The LoHud Yankees Blog

There is no guarantee this will be the day, but at the very least, this is the first day when it seems reasonable to think the Cliff Lee sweepstakes could come an end.

Lee took his time getting offers. Now he’s taking his time choosing a team. There’s big money on the table, a lot of years on the line, and for the Yankees there is no obvious Plan B unless Brian Cashman has a significant trick up his sleeve.

Is this is the day Cliff Lee’s destination comes into focus?

Associated Press photo

In the next few days, one or the other is going to happen for the Yankees and Cliff Lee: Either they’re going to come together and reach an agreement, or the Yankees offseason plans are going to fall apart and Brian Cashman will have to scramble for a Plan B.

For right now, coming together is all about Nick Swisher, who was married this weekend in Florida. Swisher spent a lot of time this season talking about how much his personal life has changed for the better, and he seems like a happy guy. My guess is the reception was a pretty good time. Congrats Swish.

For now, falling apart is all about the Metrodome, which collapsed early this morning. Tonight’s Vikings game had already been rescheduled for Monday because of the snow in Minneapolis. Now it has been moved to Detroit.

Be sure to check out the incredible video from inside the dome as the roof begins to crack and then sink. Unreal.

Associated Press photo

As expected, there’s nothing significant happening with the Cliff Lee story this afternoon. I was told this afternoon that the Yankees had not heard anything, and quite a few beat writers seem to have been told the exact same thing.

George King reports that the Yankees have spoken to Lee since Thursday, but they don’t plan to increase their offer(s).

Jon Heyman says Lee is still expected to choose either the Yankees or Rangers, but there are “strong signs” that a third team is involved. The Angels just lost out on Carl Crawford, so it could be them.

Just checked in with the Yankees front office. As you might suspect, they still haven’t heard anything from Cliff Lee. Looks like this thing is, in fact, going to linger through the entire weekend.

Gordon Edes in Boston reports that there’s also no news on Russell Martin.

Two items of marginal Yankees interest.

1. The Marlins are reportedly working toward signing Randy Choate. Only interesting because Choate seems to fit the Yankees needs as well.

2. The Rockies have signed Eric Duncan to a minor league deal. The former Yankees first-round pick was widely regarded as one of the hardest workers in the system, but he topped out at Triple-A before becoming a utility type in the Braves system last year. Can’t say this strongly enough: He’s a terrific guy, does everything the right way, and I’d love to see the upper-level numbers finally take the next step. Best of luck to him.

Grown tired of the Cliff Lee talk yet?

If it’s any consolation, the feeling of complete unknown seems to be the same in Texas as it is in New York. Yesterday, Nolan Ryan said he expects Lee to take the whole weekend to consider his options.

“In my opinion, they are probably weighing all their options and aren’t able to come to an easy decision,” Ryan told MLB.com. “I don’t know how you would read that.”

It seems no knows how to read that.

The Yankees are generally believed to have offered more money, but let’s face it, Lee is going to make plenty of money no matter where he plays. There doesn’t seem to be a bad option for him. The only question is, which situation does he prefer?

And how much longer before he makes up his mind?

The Yankees made their first offer to Cliff Lee on Wednesday. The Rangers flew to Arkansas to make their offer on Thursday. When I checked with Brian Cashman on Friday night, he literally told me to “enjoy the night.” There would be no news to report.

It’s the same story today. Lee has been meticulous in this process, making what is surely the biggest decision of his career.

Everyone else is left waiting. Many of them waiting anxiously.

At the end of another one of those slow days of waiting, here are a few notes and links from around baseball.

• You might want to look away, but my friend Ben Shpigel did a nice job looking back at the last time the Yankees targeted a premier starting pitcher with incredible control and missed out.

• Great stuff from the Boston Herald outlining the way the Carl Crawford deal came together for Boston.

• Speaking of Crawford, Thomas Boswell makes the case that Crawford’s talent is wasted in Fenway Park.

• Plucked from the Yankees, Rule 5 pick Lance Pendleton will have a chance to win a rotation spot with the Astros.

• The Tigers are planning to move Phil Coke back into the rotation. He was a starter through most of his minor league career, but things never really took off for him until he moved to the bullpen.

The Red Sox, it seems, learned their lesson when Darnell McDonald became an everyday outfielder last season. Depth matters, and the Red Sox apparently have no plans of trading Mike Cameron now that Carl Crawford is in the outfield mix. He’s a bit of injury insurance, and a legitimate starting option against left-handed starters.

He’s the kind of outfielder the Yankees could use.

The Russell Martin saga is the most interesting position player question hanging over the Yankees right now, but when Martin makes his decision, the Yankees most important non-pitcher acquisition will be their fourth outfielder. They don’t need a name — or a contract — like Cameron’s, but they need someone who can fill the corners and hit left-handed pitching.

Curtis Granderson, Brett Gardner and Nick Swisher will be the regulars, but all three were hurt at some point last season. Randy Winn didn’t get it done, and Marcus Thames proved vital, even though he was an adventure in the field. Colin Curtis, Greg Golson and Kevin Russo — and maybe Brandon Laird — give the Yankees some young depth that can fill in from time to time, but they’ll want a proven presence.

The emergence of Thames as an offensive force was crucial for the Yankees last season. They’ll need someone else to step into that spot in 2011.

Associated Press photo of Thames

Beyond re-signing two of their own, the Yankees have yet to make a significant move this offseason. But the market might have taught them what to expect as they fill some holes.

Starting pitcher
The Yankees need at least one, maybe two starters, and that’s the one market that hasn’t really been set this offseason. In so many ways, the Yankees are trying to set the market with a deal for Cliff Lee. The signings of Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth set the market for premier free agents, and Lee is expected to get somewhere in the neighborhood of seven years and $24 million per season. A second starter might depend on Andy Pettitte. The Yankees have already seen the starting pitcher trade marker, where Shaun Marcum cost the Brewers a premium prospect.

Left-handed reliever
The lefty specialist market has been fairly active, ranging from a one-year, $750,000 deal for Brian Tallet to a one-year, $1.2-million-plus-incentives deal for George Sherrill. Dennys Reyes cost the Phillies just over $1 million on a one-year deal. The Scott Downs deal doesn’t really apply here because the Yankees don’t need more than a left-on-left specialist, and  a guy like that — maybe Randy  Choate — wouldn’t require a huge commitment.

Eighth-inning setup reliever
Brian Cashman has expressed confidence in Dave Robertson and Joba Chamberlain, and those two entered 2010 as the Yankees top late-inning relievers ahead of Mariano Rivera. But the Yankees also saw the impact Kerry Wood made late last season.  Proven relievers like that are no cheap. Joaquin Benoit was one of the first free agents to sign this winter, and he went to Detroit on a three-year, $16.5 million deal. JJ Putz signed with Arizona for two years, $10 million and will get a chance to close. Bringing back Wood or signing Grant Balfour might solidify the eighth inning, but it won’t happen cheap. And getting Rafael Soriano to take a setup job — as several people have emailed me about — will cost a boatload. D.J. Carrasco at two years, $2.5 million is a bargain in comparison.

Fourth outfielder
Still kind of a wide open market, with not a lot of options off the table. Matt Diaz took two years, $4.25 million and a chance to start. The Royals gave Melky Cabrera one year, $1.25 million and gave Jeff Franceour one year, $2.5 million. That deal came with incentives and a mutual option. Depending on the player, I would guess the market for a fourth outfielder ranges from $1 million to $3 million for one year. Last year, Cashman took his time and settled on Randy Winn and Marcus Thames, both on pretty cheap deals.

Utility infielder
Jhonny Peralta got a starting job with the Tigers at two years, $11.25 million. That’s an extreme example, but it gives an idea of the ceiling for a guy who has proven himself and can play multiple positions. That’s why it’s difficult to find a sure-thing backup to occasionally fill in for Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter. Guys like that are utility players for the Yankees, but they’re getting everyday money elsewhere. Ty Wigginton got two years, $8 million to be a regular utility man with the Rockies. On a lower end, Geoff Blum got two years, $2.7 million to play a utility role in Arizona, and Cesar Izturis got one year, $1.5 million from the Orioles.

Catcher
The Yankees are in a weird spot behind the plate. They’re ready to make the transition from Jorge Posada to Jesus Montero, but it involves considerable risk, and there’s great comfort in adding a proven catcher. That’s why Russell Martin’s name is mentioned so often. Ramon Hernandez got one year, $3 million from the Reds. The Mariners gave Miguel Olivo two years, $7 million. A.J. Pierzynski got two years, $8 million to return to Chicago. Martin is something of a unique case, with tremendous talent and significant health concerns. He made more than $5 million last year, and seems to have generated considerable interest.

Last night, a few comments from Hank Steinbrenner began making the rounds. As you might expect, he thinks it would be best for Cliff Lee to sign with the Yankees. Not sure these ideas have any impact on Lee’s upcoming decision, but here’s the bulk of the AP story.

NEW YORK (AP) — Hank Steinbrenner looks to Andy Pettitte when evaluating the risk of offering a seven-year contract to Cliff Lee.

The New York Yankees and Texas Rangers are waiting for a decision from the 2008 AL Cy Young Award winner, who is contemplating offers from both teams before making a decision on where to sign.

“For somebody of that stature, it would certainly behoove him to be a Yankee, which would probably be for the rest of his career,” Steinbrenner, the Yankees’ co-chairman, said during a telephone interview Friday with The Associated Press. “I think that would be a great move for him but, of course I’m prejudiced.”

New York offered a six-year deal to the 32-year-old left-hander on Wednesday worth $137.5 million to $140 million, then increased it to seven years the following day after Boston reached a $142 million, seven-year deal with All-Star outfielder Carl Crawford.

“Everything is progressing,” Steinbrenner said. “We made the offer. It’s a very good offer, and we certainly hopes he takes it. It’s all up to him and his agent. We’ll see what happens.”

Lee would be 39 in the contract’s final season, but Steinbrenner isn’t worried. He cites the example of Pettitte, who at 38 was 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA this year while missing two months because of a groin strain, a year after going 14-8 with a 4.16 ERA.

“Looking at how well Andy pitched up until this year and so forth, and he’s a lefty, the same kind of pitcher as Andy, I don’t really see a problem,” Steinbrenner said. “I think Cliff’s the kind of guy that can get it done and be effective for a long time. He’s a great pitcher.”

A cool link on the day Winter Meeting buzz faded a little bit.

Over at the Hardball Times, Chris Jaffe did the math, counting back 30,000 days to the day Whitey Ford was born. It’s not Ford’s birthday, just a nice round number since his birth.

Jaffe — a history instructor, of course — used the milestone as an opportunity to put together an all-time Yankees team using only living legends and based only on WAR.

As Jaffe notes, Posada makes the team as a designated hitter — a familiar refrain this offseason — and Alex Rodriguez made the team just ahead of Graig Nettles. The only “controversial” choice might be Rickey Henderson, who couldn’t beat Roy White in left field and so made the team in right. If Jaffe went with a true right fielder, it would have been Dave Winfield.