Kuzul

The Boston Red Sox celebrated the winter holidays as the clear winner of baseball’s hot stove season.  A trade for slugger Adrian Gonzalez and the signings of the athletic Carl Crawford and former White Sox closer Bobby Jenks were big moves designed to put Boston back atop the AL East.

The Sox were World Series champs in 2004 and 2007 but they’ve been division champs just once in the past decade.

Will the big moves be enough to push Boston to the top of baseball’s toughest division for the second time since 1996?  Here are 10 reasons why the Sox will win the AL East in 2011.

10) Squashing the Injury Bug

No team in baseball was hit as hard by injury as the 2010 Red Sox.

Two-thirds of the starting outfield, Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron, combined to play just 66 games.  The right side of the infield and heart and soul of the lineup, Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia, sustained season­­-ending injuries in midsummer.

There is no way the Sox bad luck on the injury front extends to another year, and the players returning from injury will be fresh, pumped, and ready to go in 2011.

9) The Rotation Goes Deep

For the second straight year, the Red Sox have five established major league starting pitchers entering the season. 

Jon Lester has developed into one of the top left-handed starters in baseball.

Clay Buchholz has progressed from a phenom with great stuff into a consistent major league winner.

Josh Beckett and John Lackey are both primed for bounce-back years after hard-luck 2010 seasons. 

At the back end of the rotation is Daisuke Matsusaka, who in his best season (2008) went 18-3 with a sub-3.00 ERA and finished 4^th in the AL Cy Young voting.  Not bad for a 5^th starter.

In case anyone falters, the franchise’s all time leader in innings pitched, 44-year-old Tim Wakefield, can still fluster a big league lineup and offer a change of pace to Boston’s power arms with his knuckleball.

8) Bullish on a Revamped ‘Pen

The signings of Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler adds two tough veterans to a bullpen that should be much improved from last year’s inconsistent group. 

Jonathan Papelbon is coming off his worst season, with a bloated 3.90 ERA, but entering his free agent year he should be focused and ready to close out games with more regularity.

7) Pressure’s Off for Papi

For years, the offense revolved around the power of Big Papi.

David Ortiz will hit lower in the lineup in 2011, likely in the sixth hole, and the spotlight won’t be on him but on the Sox new acquisitions. 

With an under-the-radar 32 homers and 102 RBI in 2010, Papi remains the best DH in the American League and should be way above average in the six spot.

6) Diminishing Returns in the Big Apple

The Yankees are old.  Derek Jeter’s best years are behind him, Alex Rodriguez hasn’t looked the same since injuring his hip, Jorge Posada can’t catch anymore, and Mariano Rivera, while still the best relief pitcher in the game, isn’t the lights-out closer he was in his prime. 

These aging Yanks are due to show their geriatric tendencies at some point, and problems with the starting rotation combined with an aging lineup could spell doom (well, third place) for the Bronx Bombers.

5) Back to the Farm in Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay is still loaded with young talent.  But even with blue chip youngsters like Desmond Jennings and Jeremy Hellickson stepping up, it won’t be easy for the Rays to overcome the loss of two cornerstone players, Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena. 

The Rays already have trouble scoring runs, having been no-hit twice in 2010.  Evan Longoria is a great player, but can he carry the lineup by himself?

4) The Need for Speed

No team in baseball has the speed Boston now has at the top of its lineup in Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford.  

Two years ago, these guys combined to steal 130 bases. 

If Ellsbury comes back strong from his rib injuries of 2010, the Sox will have baseball’s two best thieves in their lineup, and it’s going to be fun to watch them wreak havoc on opposing pitchers and catchers.

3) Tito Knows Best

With new acquisitions, high expectations, and a team full of veterans with big egos, there’s quite a management challenge for the Red Sox skipper in 2011. 

Luckily the Sox have a great one in Tito Francona, winner of the first two World Series in Boston since the Great Bambino exchanged red stockings for pinstripes. 

Francona’s got big questions to answer with his batting order and his bullpen, but there’s little doubt he’s up to the challenge.

2) Going Gonzo for Adrian

The Sox have been pining after Adrian Gonzalez for years.  He spent half a decade carrying a mediocre lineup and wasting his opposite—field power in San Diego’s cavernous Petco Park. 

The lefty slugger should pepper the Green Monster with his inside—out swing and make Boston fans forget the heartbreak of losing the Mark Teixiera bidding to the hated Yankees. 

Scouts project Gonzo to have 50+ homer power playing half his games in Fenway and plenty of road games in hitter friendly parks in the AL East.

1) Cliff Lee Phills Sox Hearts with Gladness

The biggest knock on the 2011 Sox as currently constructed?  Too many lefthanded hitters. 

Five lefties project as regulars – Ellsbury, Crawford, Gonzalez, Ortiz, and JD Drew. 

That’s why Sox fans rejoiced when Cliff Lee chose Philly’s Brotherly Love over the Yankees Cold Hard Cash. 

With Lee and CC Sabathia, not to mention the possible return of Andy Pettitte, the Yankees could have had three tough lefty starters as Kryptonite to Boston’s new supermen. 

Instead, the Yanks are left looking at a rotation of Sabathia, Phil Hughes, the disappointing AJ Burnett, and beyond that prospects and uncertainty.  Pettitte must come back to give the Yankees some self-respect in their rotation, but even then the loss of Lee really stings.  This stands as the biggest reason Boston could win the division title for just the second time in this millennium.

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There has been some significant movement in our starting pitcher rankings since we originally checked in on them. 

The most glaring change was due to Zack Greinke’s trade to the Brewers, but that’s certainly not all. Let’s take a look at how things currently look:

1. Roy Halladay – Philadelphia Phillies
2. Felix Hernandez – Seattle Mariners
3. Tim Lincecum – San Francisco Giants
4. Jon Lester – Boston Red Sox
5. Adam Wainwright – St. Louis Cardinals
6. CC Sabathia – New York Yankees
7. Cliff Lee – Philadelphia Phillies
8. Clayton Kershaw – Los Angeles Dodgers
9. Zack Greinke – Milwaukee Brewers
10. Jered Weaver – Los Angeles Angels
11. Justin Verlander – Detroit Tigers
12. Ubaldo Jimenez – Colorado Rockies
13. Josh Johnson – Florida Marlins
14. Francisco Liriano – Minnesota Twins
15. Chris Carpenter – St. Louis Cardinals
16. Yovani Gallardo – Milwaukee Brewers
17. Cole Hamels – Philadelphia Phillies
18. Clay Buchholz – Boston Red Sox
19. Mat Latos – San Diego Padres
20. Tommy Hanson – Atlanta Braves
21. Dan Haren – Los Angeles Angels
22. Roy Oswalt – Philadelphia Phillies
23. Colby Lewis – Texas Rangers
24. David Price – Tampa Bay Rays
25. Ricky Nolasco – Florida Marlins
26. Brett Anderson – Oakland Athletics
27. Matt Cain – San Francisco Giants
28. Max Scherzer – Detroit Tigers
29. Matt Garza – Tampa Bay Rays
30. Josh Beckett – Boston Red Sox

Thoughts:

• I know seeing Colby Lewis over David Price seems odd, but I took a detailed look into why I prefer him earlier this week.  Check it out by clicking here.
• Some people are going to be higher than I am on Matt Cain.  I fear a regression in his BABIP (.260) and control (2.46 BB/9 compared to a 3.37 career BB/9), meaning a rather sizable jump in his WHIP (1.08) could be in store for him.  Yes, he has improved his control for three straight years, but sooner or later, the trend is going to stop.  It’s not to say that he’s a bad option, I just prefer the other options more.  I’ll be taking a look at my projection for Cain in the near future.
• Since the last time we looked at the rankings Zack Greinke has been dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers, significantly helping his value.  You have to think that he’ll have a higher win upside, while also potentially seeing a bump in strikeouts and a decrease in ERA and WHIP thanks to leaving the DH behind (and facing generally easier lineups).  The former Cy Young Award winner was a Top 20 option prior to the deal but now cracks the Top 10.  For more on the deal, click here. 
• Adam Wainwright or CC Sabathia?  It’s virtually a coin flip and, despite pitching for the Yankees, Sabathia does call the harder division home.  When pitchers are as close as they are, I’d generally side with the NL option.
• Josh Beckett’s inclusion may be a bit of a surprise, given how poorly he pitched in 2010.  However, he struggled with luck (.349 BABIP) and we all know how good he has the potential to be.  It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him perform like a Top 15 pitcher at year’s end, would it?  (For more on his 2010 struggles, click here)
• I know some people want to consider Felix Hernandez the top starting pitcher in the league, but I just can’t do it.  Halladay has an edge in both wins and WHIP, while the two will likely be close in the ERA department.  While Hernandez may strike out a few more, is it enough to overcome Halladay’s other advantages?  I don’t think so.  (For a more detailed comparison, click here)
• I know people are worried about Latos’ workload in 2010, but any pitcher carries a bit of a risk with him.  No one knows for sure how his body will respond, as it’s the same question we’ve had with Tim Lincecum since he entered the league (and how has that turned out?).  With his strikeout rate (9.21 K/9 in ’10 vs. 10.55 over his minor league career), control (2.44 B/9 in ’10 vs. 2.30 over his minor league career) and the benefit of pitching in Petco Park, you have to like his potential to excel once again.
• Josh Johnson certainly is one of the best starting pitcher options in the league, but he falls just short of the Top 12 for me.  Don’t overlook the fact that he benefited from a 79.2% strand rate and increased his strikeout rate be nearly one K per nine innings (8.22 vs. 9.11).  I know he’s certainly improved since his minor league days, but his K/9 coming up was just 7.41.  There’s a good chance he regresses there, which certainly will hurt his potential value.  I wouldn’t suggest a return to his minor league numbers, but potentially back to the low-to-mid 8.0 range.

What are your thoughts on the rankings?  Whose too high?  Whose too low?

**** Make sure to pre-order your copy of the Rotoprofessor 2011 Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide, selling for just $5, by clicking here. ****

Make sure to check out our 2011 rankings:

• Top 15 Catchers
• Top 15 First Basemen
• Top 15 Third Basemen
• Top 15 Shortstops
• Top 30 Outfielders
• Top 20 Starting Pitchers
• Top 15 Closers
• 2011 Fantasy Draft First Round Breakdown

THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO FEATURED ON WWW.ROTOPROFESSOR.COM

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With the Philadelphia Phillies picking up Cliff Lee in a deal that shocked all of baseball last month, there has been a lot of talk about the how good the Phillies current rotation is, which ranks probably within the best five rotations in baseball history. The 2011 Phillies rotation compares to the rotations of the Atlanta Braves from the mid-1990s, the 1971 Orioles with Jim Palmer, and the 1966 Dodgers with Sandy Koufax.

Sadly for the Phillies fans, this rotation has a life of probably no more than two years. After the 2011 season, two of the pitchers of this potentially legendary rotation could be seeking new contracts. Cole Hamels’ contract ends after this season, and Roy Oswalt has a $16 million club option for the 2012 season. It is possible that the option might occur for 2012, but he is only 33 and may be seeking a multi-year contract following 2011.

Assuming that Oswalt will be looking for an opportunity following 2011 to find a multi-year deal to retire with, it is vitally important for the Phillies to sign Hamels to a contract very soon in order to avoid a contract war. Hamels is not eligible to be a free agent until after the season of 2012, but he is due arbitration following this coming season, which would put his value much higher than his current contract. The 2010-2011 offseason has seen a great deal of pitcher changes, and the Phillies need to insure soon that Hamels is not among that list for next season.

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With shocking free agent signings, blockbuster deals, and no shortage of clear-cut winners and losers, the 2010 off-season certainly hasn’t lacked intrigue.

With most of the big-name free agents off the board and the trade market slowing down, now is a good time to take a look at the best moves of the off season up to this point.

In evaluating these moves, I gave as much consideration to the impact of the move on the team’s chances as I did that player’s cost in either dollars or players.

In other words, I won’t dwell on a team overpaying for a player if it greatly improves their chances next season. Likewise, I’ll be sure to recognize bargain signings even by teams that figure to have a hard time competing next season.

As Jayson Werth’s deal with Washington does not put the Nationals over the top and was a severe overpay, that is one move you won’t find on this list.

Please leave me some feedback and check out my other articles if you like this piece. Enjoy!

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Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim:

The Angels players, all personally offended by the public’s plea for outside help, will rally behind the return of Kendry Morales and Tim Salmon. 

Torii Hunter, who for so long called for Carl Crawford to become a Halo, will pretend he was happy with the roster all along. 

At the same time owner Arte Moreno will claim that he believed in the players within the organization enough not to spend money on big name free agents. 

The players themselves, however, will only use their anger towards Moreno as motivation to not only win each game but also to slaughter their opponent in any way possible.

On May 20, Torii Hunter will hit a walk-off homerun against the Atlanta Braves, and in the ensuing celebration he will break his leg, much like Morales, only there will be player testimonies that do not add up.  An investigation will follow. 

Brandon Wood, relegated to executive ball-boy, sorry, executive ball-man, will find hope in his new role. 

He will meet the soul of Derek Jeter (Because New York stripped it from him) who will guide him on an out-of-body experience to see how to fix his career.  It may sound ridiculous, but so does his .382 OPS in 81 games last year. 

In around mid-September it will slowly come out that the Angels organization is actually an elaborate 50 year-long police sting to uncover the mob’s involvement in baseball, thus explaining why Crawford and Adrian Beltre kept their distance. 

Also, the organization will be disbanded when said information is leaked by Julian Assange.

Oakland Athletics:

The pitching staff, led by future Tim Hudson, future Mark Mulder, and future Barry Zito will rally around the assumption that if they make the playoffs a movie will be made about their triumphs.

Around July 15, with the A’s in the wild-card hunt, GM Billy Beane will convince Yankee GM Brian Cashman to trade Nick Swisher back to Oakland while eating 90% of his salary. 

Then Swisher will grow his hair back to its appropriate length and use his power stroke and cowboy attitude to make the offense believe in itself for the stretch run. 

Breakout star of 2011 will be 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff who finally loosens up at the plate and stops swinging at pitches buried in the dirt. 

Seriously though, Kouz hits like I’d imagine Macaulay Culkin might swing a bat while he light-heartedly tries to defend his home from inept thieves. 

I might be a little off-topic but whenever Kouzmanoff steps into the batter’s box my heart sinks a little inside. 

It’s like the world is darker, the clouds form above and rain pours down, so yes even God wants to avoid watching his at bats.  But hey his defense his above average, so there’s that. 

The A’s failure to sign Adrian Beltre may seem like a bad thing, and that’s because it is.

Finally, the search for a new ballpark will end when the organization says “to hell with it” and starts playing at a local high school field.  The high school team will take over the Coliseum and attendance will see a slight increase. 

Seattle Mariners:

With Ichiro threatening to return to Japan unless the Mariners avoid last place, the Mariners will avoid last place.  Infielder Chone Figgins, wanting to prove his worth to himself, will enter Spring Training having gained 20 pounds of muscle.

By July 15, he will have hit 40 home runs, bumping the team total to 43.  Ichiro will be overshadowed and will then retire. 

Because of their fabulous third-place finish, Felix Hernandez will not be traded as he will donate over half of each paycheck back to the organization to blow on other mediocre pitchers and washed up outfielders. 

Then, making a sudden and unwarranted “game-changer” the Mariners will unsuccessfully trade for Cliff Lee. 

The Phillies will turn down the offer, but using outside, somewhat legal help the Mariners will quietly acquire Lee and put him in a Vargas jersey because no one knows who that player is anyway.

Once the media catches on, the Seattle organization will cover its ears and, in unison, repeat the phrase “na na na na na na na na I can’t hear you, you words don’t affect us because we have special shields that only we can see.” 

After a few weeks everyone will give up.  The move, however, will not help as Lee is unmotivated and finds a way to injure his right pinky. 

While searching for success, Justin Smoak will toy with the idea of adding a knuckleball to his arsenal, and oh yeah he’s going to become a starting pitcher.  Smoak will fit in nicely in the No. 2 slot in the rotation.   

Texas Rangers:

Coming off of their terrific pennant-winning season in 2010, the Texas Rangers will struggle to replicate their success in 2011 due to Adrian Beltre’s mere presence. 

Beltre will constantly walk around “making it rain” in the face of good ol’ hardworking players like Colby Lewis and C.J. Wilson. 

Michael Young, like Mariners’ SP Justin Smoak, will make the transition from 1B/DH to pitcher as part of a 2011 movement that will be aptly named “Year of the Pitcher, Again.” 

Around June 1, after Beltre’s move to the leadoff spot in order to really “shake things up” as stated by manager Ron Washington, the team will go on a relatively long winning streak, taking two in a row from the Cleveland Indians. 

As part of that same “shake up,” Neftali Feliz will finally be removed from the closer role and put on the gear as the next great catcher. 

Washington will explain the move by saying that it improves the team’s overall “WAR” and reporters will wonder if he knows what that means. 

For the rest of the season fans will call for a replacement to Washington, and finally Nolan Ryan will hold a press conference only to announce his return to the mound, “but only as a closer,” he will explain.  

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What can we say about Cliff Lee that hasn’t already been said?

He transformed himself from failed starter, to staff ace, to perennial Cy Young candidate in just a few short seasons; he signed a $120 million contract, the fifth largest ever for a starting pitcher; and from the minute he set foot in Philadelphia, the Phillies were crowned World Series Champions.

In fact, rumor has it the other 29 team owners just wanted to forfeit 2011 to spend more time with their families, but Bud Selig turned them down because he wanted to see the first ever 162-0 season.

What can we expect out of Lee in 2011, aside from a World Series ring, that is? How about the same thing we’ve been seeing for the last three seasons…except he’s actually pitching for a good team for the whole season and should finally rack up some wins.

And we know he can pitch in Citizens Bank Ballpark, but did you know that his FIP during his stint with the Phillies in 2009 was 2.83, the exact same FIP he had during his 22-3 Cy Young season in 2008?

The only thing that Lee seems to have lost from his game since his resurrection is the ability to walk hitters. Entering August last season, Lee had walked just seven hitters. In August and September alone he walked 13! That’s, like, almost double!

Sarcasm aside, nothing has changed about how you should value Cliff Lee.

He’ll throw a ton of innings, he’ll contend for the National League ERA title, and he should close in on 20 wins.

The only thing that pitchers like C.C. Sabathia, Roy Halladay, Felix Hernandez, Tim Lincecum, and Adam Wainwright do better than Lee is strike batters out. Lee’s 7.84 K/9 in 2010 was his highest since 2004. If he maintains the same strikeout rate this season, he’ll have to pitch 229.2 innings to hit 200 strikeouts. It’s entirely possible for Lee to do that, but even then he would still trail the others.

Luckily for prospective Lee fantasy owners, we should see more than just 12 wins this season. Increased win totals, combined with an elite ERA and WHIP, make Lee one of the premier starters in the game.

The only guys I would definitely take before Lee are Halladay and Wainwright, and the only others in the conversation are Lincecum, Hernandez, and maybe Sabathia (sorry, Josh Johnson).

Fearless Forecast: 19-8 | 2.85 ERA | 1.10 WHIP | 188 K | 7.65 K/9 | 221 IP

For more baseball updates and fantasy predictions, check out Baseball Professor.

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While Adrian Beltre is the last big name free agent off the market, that doesn’t mean all the talent is gone. There are still a good number of players on the market that could help a team this season. As it stands now, teams are scrambling to try and address their needs before the available talent pool has dried up.

Some teams will get healthier than others, other teams will suddenly have more to spend, and it could lead to some players in some interesting places. Here is a look at some of the latest rumors involving potential baseball free agent signings. 

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Now that Andy Pettitte has returned from his Hawaiian Hau’oli Makahiki Hou, it’s hard to tell who’s awaiting his plans for next season with greater anticipation: Yankee fans or Yankee….ummm…shall we say, non-fans.

While his return certainly would be cause for a cheer by the former, if he decides to retire, it will hardly be cause for a funeral in Yankee Universe, nor will it be a body blow to the team’s ultimate mission of returning to the World Series this year.

So the latter had better reserve their eulogies and shovels for another occasion.

Here’s why:

For all the blanket condemnations concerning the aging of the Yankees, in Andy’s case it certainly appears to apply, as his DL-shortened 2010 campaign proved.

If he returns, even if fully mended from his multiple physical ills, the Yankees would count themselves fortunate if he could match his 23 starts of last season. Likewise, his 11 wins, though an attainable objective, would hardly be guaranteed.

He would need to be rested at scheduled intervals like last season; more frequently and for longer periods at the first sign any of his painful strains and pulls might be bothering him.

Not even the Yankees are expecting him to be a front-of-the-rotation pitcher this season if he returns.

Conversely, however, that means if he decides to retire, it’s not hard at all to imagine one or even two younger healthier arms, from within or without the organization, being readily available and easily replacing those 11 wins and more.

An ace of Cliff Lee‘s stature is hardly necessary to replace those 11 wins, nor is one necessary to repeat or improve upon a decidedly ragged rotation performance that still managed to take the team to within two games of a consecutive Series appearance.

Just two games better.

The rest of the American League has a decidedly longer way to go than that, including the now-Leeless Rangers.

As for losing Lee, the Yankees likely improved their record by at least three games or more this season in doing so…and it didn’t cost them a cent.

The Phillies handily accomplished at least half of what the Yankees had hoped to achieve themselves, which was remove Lee as an obstacle to the Series for the remainder of his effective pitching career.

Just as the Red Sox did last season in their three-team swapadeedoo that sent Roy Halladay north and John Lackey east, the Phillies removed yet another certified Yankee killer from our universe and made the path to the next ring that much smoother.

I’ll leave you with this final thought:

The talent pool for trades is light years deeper and wider than the curbside garage sale of the Hot Stove; the Yankee farm is hip deep in bargaining chips; and Yankees GM Brian Cashman has Lee’s $150 million severance pay bulging in his back pocket.

If you think you’ve seen Cashman and company stalk their quarry with a take-no-prisoners vengeance in the past, can you picture what they’ll be like with all that live ammo if Andy doesn’t return?

Hardly anybody’s starting pitchers will be off the table…or untouchable.

In summary, anyone betting the Yankees—who’ve only missed one post-season in 16 years—won’t be returning again in 2011 as good or better than ever, with or without Andy, now hear this: Your money is going to be in my pocket.

So say aloha already, Andy, and let’s play ball.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Unless you live under a rock–and even maybe then–you have heard about the Phillies signing Cliff Lee to go along with Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels in a starting rotation that many consider the best of the decade.  This four-man rotation is the best in baseball by just about any stat category, but is it enough to win them the pennant?  The Phillies are projected to win the NL East easily, and to make a good run into the postseason, but is it a lock?  Not quite is the answer.  The Phillies have almost solved the puzzle for the 2011 season–and possibly beyond– but need to add one or two more pieces such as a shut-down reliever or a right-handed hitter.  These ten guys are all available, and if the Phillies acquire any of them, they should just about clinch the NL Pennant–FYI, this isn’t a ranking since they should all clinch them the NL Pennant.

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COURTESY OF YANKEES ‘N MORE

The holidays, and 2010 along with them, are over.
 
We head into the second day of the first work week of 2011, and Brian Cashman, well, he continues to do what he’s done all winter…NOTHING.
 
Well, that’s not exactly true. Cashman did manage to wake up long enough to sign a lefty specialist, who has never pitched a day in the American League before.

Oh, and don’t forget about those broken-down scrubs like Mark Prior and Russell Martin. Now, if Cashman could just track down Doc Brown and his DeLorean, those guys might actually do what they’re being counted on to do this season.
 
But while the Boston Red Sox have made the moves that vaulted them to heavy favorites in the American League, our sorry sack-of-dog-$#!t general manager has gone from playing dress-up to alternating between long naps and burying our beloved Yankees in a massive hole of his own digging.
 
With just six weeks to go until the start of Spring Training, here’s what Brian Cashman has to show for the largest payroll in the game:

1. ONE reliable starting pitcher.
2. NO reliable setup man.
3. $56 million worth of charity wasted on a 36-year-old SS with NO range, NO bat speed, NO power and a mediocre arm.

That’s about it. Oh, and Cashman also has Eduardo Nunez and Ivan Nova. Those are the guys who Cashman declared were deal-breakers when he had a chance to add Cliff Lee before the trade deadline last season.
 
Just remember that when you’re watching Nunez sit on the bench this season and Nova hit the showers after five innings. The Mariners, after balking at the medical records on infielder David Adams, asked the Yankees for ONE of Nunez or Nova to complete the Lee deal, and Cashman said no.
 
Just another in a long line of hideous decisions made by “Elf” Cashman in the last year plus. And that decision, combined with others like re-acquiring Javier Vazquez, cost the Yankees their best chance at the 2010 World Series, and their best chance at signing Cliff Lee.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com