Texas Rangers Notes: Why Heath Bell May Not Be a Ranger After All

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With the trade deadline almost exactly a month away, the talk surrounding how to change and strengthen the Texas Rangers' bullpen will become a hot topic of conversation.

The one name who has continued to come up is San Diego Padres' closer Heath Bell. He's a guy the Rangers would love to have and a guy who would be a great fit at the back end of the bullpen.

But there's just one problem.


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Bell is a free agent after this season and there is no guarantee he will sign a long term deal with Texas. Being 34-years old and seemingly at back end of his career, Bell wants to go where he can finally win a championship.

He's been with the San Diego Padres for five seasons now and knows there really isn't a light at the end of their tunnel. At least not any time soon.

The Padres are going to look for some young prospects from any team showing interest. The Rangers will be one of those teams but the fear is having it end up as another "Cliff Lee deal." In other words, send prospects to San Diego for a three month rental.

Texas sent Justin Smoak to Seattle at the trade deadline last season in return for Lee even though they knew there was a good possibility he would end up going elsewhere once the season was over. Nolan Ryan didn't seem as convinced, even saying at times he felt confident that they would be able to get a deal done and bring Lee back for the 2011 season.

But, no matter how much they tried to talk to him and woo him back to Arlington, Lee did what was best for him and his family, eventually signing with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Well, as it turns out, the Rangers might have to compete with the Phillies once more. According to ESPN's Buster Olney, Philadelphia is apparently asking around for bullpen help and could turn their sights directly to the west coast and Heath Bell.

With Jose Contreras out four to six weeks with a strained forearm, it's only natural they would start shopping around to see who's available. The Phillies, already boasting the likes of Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay, and the aforementioned Lee, would be an enticing place for Bell at this point in his career.

But unless the Rangers can talk Bell in to signing long term as a part of a trade, general manager Jon Daniels along with Nolan Ryan, might have a hard time giving up top prospects for yet another rental. Even with Bell in the mix, this team is still a long shot to get back to the World Series, let alone repeat as ALCS Champions.

At Full Strength, the Texas Rangers Seem to be in Cruise Control

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The Texas Rangers have always played third fiddle to the Dallas Cowboys and the Dallas Mavericks. You may as well consider them the little brother who never really gets noticed by their older siblings.

Enter 2010 and little brother is no longer waiting for big brother to tell him he's doing a good job.

The Rangers disposed of the Tampa Bay Rays followed by shocking the defending champion, New York Yankees, in the ALCS in front of a sold out crowd at Rangers' Ballpark in Arlington. They did all that while the Cowboys and Mavericks watched, wondering why they couldn't have that kind of success.

Although the Mavs tasted it once back in 2006 and are doing so again in 2011, the Dallas Cowboys have "lost that lovin' feeling" since Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith decided to hang 'em up. After 16 seasons the Cowboys had just a single playoff victory.

With the 2011 season into its third month, the Texas Rangers find themselves on top of the AL West and are playing like they were at the beginning of the season.

Of course it doesn't hurt getting Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz, their two big bats in the lineup, back from the disabled list. They were able to tread water for awhile and stay just close enough to make this kind of a run when they were back to full strength.

The only question remaining at this point is what will the team do at the deadline and will they make a move to shore up their bullpen? We have talked a lot about the potential players they could be after and what kind of a deal it might take to land said players.

At this point, with the way the Rangers are playing, they may be able to ride this team right back into the playoffs and maybe back into the ALCS. However, it won't come by offense alone.

You can look at guys like Hamilton, Cruz, Ian Kinsler and Michael Young and imagine the team scoring six or seven runs per game. They have shown all year they can put up crooked numbers night in and night out. That's all well and good but this team will not succeed as they did last year unless their pitching staff and bullpen remain strong.

Starters like ace C.J. Wilson, first year starter Alexi Ogando, or young left hander Matt Harrison have each had their big starts for this team. Wilson has shown that he can be the ace of this staff even after Cliff Lee decided he didn't want to come back to Texas. Opting instead to pitch behind All-Stars Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt, making it look more like the Miami Heat than Philadelphia Phillies.

The Rangers do have lady luck on their side. The American League's Western Division is not nearly as strong as it has been in years past. If the first few months of the season are any indication, the Rangers are a team who could go on a run and put this division in the rear view mirror by the All-Star break.

But before all that can take place, this team needs to take care of business on the field. They need to be able to beat the top team in the American League and not just make a habit of beating up on the bad ones.

For now it's a work in progress. For the future, it's something that still needs to be fixed.

Texas Rangers: For Whom the Heath Bell Tolls

Josh Hamilton has returned and so has Nelson Cruz, but there are still questions surrounding the Texas Rangers and most of them center around the bullpen.

Lately, the one name who has been talked about is San Diego Padres' closer Heath Bell. You might remember me talking about this exact scenario and the players who the Padres might be interested in. Apparently that interest has led the Rangers to call San Diego and inquire about Bell's availability.

According to CBS Sports' Scott Miller, the Rangers are "simply checking their options" as they have also talked to the Pittsburgh Pirates about their closer, Joel Hanrahan. While Bell says he would love to stay in San Diego he also realizes that baseball is a business.



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"I'll give it everything I have for the Padres until the team says otherwise," Bell told the media. "Until Jed [Hoyer, Padres general manager] tells me I'm no longer a San Diego Padre."

The sources I spoke to in early May through out a few possible names the Padres could ask for. One of which seems to intrigue at least a few Padre fans.

Bell signed a one-year $7.5 million contract with the Padres before the beginning of the 2011 season in order to avoid arbitration. To some this might look like another "Cliff Lee trade" when the Rangers sent another infield prospect, Justin Smoak, to the Mariners in return for the ace left-hander.

Lee skipped town as a free agent after the season ended, the same might be said for Heath Bell as he will become a free agent after this season concludes. Dealing away another infield prospect, this time shortstop Jurickson Profar, might come back to bite the team again if Bell heads to greener pastures.

At this point, Profar is blocked by the likes of current shortstop Elvis Andrus and second baseman Ian Kinsler not to mentioned long time Ranger, Michael Young. However, Kinsler is a free agent after the 2013 season and one has to wonder if he will be the team's next Michael Young or if the Rangers will not be willing to give him a long term deal.

Whatever the case may be the Rangers need to solidify their bullpen if they are going to stay in front in the American League's Western Division and make another deep run in the playoffs.

We are just over two months away from the trade deadline but the longer Texas waits to make a deal, the more teams will become involved for Bell. Though you might say the longer they wait there might be more relief pitchers who become available who won't require big time money as free agents.

The Rangers, as of May 28th, are tied with the Los Angeles Angels for first place in the AL West and have tread water to this point. As for the Padres, they currently sit 10 games below .500 and eight games back of NL West leading San Francisco Giants.

While eight games is not completely out of the race, the way this team is built, I don't see them making a move at the deadline to get themselves back into the race. They just don't have the pieces available to chase down the Giants or the Arizona Diamondbacks for that matter.

Rangers' general manager Jon Daniels is taking a wait and see approach to his ballclub and will wait for the perfect deal before he pulls the trigger.

If I'm Daniels, I would keep my radar squarely fixed on Heath Bell and be ready to pull the trigger when San Diego finally waves the white flag of surrender.


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Texas Rangers Are Treading Water But For How Long?

Through just about the quarter mark of the season the American League West Division looks to be in a race for the worst division in baseball right alongside, predictably, the National League West.

The Texas Rangers, through 42 games as of Wednesday night, are 22-20 and in a tie for first place with the Oakland Athletics and a half game better than the Los Angels Angels.

Say what you want about how the team has played over the last couple of weeks, at least they are still in the race and not sitting 10 games back. There is always a bright side to everything.

While there has not been a whole lot of good news for this team over the past month, Josh Hamilton going down, Neftali Feliz hitting the disabled list, and the rotation and bullpen struggling to keep opposing offenses at bay, they are doing exactly what they need to be doing at this point.

They desperately needed to tread water while Hamilton was out of the lineup. That is exactly what they have done. They aren’t the same team who got off to a franchise record start at the beginning of the season but sitting where they are at this point should be a positive thing.

With Hamilton coming back in just a few short weeks, this team should be at full strength and ready to really make a push for the top spot in the division.

They aren’t going to out pitch the Angels especially since they don’t have guys like Jered Weaver and Dan Haren, not to mention Joel Pineiro who has been nothing short of dominate through his first four starts. He’s given up just six earned runs in 27.1 innings pitched.

The talk around the water coolers, especially lately, is how to fix the Rangers’ bullpen. There has been more talk about possible trades and names being thrown about in terms of what it might take to land each respective player.

Make no mistake about it, you have to give something to get something. There are those who will make a big deal about giving up prospects and there are others who will give up whatever it takes to get the right guy.

Take the Cliff Lee trade at the deadline last season. The Ranges gave up one of their top prospects, third baseman Justin Smoak, to the Seattle Mariners in order to bring Lee to Texas.

The move paid off as Lee was one of the biggest catalysts for this team getting to the World Series. He didn’t put them over the top but he made a huge impact.

Is there a deal to be made that can make the same kind of impact Lee made on this team in 2010?

There are a few everyone will talk about and there will be so many names tosses around to make you think everyone is available.

It’s hard to know what to address first. Do you solidify the back end of the bullpen especially with Darren Oliver and Arthur Rhodes having their struggles? Or do you do something with the rotation with Derek Holland and Matt Harrison both having their rough spots over their last few starts?

Those are questions that need to be answered and the speculation will run wild until the trade deadline in late July comes and goes.

The AL West isn’t going to have a team run away with the division. The Rangers can stay at or near the top of the division with what they have now. When the deadline approaches, general manager Jon Daniel and owner Nolan Ryan will look to make the same kind of impact deal they made last July.

But it can’t be just any move, it’s going to need to be the right move to put this team back on top and back into the World Series.

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Wednesday Morning Sports Report: Cliff Lee, Fresno State, and Cam Newton's Draft Status

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Good Wednesday morning to all the sports fans out there.

This is something that I've wanted to do for awhile but since there were so many people worried more about reads than content, I wasn't really able to put this kind of thing together. But, now that I'm kind of doing my own thing, we're going to have some fun with it.

Every morning, I'll be doing a small sports report and give random thoughts on some of the things going on around the world of sports. We'll talk about just about every sport you can imagine except for the ones that I could care less about.

That being said, are you ready? Good...let's get it.


Cliff Lee: There's more to his move than meets the eye

Everyone wanted to hate on Cliff Lee for the decision he made on Monday night by signing with the Philadelphia Phillies. They wanted to say that he stuck a knife in their back and even more wanted to compare him to LeBron James.

Well, now that it's begun to leak that Lee wanted to be close to a doctor, and a hospital, that specializes in leukemia treatment because of the fact that his son battled the disease at one time, the move seems to be more about being a father than being a professional athlete. Would you like to hate on him now?

I was watching the news last night and the Dallas media, and fans, seem to be still devastated about this move. They don't want to let go of the fact that Lee is gone and it's time to move on. One of those media people, Richie Whitt of 105.3 FM in Dallas and a writer for the Dallas Observer, seemed to be taking things to the extreme.

I can understand wanting the guy back, but to go to the lengths of blaming the Rangers for not giving Lee the seven or eight years he required I think is going a bit far. The Rangers are not going to give anyone that kind of a contract and I don't blame them one bit.

Now, it's time for the Rangers to go after Kansas City's Zack Greinke or Tampa Bay's Matt Garza. Yes Richie, I know they don't excite you but we'll all have to deal with your disappointment.


Fresno State: Suspending three players prior to the Humanitarian Bowl

For those of you who don't know I grew up in Fresno, CA and I remain a die hard Fresno State fan. I know I should try to stay unbiased but that's like asking me to go to a steakhouse and ordering a salad. As the great comedian John Pinette would say (5:30 mark in this video), "salad's not food, salad comes with the food. Salad is a promissory note that food will soon arrive."

The Bulldogs are in yet another bowl game called the Humanitarian Bowl. They were in this position last year before losing to a mediocre Wyoming team. This year their opponent is Northern Illinois. At first glance you'd think this should be an easy win for Fresno State.

Yeah not so much.

With Fresno State nothing is easy or routine. Add to fact that head coach Pat Hill suspended three players who didn't make the trip to Boise with the rest of the team and will not be playing in the game on Saturday. Though Hill won't say what any of these three players did, they aren't bench warming players. One of which is Kyle Knox who's second in tackles. Exactly what their defense needs, a missing piece to an already lackluster squad.

If the offense didn't already have a lot of pressure on them, add this to the list.

Cam Newton: Is he a legit NFL prospect?

I'm not going to hate on Cam Newton because there's no question in my mind that he's the best player in college football. Apparently everyone else agreed because Newton was the one hoisting the Heisman Trophy this past Saturday night.

The question I do have is, no matter how much talent this young man had in college, will it carry over to the NFL? There have only been a few quarterbacks in the NFL that have made the "scrambling QB" work one of which is Michael Vick.

However, I don't know that Newton has that kind of talent to be able to put both his arm and his legs together to make one solid and talented quarterback in the next step in his football career.

What do you fans think? Does Newton have the ability to be a good quarterback in the NFL or will an NFL team try to convert him to a tight end or wide receiver? Neither of those options would shock me in the least.

As of right now, Stanford's Andrew Luck is the top pick in the 2011 draft and there are other players behind him that will be picked up before Newton. So, the question to you fans is, where should Newton go and is he even a first round pick at all?

In closing...

• Brett Favre's consecutive games streak came to an end and not many people cared, myself included.
• Speaking of Brett Favre, are the Minnesota Vikings headed to Los Angeles as the new NFL franchise?
• Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cliff Lee OH MY!
• I'm still waiting for former Fresno State running back Ryan Mathews to have that breakout game I've been predicting for some time.
• Speaking of Fresno State, fans are excited about Derek Carr being their quarterback next year. Even his brother, current NFL quarterback David Carr, thinks he'll have a lot of success. Fans are hoping you're right, David.
• How are you America's Team if you only have one playoff win in 15 years? Yes I'm talking to you Dallas Cowboys.
• Call me biased, but I'm hoping the Rangers go get Matt Garza for no other reason than he's a former Fresno State pitcher.
• It's hard being a San Diego Padres' fan. It just is.
• Is anyone as shocked as I am that the Cincinnati Bengals are as bad as they are this season?
• Why is no one talking about Jim Thome right now? He has a big year in Minnesota and I don't see his name anywhere.
• Who gets Zack Greinke and who gets Matt Garza? Any predictions?

When Cliff Lee Signed With the Phillies, the Ranger Fans Got Their Feelings Hurt

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All baseball fans wanted to talk about from the moment the off season started was "where will Cliff Lee sign." That was the topic of conversation around just about every water cooler, television station, and radio microphone in the Dallas/Ft Worth metroplex.

They were almost certain they were going to bring the left-hander back and they were sure he was going to be wearing a Texas jersey for at least the next six to seven years of his career.

They were wrong.

Last night, news broke that Lee had not only scored the Rangers, but he also passed on the New York Yankees to sign with the team he played for in 2009, the Philadelphia Phillies. He did so and took less money in the process.

As I woke up this morning and checked Twitter, I was surprised at what I saw. Ranger fans were acting like they had been stabbed in the back and comparisons to LeBron James were being made. That's when I shook my head and wondered how things could get this bad?

The only comparison that can be made is going to a team that's already stacked with talent. After that, the comparisons stop.

Why are you fans so up in arms anyway? Did Lee tell the Rangers he was going to re-sign with them? Not from what I've heard. Not only that, but Lee called Rangers' general manager Jon Daniels personally to let him know of his decision. He didn't go to that extent for the Yankees.

So why are you upset again?

Lee got you past the Rays and Yankees to get to the World Series. He did what you brought him in to do and, above all that, you really didn't give away much to get him. If anything, you got him for a much cheaper price than the going rate.

The Texas Rangers wanted him, badly. They were hoping they could bring him back to be their ace and the leader of their clubhouse. It's not a team that can't contend in the AL West especially since the Angels, A's, and Mariners really haven't done anything to improve themselves from last season.

Major League Baseball's off season isn't done and pitchers and catchers don't report for another two months so there are some changes still to be made. But, as of this moment, the Rangers are still the team to beat.

From here, the Rangers will look in to acquiring Kansas City's Zack Greinke or Tampa Bay's Matt Garza, however, they can't just throw caution to the wind and do whatever it takes to acquire either player. The team still needs to be smart because they are still building to win not only in 2011 but far beyond that.

Cliff Lee isn't coming back to Texas and no amount of crying and whining about it is going to change anything. It's best to get over it and move on because there are still moves to be made and players to acquire.

This Rangers' ball club is not done by a longshot. Don't jump off the bandwagon just yet.

Russell Martin Signs With the New York Yankees

Jeff Roberson - AP

The New York Yankees might be reeling from losing out on Cliff Lee but they are moving on and it's business as usual on Tuesday morning.

The team announced that they have signed free agent catcher, and former Los Angeles Dodger, Russell Martin according to Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com.

Martin is likely to be the starter for the Yankees next season so they can move Jorge Posada to the DH role. Details of the contract are not known as of yet.

Cliff Lee: Did His Son's Illness Have a Big Part in His Decision?

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Cliff Lee finally made the decision that a lot of us were waiting for, but where he ended up surprised everyone and left fans in Texas and New York wondering how he could leave so much money on the table just to sign with someone else?

Late last night, word came down that Lee had signed a five-year $100 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, ending all of the speculation about where he would possibly end up. But why Philadelphia? Why not New York or Texas who were offered more money?

Well, that's a question that a lot of people are asking this morning but it's a question that might have a much different answer than any of us expected. According to a radio station in Dallas, they have a source who tells them Lee's son is battling a form of leukemia and they know the best hospital in the country is in the Philadelphia area.

So whatever people want to say about him stacking the deck and playing with three of the best pitchers in the game today, Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Colt Hamels, it seems like there was a much different motivation. The motivation of a father.

Though this information isn't confirmed and isn't being reported anywhere that I've seen, it might shed a little bit of a light on why Lee actually started the conversations with the Phillies and why the deal moved so quickly.

Cliff Lee Headed Back to Philadelphia?

Morry Gash - AP

We've all been talking about the Cliff Lee sweepstakes and where he might end up. However, the only two teams that always come up are the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees.


But there was a mystery team that continued to hang around. Some thought it was just a tale being told to force one or both teams to up their offers but there were others who continued to insist that there was a third team with an offer on the table.

Earlier this evening, it seems that third team came to light and according to SI.com's Jon Heyman it was the Philadelphia Phillies.

Here's where things get tricky.

The Phillies don't have near the offer that the Rangers and Yankees do and according to rumors floating around, it's somewhere in the neighborhood of $70 million less than the other two offers. That's a large chunk of change to leave on the table.

However, if Lee does end up signing with Philadelphia which seems to be close to a foregone conclusion, than he can honestly say it was never about the money.

If this does come to pass, the Phillies will definitely have arguably the best pitching rotation, at least on paper, in baseball history.

Texas Rangers Have Their Catching Duo in Place

Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

If Cliff Lee is going to sign with the Texas Rangers at least he'll know who he's going to be throwing to.

The Rangers had signed Yorvit Torrealbato a two-year $6.25 million deal a few weeks ago and, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan, have re-signed Matt Treanor to a one-year $850,000 contract.

To make room for Treanor, the Rangers outrighted Ryan Tucker to Round Rock.

Last season, Treanor hit .211 with five home runs and 27 RBI through 82 games for Texas.

Blue Jays, Nationals Battle for Zack Greinke

Ted S. Warren - AP

With all the talk that surrounds the chase of Cliff Lee between the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees, there's another pitcher that teams are battling for.

According to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, the Toronto Blue Jays and Washington Nationals are apparently the favorites to land Kansas City Royals' pitcher Zack Greinke.

There had been talk that whoever lost the Cliff Lee sweepstakes would turn their attention to Greinke, but Royals general manager Dayton Moore says he's looked at the market for Greinke and has determined that neither the Yankees nor the Rangers are at the top of the list.

Crasnick also mentions the Milwaukee Brewers as a team that's interested but they don't seem to have the prospects to get a deal done with Kansas City

Texas Rangers Going Hard After Adrian Beltre?

Charlie Riedel - AP

While the Texas Rangers wait on an answer from free agent left hander Cliff Lee, they've apparently turned their attention to free agent third baseman Adrian Beltre.

Though there were tweets on Friday from different MLB writers about the Rangers interest, none of them seemed to have any urgency behind them.

It's unknown if that's changed, but if they are serious about acquiring Beltre, a decision will need to be made on Michael Young. There had been talks during the winter meetings about the Rangers listening to possible trade offers for their long time SS/3B but none that really became anything more than talk.

Yankees, Rangers Still Waiting on Cliff Lee

Chris Carlson - AP

The New York Yankees and Texas Rangers have made their offers to free agent left hander Cliff Lee and now both wait by their phones to see who wins his services.

But this isn't just any battle for a big time pitcher with post season experience. This has turned into a battle to see who's more desperate.

The New York Yankees have sat by and watched the Boston Red Sox bring in Adrian Gonzalez from the San Diego Padres via trade and sign free agent outfielder Carl Crawford.

To say the Yankees are behind the eight ball with this signing would be an understatement.

However, the Rangers are just as desperate at this point. They've made no other moves and while Nolan Ryan can tell the Dallas media that he's not going to get into a bidding war with the Yankees, that's exactly what he's done. They've put all of their eggs in Lee's basket, hoping he picks their basket over the Yankees.

The one thing the Rangers haven't done is gone to seven years, something the Yankees said they wouldn't do either but eventually got desperate enough to feel they needed to. SI.com's Jon Heyman reported, via Twitter, the Rangers were willing to go five or six years but seven was stretching beyond what they were comfortable with.

The Rangers do have a fall back option and presumably they've been looking into said option.

There have been reports that the Rangers are keeping Kansas City Royals' pitcher Zack Greinke as a fallback option assuming they lose out on Lee.

But they aren't the only team in on Greinke. According to Heyman the Nationals, Dodgers, Brewers and Blue Jays are also in the mix to acquire him.

While a decision isn't expected to come until Sunday, hopefully without a one hour "The Decision" special on ESPN, the teams are already looking into other options and assuming the worst.  There are some, including on air personality Newy Scruggs from 105.3 FM in Dallas, was outspoken about the Rangers cutting their losses and moving on.

From the looks of things, it doesn't look like they were listening.

At this point in the process, the Yankees look to be the favorite to land Cliff Lee. They have more years and more money invested in their offer to Lee than the Rangers but Texas is hoping their proximity to his home in Arkansas and his wife's experience in New York this past post season will sway their decision.

But, as we all know, money talks. If that holds true in this case, Lee will be introduced as a new member of the New York Yankees.

Cliff Lee: Michael Young's Fate Rests on Where Lee Ends Up

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For most of the last four days, Texas Ranger fans have been hanging on every word spoke on local radio and every tweet coming from just about every national writer there is.

They want Cliff Lee back though there are some fans who don't want to overpay to get that done.

As of this morning, the New York Yankees had upped their offer from six to seven years, something the team said they weren't going to do. But, after free agent outfielder Carl Crawford signed with the Boston Red Sox early this morning, the Yankees became desperate to land at least one big time free agent, so they did what we all knew they were going to do.

Now, it's in the hands of Rangers' team president Nolan Ryan to see if Lee is really serious about coming back to Texas or if he's only in this for the money.

Everyone believes the Yankees are the front-runner and for good reason. Their seven-year, $160 million offer is a good one and one that will make the Rangers shake in their boots.

But, there are those of us around the Dallas/Ft Worth area that believe the Rangers need to move on and let Lee either sign the contract offered him by the Rangers or go where the money is and head to the Bronx. The Rangers can't afford to give him seven years and it would be a horrible decision for the team to give him just that.

Newy Scruggs from 105.3 FM The Fan in Dallas talked about that exact thing this morning on his radio show. He also believes the Rangers should move on to other players and try to land Kansas City Royals' pitcher, Zack Greinke. He also had Jamey Newberg of the Newberg Report on the air this morning who talked about what Greinke brings to the table. From what I heard, I agree with both of them.

Though we can talk about Cliff Lee for the next few days until he makes a decision, there is one other big name that's floating around the area is third baseman and longtime Ranger, Michael Young.

Rumors surfaced a few days ago that the Rangers were talking to the Colorado Rockies about dealing him but what was coming back wasn't immediately known. Bryan Dolgin, who covers the Rangers, quoted Nolan Ryan as saying the team was not going to trade Michael Young but Ryan added that they would listen on any player.

On the flip side of Dolgin's report, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports tweeted yesterday that the Rangers were gauging interest in Young and were even offering to pay some of his remaining salary to get a deal done.

The feeling around the media here in the Dallas area is the Rangers will not trade the face of their franchise until they know what will happen with Cliff Lee. Until they receive an answer from the free agent left-hander, there won't be a deal in place with any team.

From everything that's been said, it seems to me the only reason the Rangers would move Young is to clear needed salary to sign Lee if an agreement can be made.

As of right now, the Rangers met with Lee and his agent in Arkansas earlier today but there's been no indication that an offer has been made to him.

Because of the hold up and because the team hasn't gotten an answer from him, they've already lost out on Carl Crawford and they risk losing out on Greinke if they continue the pursuit of Lee.

They need to move on and they need to start making moves to better their team. They can not get into a bidding war with a team that is really acting on nothing more than desperation. Seven years is too much to give a player that is already north of thirty years of age.

They can still get into talks with the Royals for Greinke, they can still either re-sign Vladimir Guerrero who's looking for a two-year deal or you can look at another free agent in former Minnesota Twin, Jim Thome who I believe could be a tremendous person to have behind guys like Young and Josh Hamilton in the lineup.

It's expected that Lee will give the Yankees and Rangers an answer before the end of the weekend. However, if I'm Nolan Ryan and general manager Jon Daniels, it's time to tell the free agent pitcher that they are done with the chase and are ready to move on to other players.

Sure "it's time" but that slogan means the end of a chase they shouldn't even be in at this point.

Cliff Lee: Nationals, Yankees and Rangers Are in, but Who's the Mystery Team?

 

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If you've been watching and listening to all the coverage on Major League Baseball's winter meetings, or maybe following along on Twitter, you've seen a lot of news surrounding left-hander Cliff Lee.

We know the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees are in, but we found out earlier this morning that the Washington Nationals had apparently jumped into the running. Surprising, seeing as they already threw $126 million at outfielder Jayson Werth.

Nationals' general manager Mike Rizzo is trying to load up his team for a run at the playoffs for the 2011 season and beyond. I have to give him credit, just one day after taking shots at him, for at least giving his fans a reason to believe that contending isn't years away, but maybe just months away.

To read the full article, click here

Was It Werth It?: Jayson Werth's Deal Is Just The Start of Big Time Contracts

 

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Jayson Werth, Carl Crawford would love to give you a hug or at least send you a 'Thank You' card because what you did for his new contract isn't something he can put into words.

Although, the stupidity of the Washington Nationals should be worth something to Crawford as well because if it wasn't for the team in the nation's capital, Crawford wouldn't be looking at nearly the amount of money that he'll command now.

We found out over the weekend that the Nationals had signed the former Philadelphia Phillies' outfielder to a seven-year $126 million contract. The most surprising thing about this deal was the fact that it was kept almost silent. With the social media available these days, that's almost impossible and unheard of.

To read the full article, click here

Cliff Lee: Texas Rangers Ready to Offer Five Years?

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We knew the Cliff Lee sweepstakes were going to heat up as soon as the Winter Meetings got underway, mostly because Lee made it clear he wasn't going to listen to offers until the aforementioned meetings began.

Well, according to the New York Post, the Texas Rangers could be tipping their hand a little bit early. George King III writes that the Rangers could be willing to offer a five-year contract that would pay Lee $23 million annually which would make the contract worth roughly $115 million or more depending on if there are any performance based incentives included.

There's no doubt that the New York Yankees will respond but the fact that the Rangers have laid their cards on the table, assuming this deal is legit, will force the Yankees to go higher than $120 million to keep the left-hander interested.

I'm curious to hear Ranger fans respond to this deal and if they believe this to be the kind of deal they expected the team to put in front of the guy they landed just before the trade deadline this past season. Are they putting too much on the line for one guy and could they miss out on other free agents if they end up waiting for Lee's answer, or do they have a backup plan already in place?

Those questions may not be answered until next week when Lee is expected to officially begin looking at the offers on the table. Though, there's no guarantee that he'll make a decision by the end of the Winter Meetings but I would imagine that teams would like the answer sooner rather than later in order to make corresponding moves.

The Rangers have done the right thing here in my opinion. Though there's always a chance that they could be bluffing just to see if the Yankees buy into it, turn around, and put together an offer that let's the Rangers know just how far Brian Cashman and the Steinbrenner's are prepared to go.

We do know that the Yankees re-signed Sergio Mitre earlier today. It's not a huge move, but it's one to keep their bullpen strong.

The drama continues to unfold between them and long time short stop Derek Jeter. There are rumors that the Yankees were willing to give him three years while Jeter wanted five or six. I don't blame the Yankees for balking at that.

Ranger fans are hoping to see Cliff Lee back in Rangers blue and white and not dawning the Yankee pinstripes when he finally does make the decision.

However, don't expect Nolan Ryan to get into a bidding war with the Bronx Bombers. He knows full well they can put more money on the table than his team can. Ryan is hoping for leverage and the fact that he's close to his family in Arkansas by staying in Arlington.

Ryan also knows that it's not a tough sell by saying the Rangers are close to winning a championship as they knocked off the defending champion Yankees to get to the World Series, though they would eventually lose to the San Francisco Giants in five games.

This is an intriguing development in this story. One that will only get better next week as the winter meetings get underway.