Re-Lee-ved

Shhh... quiet.  I think you can still hear it.  "What is that?" you might be wondering.  That, my friend, is the collective cheer still echoing throughout the Northeast as Red Sox fans awoke this morning to the news that Cliff Lee would be joining the Philadelphia Phillies, not the New York Yankees!

For all of us Yankee haters, this situation could not have played out any better.  Not only does he spurn the beguiled "Evil Empire," turning down much more money, but this decision absolutely crushes the Bronx Bombers spirit and places them light years behind the Red Sox for the upcoming season.

I think this decision is a really significant indictment on the fact that the opinion of the New York Yankees is beginning to shift.  Their once "bully" mentality and invincible persona has been damaged, and the perception is now more of the idea that they are an aging group of overpaid players on the decline.

This move sent painful shock waves throughout the Yankee fan base.  Placing all of their eggs in the Cliff Lee sweepstakes basket was a dire miscalculation.  There was no apparent contingency plan in place if and when this deal fell through.  They operated under the mindset of "Hey, we're the Yankees.  We'll just throw a crazy amount of money at him (i.e. C.C. Sabbathia, Texiera) and there's no way he will turn our offer down."

The reality of the situation, for Yankees fans, is that this scenario was devastating in a number of ways.  The length of time it took for Cliff Lee to make this decision completely hand-cuffed the whole organization.  They were not able to pursue any other big name free agents prior to finalizing a commitment from Lee.  Secondly, it was imperative, to the Yankees fan base, for management to counter the sensational moves made by the Red Sox front office.

This decision will have a paralyzing domino effect on the Yankees.  This most likely means that Andy Pettitte will lean more towards retirement, seeing that the Yankees are less likely to repeat their success of this past season.  Also, Brian Cashman will be under enormous pressure to trade for another starting pitcher.

This desperate attempt to save face and appease a cantankerous fan base will come at great cost though.  Teams with viable trade pieces will sense their vulnerability and place exorbitant price tags on any players, knowing that the Yankees almost have to overpay now that they've missed out on Cliff Lee.  This will deplete what is considered to be a quality farm system, and damage their long term blueprint for years to come.

As great as this feels today, I would issue a warning before we all start to text our Yankee buddies with painful jabs to their bruised egos.  Don't count them out just yet. Maybe this unsettling feeling subtly lurking in the pit of my stomach is just a byproduct of several years of Boston sports disappointments and failures, but they always seem to have something hidden up their sleeve that brings us back down to earth before we're able to get too high.

So, enjoy it for what it is right now.  Opening Day is a long ways off.  Wallow in the Yankee misery while you can, but just try not to get too carried away in your premature celebrations.  Because, as we all know too well, the tables can turn very quickly, and whatever blows you choose to dish out will almost certainly be returned with twice the force.