Curry: Yanks not getting Lee
ByUpdate by Ben (4:20 p.m.): According to Jack Curry of the YES Network, the Yankees will not be getting Cliff Lee. Despite earlier rumors to the contrary, talks hit a snag this afternoon over the identity of a few prospects involved in the trade, and the Texas Rangers have jumped back in. “Sometimes, these things just don’t get done,” he said.
Sweeny Murti reports that the Yanks thought they had a deal. The team was prepared to deal Jesus Montero, David Adams and Zack McAllister for Lee, but Seattle wanted to shop the lefty ace to other teams as well. If the Yanks are out of the running, I can’t imagine GM Brian Cashman is pleased with this turn of events. Good luck to Jack Zduriencik in his search for a better prospect than Jesus Montero. If the Rangers are willing to part with Justin Smoak, so be it.
To recap the afternoon: A short while ago, we heard via Joel Sherman, the Mariners appear to be backing away from the reportedly imminent Cliff Lee trade, and that the Yankees are no longer in the running for the southpaw. Seattle apparently had concerns about David Adams’ injured ankle while another club jumped into the bidding. Buster Olney says they have concerns about the “identity” of the second player, and it seemed as if the deal would survive without Adams.
A short while later, Olney, who seems to be co-owning this story with Sherman right now, had an update: The Yanks wanted to “strike aggressively, strike quickly, and get a resolution to this,” but the Mariners appear to be shopping for alternatives. The Rangers, hamstrung a bit by their financial troubles, says Sherman, are still “working hard” to land Lee.
We then learned that Bob Kalpisch’s Yankee sources believe the Lee-for-Montero deal to be dead. Meanwhile, Mark Feinsand’s sources said the Yanks are still in it but that no deal is done yet. Either way, it sounds as though the Yanks won’t have to face Lee tonight.
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The Tyler Austin Watch
I have no words, none at all.
I knew this would happen, I just knew it.
…..I don’t know how to react to this.
I feel as though I’ve been used, a la Rachel Leigh Cook in She’s All That
I know how… someone give me a bucket to go throw up in.
PRAISE JESUS!!!! (pun intended)
Reprieved…….
This. I’m not unhappy.
And sanity has been restored.
The Ms are the ones that backed off…not the Yankees. The Yankees still want to do the deal from all indications.
Montero Lives!!!!
im kinda happy this happened… if the sox or rays get him, i hope the m’s robbed them of their farm systems
The Red Sox will get him for Lars Anderson and Daniel Nava. Book it.
they’ll back out at the last minute cuz they don’t wanna give up daniel bard…
Finally! THANK MO!
If Jesus Montero wasn’t enough, I don’t know what to say to the Mariners GM.
Both the Phillies and Blue Jays already turned down offers centered on Montero for Lee/Halladay. Why would it surprise you that Seattle does the same?
The Yankees originally offered more than the Ms did for Lee, and the Phillies took the weaker offer.
The Phillies? And the Yankees offered Montero for Halladay straight up I believe. That’s a bold offer.
So Montero wasn’t the certerpiece. He was the only player.
According to Sherman, the Yankees offered the Phillies a package centered around Montero in exchange for Lee and were turned down.
Also, if you’re making or not making the deal based the secondary pieces then there’s something wrong with you. If the initial offer was just Montero, then I’m sure the Blue Jays could have gotten another prospect (or two) thrown in.
Haha, as I said in the other tread 2 seconds ago, we’ve been arguing all day for no reason. Well that was fun.
THIS IS GETTIN’ RI-GOD-DAMN-DICULOUS!!!!!!
/Vitchard’d
They’ll still win it all.
Hooray! I knew they could still do it!
I want to go on record as saying this is a good (non) move. Montero as a home grown hero for the next 12 years.
Seems to happen to a lot of our home grown heros. Petitte, Mo, …
JESUS LIVES!!
Well I’m pissed.
So’s Jorge.
Haha, ietc
At first, I hated this deal. Now I like it and it’s off?
My head hurts.
My thoughts exactly.
I agree. I started to warm up to the thought of Cliff now and getting someone for Javy. O well Montero will be worth it.
You cannot trade JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Shall we call this the Resurrection of Jesus?
VIVA LA MONTERO WATCH!!!!!!!!!!
WOOOOOHHHH!!!!!
I don’t even know what to say. I didn’t really like the trade to begin with, but Cliff Lee is pretty awesome. Well, if the Yankees spare Jesus and sign Lee in the offseason, I will be ecstatic.
Phew, I really really had reservations about making that deal. If we’re trading Jesus, how about we get a guy with a few years of team control left?
My head hurts
Can’t say I would have minded if it had gone down or if it hadn’t, though, honestly.
Agreed…I was psyched to get Cliff Lee and have four All Stars in the rotation. I was ambivalent about losing Montero, and concerned what this meant the Yankees thought about their situation long term and the rest of the roster…and what they thought about Jesus Montero. However, I was really looking forward to getting Cliffton.
I was too… in November.
Still am.
Agreed.
This
+1
God called, he wanted his son to play on a winner
I shouldn’t be upset since I didn’t really like the trade but goddammit I am.
Comebacker up the middle tonight makes this non-deal the worst (non) move in Mariners history. Book it
only way to make it better would be if Montero himself hit it!
instead, i’m going to put $2 (USD) on Jorgie
very happy
They’re hung up about Adams’ ankle? Seriously?
He’s missed close to half the season with a fractured ankle. That’s reason to worry.
It’s a broken ankle, not an arthritic hip. He’s young, he’ll heal.
That’s a fucking stupid reason to stop a trade, and turn down the best package that you’re going to get.
Agreed.
That was my first reaction too…disbelief that this was the problem in a possible deal. lol
I would have missed Jesus, but its either you take Jesus and Adams, or screw you if you want more.
Halladay-Jesus? Check
Lee-Jesus? Check
whose next lol?
Brian Cashman is going to kill Jeff Z. straight up.
YES!!!!!!!!
This will all work out in the offseason, believe me.
Is the other team the Twins? Could it be they added Slowey to Ramos and Hicks?
Gotta be more to it than concerns over Adams. Who’s the other team involved?
Agreed.
Porcello + AJax
This morning the deal was “done” when it wasn’t, so why should we now believe that it’s off? Who knows what’s going to happen.
I get why people were upset but the massive amount of panic and arguing amused me greatly. Also, I am kind of sad now.
Seems like somebody made a better offer, perhaps the Mets offered their entire farm XD
Jesus Montero >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> the Mets entire farm
This sucks.
I like.
And with that, my anxiety decreases.
Phew… that was a close one.
Not that it would have been terrible but I prefer it this way.
Anyone worried that another team enters the deal and also requests a window to negotiate an extension?
No. Lee has indicated that he really wants to be a free agent. That’s a large part of why the Phillies traded him and acquired Halladay.
And a large part of why the M’s are trading him now. And a large part of why the Indians traded him a year ago.
Cliff Lee and going to unfettered free agency go together like peas and carrots.
Would you prefer tuna fish and lamb? Does that analogy work for you?
Potential trades with the Mariners are like a box of chocolates… you never know what you’re gonna get.
pfft. i know what we’re going to get: Cliff Muthafuckin Lee as a free agent. And it will be expeeeeeensive.
You know what else is expensive?
That’s right. Getting Kate Hudson back for another year of Arod duty.
However this turns out it is a good day to be a Yankee fan.
Either we get one of the best pitchers in baseball or we retain one of the best prospects in baseball.
May not be such a great day for Jack Z though. Looks like the Mariners may have leaked this to drive up other offers. He is about to find himself on Ninja Cashman’s shit list. Not a place I would want to be.
Seattle apparently has concerns about David Adams‘ injured ankle
That: dumb on Seattle’s part. If I’m a Mariners fan, David Adams could be the not-legally-cleared-to-play half-corpse of Cuttino Mobley for all I care. Jesus is the crown jewel there. Everything else is just icing on the icing.
and apparently another club jumped into the bidding… If Jack Zduriencik thinks he can top a Jesus Montero-led package, then I guess good luck to him.
Perhaps the Wilson Ramos/Aaron Hicks offer is back on the table and was sweetened. Jesus is the truth, but Hicks is no slouch either and Ramos is nice.
That: dumb on Seattle’s part. If I’m a Mariners fan, David Adams could be the not-legally-cleared-to-play half-corpse of Cuttino Mobley for all I care. Jesus is the crown jewel there. Everything else is just icing on the icing.
I agree. The decision to make this deal or not should have basically nothing to do with Adams. If you really don’t like him, just throw in someone else (Joseph, Laird, Nunez).
Yup.
Cashman: I’ll give you Montero and Adams for Lee.
Jack Z: DEAL!!!!!
Cashman: Actually, I’m sorry.. it looks like David Adams was just killed in a tragic blimp accident. He’s not available.
Jack Z: Deal’s still on. Mail me his corpse if you want, I’ll cover the funeral expenses.
… aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, SCENE!
I laughed.
They already have a far superior prospect for 2nd base anyway…and Chone Figgins locked up for a few more years.
I don’t get it.
Perhaps the Wilson Ramos/Aaron Hicks offer is back on the table and was sweetened. Jesus is the truth, but Hicks is no slouch either and Ramos is nice.
Maybe Tampa comes in with a Hellickson/Davis and Jennings offer?
That might work.
And as a Yankee fan, I’d LOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVE if the Rays traded Jennings and Davis/Hellickson for the right to lose Cliff Lee to me in free agency 4 months from now.
[licking chops]
Then looks away from tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder and realizes he has written something as well…
+1.
If they trade Davis then Hellickson comes up next year to replace Lee but they have no one behind him that I’m aware of.
If they trade Hellickson then Davis goes down and comes up next year to replace Lee.
If they trade Jennings then they have to resign CC as they have no one behind him.
Any way you look at it, they are much weaker in the future despite looking great this year which is better IMO.
Wouldn’t Seattle jump on the Yankees offer as much as possible. Montero would be the best prospect they have had in a while and can be a franchise bat for years to come.
More likely to get Wilson Betemit and Aaron Boone first…
I tweeted this before, but 15 years now, I can’t wait to read a RAB post titled: “”Revisiting an almost-trade of Jesus Montero.”
I’d love to read it 3-4 years from now.
Jesus himself can talk about how happy he is to have remained a Yankee and won five straight world championships, all of them with Cliff Lee in the rotation.
This
I can see I was a little late in making a similar comment.
Root beer for you.
I read somewhere along the lines that Cincinnati was having talks of getting involved.
I just wasted my entire day reading all this nonsense when I could have gotten countless amounts of work done!!
[twists open bottle of Jack Daniels and takes a swig]
So Jayson Werth huh?
I was up this morning for the initial breaking of the news, and dubbed it irresponsible rumormongering. I was then kinda shocked when I recently checked back & saw it was valid-ish.
Look, I want Lee as much as the next guy, but the even-handedness shown with the cream of our prospects has been really refreshing to me, ever since the FO essentially passed up the playoffs in 2008 to hang on to Hughes & go get CC.
A-Jax & IPK, and to a lesser extent Viz, while very good prospects, I think merited the moves for Grandy & Javy. Montero, though, is a prospect on Hughes’ level, importance wise. Just like we had to have faith in the development of Hughes, and endure some rough stretches, we’ll have to do the same with Zeus. But it will pay off.
Further, Lee has said expressed interest in free agency, so why not just pursue him for 2011? I know I’m not covering any new ground here, but I approve of the deal, if it doesn’t get done.
Please mystery team, finish the deal! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My god… FUCK THIS.
Told ya this morning! Mariners were using Yanks to get a better offer from other teams. Not terrible. We still have Montero, and can sign Lee in the offseason.
Of all the nights to have SI Yankee tickets, I’ll have to miss the fireworks here
Jack Z is going to go to the bathroom, wash his face in the mirror while the place is really quiet. All of a sudden, the lights are going to flicker and Cashman looking like that NoMaas photoshop picture I can’t find is going to appear. Jack is going to freak out and Cashman in an eerie tone is going to say “How dare you say no to Jesus! No one can say no to Jesus” and proceed to rip his face off.
I can picture Cashman relaxing with a cigar, when a phone call comes in. “Hey Cashmoney, its Big Z, I was kinda thinking, and I don’t know how to say this, but no deal”
That man better put his family into witness protection before Cashman finds him.
how dare you insult cash-money-bajillionaire like that! wtf are you thinking?
cashman WANTED everyone to think he was getting cliff lee, and the only way to do that was use Montero-bait, cause it takes big bait to get big fish. Now some other dumb ass (or two) will mortgage the future of his organization in order to allow us to get cliff lee a few months from now.
I got $2 (American) that says cliff lee watches a world series game from Yankee Stadium this year…thinking damn it feels to be a Yankster.
Jesus said he wanted to stay and using his powers he fucking did it. Against all odds.
Looks like I can keep my name!!!
i still think that cashman will get a chance to beat whatever deal is coming to seattle right now. a deal with montero at the center is the best they’ll get, and maybe a different prospect will be thrown in.
i just hate that i’ve gotten this excited.
The only thing dumber than trading a top-5 hitting prospect for a 4 month rental player is trading MORE than a top-5 hitting prospect in a bidding war to acquire a 4 month rental player.
If anyone was going to pull back, I thought it was going to be CashMoney.
For real…he’s offering a top ten prospect and DAVID ADAMS is holding the trade up.
I’m heart broken. Hopefully the mystery teams offer falls through and they come crawling back to the Bombers
Then Cash replaces Montero with Igawa and everyone’s happy.
I guess I’ll just leave Cliff Lee in my fantasy lineup for now.
I can see this as one of those ”What If” trades 5 years down the road and thanking Jesus himself for not allowing this trade to happen.
Kind of how we recently pondered the ”What If” trades of the father of Jesus, Mo.
If you’re disappointed, you saw the Yanks interest. He’ll DEFINITELY be signed as a free agent.
And we get to keep Jesus. But I don’t get why Cash is doing this NOW when the trade for Johan made a thousand times more sense.
It wasn’t clear (at least to me) that the Johan trade would make the team better in 2008. Giving up Hughes, Melky and IPK would have cost us two starting pitchers, and the starting CF for the major league team. This deal certainly helps the team this season (although weakens it down the road).
Because they have depth at catcher. They couldnt afford to give up the talent that was Hughes + whomever else.
David Adams’s ankle wont hold up this deal. Cash will tweak accordingly. This deal will get done once Jack Z. realizes he cant extract Meijia & Wilmer Flores.
If Jack says no to this deal, Cash should pull Montero back from the package and replace him with a handful of lesser guys.
I wonder if Cashman is pissed that the news leaked this morning. Not sure where the leak came from, but having a major deal like this break up (possibly_ because of a leak leading to a team jumping into the mix is the type of thing that I think would piss off Cashman. If it was from the Mariners side, it could create some animosity between Cash and Jack Z going forward.
Even if the mystery team is the Red Sox I will temporary say that they are me second favorite team.
Best part about this even for the people who really wanted this trade to go through?
Cliff Lee will still very likely be a Yankee in 4 months.
All the Mets fans and Red Sox fans can rejoice until the offseason when they realize that they will have to face a Lee-Montero combo in the future!!!
MUAHAHAHA!
This. We know they love Lee. Lee probably knows it now When he’s a free agency BOOM we have three aces in our rotation for 2011.
4 with teh jobber!
Egg-Zactly.
I don’t mind beating his team in the playoffs once more, so he really knows which pastures are greener.
But Cliff Lee won’t help the Yankees NOW. I’m sorry, I dont have faith that Burnett/Vazquez/Hughes will keep it up. I just don’t…
Why not? Burnett I can see problems but he’s always like this. Always inconsistent. Vazquez is a really good starter, he’s pitching back to his norm. Hughes with his innings and his young struggles too are concerning but he’s the 5th starter. He’ll be the best 5th starter in baseball.
Cliff Lee is a difference maker. The guy has flat out owned US, on the biggest stage of them all. I feel much, much, much (x1000000) more confident going into the post season with him and Sabathia leading the 1-2 punch than Sabathia and Burnett.
We better pray we don’t have the face the team Lee is on in the first round because it’ll be extremely difficult to win that series.
Cliff Lee is a difference maker. The guy has flat out owned US, on the biggest stage of them all.
You’re absolutely right. It was a real bitch to watch the Phillies celebrate their back-to-back world championships on our field last October.
Wait, what?
The Yankees won the World Series with Burnett and his inconsistency pitching as part of a three-man rotation. This year’s rotation is MUCH more apt to repeat that success. Vazquez (or Burnett) will be far better than any other team’s 4th starter. Hughes will be put into the bullpen for the postseason and that’s going to be one hell of a bridge to Mo.
Of course he’ll help the Yankees now. That’s exactly when he’ll help them.
Thing is, the Yankees don’t need that help now. They need it next year & after.
They also need a huge homegrown bat. Now and forever.
There is no reason to get upset about this if the trade is dead.
It would have been great to get Cliff Lee, but that doesn’t look like it is going to happen.
No matter what, at the end of the day the Yankees have the best record in baseball and will be the favorites in any playoff series.
And the Yankees are clearly committed to improving an already very good team as evidenced by this almost trade.
No matter what, at the end of the day the Yankees have the best record in baseball and will be the favorites in any playoff series.
And the Yankees are clearly committed to improving an already very good team as evidenced by this almost trade.
Repeated for emphasis.
Yeah. This way we get to watch Lee’s Yankees press conference in November AND watch Montero mash for the Yankes as a part time C/DH for at least a few years.
Don’t worry, I took care of that little trade thing.
WWJD?
Say “FU Cash. I ain’t leavin’”
http://twitter.com/SI_JonHeyman/status/18143663327
Ms turned them down…Jack Z may have pulled a Bill Smith here.
So, here’s what I get from Twitter:
Joel Sherman sees the deal as dead.
Olney sees the deal as still on the table, but the M’s want more.
Heyman has a similar view to Olney.
It sounds like the M’s are trying to milk this for everything they can, but the Yankees aren’t biting. Not sure what this means for whether a deal happens or not…
Is Wade Davis and B.J. Upton a better deal than Montero/Adams/prospect
No.
Davis despite being good is projected as a mid to back end starter. And Upton is struggling again. So I don’t know. It’s a tough one.
Mariners don’t need an OF whatsoever.
That. And especially not Upton.
I can’t believe they turned this deal down over David Adams. If that’s true, Z just got too picky, IMO.
You don’t get to be the #6 Organization by trading for second basemen with broken ankles.
Right, and Melky was the centerpiece of the Javy deal.
So what are you going to say if David Adams goes on to become a good player? Which he probably will.
As long as the Rays or Red Sox don’t get him, I’m fine.
I’d consider adding the Twins to this list, but I’d tend to agree.
I disagree. I’m actively rooting for the Rays to trade for Cliff Lee.
We can beat the Cliff Lee Rays this year, and Cliff Lee has a 0.00000001% chance of signing an extension in Tampa Bay, so the trade of prospects for 4 months of Lee is a gigantic advantage to the Yankees long term.
Yo, Tommie, is Jack Z the new Mo Greene in our Yankees/Godfather hierarchy?
Heh.
If Damon Oppenheimer gets a GM gig with the D-Backs, that makes him Fredo, right?
Looks like this team is the Rangers. I have no problems if he goes there.
Yeah…the Rangers make the most sense, they need the SP help the most, they have the most talent to offer, and Cliff Lee’s salary and their payroll situation fit the best; even if there’s issues with that the Rangers can offer enough talent to make the Ms eat the salary.
The Rangers can’t add payroll so Seattle would have to pick up the rest of this season’s tab for Lee. Possible but not likely. Texas would have to over-pay in prospects in a major, major way.
When the cat is out of the bag this early it seems that disaster always follows.
This would have been a great deal for the Yanks.
I’d love to know WHO–not what–screwed it up!
Who screwed it up? Jack Z. And this wouldn’t have been a great deal. A meh deal maybe. Possibly good. But when the Yankees can have him in four months I’d rather not pay twice for the same player.
If Cash is in Seattle, I say he goes in the clubhouse, and tells the team that for every hit they get 1k and for every RBI they get 5k. We win 27-1.
Zduriencik is pissing off the wrong ninja.
There’s no way he’s getting a better deal than Montero, Adams and Z-Mac (if he is included).
My guess is that this is posturing on the M’s part. Trying to see if they can get that 1 last request out of Cashman – whatever it may be.
A picture of Jack Z’s kid sitting on Mo’s lap.
HAH!
YES! Love the sound of that!
Sherman is now saying that Texas is the team going hard after Lee?? Sorry, but I just don’t see that happening.
Well, there’ve been rumors about Lee to Texas for a while, no?
Them giving up Smoak would be slightly less pointless, as they have the lead in the ALW right now & Lee would probably lock it up, and there’s no guarantee that they’ll be perennial contenders.
Still would be pretty pointless though. Gotta keep the future offensive hallmark player.
I bet Martin Perez is the headliner.
Their division sucks meaning they can contend easier; they need pitching help; they have the best farm in the league; it makes sense.
If Cliff Lee ends up with the Rays, the Rays mustve coughed up Niemann & Jennings. Must’ve…
I think Jennings and Davis would get it done.
They’ll probably want Jennings and Davis or Hellickson over Niemann
http://riveraveblues.com/2010/.....ent-960400
The first four words of this article “Rangers in hard on” just sayin…
Actually screw it I would kill for the Rays to get Lee. There is no chance with their payroll getting shortened yet again can they keep Lee. In 2010 that will suck but I still think the Yankees are a better team.
So the Rangers are that team… What do they have that would beat the Yankees offer?
Lots of guys, Martin Perez is the jewel and likely what it would take. I dunno if I’d rather him than Montero, but he’s definitely a good piece…the Rangers also would probably give them better secondary pieces too, even if Martin Perez isn’t as good of a haul as Jesus Montero. That may be in the Ms best interest, several good players instead of one elite one.
Pimeda was pulled from his Tacoma start tonight…so it looks like Lee’s leaving today regardless.
With all this talk…is Cliff Lee pitching against us tonight or what?
No.
Texas giving up Smoak to a division rival for a rental of Lee when they have basically no chance of re-signing him would be UTTER INSANITY. Seriously, that’s so much worse than giving up Montero.
Long term, sure. But it does give them their best shot to get to the WS this year, and they can’t be sure they’ll be in so enviable a position next year and onwards.
If the idea is to win right now, and use that to revitalize the fanbase & see where the cards fall going forward, it makes a bit of sense.
Not that I would advocate it as a Rangers’ fan, but it makes slightly more sense to give up the cornerstone prospect for them than the Yanks.
Literally any scenario of Cliff Lee being traded to any of our rivals is a big win for us.
We can beat any other team this year, even if they have Cliff Lee, and we then will sign Cliff Lee this winter.
We get Lee and still win a title, the M’s get prospects, and our rival, whether it’s the Sox/Rays/Rangers/Twins/Angels/whomever get a draft pick from us and that’s it.
Brilliant.
If it was the Red Sox and you lived in MA with Cliff Lee leading them to the World Series you would definitely not be saying that. I don’t know if I can take another WS season from them anytime soon.
We’d fuck up the Red Sox with or without Cliff Lee. We’re the Yankees, baby.
I’d say this just boosted RAB’s traffic even more. Guess they’re really going to break their record today.
Maybe. Their record I think is when the signed Javier. Tough the rumors were “Yankees looking to add new starter” and in I don’t know 3 minutes there was over 1000 comments.
Mike said in the chat they were at 55K already with the record being 60K so with this news, the open thread, game thread and DotF, they might double it!
It’s all becoming clear now just who leaked the trade reports this morning.
“I’m never sleeping in again…” Yeah, right. Nice cover Pawlikowski.
ROMA
Patel? Ravidam Patel? How am I going to make a living on these deadbeats? Where did you get this, from the morgue?
WILLIAMSON:
I–
ROMA
Oh, what’s the point. What’s the f$%#%ing point, in any case? I gotta argue with you? I got to knock heads with the cops, I’m busting my balls, sell your dirt to DEADBEATS! Money in the mattress. I come back; you can’t even manage to keep the contracts safe, I have to go back and close them again…What the f#$% am I wasting my time, this shit. I’m going out and reclose last week’s…
WILLIAMSON
No, no, The word from Murray is: leave them alone. If we need a new sig, he’ll go out himself, he’ll be the president, just come in, from out of town.
ROMA
(surprised)
Murray’s gonna go out?
WILLIAMSON
Yeah.
ROMA
(pause)
Okay, okay… okay. Gimme this shit. Fine.
(takes the leads)
WILLIAMSON
Now, I’m giving you three…
ROMA
Three? No, I count two.
WILLIAMSON
Three.
ROMA
Patel? F#$% you! F$#%in’ Shiva handed this guy a million dollars, told him “sign the deal!,” he wouldn’t sign. And the god Vishnu, too, into the bargain. F#$% you, John. You know your business, I know mine. Your business is being an asshole, and I find out whose f#&$%ng cousin you are, I’m going to go to him and figure out a way to have your ass… F$% you. I’ll wait for the new leads.
Good god I love this movie. Even played Roma a couple of times.
So who can the Rangers offer to the Mariners?
Smoak
1 Catcher
and Derek Holland?
That’d definitely be a great package…
Not enough to get Seattle to eat the rest of what’s owed to Lee.
What, like $3.5 mil? Please.
I’m pretty sure Smoak, Holland, and a catcher is worth three months of Lee and four million dollars (probably closer to three since the Rangers are getting rid of three salaries)
That would be a massive overpay IMO.
Smoak + Holland >>>>>>>> Montero + Adams
IMHO
You’re getting two players who have a legit shot at being all stars, as opposed to one elite player and an every day second basemen. I’d agree completely, if they can get this deal…more power to them.
Agree.
Yes, but only because Holland >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Adams.
Montero and Smoak are pretty equal.
Except the whole Montero being better than Smoak.
As Marty McFly would say…
This is heavy.
I still say this is getting done the M’s are just trying to get more and who can blame them.
Anyone have any idea of what the Rangers could have on the table.
The Rangers have the #1 farm system in all of baseball. A literal embarrassment of riches. They have the ammo to trump us, and if I’m the Mariners, I LOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVE the idea of getting 2-3 of the Rangers elite prospects, intradivisionally, mind you, and then watching Lee sign with the Yankees in November.
That’s a win-win-win for Seattle. You get stronger, your competition gets stronger during the period you weren’t going to compete anyway, and then they have nothing long term to show for it.
Please, God (or Jesus) let this deal fall through
At least ESPN finally changed their headline from “Source: Yanks near trade for Mariners’ Lee” to “Source: Yankees trade talks for Lee break down”
How can the Rangers take on his salary? I’d be interested to see who they give up. Wouldn’t it have to be a major league player in order to give up that amount of salary?
simple, M’s pay the freight for more talent.
Wii money, yo.
Heyman tweet: “The Rangers are one of a few teams jumping back into the trade talks, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com”
just a hunch but don’t think cash will take kindly to the fact that the M’s seem to be using the yanks offer to get something better elsewhere
Well as long as it keeps Jesus in the Bronx I’ll be happy. Tough I have a bad feeling Cash will trade Jesus no matter what.
Why because this is the second time in less then a year that he has tired. LOL
I agree.
tried
Maybe even the third. I never knew the Yanks tried to get Halladay when he was on the Phillies. But yeah I’m always going to have this lingering feeling. But thankfully if someone else gets Lee, there isn’t much on the trading block worthy of Jesus.
Well what other players are going to be traded soon that Jesus would be a suitable chip for? Basically it will have to be an elite talent like a Cliff Lee, a Roy Halladay, or someone like that. Maybe a Hanley Ramirez, Montero will be in AAA next year before he forces a decision, in next year’s trade market who can be acquired that’s worth a talent like Montero? I’m not saying this guy doesn’t exist, I’m asking a legitimate question. If the Yankees have resigned themselves to him not catching they should trade him. No use in having him lose half his value DHing when he can bring back an elite talent on the trade market.
it’s not like he’s just trying to trade him to trade him.
Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee are what, 2 of the 5 best starters in baseball?
these are extraordinary talents.
not saying i’m in love with the idea, but he’s not going to turn around and trade Jesus for Ted Lilly.
crossing fingers
I was thinking the same thing, but its a smart move by the M’s.
yeah, unless you essentially had a handshake deal and then backed away.
If Jack Z is thinking about trading Lee for Smoak, then why don’t we send Javy to the Cardinals for Brad Penny, Penny to Texas for Smoak, and then Smoak to Seattle. It’s so obvious.
Eureka! The hat goes on the head! It’s all so obvious now!
Once Jack Z. realizes he wont get BOTH Smoak & Perez, the Montero deal will be back on. Nolan Ryan would be crazy to do this deal bc that org DEFINITELY has no shot at retaining Lee. Maybe its a Nelson Cruz & Perez deal …
Feinsand: “Source continued: “…Every other team in baseball is supplementing the Rangers right now, so they have no business taking on Lee’s salary.” http://twitter.com/BloggingBom.....8145037459
This is what I don’t understand, doesn’t the MLB FO have to ok any additional $ the Rangers take on? Why would they ok this?
Not if the Ms eat salary.
That. I’m sure the Mariners will gladly pay every cent of Cliff Lee’s meager 2010 salary in order to get blue chip prospects away from the best team in their own division.
Seattle’s not broke, you know.
True… my bad
price tweet: “An official of uninvolved team said that #Rangers now willing to put Justin Smoak in a deal for Cliff Lee. And don’t count out #Reds.”
These rumors are getting out of hand. We’re not talking about trading for Brad Penny here…
Sanchize hit another Grand Slam today.
I like “Sanchize”. I think it’s my new favorite Gary Sanchez nickname.
Too bad it’s already Mark Sanchez’s nickname.
Gary > Mark.
/not a Jets fan’d
By the time Gary gets to the Bronx, though, Mark’ll have, what, a 5 year headstart on him for name recognition? Maybe more?
Your concept of time means nothing to me. NOTHING!
Yeah, but he’ll have more “Tim Couch” name recognition than say “Phillip Rivers” name recognition.
I am in the minority but I do not want this deal to go through. Our starting rotation is at present can easily takes us to championship #28. There is no need to break it up and trade a valuable player in our system for a pitcher who may not be with us next year anyway. Our needs are the bench and most important, the bullpen.
I’m not sure that is the minority. There are a lot of people and good arguments for both sides.
while i agree there are good arguments on both sides, and i do have mixed feelings, there is almost NO CHANCE they make the trade and Lee pitches elsewhere in 2011. this is the least of my concerns with the trade.
That.
Frankly, no matter who Cliff Lee does or does not get traded to, there’s still like a 95% certainty he’s a Yankee next year. Either we trade for him and keep him, or someone else trades for him and we sign him.
There’s only like one team that we know that is trading for him and have the money to sign him long term. And that’s the Mets…
I think 95 is too little. I mean the Mariner’s want a major league ready bat and the mets aren’t trading Ike Davis.
The Rays can’t keep him, the Red Sox might but that’s one expensive rotation and the owner despises being in Yankee payroll territory so thats unlikely. Mets can but it’s Omar so they won’t get him. Twins already coughed up for Mauer. Dodgers can’t afford him either. Texas from what I’m hearing don’t have the payroll.
Oh I forgot about the Phillies. Bah. If they trade for him I will say that Reuben Amaro is one of the worse GM’s out there.
I don’t think there is a minority on this topic. The threads have seemed pretty evenly split all day.
not sure about “easily”, but yes, with our current rotation, we’ve got to be the WS favorites. but getting lee would increase those odds even more.
that’s what the decision was…was montero worth increasing your WS odds from, say, 50% to 80%?
Our WS odds were way higher than 50% before today.
of winning…really?
Settle down there. No one’s WS odds are ever that high. The Yanks barely have a 50% chance of winning the AL East right now.
http://www.baseballprospectus......s_odds.php
Well, nobody really has odds of winning the WS, just of making the playoffs. So we’re talking about two separate things.
But if you want to go with the idea that nobody ever has higher than 50% odds of winning it all, our odds were probably somewhere around 30-40%, and adding Lee would move it to somewhere around 35-45%.
It’s not much. We were already the best team in baseball.
The Reds are trying to get on this? Wow.
Please let him go there.
Best part, even if this ends up biting us in the ass, who do we blame? The Mariners, not Cashman. Win-win.
Trade Jesus for Ted Lilly!
/steve (different one)’d
just kidding!
The Rangers won’t include Smoak in a deal for Lee. Who else do they have that’s on Montero’s level?
no one is on JESUS’ level
MLBTR updated that the Rangers said they would consider moving Smoak for Lee now.
they will according to price’s latest tweet
my baseball people kept saying Cliff Lee, Cliff Lee
well played. and topical.
/George Steinbrenner’d
Loved your Friars’ Roasts bits. Very blue, very scatalogical. By the way, do you still do the black glove/white glove routine?
Naturally, after I talk myself into a state of resigned acceptance in regards to this trade, it apparently falls through.
Now I have no idea how to feel and I really, really want a drink. I hate how much I love the Yankees.
lol Yeah, that sums it up well.
same for me. I hated it, then accepted it, then loved it……now screw it
And that, my friends, is why we have liquor.
Wow, ivfk reference. I award you 2 points.
Damn you Cliff Lee, taking over the day that was supposed to be occupied by the launch of Andy Pettitte’s Dove Journey to Comfort ads!!!!
Lee will never take over that spot for you Bexy, and you know it.
I did watch them a couple of times when I was all confused about what to think and they were very … soothing. Yeah, that’s the right word.
The only thing that saddens me about the Rangers jumping into the lead:
Justin Smoak moving from Arlington to Safeco is going to put a BIIIIIG crimp in my already struggling fantasy team.
This whole thing was a big tease
Just Jack Z trying to out-ninja Cash Money. If only he could.
Whats that saying?
“Sometimes the deal that you dont make is the one that you end up being happy with” or something like that
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winner%27s_curse
Smoak not in the Rangers’ lineup tonite
I’m positive Zduriencik won’t get a better deal than the one we offered him. In the end, he got greedy and nitpicked on a detail and I’m sure they won’t get as good prospects as the ones we were about to deal.
I dunno, getting two studs from the Rangers system beats getting one stud from ours.
Jesus is the shiznit, but Texas has multiple guys who are also the shiznit, and you’re taking elite prospects away from your direct competition for an elite player they have almost no chance of retaining long term. That’s an awesome deal for the M’s, even if none of the guys they get from Texas are quite as good as Montero would be by himself.
smoak’s out of the lineup tonight
Today summed up is like when someone walks up to you on the street and gives you free tickets to the game, but just as your getting scanned at the gate you find out they don’t work.
In conclusion, fuck it.
But then you find out they’re really season tickets for the next 10 years, and you feel pretty great.
Lee wasn’t free. If you get Lee now t’s like paying for the tickets then arriving at the gate to find out they are fake then buying tickets again.
or like getting free plane tickets to the All Star game, showing up at the gates and paying $400 you wouldn’t have paid for tickets you didn’t reeeally need.
Yeah, that’s more right.
No. Today summed up is like when someone walks up to you on the street and hands you free front row tickets to WS game seven when you just met the girl of your dreams and asked her out and she said yes and you’ve already made plans with her, and then found out that the tickets were fake anyway.
/Good Will Hunting’d
Olney: “The Mariners expressed health concerns about the Yankees’ second prospect in the deal, David Adams. They asked for others, and the talks broke down from there.”
We salute you David Adams. Even while injured you help the team.
I demand a David Adams Broken Ankle Watch.
It’s only fair, his broken ankle singlehandedly saved the Montero Watch
RAB salutes David Adams: Real Man of Genius
This must be because the Mariners don’t really care about offense
/neyer’d
Let’s recap:
1. Yankees don’t have to face Cliff Lee tonight.
2. Yankees keep Jesus.
3. Lee gets traded to a financially-challenged team, thus ensuring that he still becomes a free agent.
4. Yankees remain the favorites to sign him this off-season.
I can’t think of a better possible outcome.
Tommie: very very aroused.
You epitomize the worst of what Yankee fans can be right now.
I’m unbelievably greedy, never satisfied, and not content to enjoy the team you have on the field this year and their chances to win.
Epic outcome is epic.
Not only do you have an good handle, but your link is good as well.
a better outcome would be Lee to the NL.
The only thing that would make this better would be if he were traded to the NL -> least chance of facing him in the postseason.
I was really, really hoping he’d end up on the Reds.
Yeah, but if he goes to an NL team, they likely sign him to an extension. If he gets traded to Texas or Tampa Ray, he probably becomes a free agent.
He’s been pretty adamant about becoming a free agent. I think he’d test the market, regardless of his ultimate destination.
why do you say this?
Yankees get Cliff Lee and keep Jesus Montero, and Dustin Pedroia experiences a set back while Kevin Youkilis injures himself after a called strike three conniption fit.
So if this thing is not gonna happen, does this speed up Jesus’ call up ?
no?
The Mariners will be disappointed when it turns out that Smoak doesn’t really have a “Smoak-type” bat. It’s just all smoak and mirrors.
(ducks)
that kind of humor can make you a rich man
Get it done Rangers, I don’t want to face Lee tonight!
CLiff Lee to Rangers done? YESSSS! Let’s hope.
http://twitter.com/Joelsherman1/status/18146863787
i have learned deal done with #Rangers, Smoak and 3 others for Lee and reliever Mark Lowe
EPIC.
Awesome. It still scares me that 55% of RAB readers thought the deal for the Yankees was Great/Good.
Haha yeah. Paying for someone twice isn’t good. Lee will definitely be a free agent now. We’ll get him. Jesus is here to stay hopefully.
We can thank Jack Z, The Rangers, and David Adams for making this possible.
Cliff Lee is great. like really great. and Lee/Sabathia in the playoffs would be unstoppable.
now, i am on the fence b/c it was a very high price, but i don’t think it was SOOOO obvious that it wasn’t a good move.
i think 50/50 is a pretty reasonable split.
both sides had strong cases.
Both teams played hard, my man.
Yeah, I wasn’t in love with the deal…but I liked it. You really can’t get mad at acquiring Cliff Lee, especially when they can flip Vazquez for some prospects to restock the farm and keep the draft pick…not as good as Montero, but hell having four all stars in the rotation at once is pretty fucking sweet.
Now the Reds are in on it I think the Yankees got used.
4:57pm: The Rangers will acquire Lee, according to Sherman.
7:43am: Yankees on brink of acquiring Cliff Lee, according to Sherman
The Rangers will acquire Lee, according to Sherman.
Cliff Lee to Ranges for Smoak and 3 others for Lee and reliever Mark Lowe
- Sherman
Just signing in here … I’m not going to read the 280 posts above me.
I hope this deal is DEAD!! Lee is a very, very fine pitcher, and it would be nice if he were a Yankee. But giving up a 20 yo Jesus Montero, with the possibility of a 15-20 year career ahead as a top-flight slugger, makes absolutely no sense in exchange for a half-year rental on Lee. I’d do it for Stephen Strasburg, but that’s about it.
For a half-year rental, I wouldn’t be trading Montero, not to mention other chips, if the pitcher’s name was Sandy Koufax.
you can’t talk about a “half season of Lee” AND “15-20 years of Montero”.
the Yankees would extend Lee at full price, but they would also have to pay full price for years 9-14 of your Montero fantasy.
the Yankees would extend Lee at full price,
But we also would have just signed Lee at full price if we hadn’t traded Montero.
Which is exactly what we’re about to do this November. So, yes, it’s only 4 months of Lee. That’s the only variable here.
oh, totally agree. just pointing out some logical inconsistency there.
the yankees would be trading SIX years of Montero for 1/2 a season of Lee. not 15-20.
Sandy Koufax is like 75 years old
Lee will enjoy pitching in Arlington in the sweltering miasma of a Texas summer.
Oh well no problem at least they don’t have to face him. Its great to have issues like this.
When does Jesus actually make it to Yanks ?
Texas has a tough 16 game stretch after the all star break. When they fall 3 games behind the Angels on 7/31, does Lee go back on the market?
No? The Angels are what? Four games back…they lost their best player and I really don’t think they have what it takes to keep Texas down for long.
Sigh of relief.
It’s not that Cliff Lee isn’t awesome, he is. But teh Jezus is the team’s only really high-end offensive prospect, and right now the MLB club is very dependent on the bats of A-Rod, Jeter, and Posada for production. Teixiera, Cano and Swisher are the only all-star caliber bats under 30, and while Gardner and Granderson are excellent complimentary players, I wouldn’t want either near the middle of an order any time soon.
The point is, Posada won’t be around much longer, A-Rod’s probably in the beginning of some mild decline (taking him from the 8-9 WAR range to probably around the 5-6 WAR range for the next few years), Jeter is definitely in the midst of decline, and Cano can’t realistically be expected to keep his OBP at or near .400 every year, and Swisher’s typically closer to .370 than .400 as well. I’m rambling a bit, but my point is that going forward, Montero’s bat is going to mean a lot to the team, especially since it appears to have (wisely) shifted its free agency focus onto pitchers rather than hitters.
The yankees have a decent crop of solid position players in the minors right now, especially at catcher, but that isn’t the point. The point is that Montero is the only guy who can be realistically expected to fulfill a “middle of the order” role in the future. Romine may be the quality offensive and defensive catcher that’s so hard to find out there, but Montero is the big bat that, while not necessarily as hard to find, would probably cost at least $10 mil on the open market. That’s $10 million that could be used on starters, like, for example, Cliff Lee.
The Yankees have the best record in baseball by two games right now. They are currently the objective World Series favorites. Is increasing that margin for the remainder of 2010 really worth giving up on a career’s worth of Jesus Montero when we could just sign that margin in the offseason?
Wouldn’t your comments on Posada, Jeter and A-Rod be reasons to TRADE Montero?
They need to keep the DH spot open for the parade of declining players marching quickly to the DH spot.
No, they wouldn’t. Losing offense in order to make things simpler is not smart. The yankees will need to hold on to any cheap offense they can, because the expensive guys they’ve got will be getting worse. They won’t be able to afford more expensive ones because they’ll still be paying the ones they’ve got. But the ones they’ve got won’t be as good anymore, so they’ll have an on-field need for which they will not have enough money to address.
So now I know that a “Smoak-type bat” = Cliff Lee. Should Cashman go back in time to get Penny from the Red Sox as a Bizarro Cliff Lee? …Or Earth 2 Cliff Lee – assuming you’ve read “Crisis on Infinite Earths”???
Not a good week for Cashman…
- Granderson stinks
- NJ is defective
- “LeBron is definitely going to the Knicks. Mark my words.”
- Bungling a trade for Lee.
- Letting Jesus know ‘you’re nothing to us’.
…
…
…
…
…
WTF is the matter with you?
seriously you’ve got mental problems man.
Yeah you’ve got mental problems man
Lueke, Lawson, Beavan and Smoak for Lee…I like the Yankee package better, that’s just me though.
Just go after him during the post season.
why is that jeff passan guy on yahoo such a tool? he’s always hating on the yankees.