The Rangers have enough spending power to add Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Texas is pursuing both free agents and has approval from ownership to boost payroll above $90MM.
The Rangers opened the 2010 season with a $55MM payroll, but new ownership, a new TV deal, better attendance and a World Series appearance have put the team in a position to spend. The former Indians teammates are among the most highly coveted free agents available; seven to eight teams have shown interest in Lee and Martinez has drawn interest from at least six teams, including the Red Sox and Tigers.
Well I’m sure Ranger fans and Yankee haters were happy to read that first part of the sentence- “The Rangers have enough spending power to add Cliff Lee”
Ya think? [as in “Hell Yes!!”] ;-)It’s great to see the Rangers creating a little of their own competitive balance (if that’s the right term).
It appears that with all these Likes you are giving everywhere, this story gave you an erection lol
Tacky tacky!
Try to keep your mind in your own pants, chief!
They want to reunite the cy young winner with his catcher.
His catcher for his Cy Young season was primarily Shoppach
Lee and Martinez didn’t seem to work out very much together. Lee was much better with Shoppach behindWith Martinez catching. 106 games, 602 innings, 4.84 ERAWith Shoppach, 61 games, 415 innings, 2.75 ERA
And in 2008 when he won the Cy Young, Martinez only caught 4 games that Lee pitched, Shoppach caught 27.
4 games is HARDLY a big enough sample size to make a correlation. It makes the data pointless.
Do you not understand what I was saying?
Shoppach replacing Martinez was a huge improvement for Lee. I was showing that Shoppach was the primary catcher for his 2008 Cy Young season. Who knows how good/bad he would have done if V-Mart stayed in Cleveland catching.
Dude, I must say… that’s some great statistical research right there
Baseball-Reference has it all 🙂
I really want to see this happen.
That would be a coup if they land both…i wonder what the Rangers fall back plan is? Would they make the trade for Greinke?
IDK, but I don’t know what they plan to do. Would Martinez be the full-time catching butcher? Would Moreland lose playing time?
I would sure hope they aren’t planning on using him at 1b, he’s worse there then behind the dish, and his numbers are only really good if he’s catching.
Well, the guy’s AWFUL behind the plate. His career 23.6% throwout rate is tarnished by seasons like 2010 where he he throws out about 17%. In 2008, I think it was, he only threw out about 13-14% of runners. It’s gotten to be a joke.
His 1B defense isn’t great, nor have we seen a large sample, but his UZR there so far is only a -1.4, and a -1.9 UZR/150. It’s not good, but it’s passable when you consider the alternative of sticking him behind the dish and allowing 100 SB or more a year.
Of course, they could just let Vlad walk and make him a DH above all else, though I doubt he accepts that role.
I agree 100% with you. We all know he has a squirt gun of an arm. I was looking at it solely from an offensive stand point, 20/79 .302, is pretty darn good production from the squat. At 1B, the production is average.
Yes, but would you rather have slightly above-average offense and slightly below-average defense or really good offense and really bad defense?
It’s all a matter of the replacement options, and IDK how good the next TEX C is, but Moreland can definitely hold his own, so we will have to see what happens before we jump to projecting what he would do in TEX.
If and when the Yankees sign Lee, my money’s on Greinke going to Arlington. I think they’ll absolutely bring in an ace, one way or another. Between Holland, Perez, Scheppers, etc. etc. they’ve got enough high-profile young pitchers, even if Perez and Scheppers struggled in 2010.
They could make the the trade, but…should they? The amount of talent Greinke would cost…why pay out that talent AND money to Greinke when you can just shovel more backended money at Lee and keep your talent? The Rangers have to consider signing Lee as almost a “must sign” for a variety of reasons, including his leadership of their young pitchers and his attraction to boost fan attendance.
I wonder who Texas is going to pursue as a backup plan if they can’t sign Lee and the Yankees or some “dark horse” snatches him up. Besides JDLR, is there anyone else who would be a good fit for Texas as an ace?I thought the TV Deal isn’t until 2015, so how does this help them spending wise now? Or are they spending money based off projecting revenue from the deal?
Well seeing that they already spent the money they got upfront on the new TV deal to buy the team, who knows how they’ll be able to afford it.
They didn’t sign the TV deal until after the team was purchased, and the deal gave them a huge signing bonus… not to completely shoot you down lol.
The main article said that the Rangers get bonus money up front from the tv deal to use now.
The Rangers already applied to new influx of TV bonus money to debt owed from the Bankruptcy. It’s a fallacy that they have that money to spend on payroll right now.
`dsfsaf
By spending that money on that debt they have actually decreased what they have to pay every month by 90%. The debt was costing the Rangers 15-20 million a year in interest fees alone!!!! That is gone now. That and the 2 main owners are billionaires and they understand that they have to invest a little more now to put a better product on the field and make money later.
where did you find this information? and what debt from the bankruptcy?
Bout time this site give them a little love on the predictions hardly anyone had them signing anyone even though they have the bucks to spend.
I don’t like the idea of adding V-Mart. Even if they have the green light to raise payroll into the $90 mil range…the extra money should go towards extending Cruz and Hamilton, not V-Mart. Not to mention I’d like to see a full year out of Mitch Moreland at first, a catcher who can actually throw out base runners and no more than like $6-7 mil spent on a DH.
V-mart does surprise me, but he is one of the most consistent hitters on the market. Unlike the Huff’s, Pena’s etc. in Martinez you know exactly what to expect.
I tend to agree with you… They need to keep the guys that got them to the World Series… if they cripple their payroll with these two big contracts they may only be able to hold onto only one of Cruz/Hamilton/Kinsler once free agency/big arbitration raises arrive.
i agree. Their offense is fine with Cruz, Andrus, Murphy Kinsler, Hamilton, and Young. They need to keep that core together long term.
I think it would be great for baseball if the Rangers outbid the Yankees for Lee.
I am a Yankee fan and I agree… I think it would have been best for baseball if Cliff Lee stuck with the Indians but that wasn’t going to happen lol.
I really want to see the Yanks finally take some pride in the pitchers in their farm and give them a chance instead of always using the farm in trades. I want to see David Phelps get a crack at the rotation in Spring Training. Phil Hughes performed well enough (I know the exceptional first month really padded his stats) and I think they can fill atleast another rotation spot with either Nova, Phelps or even dare I say Brackman. Heck, maybe even give Joba another shot even though he is probably best suited in the ‘Pen.
Problem is, if Petitte retires, they need to fill two rotation spots.
Educate me, Joe. Didn’t the Yanks try this with Kennedy/Chamberlain/Hughes? I was under the impression that’s what precipitated the CC and AJ signings in that ridiculous “We can spend $400M faster than any team in baseball” 2008-2009 Off Season. I’m not a rabid Yankees hater like others. As a baseball purist, I actually thought it was great they were trying to develop youth rather than the old M.O. of buying the best FAs out there. I was really turned off when they abandoned the youth approach so quickly.
In my opinion they were all rushed and in the case of IPK ppl were too caught up in the fact that he didn’t throw 95 mph.
-Hughes before 2008 = A total of 28.2 IP @ AAA (all in 2007)
-Joba before 2008= A total of 88 IP in the minors ALL IN 2007!!!! (40 in A, 40 in AA and 8 IP in AAA). He debuted in the minors in 2007 and blew thru A, AA, AAA and pitched 24 IP in the majors during a pennant run.
-IPK before 2008= Same as Joba. A total of 146 IP in the minors ALL but 2 IP IN 2007. (2.2 in 2006, 63 IP @ A, 48 IP @ AA and 34 IP @ AAA before being called up to pitch 17 IP w/ the Yanks.
So in the case of Joba and IPK, both were drafted in 2006, didn’t pitch in the minors until 2007 and debuted in 2007 with the Yanks that September. Then the following year they were both “given” rotation spots.
In theory the “going with the kids” was a good idea. Problem is, in an environment where the mandate is to win and compete you have to show more patience with young pitchers, especially two who had less than a full years worth of experience in the minors. Right now the most important thing for the Yanks to do is NOT rush ANYONE to the majors. Nova has spent a little more than a year @ AAA including 150 IP @ AAA. He’s the most mlb ready followed by Phelps. Either would be perfect for the #5 spot should the Yanks sign Lee and Pettitte decides to retire. The perfect case scenario would be to sign Lee, bring Pet back or allow Nova, Phelps and perhaps Noesi to battle for the 5th spot and then have all the other pitchers spend a full year at AA or above. This way you can build up their innings and see if anyone pulls away from the pack. Betances and Banuelos need more time than any of them as they are both young, need to build up their innings and for Betacnes, show he can stay healthy. Brackman’s mlb clock is ticking and he might get called up during 2011 if they need some bullpen help.
The best thing the Yankees can do for the farm is to sign Cliff Lee. Yanks need another front of the rotation and and Phelps, Nova and Noesi probably are mid/back guys. Great to have and I hope we keep them and see what they can do, but face it, the Yanks are not going to go with CC, AJ, Hughes and ?????? into next year. #1 on their list of goals is to compete for a WS and when you’re going against Boston and Tampa you need to have a solid front 3. After Lee the falloff is large and the trade market is week and would require too much to give up. If we sign Lee and bring Pettitte back then we can run out CC, Lee, Pet, AJ and Hughes and allow Nova, Noesi, Phelps and Mitchell a full year @ AAA and the 3 B’s and Warren a full year @ AA. The team wouldn’t be in a major need for anything that would require a trade involvig any of them and we would have enough depth @ AAA in case of an injury. In 2012 we say “BYE BYE” to Pettitte regardless of what he wants to do and open up a spot. 2013 Banuelos and Betances should be ready and AJ will be on his way out.
SIGN LEE and keep the kids!!!!
And if Pet retires then let Nova, Noesi and Phelps battle for the 5th spot.
Yeah they outbid a lot of teams before for Arod and Chan Ho Park. Worked out well.
JOKES…JUST JOKES. No need to retaliate.
The Arod contract would have worked if they had better surrounding players.
Signing Chan Ho was a bad signing at the time–no one will argue that. Cliff Lee, on the other hand, helped them get to the world series.
If they add Lee and Martinez they will win the West again and it may not be close. They would have all the parts needed: an ACE at the top, solid rotation depth, a shut down closer, a good overall defense and an offense with both power and speed. Lee, Hamilton, and Cruz have all had recent injury problems so that is a wart, but of they spend the money they would be building a true contender.
I tend to agree, but the Angels will be dangerous if they add Crawford. That would be a very good defensive OF, and with Morales back and a full year of Haren, they should make a run.
Agreed, Steve. Not only did the Angels lose Figgy (ideal leadoff hitter) and Vlad (Mr. Clutch and one of the best bats in the game), they also lost Morales to injury. I hope they received some superb prospects for giving up Figgy and Vlad. ‘Cause it crippled them in the 2010 season. And I hope 2010 helped them realize their shortcomings. Would really like to see them back on track. Classy organization.
They’d need to be very, very careful about years on a guy like Martinez.
You don’t want to be hamstrung from locking up a Hamilton, because you’re stuck with a 35-year old Vic…
They’ve got alot of young talent that’s going to get expensive pretty soon here – and alot of money. Very similar situation the Twins found themselves in last year. It’s definitely going to take some tip-toeing to make sure they prioritize their players over the 3-5 year span, and don’t end up tied down with the wrong guys. The Twins, for all their “new money” last year, spent it extending Mauer, then a handful of 1-year deals (Hudson, Thome, Pavano, etc).
I wouldn’t be stunned to see Texas go a similar route. Lock up Hamilton, then some 2-3 year deals.
Don’t sleep on the A’s. As an A’s fan, I hope the Rangers outspend the Yankees for Cliff Lee. That is going to be $150 Million they can’t use on other necessary parts. Maybe another $50 Million on V-Mart? Then they will need to spend another $150-Million to keep Josh Hamiltion. I say “Go for it, Rangers”.
jp, as an A’s fan, I think it’s your duty to run Billy Beane outta town. No GM is more overrated. Oakland has a rich baseball history and the town deserves a pennant once in a while. He apparently does not understand that. He’s more concerned with promoting himself than the A’s. He dumpster dives and only signs stars for the benefit of trading them off. Then when he receives a great prospect in return (e.g., CarGo or Wallace) he inexplicably trades them off, too. Sadly, I think everyone can sleep on the A’s until he’s replaced.
I don’t know what I was thinking. Not sure what my original reply had to do with Billy Beane, though. I just want the Rangers to spend $350-Million dollars for 3 players (Lee, VMart, Hamilton)
My Beane comments were in response to your statement, “Don’t sleep on the A’s”. It’s his job to put together a championship team for you, which would back up your statement. But he’s not doing that.
Regardless of who the Rangers sign, they are going to be good for a while. They have young pitching depth aplenty coupled with a good offense. Their defense is also very good, led by their hot-shot kid, Andrus. And that’s coming from a guy who roots for LAA in the AL West.
Currently constructed, A’s are the youngest team in the MLB and finished in 2nd place in the AL West with an 81-81 record. They will have the best Pitching/Defense combo in the game next year. With some good health in 2011, A’s are 1 RF bat away from being a 90-win team next year… and will be better from 2012-2014… Stop trolling.
jp: You say, “Stop trolling”, but that statement is the definition of trolling. Accusing me of something I am definitely not. I’m not a “prick” or here just to stir things up. You do not know my personality, so please do not pretend you do. I even said, “Oakland has a rich baseball history and the town deserves a pennant once in a while.” I’m simply offering a view from outside.
Good luck next year.
If Texas got V-Mart, would he catch, DH or play 1B? Theres definitely options there
Texas should pass on Lee and the ridiculous amount of money it would take to keep him from the Yankees. Texas already experienced the problems throwing $20 mil+ per season at 1 player with the ARod deal, why jump back in? I don’t care if their revenue changed this season, it will drop back down next year. They aren’t a perennial juggernaut and in a gigantic market.
They are actually in a massive market (I believe it is the biggest market that only has one MLB team in it).
Anyone who compares signing Cliff Lee to the A-Rod contract doesn’t know the difference between beef and blubber. The 2011 Texas Rangers are a complete team in need of just a few key parts. The team that signed A-Rod was hoping that A-Rod could single-handedly win games and bring other big time players in. Quite a huge difference in approach.
I’m not sure why people see my Yankees signing Lee. The Rangers are younger, and smarter on the bases. Meanwhile the Yankees are still aging and it really showed down the stretch last year.
So they looked young when they had the 2nd best record in baseball for most of 2010 and when they swept the Twins but suddenly were old when they lost 4-2 to the Rangers? How about they didn’t look old as much as they just didn’t perform well? How about their pitching just sucked and their hitters (young and old, except for Cano) went into a slump)?
Granted, the Twins pitching staff, but the elite pitching has held the Yankees in check in 2010. Including that whole “new pitcher the yankees haven’t seen” curse? I’d say the problem in 2010 was pitching with 2 outs, allowing stolen bases, and failing miserably with RISP.
I don’t think there’s any way the Rangers sign Lee. I’d love to see it, but the Yankees just aren’t going to let themselves be outbid. There’s no fallback plan for them — Greinke won’t accept a trade to the Bronx, and the next best options are Carl Pavano (no WAY they touch that again) and Jorge de la Rosa (who has never topped 190 innings even)?
The Yankees know Lee is their only option, and given that info, there’s no chance they let him slip away.
That’s what they thought at the trade deadline, too.
exactly. Everybody was already puttin the yankees cap on Lee, then daniels pulled the ol switch-a-roo…i hope TEX gets Lee…v-mart, meh..hes good, nothin to get all excited about, but i think he would definitely be a welcomed addition in TEX. But if all of this goes down the crapper, what are they goin to do?
I would say the M’s pulled the “switch-a-roo” and not Texas.
I do not know where Lee will sign. Two things I do know for certain:
1) The Yankees will be the highest bidder, but ultimately it’s Lee’s decision and he will go where HE wants to go. And…
2) If Lee signs with Texas, we will never hear the end of the story about how Yanks fans treated his wife.
You get Lee first obviously and if there are funds left over, then you go get the best catcher you can get…whoever is available. To me, everything hinges on Lee. Selling Martinez as your one big winter signing won’t do nearly as much for attendance and merchandise sales next year.
The Rangers already have a pretty solid offense and I agree with some of the above: they need to focus on locking up their current stars. V-Mart is money wasted for a team like them. Keep your defense in good condition and do everything possible to extend their current guys, especially Hamilton. Not to mention, if their goal is to “extend payroll over $90 million” that doesn’t sound like enough of a jump to nail down BOTH V-Mart and Lee. Focus on Lee, let the Tigers overpay for Martinez.
did you fail math or just reading comprehension? where in “extend payroll over $90 million” does it say a cap figure? $110M > $90M last time i checked
Then why not say “over 100 million” or “over 110 million.”
Are you new to economics or something? When someone gives “over such and such” as a figure, generally that’s around where they plan on plateauing off. If they plan on putting up a payroll of $110MM, why not just say so rather than a figure $20MM lower than that?
Good for the Rangers. I love the attitude and change Ryan is creating in Texas. I wish other Owners/GMs would go with this philosphy…cough cough Nuekom and Sabean. As for V-mart, if Moreland is going to be the primary first baseman, which I think is the case, that could be a good signing. V-Mart’s stats are average if he’s playing 1b, he has to play catcher imo. Obviously Lee has to be there numero uno priority, without him on the staff, it takes a huge hit. I’m not familiar with any of their position players contracts, but locking up Andrus, Hamilton, Cruz, Kinsler, seems more important to this team as they were a part of this past season that helped create this new attitude.
Why do people say that about Vmart’s stats? When healthy he will give you a .300 avg, 20+ homers, and 100 RBI. Those are Vlad numbers, Ordonez numbers, not “average”.
I agree. Ppl say he provides average offense for a 1B but there aren’t too many that give you .300/.360 w/ 20 hr production. You might even state those numbers might go up if he’s freed from the day to day drag of being a C. However, the Ranger shave a GREAT looking 1B in Mitch Moreland so spending $10-$12 mil a year for VMart when you have other players you need to lock up might not be a smart move. For the most teams Vmart provides more VALUE as a C because they would get good offense from a position not likely to be an offensive position.
If they don’t succeed in getting Lee or Martinez are they still going to significantly raise payroll?/
As a Ranger fan Id rather see them Get Pierzynski and Lee. Id like to see Davis step up and start hitting so he could take over at third since Young’s defense has really slowed down this year. Since that didn’t happen this last year Id like to see Young at third another year and have Vlad back another year at DH. If Lee does go elsewhere I do not want to trade all our top young arms for Greinke but instead sign Garland or De la rosa. Also Kerry Wood would be awesome to add to the pen if possible.
As a Blue Jays fan, I really hope Texas gets Lee.
I think this is so funny. The Rangers fans are really talking like they have a shot getting Lee. What will the Rangers do when Cashman tells Lee he will give him the same deal CC got? Back to reality then I presume.
Was it getting too cold and dark under your rock?
One pitcher wont stop us in the post season and that would pretty be all you would have. Lee only won one game against your little yankees. We will be around for a while as we still have a top 5 farm even after trading away so many this summer. I will enjoy sending you home even more if you sign Lee and we don’t. I would enjoy that more than this year!!!!
The Yankees have literally one up and coming player. Everyone else is past their prime. Hopefully Lee realizes that the Rangers are only going to get better for years to come. And hopefully Perez will be up by the time his contract is ending anyways.
Yanks will probably have 5 players in the top 100 rankings this year. Theire names are Montero, Betances, Banuelos, Romine and Sanchez. If you’re not familiar with the Yanks farm then why make a comment like that?
I simply cannot wait for the day the Rangers sign Lee to watch the moronic self-entitled Yankees fans crawl back into their holes.
Why everyone seems to assume the Yankees will outbid the Rangers is a total mystery to me. The Rangers have more than enough money. After accounting for arbitration raises, their 2011 payroll is about $60 million. That gives them more than $30 MILLION to play with. There is no way the Yankees offer Lee that much. He likes it better in Texas, he’s going to get just as much money here, and the Rangers flat-out have a better team going forward. Sorry Yankees “fans”, enjoy your rotation of Sabathia, Burnett, Hughes, and De La Rosa next year.
So the Rangers have $30 mil per to offer Lee? Haha..Really? Look, by no means is at a slam dunk that he will sign w/ the Yanks but I think Texas fans are being just as arrogant as some Yankee fans.
Reality check:
a) Lee hasn’t, nor would he, come out and say publicly “I love this place and hate this other”. So to say “He likes it better in Texas” is your opinion and not a fact.
b) Lee has been treated like a commodity over the last 2 years bouncing from the Indians, the Phillies, the Mariners and the Rangers. Never did he have a say on who he played for. He played in Cleveland where he saw his teammates traded away because the team couldn’t afford to keep a WS caliber team together. He played in Philly where he single handedly brought the team into the playoffs, pitched his a** off in the playoffs and won just about every game he pitched in the post-season and what did he get in return? Traded to the M’s. Mariners struggled and he was traded to Texas where he spent all of 2 months, just about the same amount of time he spent in Philly and Seattle. Now he has the first chance to decide where he wants to play and to get the most money in his career. This will probably be THE ONE AND ONLY MEGA deal he will sign in his career. Why do ppl expect him to give anyone a discount?
c) How can you say “There is no way the Yankees offer Lee that much”? The Yanks, aside from keeping Mo and Jeter, have 1 hole they are trying to fill. The Rangers have a few. They need a front of rotation starter, a starting C and a DH. Also they have to keep in mind Hamilton, Cruz and Wilson who are due raises. Texas has many more things on their list to tend to than the Yanks.
d) One of the biggest things the Yanks offer is comfort. One of his best friends to him and his wife are CC and his wife. He knows the Yanks can afford to pay him a TOP salary AND keep a team of all-stars on board. He doesn’t have to worry about budget cuts, rebuilding periods, etc. YES, I think the Rangers are for real. Yes, I think they will build a good team for the next 5 years but he’s also heard these things before.
So why don’t we all calm down and let things play out. Yanks fans need to calm it down but “Texas fan” needs to get real as well and stop acting as if meaningless tidbits or happenings will determine what he decides to do.
“Now he has the first chance to decide where he wants to play and to get the most money in his career. This will probably be THE ONE AND ONLY MEGA deal he will sign in his career. Why do ppl expect him to give anyone a discount?”
You’ve answered your own question. Lee has been treated as a commodity and never had a say in where he went, and now he has the chance to choose for himself. He’s already richer than the average person will ever be in their lifetimes, and the reality is that no matter where he signs at this point he will be rolling around in piles of money giggling like a schoolgirl. The absolute dollar difference between, say, $125MM and $140MM may be large, but when you start getting into dollar amounts like that they also become less significant.
I’m not saying he’s going to sign with the Rangers, nor am I saying he’s going to sign with the Yankees. Hell, I’m a Cubs fan and I damn well know he’s not signing here so beyond that I really couldn’t care less. What I AM saying is that he’s going to be rich beyond imagining either way, and when you know that you and your family are 100% for-sure going to be set for life no matter what you do it allows other considerations to creep into your mind, like what area you like the best (whether that’s proximity to other things, climate, attitude, scenery or any other number of considerations), which areas might fit best for your plans as a family moving forward, where your wife (and kids–does he have any?) would be most comfortable, chance to win now and going forward, club atmosphere, teammates, and all sorts of other things.
Maybe, to Lee, money is everything. We’ve certainly heard that all offseason. Maybe it’s not. Maybe he considers other factors; maybe he doesn’t. Maybe those factors lead him to the Yankees; maybe they don’t. I don’t know. Nobody does. As somebody who doesn’t care what Cliff Lee ultimately decides, however, I echo Sean’s disgust with Yankees fans who just puff out their chests self-importantly and declare they can get whoever they want because they’re rich. You pretend toward impartiality (“let things play out”) but then smack a Rangers fan around for suggesting Lee might actually choose his team over yours as if it’s ludicrous for anybody else to believe the Yankees aren’t the best choice ever in the history of the world. They’re not. They’re a fine choice, but so are almost all of the other 29 clubs in baseball. That’s something Yankees fans as a group just can’t seem to handle.
And just as he choose to stick up for Texas I choose to voice my comments that Texas fans are puffing out their chests as well as if it’s a guarantee they’ll sign Lee because he hates NY. I also resent the idea that players only sign with the Yanks because they offer the most money. I would say that 85% of ballplayers go where the money is and if the Yanks are willing to offer the most then that scenario plays itself out. However, in addition to money there’s a lot of great reasons to play in NY as well.
-Great city
-Great sports atmospher
-The Challenge of winning in NY
-The rewards of winning in NY. As Sinatra says “If you can make it hear you can make it anywhere”
-The endrosement opps.
-Maybe the biggest of all, being part of the most succesful sports franchizes in North America where winning can morph you not just into a winner but into a spots and societal icon. Ask Reggie Jackson how much he loves winning in NY and why he wanted to go into the HOF as a Yankee despite not spending the most time of his career there.
So to all Texas and Nationals fans, no disrespect to your team but let’s all calm down w/ the hate towards NY and let’s just see how it plays out. Regardless, of where he goes, good luck to him and to the team that does or doesn’t sign him.
overall i think vmart is going to detroit.
Yankees fans are like spoiled brats that are used to getting everything they want cause daddy is rich. Rangers fans are used to disappointment. If Lee goes elsewhere we will move on.
Daddy is rich and daddy is commited to win #28 and beyond.
What could be better than Texas getting Lee, NY signing JDLR to a Pavano/Wright type contract and watching him suffer injuries, Pettite retiring, Burnett continuing to struggle, and the Yanks becoming a pitching nightmare?
Well, a lot of things, I guess, but that would sure be amusing.
I don’t think Texas has all that money that people think they have. That TV deal doesn’t kick in for another 5 years.
I don’t think Texas has all that money that people think they have. That TV deal doesn’t kick in for another 5 years.
That’s completely irrelevant. The reason they couldn’t spend in the past is because of the old ownership group and bad contracts (arod). In case you didn’t pay attention to the game of baseball this past season, they got sold… hence new owners… who have money. And they got a huge signing bonus on that TV deal. AND THEN they get payed in 5 years. Texas isn’t a pushover “small market” team anymore. Don’t look now, but baseball might become competitive again.
Yes Texas got a huge bonus, but they spent most of it already.
on what..?
I keep trying to paste the link of Jayson Stark’s article that discusses how overblown the amount of money Texas has is. But it keeps getting eaten by the spam filter. It’s titled “Search for the next Giants of baseball” and then scroll down to the part “Deep in the wallets of Texas”
***ALERT***ALERT***ALERT
Baseball is competitve NOW. Red Sox, Tigers, Angels, White Sox and Baltimore failed to make the playoffs. Yanks were bounced in the post-season and the Giants and Rangers played each other in the WS!!! Why do ppl think baseball isn’t competitive. Last I checked the Yanks have only won 1 WS in the last 10 years.
Baltimore usually does fail to make the playoffs, not sure why you brought them in for an example.
That’s completely irrelevant. The reason they couldn’t spend in the past is because of the old ownership group and bad contracts (arod). In case you didn’t pay attention to the game of baseball this past season, they got sold… hence new owners… who have money. And they got a huge signing bonus on that TV deal. AND THEN they get payed in 5 years. Texas isn’t a pushover “small market” team anymore. Don’t look now, but baseball might become competitive again.
If this is true, it looks like Cliff Lee is going to get his CC Contract after all. If the Yankees want to sign him, they are going to have to hike up that $125 to the same level of Sabathia’s contract…. possibly higher.
If this is true, the Rangers will be giving Cliff Lee More $ Per year then CC. The Yankee’s won’t be able to get him unless they want to give him more then CC, and guess what I think that would cause? CC Opting out of his deal and asking for MORE money.
If this is true, the Rangers will be giving Cliff Lee More $ Per year then CC. The Yankee’s won’t be able to get him unless they want to give him more then CC, and guess what I think that would cause? CC Opting out of his deal and asking for MORE money.
Lee stays in TX I believe. Something just seems strange about the way NY is going after Lee. Maybe its just me?
It is just you. Lee hasn’t said he is ready to start hearing offers yet, so Cashman is just visiting him and his wife and getting to know them better and ease concerns about NY.