The Cliff Lee Sweepstakes

Once again, delivering top-notch, late-breaking news long after it happens, Bases Loaded Balk has learned that Cliff Lee has decided to join the Philadelphia Phillies after coming to an agreement on a 5-year, $120 million deal with a vesting option for a sixth year.  Lee personally let the Rangers know, and his agent broke the news to the Yankees.

Here's what we have learned:
1) Players don't always want the maximum years and the maximum dollars.  Lee turned down more years and more dollars from both the Yankees and Rangers to go back to Philadelphia, where he spent the last half of the 2009 season and went to the World Series for the first time.

2) The Yankees can't get whoever they want if that person doesn't want to be on the Yankees.  Don't worry, Yankee fans, I'm sure this had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that you spit on the guys wife during the playoffs.  I'm sure he felt safe and welcomed by that reception.

3) The Phillies will be the overwhelming favorite to win the National League in 2011.  In fact, some are already arguing that this may be the best rotation in baseball history... before Spring Training even starts.  There is certainly that possibility.  Two years ago, Hamels was the staff ace, since then, they have traded for Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cliff Lee - three guys that would be the ace on just about any other staff in all of baseball.  However, let's hold off on the accolades until the season is over.

4) The mystery team is not always a fabrication by the agent.  ESPN's Buster Olney had tweeted the other day that most of the time, a "mystery team" is simply created by the player's agent in order to gain some leverage in the negotiations.  Clearly, the Phillies were the mystery team that was involved - quite unexpectedly because...

5) Just because you trade a player away, don't assume that he's never going to come back.  The Phillies traded Lee to the Mariners last offseason as part of a three-team deal that brought Roy Halladay to Philadelphia.  The reason they traded Lee: they didn't think they could work out an extension with him.

6) The Yankees are no longer the Yankees of old.  Just a couple of years ago, the Yankees would have signed at least one, if not two, of the top free agents.  This year, they looked like Alex Rodriguez in a playoff game - going 0-3 on the big fish.  In fact, with the signing of Crawford and acquisition (and extension) of Gonzalez, I'd say the Red Sox have become the very thing they hated.

Finally, the Yankees and Rangers have to move on, and perhaps their respective fanbases will be excited to hear the rumors that are flying around regarding Plan B for these teams.

Apparently the Rangers have expressed interest in former Yankee Chien-Ming Wang, and the Yankees could possibly be the next stop in the Mark Prior comeback trail.  Yeah, that's what happens when you put all your eggs in one basket... or some other metaphor that conveys a similar idea.

Yankees Move on To ALCS

The New York Yankees became the first team to move on in the Highlander-style baseball postseason tournament by lopping off both heads of the Minnesota Twins.  It's good to see, as Alex Rodriguez described them, an "underdog" move on in the postseason.

Oh wait, what's that, you say?  Yes, A-Roid referred to the New York Yankees as being "David in this situation."  Oh, those poor Yankees.  They didn't win the division.  They won't have homefield advantage throughout any playoff series (because the NL won the All Star Game this year, remember that!?!).

I don't know how they'll manage to play with the big boys... you know, with their $206 million dollar payroll, top free agents and second-best record in the American League.  How ever will they match-up against the Twins ($97.5M), Rays ($71.9M) and Rangers ($55.2M) with their minuscule payroll?  Somehow, and the Lord only knows, they survived the first round.  We can only hope that they'll continue playing together as a team.

Yankees Win AL Wild Card

Congratulations to the New York Yankees who managed to blow any chance they had of winning their division when they lost to the Boston Red Sox earlier today.  You know that somewhere, a Red Sox fan is getting into a fight with a Yankees fan just to show his team's superiority before they go and root on the Patriots for the rest of the year.

For your first picture, here's Yankees 2B Robinson Cano showing off his severely messed up tongue... or it's a wad of gum.  I'm not really searching for the truth here....

Bonus picture!  Just to prove that their offense is superior to every other team, SS Derek Jeter points out somebody from the stands that is going to be the starting pitcher for the Yankees.  Hey, why not?  They put Joba Chamberlain out there.

Finally, your double bonus: Yankees C Jorge Posada got penalized 15 yards for this personal foul facemask.

Steinbrenner Stilling Upstaging Players

It's bad enough that George Steinbrenner was about as subtle as a herd of elephants when it came to his involvement with the Yankees while he was still alive, but now his larger than life legacy is going to be permanently enshrined with the Yankee greats in Monument Park inside Yankee Stadium.  Check it out:

There's a great article on Big League Stew by Dan Brown that points out how Steinbrenner's monument is actually 2.5 times larger than the other monuments that you see pictured to the left.  You know, because Steinbrenner was more important to the Yankees than, say, Mickey Mantle, whose monument you see dwarfed right next to Steinbrenner.  Or, Dimaggio... or Ruth.  None of them can hold a candle to the importance of Steinbrenner.

Jeter's Future

In one of the most pointless blog posts of all time, MLB Trade Rumors' Ben Nicholson-Smith puts together a list of potential suitors if Jeter were to leave the Bronx.  Not surprisingly, nearly every Major League club could use a career .315 hitter and perennial All Star.

Let me make this an easy list for you.  The Yankees, if they want to continue playing in the Bronx, will be the only team to re-sign Jeter for the rest of his career.

Berkman Gets Most Important Hit as Yankee

Lance "Big Puma" Berkman, the long-time Houston Astro who was traded to the Yankees prior to the deadline, had perhaps his most important hit as a Yankee, as far as Red Sox fans are concerned.

Berkman smoked a grounder during batting practice that found its way to the inside of Alex Rodriguez's left ankle.  A-Rod apparently was distracted by saying hello to Fox announcer Joe Buck when the ball hit him.  According to the New York Post, Rodriguez didn't even see it coming.  He was looking off to the side and started hopping around like a school girl at recess.

Teammates Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira found the whole scene rather amusing, as did most people who don't really like A-Rod all that much.  Best quote in all of this?

Berkman, hitting .176 after 10 games with the Yankees, said, "Clearly, I'm sorry, but it's not like I was trying to hit him in the teeth and missed lower."  We know, Lance, we know.  The front office was just happy that you finally made contact that didn't lead to an out.

McCarver's Continued Descent Into Madness

Baseball announcer, and former player, Tim McCarver has continued his slow descent into madness.  Here is a direct quote from McCarver during a Yankees-Rays game earlier this season (thanks to Deadspin for the transcription).

You remember some of those despotic leaders in World War II, primarily in Russia and Germany, where they used to take those pictures that they had ... taken of former generals who were no longer alive, they had shot 'em. They would airbrush the pictures, and airbrushed the generals out of the pictures. In a sense, that's what the Yankees have done with Joe Torre. They have airbrushed his legacy. I mean, there's no sign of Joe Torre at the stadium. And, that's ridiculous. I don't understand it.

 That's right, McCarver compared the Yankees to WWII-era Russia and Germany.  I guess we can tell where McCarver stands on the Yankees-Red Sox-evil empire feud.

When an imaginary BLB reporter went to ask the Yankees' front office about McCarver's quote, he was never seen again.

A-Rod to Star in a Movie?

Variety.com reported earlier today that Alex Rodriguez will appear in a movie alongside Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis.  The movie is entiteld, "Friends with Benefits."

It's a heart-warming tale about the 2009 New York Yankees, and how Mark Teixeira and A-Rod become great friends during their run.  And the benefits?  A-Rod was finally able to have a season without all the pressure of being the premiere slugger in the Bronx.  What else could it possibly be about?

Moyer Mows Down Yanks

On Wednesday, Jamie Moyer, at 47, became the oldest pitcher to defeat the New York Yankees.  In honor of this momentous occasions, I propose we start a comment thread.  With props to Mike & Mike in the Morning for a couple of these...

Jamie Moyer is so old...

• He cried at Lou Gehrig's farewell address while he was warming up in the bullpen.
• He was once interrupted while watching a play... when Lincoln as assassinated.
• He bought Shoeless Joe Jackson his first pair of shoes.
• He is the first player to win the Cy Old award.
• He is the only person to strike out all of the famous Yankee outfielders - Ruth, DiMaggio, Mantle & Bernie Williams.
• He calls Larry King, "Son" when addressing the talk show host.

All righty, you're turn...