Yankees Seek World Domination

Because the New York Yankees needed all the help they could get to finally win a championship (insert eye roll here), they now have their eye on one more weapon in their overpaid arsenal. Rumors are flying about the imminent acquisition of All-Star pitcher Cliff Lee by the Yankees today, and it sounds like they're close to closing the deal.

As of 12:00 CDT today the Yankees and the Mariners are rumored to be crossing the T's and dotting the I's on a deal that would send Cliff Lee to the Yankees for top prospect catcher/first baseman Jesus Montero, prospect second baseman David Adams, and possibly one other prospect. Lee is currently 8-3 with a 2.34 ERA, has 5 complete games (including his last three in a row!) and 89 strikeouts. He's also scheduled to start against the Yankees tonight.

We'll see if he starts tonight, and if he does, it will be interesting to see which uniform he will be wearing. Chances are, if he does go to New York before his scheduled start tonight, the first time we'll see him in Yankee pinstripes will be at the All-Star game.

As I've stated before, the Mariners have had a disappointing season. They beefed up their roster in hopes to be a major contender this year, but the season has been a major disappointment instead. There's been no doubt over the last few weeks that Cliff Lee would be on the trading block, however most people thought he'd end up in Tampa, Minnesota, or Texas. Apparently, the Yankees aren't willing to risk Tampa winding up with him and overtaking the lead in the AL East.

Pardon me while I step up onto my soap box for a moment. New York already has a crazy scary pitching staff, including Andy Pettitte, CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes, and legendary lights-out closer Mariano Rivera. Said scary pitching staff is backed up with run support from some of the best and highest paid bats in the game. So why would they actually need to add Lee's dominating arm to their roster? Because they're spoiled, that's why.

The Yankees are becoming like that kid everyone hates on the playground. They want the best and don't want to share their toys with anyone. So they shell out money that no team can match when they want a player. They know that most teams would only be renting Lee's arm for the remainder of this season, and he'd ultimately sign with the Yankees when he becomes a free agent after this season anyway. So why would they let anyone else have him to help them in the post season this year? With 27 World Series Titles under their belts, wouldn't you think they'd want a little healthy competition with the rest of Major League Baseball? The stacking of their team (and other large market teams) leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of baseball fans. It makes people almost as disinterested in baseball as the strike did in 1994-1995. Mostly, the money is viewed as an unfair advantage to the game.

With that, I step down from the soap box. I will let you go back to fuming over LeBron's choice to leave the Cavaliers now (if you care about basketball, that is.)