Cliff Lee to the Yankees has fallen through

[wheresmybacon]

MLB is stupid. How can the small market teams compete? They can't. The same teams win every year, and if the small market guys get lucky and grow one of their own and get to the playoffs, more often than not that guy is going to be playing in NY or LA or Chicago the next year or the year after that.

And then you've got teams like Seattle, who probably could win if ownership gave a shit, but no they're content because fans come to the games no matter what.

It's just dumb.

 

[sciencewhiz]

I heard that the NY media was complaining that Lebron to the Heat was going to kill the NBA and in the next breath getting excited about Lee to the Yankees.

 

[zinfamous]

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/yankees/yankees_on_brink_of_landing_cliff_b7oJw63k0cUXVdd02uuU1I

NYPost reporting that the Yankees are close to landing Cliff Lee for top catching prospect Jesus Montero.

I've been a Yankee fan since I was conceived. I was a Yankee fan in the '80s when they sucked and fought it out for 5th in the division every year. I'm not a front-running, bandwagoning fan. I remember Tim Leary, Lance McCullers, Steve Trout, etc. I realize that this is not a free-agent acquisition and that the Yankees are not outbidding everyone else for him, they are actually giving up a top prospect they developed for years to get him. That being said, I hate this move. Enough is enough. Do we have to field an all-star at every position and every spot in the rotation? Yeah, I realize under the current rules there is no reason not to, but it's sucking the life and joy out of baseball as far as I'm concerned. And what's the plan after Posada is gone? It won't be long now before he can't catch at all. Francisco Cervelli is exceeding everyone's expectations, but can he really be expected to keep playing at this level after he's never done it before in the minors? What then, will the Yankees sign Joe Mauer? I can't take it anymore.

yeah, I've never agreed with trading away top prospects for current talent that has a quickly-approaching sell-by date.

 

[KeithTalent]

He was the only hope for my mariners

Felix, Vargas, Fister, and Rowland-Smith (getting better), will have to do

Vargas is awesome! :thumbsup:

KT

 

[Adrenaline]

Trade news is that the Mariners and Yankees disagree on the second person in the trade and it has broken down for now.

 

[destrekor]

I miss Lee.

The Indians have a strong management rule:
Recruit young prospects - when they start to shine, get rid of them.

 

[drebo]

A cap in baseball would not ensure parity, and a lot of it has to do with the way the draft is.

What would help with parity is a salary FLOOR. There are a lot of teams that have a lower payroll than the Yankees pay in luxury tax. When you combine advertising revenue, ticket sales, and concessions with the revenue sharing and luxury tax, those owners are pocketing huge sums of money. A cap isn't going to make those teams any more competitive.

And, face it, without the Yankees, a lot of those small market teams wouldn't be able to exist.

 

[drebo]

On topic: This is a deal the Yankees need to make. They're going to shut down Phil Hughes and they don't have a replacement for him when they do. They also need a long man in the bullpen. Getting Lee, running a 6-man rotation for 4-6 weeks, and then moving Hughes to the bullpen to finish out the year kills all those birds with one stone. Hughes gets his innings up, gets to play the whole year, gets to contribute, the bullpen is fortified, the rotation is upgraded, and the Yanks only lose one major player.

Montero's a good prospect, but they still have Austin Romaine. And, face it, Cervelli is an awesome defensive catcher that has shown he can get clutch hits and play every day. Cervelli, while not having as much power, does have a relatively high on-base percentage and handles the staff very well. He is Posada's successor. Romaine certainly has a chance, but at least one of the two (Montero or Romaine) is expendable as trade bait.

 

[BrokenVisage]

Deal falls through! Thhhheeeeee deal falls TRHOUGH!

 

[Blackjack200]

Deal falls through! Thhhheeeeee deal falls TRHOUGH!

Well done.

 

[AstroManLuca]

I've been there about 10-11 times.

Good thing you're on ATOT... most people can't afford that many tickets!

 

[raystorm]

Cliff Lee to the Rangers

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Rangers have acquired Cliff Lee from the Mariners.

The Rangers will send prospect Justin Smoak and three others to the Mariners for Lee and reliever Mark Lowe.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Mariners could pick up a portion of the remainder of Lee’s 2010 salary as part of the deal.

Justin Smoak is supposed to be the real deal (though currently has low average and high k's..he's only 23). The Rangers going all out this season.

 

[Anubis]

nice go Texas

 

[raystorm]

more details..

Along with Justin Smoak, the Mariners will reportedly acquire RHP Blake Beavan, RHP Josh Lueke and 2B Matt Lawson from the Rangers for Cliff Lee and Mark Lowe.

That's not so bad for Texas. Smoak is a big loss, but they'll hold on to the rest of their top prospects in the deal. Beaven has a chance to be a part of a major league rotation, but Lueke is just a relief prospect and Lawson is a long shot to enjoy a career as a major league infielder. The trade is set to be announced at 6 p.m. EDT. It's believed that the Mariners are paying $2.5 million of the $4 million that Lee is owed.

 

[TallBill]

Just like the Yankee deal, I'll believe it when its complete.

 

[BrokenVisage]

GG Texas

 

[NutBucket]

Wow. Surprised Seattle is willing to trade within the division.

 

[rcpratt]

Man, it seems like the Mariners would have been better off getting Montero and anybody else. Especially within the division.

This makes things more interesting, though. The Rangers are now a clear #2 to the Yankees, but no huge favorite like there would have been if Lee had gone to NY.

 

[thepd7]

Cliff Lee to the Rangers

Justin Smoak is supposed to be the real deal (though currently has low average and high k's..he's only 23). The Rangers going all out this season.

Yeah as a Ranger fan I am really worried. If we don't go to the world series this year that's a horrible trade. No way Lee stays with the Rangers.

Wow. Surprised Seattle is willing to trade within the division.

Well considering how close they are in the division race (haha) and the fact that he's a free agent at the end of this year, this deal works in their favor no matter what. If the rangers do well this year then it's a win/win.

 

[drebo]

I'm a bit disappointed that the Yankees didn't land him, but there are a couple other decent pitchers that should be on the trading block later this month. The Yankees need to acquire a starting pitcher.

Glad we don't have to face him today, though. Maybe the Yankees were just bluffing to force someone else's hand so he'd get traded before gametime today

 

[SP33Demon]

Wow, huge blunder by NY. Amazing that the richest team in MLB cannot pull off a trade like this.

This is great news for the sport, Texas is already unreal this year with both Vlad and Hamilton mashing in epic proportion.

Also funny how Lee is basically just a mercenary for teams to swap their best prospects... well at least Philly actually locked in Halladay, amazing that no team has locked in Lee for a long term deal. What would be really funny is if Lee went back to Philly in the near future since he said he wanted a long term deal there and Arlington isn't exactly a pitcher's park either.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

As a Rangers fan I'm cautiosly optimistic, this team seems to have the best chance in franchise history to make a run in the playoffs. Normally this is the time of year I brace for the post all star break slide, but it doesn't feel that way this year.

 

[BeauJangles]

As a Rangers fan I'm cautiosly optimistic, this team seems to have the best chance in franchise history to make a run in the playoffs. Normally this is the time of year I brace for the post all star break slide, but it doesn't feel that way this year.

Just wait until the heat in Arlington gets to Lee...

On a more serious note, I agree with you. These Rangers look like a solid team, mostly because they have the pitching to back up their offense. Lee is a great addition to this team, especially considering that they didn't have to give up anything really painful.

 

[Gothgar]

awe man

 

[BeauJangles]

Wow, huge blunder by NY. Amazing that the richest team in MLB cannot pull off a trade like this.

This is great news for the sport, Texas is already unreal this year with both Vlad and Hamilton mashing in epic proportion.

Also funny how Lee is basically just a mercenary for teams to swap their best prospects... well at least Philly actually locked in Halladay, amazing that no team has locked in Lee for a long term deal. What would be really funny is if Lee went back to Philly in the near future since he said he wanted a long term deal there and Arlington isn't exactly a pitcher's park either.

The Phillies were retarded for not keeping him, acquiring Halladay and going balls-out this year. They won't be making a move to sign him long-term because of the laughable contract they just issued to Ryan Howard.