Cliff Lee: Did a Few Foolish Fans Cost the Yankees in the 2010 MLB Offseason?

Ronald Martinez/Getty ImagesFor anyone with any interest in professional baseball, the past few weeks have been very interesting. We've all watched, sometimes a bit puzzled, as Cliff Lee's agent Darek Braunecker turned the winter meetings in Orlando into his own personal three-ring circus. We've all waited with bated breath to find out... San Francisco 49ers jersey
where will he sign?Will it be New York? Will it be back to Texas? Who are the "mystery suitors"? Washington can't be a real option, can it?At first, his refusal to take offers, first and most notably from the Yankees, turned some heads. Then, when the Rangers essentially offered him a blank check and he basically sent it back, well that certainly at least got my attention. Not only was he now turning away offers of money, he was turning away offers of money that went something like "give us a figure that's less than $200 mil and we'll see what we can do" from actual billionaires!We all continued to watch, keeping an eye on twitter feeds, ESPN updates, and breaking news bulletins, sure the next one would be the news of Cliff Lee heading to New York.As we watched these programs we heard (the same as I'm sure Lee heard) that "everyone" was waiting on Lee to sign, then the rest of the dominoes would fall. We heard how the Yankees' Plan B would be Carl Crawford, or how Greinke's availability hinged on Lee's new landing spot. We heard about how team's entire plans were built around Lee's decision, and how they'd wait to make another move until they heard from him.Who is the best team in the league?Who is the best team in the league?Philly43.9%New York Yankees12.2%Boston Red Sox26.8%Texas Rangers2.4%SF Giants9.8%Another team4.9%Total votes: 41One of these teams was the Yankees, especially as time passed. You see, the thing about waiting, well, it's not one of our favorite activities as humans.Eventually people got tired of Seattle Seahawks jersey
waiting. New York's "Plan B" saw Jayson Werth's contract with Washington, saw dollar bill signs, and inked his own massive deal with the Yankees' long-time rival, giving the Red Sox the rare opportunity to beat the Yankees during the off-season.Other premium free agents began signing elsewhere as well; Dunn to the White Sox along with Konerko heading back there, or V-Mart to Detroit. When the dust settled there were only three free agents that were really worth talking about; Lee, RP Rafael Soriano, and 3B Adrian Beltre with the Yankees considered the front-runners to land Lee.Only a few days after there were really no other options available for the Yankees, no "Plan B" waiting in the wings, only then did Lee "decide" NY wasn't the place for him. In a move that so completely ruined the Yankees' off-season (normally the time of the year they shine) it seemed like it could only have been dreamed up by a Red Sox fan, Lee agreed to terms with the team he dominated the Yankees in the World Series with...the Phillies.The move worked so well it could only have been born of spite...right? Like the spite of a lifelong Sox fan? Or maybe the spite earned when another man spits on your wife? I don't know, but I do know two things:1) You know what they say about a woman scorned.2) Lee is from Arkansas, a ways from Red Sox nation.Lee joins "the Roys" (Oswalt and Halladay) as well as young pitcher Cole Hamels to form what is certainly the best rotation in baseball today, and perhaps the best of all time.The Phillies, normally considered St. Louis Rams jersey
favorites to contend for the NL crown, are almost certainly now favorites to win the whole thing this season, and for many more to come (at least five, which is what Lee's deal is rumored to be for in years, despite a six- to seven-year offer from NY).