Waiting on Cliff

The Yankees lost out on Crawford and Werth, and aren't willing to let go of any big name prospects for Zack Greinke. That means that Cliff Lee is no longer just their primary off season  target. He's their only one.

Pavano is still out there, but I wouldn't wish that on The Red Sox The Mets my worst enemy.

 The Yankees have allegedly offered three deals: 5 years $123 MM, 6 years, $144 MM, or a whopping 7 years $161 MM. The Rangers, the only other team believed to still be involved in the negotiations, have been rumored to offer a 5-year deal with a sixth year option. If Nolan Ryan is right, we're looking at at least one more day of waiting before any decision is made. Who will he wind up with? Yankee officials have expressed some sceptacism,  but I believe the smart money is still on the Yankees. Expect to see Lee in pinstripes by mid-week.

The Yankees need to do whatever they can to stay competitive in the AL east, especially with the moves Boston has made over the last few days. Cliff Lee is much more important right now to the Yankees than he will be too Texas. The Yankees already missed out on Lee once, don't expect the Steinbrenners to miss out on him twice.

Don't make daddy's ghost mad.

Presidential Hardball

For those of you who watched game 4 of the World Series last night, you saw President (and former Rangers owner) George W. Bush throw out the second World Series first pitch of his career. The first was prior to the start of Game 3 of the 2001 World Series at Yankee Stadium after the September 11th attacks. The last nine years haven't done the President's arm too well however. The 2001 pitch was a strike from the mound while wearing a bulletproof vest, where as the 2010 pitch was about half the distance from the mound and wide right. Check out both video's bellow and compare for yourself:

2001


2010