Having said that........If I were the Nationals/Orioles...........I'd give Cliff Lee 7 years. Why? They need to jump start the fan base. They need to sell hope. They need to give other players a reason to want to play there. They need to become RELEVANT. Do I expect Lee to be dominant in years 5,6,7? No. That doesn't matter. Not to the Nats or Orioles. The road to respectability needs to start somewhere. There are worse ways to go about than to over pay Cliff Lee.

I wouldn't even consider trading Weaver.

But it's not just about "can he handle the pressure"...like I said, the Royals are asking for WAAAAY too much. They're asking for the Yankees' catcher of the future and multiple pitching prospects. Hell...I think Hughes and Montero would probably be asked for. It's not worth it.

Also...Greinke has never played in a MEANINGFUL game and never had a meaningful season. Truely, non of us know how he would handle. But you know the NY media is a killer. I believe The Post had Jeter in a Red Sox uniform on the back page this offseason. Talk about brutal.

Now you say you don't expect Lee to be dominant in year's 5 and 6...and usually that's how it goes with long contracts. But the thing is...by that time, there will be another big guy ready for a big paycheck. Maybe Hughes or Nova become studs, maybe not. But you can always count on the Yankees to dish out the money when they have a weakness. When Burnett is off the books in 3 more years (year 3 of what could be Lee's contract and maybe the point where he starts to fade) the Yankees would be ready to move on and find another star on the market.

The Yankees offered Lee a six-year deal worth $140MM, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (on Twitter).

Lee will decide on his next team by the end of the weekend, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

 

I wonder if that's from Lee himself or just an assumption.

Sparky,   It's always a gamble with these long term contracts but Lee says his success is all about mechanics and hitting spots with arm motion and body control. Guys with great mechanics can play a long time. Some team may actually get their moneys worth out of this gamble.

GL,   Doc

Yea...he's not going to blow you away with 95 mph heat. Nor will he blow you away with 91. Pettitte, Mussina and Moyer have shown that you don't have to a big arm guy to keep on trucking.

But the bigger problem is his back problems.

Sparky,   I guess that minor back stuff with Lee happens with lots of people but don't see that as a immediate problem and who knows about these long term contracts. Anything, I mean any crazy shit can happen in a week let alone a 6 year deal. Gotta roll the dice on these deals. It's crazy but it is the way Baseball business is done.

Please note that the Baseball union is the strongest of all the major sports unions and they won compensation fair and square in strikes over the years and the courts have always supported the right of any ball player to have rights and not be enslaved by a team and this stringent stance by the Baseball players opened the way for the other pro teams to follow. If other pro unions always cave in to the owners then fuck them.

GL,    Doc

Well, what I do know is that if the Rangers take the lead...the Yanks WILL up to 7 years to get Lee because their backup plan (which was basically the "D-Plan") is no longer there with Crawford. They said they wouldn't but that was while the backup plan was still there.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports identifies the Red Sox as one of the "mystery teams" who made a seven-year offer to Lee. However, they didn't offer enough money for Lee to realistically consider the proposal. Rather, the offer was about increasing Lee's leverage with other teams and trying to force the Yankees to add an extra year.

[Quote: Originally Posted by Sparky10191]

Yea...he's not going to blow you away with 95 mph heat. Nor will he blow you away with 91. Pettitte, Mussina and Moyer have shown that you don't have to a big arm guy to keep on trucking.

But the bigger problem is his back problems.

This is the BIGGEST risk on backing up the truck for this guy. Him and his agent are just like gambling stockbrokers waiting for the highest spike(offer) on their radar and then they BITE! Especially knowing Cliff's apparent back issues.

   This issue is what really pissed Nolan off when Lee was having his bad stretch in September and didn't inform team!?!?

Whoever signs him better be Buyer BEWARE cuz I really think he is just looking for all that cash. And to think JD even said Michael Young was tradeable just for cash space for Lee only rocks team chemistry although it was just Rockies calling about Young.

There it is...Yanks up the offer to 7 years.

The Yankees have just gone to a seventh year for Lee, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  With Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth getting deals of that length, it'd be hard to sign Lee without matching.  The Yanks' previous offer was reported to be six years and $140MM, so this one could nudge Lee past C.C. Sabathia for the largest contract ever given to a pitcher.

 

Not surprised at all. The Yankees, at this point, are desperate and NEED to sign Cliff Lee.

The Rangers are sending a contingent to meet with Lee and agent Darek Braunecker in the pitcher's hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas, reports ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.  This will mark the team's third trip to Arkansas.  The Rangers are sending owner Chuck Greenberg and assistant GM Thad Levine, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The Rangers requested the Arkansas meeting and plan to increase their offer beyond five years, tweets Rosenthal.

Crasnick reports that the Yankees' new seven-year offer has a lower average annual value than the $23.3MM of their previous one.  So this offer could be worth less than Sabathia's contract.

Yanks are going ludacris right now.

 

The Yankees have presented Lee with an assortment of contract choices, writes Sherman.  He believes the bids are something like five years for $125MM ($25MM per), six years for $144MM ($24MM per), and seven years for $161MM ($23MM per).  I have a feeling this will reach its resolution with Lee signing the largest pitching contract ever.

I think it's time to face the facts. The Rangers can't outbid the Yankees and Cliff Lee wants the money. He doesn't care about anything but the money and he's going to take the biggest contract he recieves and go on to say "I chose them because they give me the best chance to win".

No state taxes in Texas.  When you are making 15+ million a year this makes a HUGE difference.  If the Yankees offer 22 and Texas offers 21... between cost of living and taxes the Texas offer is WAY BETTER

But if the Rangers don't pony up a 7th year...that's some more million they'll pay him for another season.

If the Yankees sign Lee...Ranger Fans are going to be very mad at me. I just have a feeling.

If the Rangers sign Lee...I'd just be depressed.