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.

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

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.