Kuzul

Summing up the power of the American League East is simple. Just consider this startling statistic: In the last four years, three separate teams from the American League East have made the World Series.

Furthermore, in 15 seasons since the wild-card was introduced, only five teams other than the Yankees or Red Sox have won the award. Simply put: the American League East is an elite division.

Even before the Tampa Bay Rays startled the world in 2008, the Yankees and Red Sox were two of the most powerful teams in Major League Baseball. With the addition of the Rays, who have been a serious contender since 2008, the American League East is nearly unstoppable.

However, as the 2010 season comes to a close, after featuring a rare World Series without the Yankees, Rays or Red Sox, we are beginning to see signs that the American League East may be losing some of its power.

Maybe for the seasons to come, the American League will be more even-matched. 

Let’s start with the New York Yankees.

After winning the World Series in 2009, the Yankees had a rocky season in 2010, ultimately ending in a Texas Rangers defeat in the American League Championship series. New York was up-in-arms over the loss, but not because the Yankees weren’t in the World Series. Rather, it was because, for once, the future didn’t look so bright.

The Rangers showed the world something about the New York Yankees: if you can get to CC Sabathia, the Yankees aren’t all that scary. A.J. Burnett was a disaster, and nobody has any reason to believe he will recover. 

The rest of the pitching staff is a bit concerning as well.

Nobody knows where Andy Pettitte will be in the years to come, and nobody knows what to expect from Phil Hughes. In fact, even when both pitched great games, the Yankees failed to prevail.

When Derek Jeter didn’t perform this season, the age concerns finally began to manifest inside the minds of Yankees fans. How will Jorge Posada fit in in the future? Can we rely on Alex Rodriguez? What can we expect from Jeter? Will Mariano Rivera continue to perform? Will Andy Pettitte be back? 

Even when all of these questions are answered, the future will still look uncertain.

Yes, the Yankees know they can, and probably will sign Cliff Lee, and that will help. But the concern surrounding the Yankees goes beyond big-time pitching.

The players that were essential to the teams success for the last decade now look to be on the decline, and Yankees fans are left to hope and prey for the future. The Yankees will always succeed, but how the questions as to how they will succeed are all too concerning.

The Red Sox are next. After a dreadful season—by their standards, at least—Boston looks to be in no position to improve. Victor Martinez will likely be gone next season, and nobody knows if Adrian Beltre (the one bright spot this season) will be back either.

Their pitching staff is extremely concerning as well. Even with the varying success of Jon Lester and Clay Buccholz, the Red Sox had trouble maintaining leads and win streaks. Their bullpen is nothing special, and Jonathan Papelbon does not see a pretty road ahead of him. 

David Ortiz is also another point of concern for the Red Sox.

After resigning him to a one-year deal, Boston fans are likely to see another dismal season from the aging power hitter. Earlier this year, he spoke out against another one-year deal, citing the negative effects it would have on him. Although he has recently shot those comments down, you have to believe there is some truth.

Then, there is the Tampa Bay Rays.

All season, everyone in the world new that 2010 was the last chance for the Rays to make something happen— at least for the near future. Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, and Rafael Soriano will likely all be gone next season, and that says everything that needs to be said for this team.

The American League East will always be a top division, but it looks as though there may be some legitimate competition for these teams in the years to come. As of now, there aren’t too many options to drastically improve teams, and the Red Sox, Rays, and Yankees may find the most drawbacks in that sorrowful truth. 

For the top analysis of the week, subscribe to Bronx Weekly. To read more thoughts and analysis, check out my blog. Subscribe to my articles and blog posts here. Also, follow me on Twitter, send me an e-mail and check out more at jesskcoleman.com.

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“Come on Mr. Lee and do your stuff
Come on Mr. Lee and do your stuff
‘Cause you’re gonna be mine
‘Til the end of time”

By Eric Marmon

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports recently tweeted (and the NY Sports Digest re-tweeted…why haven’t you signed up for our Twitter account yet?) that there are seven to eight teams interested in Cliff Lee.

Unfortunately for NY Sports fans, the Yankees can only be one of them.

Let’s dissolve one myth first: No team in Major League Baseball is going to offer Cliff Lee as much money as the New York Yankees.

Truthfully, there are small countries that couldn’t offer Lee the kind of money the Yankees will be able to. They may not offer him a blank check in the same way they did for CC Sabathia two years ago, but they are expected to offer him a deal that would make him the richest pitcher in baseball.

On top of that, no franchise will be able to offer the same year-after-year consistency the Bronx Bombers can. If Lee signs a six-year contract with any other team, he’ll have no idea whether that franchise will be buyers or sellers five years down the road.

In the Bronx, Lee knows every season is championship-or-bust. The only other franchise that can promise a similar guaranteed-contender status year after year might be Boston, but even they can’t be put on the same tier as the Yankees.

So if the Yanks money can’t be matched, and their year-by-year consistency can’t be matched either, Lee in pinstripes should be a done deal. And yet it’s not, and most pundits predict a deal won’t be made until sometime between Thanksgiving and the Winter Meetings.

Is this just your basic negotiating timetable? Or is Lee looking for something more than what the Yankees can offer?

Or is his wife just calling the shots?

Whatever the case, the smart money is still on Lee opening the 2011 MLB season in Yankee pinstripes. But for all those who like to overanalyze (we sure do), here’s a look at the other potential landing spots for Clifton Phifer Lee.

The Texas Rangers

Well, duh.

Considering the Rangers defeated the Yankees twice this past season (once when they acquired him from Seattle at the trade deadline, and again in the ALCS), a switch from Arlington to The Bronx could be interpreted as a step down.

But let’s be serious; signing with the Yankees has never been, and never will be, seen as a “step down.”

That being said, the franchise is in the best financial state it’s probably ever experienced, with new ownership headed by former New York Met Nolan Ryan. The Hall of Fame pitcher-turned-owner has publically stated his team will be aggressive in trying to re-sign Lee, so don’t be surprised if the contract they offer is enough to purchase a dozen small islands.

Also, any news you hear claiming the Texas state income taxes are negligible is false. Besides, the amount of endorsement-dough Lee could bring in playing in NY completely neutralizes that, anyway.

On paper, the Rangers are the favorite to re-sign the Ace…the favorite behind the Yankees, that is.

The Washington Nationals

Think back to the winter of 2008.

Brian Cashman and the Yankees were parading AJ Burnett and CC Sabathia around like Carl Paladino with a baseball bat, while the lowly Washington Nationals were in a bidding war with the Baltimore Orioles for the services of former Maryland resident Mark Teixiera.

Although Cashman ended up swooping in and stealing Tex for himself, it was the first time the franchise formerly known as the Expos had flexed any sort of financial muscle.

Two years later, Nats GM Mike Rizzo has publically announced on several occasions his team will be targeting Lee. They have shown a willingness to offer the big paycheck, even if they’ve yet to put signatures on any.

And with slugger Adam Dunn looking to sign elsewhere, they’ll have even more of that unspent money to spend.

That being said, it still comes back to winning, something the Nats have yet to ever really do. Yes, a 1-2 punch of Lee and Stephen Strasburg will look nice…in 2015, if/when Strasburg returns from Tommy John surgery.

Look for Lee and his agent to look long and hard at a big-money contract from DC…then use it as leverage with Texas or New York.

The Boston Red Sox

They haven’t said whether they have or haven’t contacted the free-agent hurler.

And as we previously mentioned, they’re the only team that can promise a year-in and year-out championship-or-bust mentality similar to the Yankees. Not to mention, some pundits have concluded Lee actually loves sticking it to the Yankees.

And obviously, no team offers a better opportunity to do that than the Sawks.

But their rotation is already pretty crowded with Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett, Dice-K and John Lackey already under contract for 2011. Throw in Tim Wakefield (also under contract for next year) and they’ve already got one-too-many.

Plus prospects Felix Doubront and Michael Bowden seem ready for their shots at starting in the bigs—opportunities not likely to come unless two or three of the “Big Six” suffers an injury.

Yes, it’s a league based on pitching, pitching, pitching. But if Boston signed Cliff Lee, they’d be the first team in MLB history to have too much of it.

Barring a major trade, Cliff Lee won’t be in Boston.

The Philadelphia Phillies

This might be the biggest Wild Card in the Cliff Lee sweepstakes.

Lee has publically declared, on several occasions, how much he enjoyed playing in Philly as well as the atmosphere in the team’s locker-room…endorsements he didn’t offer about Seattle or Texas.

Additionally, Phils GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has shown he’ll do whatever it takes to get his man. And nobody knows this better than Lee himself, who was jettisoned to Seattle as part of the fall-out when the team acquired Roy Halladay from Toronto.

Allegedly, they’ve reached the limit on their budget. But don’t sleep on Amaro pulling off something crazy.

The Houston Astros

SI’s Jon Heyman said Houston has thrown their hat into the mix.

They’ve shown a willingness to overpay pitchers in the past (see Roy Oswalt). With their former ace now throwing up north, they should be in the market for a replacement.

That being said, there have been rumors that Cliff Lee hates pitching in the South during the summer months (rumors he vehemently denied). Regardless of whether they’re true or not, one can only wonder; if he’s going to re-sign in Texas, why not do it with the Rangers?

The Los Angeles Dodgers

Any discussion about who is after Lee has included LA, although they still have ownership issues, and according to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post they’ve already targeted right-hander Brandon Webb.

It would appear the only way Don Mattingly gets to manage Lee is if/when he gets his well-deserved shot managing the Yankees.

The New York Mets

What? Yeah, sure, why not?

New general manager Sandy Alderson has said the Mets will be conservative spenders under his watch. But for Cliff Lee, they should make an exception.

And considering the Wilpons were the only people in the world that made money off Bernie Madoff, they have no built-in financial excuse not to.

Signing Lee would be a huge victory for the Mets on a series of different fronts. One, it would give them arguably the best 1-2 punch in the Majors if/when Johan Sanatana is able to return.

And not only would it help them stack up against the Big Three in Philly, it would also crush the Philadelphia fanbase, having to go up against the former Cy Young winner who is still beloved on Broad Street.

And if you think it would sting Phils fans, imagine the burn it would give Yankee supporters. Fans of the Bronx Bombers have had their eyes on Lee almost as long as Knicks fans were eyeing LeBron (Almost).

At least King James ran off to Miami, far, far, away. Can you imagine the backlash if Cliff Lee took his talents to Queens?

This article originally appeared on The NY Sports Digest. If it’s off-beat and it’s about the Mets, Yankees, Knicks, Giants, Jets, Islanders, or Rangers, then The Digest is the spot to get it.

Stop with the mega-sites and get a feel for the true pulse of New York at www.NYSportsDigest.com

Possibly Related Posts:

• November 10th – This Day in NY Sports History
• November 9th – This Day in NY Sports History
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• November 7th – This Day in NY Sports History
• November 6th – This Day in NY Sports History 

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It was reported today that the Yankees are meeting with free agent ace pitcher Cliff Lee.  This is a major development in what is the biggest free agent of the offseason.

Whichever team is successful in acquiring this ace will be very fortunate and it will definitely hurt their pocket book, but that is no problem for the Yankees.

Lee, the 32 year old pitcher out of Arkansas, has been on a roller coaster the past few years traveling from team to team.  In the past few years, he has been with Philadelphia, Seattle and Texas.  Over his career, he has had 102 wins with 61 losses and an ERA of 3.85.

The Yankees are just trying to add to their already stacked pitching line-up with the addition of what would be Lee to their starting rotation.

If the Yankees were to land him, they would have one of the top one-two punches in baseball with Cliff Lee and CC Sebathia.

Although the acquisition would be great for the Yankees, it would hurt baseball in general.

The Rangers would pretty much be left without an ace.  Having a loaded Yankees team would hurt the game and bring less attention to the smaller markets that have driven baseball over the last season.

If the Yankees were to win this big time acquisition, it would just hurt the game and be bad for baseball, although it wouldn’t hurt the game that much, it would still leave a sting on the small markets such as the ones in Texas.

If Lee signs with the Yankees, they will be everyone’s favorites for the 2011 World Series, but we all know, money doesn’t buy championships.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Texas Rangers and the San Francisco Giants have just finished the World Series of the underdogs, and the anticipation for baseball season is already growing. There is a lot of star power on the free agent market this year, and many analysts are already making bold predictions about next season.

Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, Derek Lee, and Jayson Werth are just a few of the names on the free agent lists. Where will they go? Who will sign them? How much money will they sign for? 

I will be addressing 10 of the biggest offseason rumors for the MLB, and whether they are fact or fiction.

Without any further ado, here we go with Fact Vs. Fiction For 10 Talked About Offseason Rumors.

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On the first day of free agency, the Yankees have already shown their priorities in this winter’s free agency.

They contacted the agent of Cliff Lee, Darek Braunecker, to let them know they are going to be courting the left-hander to come to the Bronx.

Now, General Manager Brian Cashman is taking the next step in the process.

According to ESPN and the New York Post, Cashman is flying down to Arkansas to meet with Lee and his family for a meeting that probably will involve Cashman’s selling of New York.

Now, I’m sure somewhere in his speech Cashman will be apologizing to Lee’s wife Kristen for the way some of the fans acted towards her and the other Rangers’ spouses during Game 3 of the 2010 ALCS.

According to the USA Today report, she had told them some of the Yankee fans cursed and even spat in their area during the game. Unfortunately, this can be the typical behavior from the drunken fans at any sporting event.

Lee and his wife have said it would not affect their decision in the free agent process. Even so, Cashman will still be apologizing.

Many expect that Lee and Braunecker will ask the Yankees for a contract similar to the one the Yankees gave CC Sabathia back in December of 2008, which was seven years and $162 million dollars.

Personally, to get Lee to New York, Cashman should give Lee whatever he wants, solely because he is that important to the rotation for 2011 and beyond.

Lee is 32, but he’s a very durable 32. In his elder years, Lee still remains one of the best pitchers in the game with great location.

Oh yea, not to mention, he’s only 7-2 lifetime in the postseason and 3-0 against the Yankees, two of those came in the 2009 World Series.

Despite the World Series, Lee was still very dominant in the playoffs. He was 2-0 in the ALDS against the Rays, which included out-pitching David Price twice, and he was 1-0 against the Yankees, a game where he out-dueled Andy Pettitte in a 13 strikeout performance.

In July during the trading deadline period, the Yankees nearly acquired Lee from the Mariners for a deal that included top catching prospect Jesus Montero. Seattle nixed the deal because of the other prospects the Yankees were offering and decided to trade Lee to the Rangers.

Two things people saw from that deal; the first, if Seattle had to do that deal over, many thought they should have taken the Yankees offer because the offer they got back from the Rangers wasn’t as great as advertised, and second is if getting Lee gave the Rangers rotation enough stability to get them through most of the playoffs and into the World Series, while the Yankees missing out made them fall short, and especially falling short in the series against Texas.

This is why the Yankees are making Lee the number one priority.

I can see some people saying, “But why aren’t Derek Jeter and/or Mariano Rivera the top priorities right now?”

They are just as high priorities for the Yankees, but they are unlike to go anywhere else. 

Jeter and Rivera are lifetime Yankees who want to retire in New York. They are going to re-sign with the Yankees this off-season, and I’m sure both know the Yankees need Lee on the team.

As of right now, nobody is sure if Cashman will offer Lee a contract on Wednesday’s meeting. For all we know, it is the simple “meet and greet” type. But Cashman flying down to Arkansas was a very important move in the early stages.

If the process continues to move forward, I wonder if Sabathia and his wife Amber get involved with the recruiting period. Sabathia and Lee are very close friends, as are their wives Kristen and Amber, which could really be a key factor in getting Lee to the Yankees.

Back in July, CC and Amber were helping Lee and Kristen try to figure out where they were going to live if Lee got traded to New York.

I’m sure CC has already sold Lee on how great it is being in New York and playing for the Yankees, especially since their 2009 World Series and reaching the ALCS in 2010.

The chance for a World Series is the missing piece for Lee, and winning it in New York with his former Cleveland teammate may be especially convincing to get him.

Braunecker has said the free agent process is in the “infancy” stages, so who knows how long it will take. Many suggest it could go up to at least the MLB Winter Meetings next month.

Whatever the case may be, the Yankees are pulling out all stops and have shown they will do whatever it takes to get Lee in pinstripes.

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Are the New York Yankees making Cliff Lee an immediate offer?

According to the New York Post, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is on a plane headed for Arkansas. Maybe he’s going to check out Walmart’s international head quarters. Or maybe he is considering bringing Razorbacks head coach Bobby Petrino back to the world of professional sports.

But most likely he’s going to meet with free agent stud Cliff Lee, who is from and lives in “The Natural State.”

Cashman has plenty of obstacles to overcome in signing Lee, but most prominent is his wife’s apparent disdain for the Big Apple, after she was harassed during the ALCS at Yankee Stadium.

But negotiating a deal appeasing to both sides is also an issue. Lee is 32 years old. He is going to want a long contract, something similar to what the club gave his former teammate CC Sabathia just two years ago. But was three years younger when they signed him in 2009.

Several teams will be looking to sign Lee but the Yankees might be the only ones with the money, although the Rangers could get the “hometown” discount.

Here are 10 more rumors floating around the world of Major League Baseball.

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After another fine season and trip to the postseason in 2010, Derek Jeter got a little more good news on Tuesday afternoon when it was announced that he’d received his fifth American League Gold Glove award in honor of his tremendous defensive play at shortstop.

This award could not have come at a better time for the shortstop, as Jeter is a free agent and will soon be negotiating his latest, and potentially last, contract with the New York Yankees.

And while there will be those who say that Jeter had a down year in 2010, and that he may be at the beginning of the downside of his career, to this we say “hogwash.”

Derek Jeter proved once again in 2010 with not only his play but with his leadership and gamesmanship that he remains one of the elite players in Major League Baseball on both sides of the ball, and deserves to be paid like it.

With this in mind, we present: Eight Reasons Why Derek Jeter Deserves To Be Amongst the Highest-Paid Players in Baseball.

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The Philadelphia Phillies face many questions heading into this offseason.  The biggest among them deals with the expiring contract of right fielder Jayson Werth.  Though the questions do not stop there for Ruben Amaro Jr., a man who has had all the answers thus far in his short time as Phillies’ general manager.  

Many controversial moves have helped define Amaro’s gutsy persona in Philadelphia.  He’s become one of the top GMs in the sport and is no stranger to taking chance.  This 2010 team appeared to have it all for the Phillies, though their abrupt exit proved otherwise.  

The 2011 season presents its share of challenges and another chance to continue what has become the Philadelphia dynasty.  The Phillies are one of the best teams in the league and boast a stellar 1-2-3 punch in their rotation.  

In the end though, injuries and inconsistency plagued this team and got the best of them.  Here are 10 questions for the Phillies to ponder this winter.   

Begin Slideshow

The Texas Rangers won their first-ever American League pennant in 2010. If they hope to make a return to the Fall Classic and avenge their loss to the San Francisco Giants, they have one offseason priority: re-sign Cliff Lee.

Lee was nothing spectacular in the regular season, but in the playoffs, he showed once again why he is so sought-after. Without him, Texas would have probably lost to the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS.

Obviously, the Yankees will be after him, and outbidding New York is an immensely difficult task. However, Lee has said that he enjoys playing with the Rangers. They are coming off the back of their most successful season ever and have just landed a huge, 20-year, $3 billion TV rights deal. Having Cliff Lee pitching in Arlington in 2011 might not be as improbable as it first appears.

That said, though, Rangers fans have to prepare themselves for the worst. If their ace leaves, their chances of back-to-back pennants take a huge hit.

They have very few viable options if Cliff Lee decides not to have “TEXAS” emblazoned on his chest next season.

Begin Slideshow

At 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, free agency began for Major League Baseball.

The Yankees wasted little time in planning out whom they are making their main target for the off-season.

Now, most know the Yankees will try and likely get Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera back for 2011. That will be the easy part of their winter.

But aside from Jeter and Rivera, the Yankees will be putting their main focus onto Cliff Lee, the biggest prize on the free agent market.

The Yankees and general manager Brian Cashman have already contacted Lee’s agent Darek Braunecker about preparing a potential offer for the left-hander.

Lee is no stranger to New York, as he beat the Yankees in Game 3 of the 2010 ALCS as a member of the Rangers.

Last year in the World Series, Lee won Games 1 and 5 of the World Series when he was a member of the Phillies.

The Yankees will not be the only suitors for Lee’s services. The Rangers, Angels, Nationals and Cubs are all expected to try to persuade Lee to pitch for them as well.

The Rangers—Lee’s 2010 second-half team—are factored to be the toughest competition for the Yankees, considering Lee lives in Arkansas and Texas is closer to his family.

The Yankees know this, which is why they will be pulling out all the stops for Lee.

Rangers owner Chuck Greenberg has said he will do what it takes to keep Lee, but he may be biting off more than he can chew if he wants to get into a bidding war with New York.

The Yankees are the highest grossing team in all of baseball, and if they want to add more payroll, they have the luxury to do so.

The luxury tax doesn’t bother them either, as they have been paying it the last several years.

If the Yankees want to add Lee by offering him more money, they will do it; they always go the extra mile to get the players they want.

Back in 2008, when they were trying to sign CC Sabathia, they upped their initial offer of six years and $140 million to seven years and $161 million.

The Yankees knew they needed Sabathia, and they knew they had to offer something extra to convince him not to pitch on the west coast near his California home. By adding more to their offer, they got Sabathia to relocate his family to New York.

The Yankees will be looking to do the same thing now with Lee and his family. So if the Rangers offer a major contract, expect the Yankees to trump them, whether it be in years or dollars.

Speaking of Sabathia, he is one of Lee’s closest friends from their playing days in Cleveland, and will be playing the role of recruiter for Lee and his family to come to New York.

Sabathia won a championship in his first year with the Yankees, while Lee has lost in consecutive World Series. A championship in New York with the Yankees, to go along with a massive contract, may be enticing enough for Lee to choose them instead of Texas.

From the Yankees’ point of view, Andy Pettitte’s unknown future with the team may be even more incentive to go after Lee.

Since 2007, the Yankees have gone year to year with Pettitte, who is mulling retirement. Pettitte wanted to come back to the Yankees to win one more championship, which he last achieved in 2009. At 38, Pettitte may want to finally call it a career and spend time with his wife and four kids.

His possible retirement, along with A.J. Burnett’s inconsistency, will only further increase the Yankees’ desire and need to get Lee to New York.

Right now, we are in the early stages of free agency and the negotiating process. As the weeks go on, we’ll hear more stories and rumors of Lee and his whereabouts for 2011 and beyond.

But for right now, we all know the Yankees’ main plan for this winter; it just all depends on how much money and how many years it will take to convince Cliff Lee to come to New York.

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