Bonn1997 wrote:The Yankees apparently made Lee a seven year offer, and I'm OK with that. Ace pitchers are the one and only player I'd be willing to drastically overpay for because they're so hard to come by.

Not me. 6 or 7 years for a guy who can go down any minute is way too much. I felt the same about CC too to be honest, more so b/c he's so overweight.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Negotiations for the biggest prize in Major League Baseball's free agent pool heated up Thursday when the New York Yankees reportedly upped their offer to Texas pitcher Cliff Lee and Rangers chief Nolan Ryan admitted he was concerned.

Left-hander Lee, the 2008 American League Cy Young winner who helped the Rangers beat the Yankees and reach their first World Series this past season, had been offered a six-year, $140 million deal from the Yankees before the pinstripes upped the ante by adding a seventh season.
"That's what I've heard," Rangers president and co-owner Ryan told ESPN radio when asked about the new offer.

"We obviously have to be concerned about that. Seven years for any contract is really stretching one out.

"I'm not sure how you make a prediction how somebody is going to be performing in six or seven years from now."

Seven does seems to be the magic number after Tampa Bay outfielder Carl Crawford agreed a seven-year free agent deal with Boston for a reported $142 million after Washington gave Phillies slugger Jayson Werth $126 million for seven years.

Ryan did not claim poverty in the scramble to retain Lee, who the Rangers acquired in a mid-season trade with the Seattle Mariners, but no team has pockets as deep as the Yankees.

New York may be feeling increased urgency about landing Lee after the rival Red Sox added Crawford following a trade with San Diego for slugging first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.

"I think everybody has a ceiling that they have to understand and what doesn't make good economic sense," Ryan said about the pursuit of Lee.

"The way that we look at contracts of that nature is not only the length of time and the amount of money, but also the impact on the organization.

"If a certain part of that contract is unproductive not only are you not getting production...you're also not being able to use that money to strengthen the ballclub."

"If the reports that are coming out are true, they make it more challenging for us. We are scheduled to visit with them (Lee and agent) again, hopefully today. Where the negotiations go from here is hard to predict."

(Editing by Julian Linden)

Bonn1997 wrote:

Allanfan20 wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:The Yankees apparently made Lee a seven year offer, and I'm OK with that. Ace pitchers are the one and only player I'd be willing to drastically overpay for because they're so hard to come by.

Not me. 6 or 7 years for a guy who can go down any minute is way too much. I felt the same about CC too to be honest, more so b/c he's so overweight.

But then we wouldn't have won the world series 2 seasons ago!

Yes I agree, but there has to be a point when enough has to be enough and it just isn't fun anymore for a fan. Maybe I'm the minority in this case, but it's my belief... And Lee is f'in old anyway and didn't he battle some nagging injuries this past year?

It doesn't matter if you're a power pitcher or not. If you throw even 80, that takes its toll on you.

jusnice wrote:With the left handed bats the Sawx have added to their lineup (they may have one of the best 1-6 lineups in the majors now) we really need another lefty arm. I hate hearing 7 years, but the Sawx have pretty muched forced our hand. If we don't get Lee, it will be a long year next year. Here's hoping Lee doesn't turn into another Kevin Long, Danny Naegle type. Who knows, he could be like Andy Pettite in 7 yrs...

we just need to get Lee & Andy signed up & we'll have 3 guys that can shut down their lineup from the left side... curious that they'd go so left heavy though playing at Fenway it doesn't really make much sense.

TMS wrote:just heard on ESPN the Yankees are out of the running to sign Cliff Lee... they refused to up their final offer... if that's true i am fukkin' pissed off!!! now watch him end up with the Angels & come back to haunt us in the postseason again next year.

Did anyone offer more money than the Yanks? I can't blame them for not raising their offer. Not sure how much more money it was practical to give Lee if we were the highest bid out there. He probably just didn't want to play here that much.

sidsanders wrote:lee -- phils... wow if thats correct

holy crap, that just SUCKS!!!

TMS wrote:

VDesai wrote:

TMS wrote:just heard on ESPN the Yankees are out of the running to sign Cliff Lee... they refused to up their final offer... if that's true i am fukkin' pissed off!!! now watch him end up with the Angels & come back to haunt us in the postseason again next year.

Did anyone offer more money than the Yanks? I can't blame them for not raising their offer. Not sure how much more money it was practical to give Lee if we were the highest bid out there. He probably just didn't want to play here that much.

how can they not raise their offer? he was the best FA pitcher on the market by far... this guy is 1 of the best postseason pitchers of alltime & a lefty to boot... he would have been perfect for NY... what makes u think he didn't want to play here that much? maybe another team offered him more money? i find it hard to fathom how the Yankees could let another team outbid them if that is indeed the case.

nvm. just read an article saying he accepted less to play for the Phils... i guess he really wanted to go back there afterall... this just sucks bigtime though... i hope Cashman has a contingency plan in place.