The Yankees were saved by their own worst impulses yesterday when lefty Cliff Lee opted to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies in return for a five-year contract, leaving more lucrative, longer-lasting offers from the Yankees on the table. Even very smart people can fit themselves with blinders and operate ...

Cliff Lee shocked the baseball world by opting to return to the Phillies instead of the Yankees or Rangers (AP). Over the past few days, as the Cliff Lee chase grew quiet on the eastern front, word of a third “mystery team” besides the Yanks and Rangers bidding on the lefty was generally ...

Pop quiz, hotshots: based upon their past three years of performance, for which of these two left-handed pitchers would you rather pay $23 million a year over the course of a multi-year deal? Pitcher Ages IP GS ERA ERA+ HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 K/BB Pitcher A 29-31 222 31 2.98 141 0.6 1.3 ...

Cliff Lee: Let him do his laughing in Texas. (AP) Even before last night’s Game 1 disappointment, I have been firmly convinced that the Yankees should not do what everyone expects them to do, and throw the gross domestic product of Luxembourg at the left-hander. In the last few years, Lee has become ...

The last time one of this year's pennant winners won a World Series, this happened. (AP) It’s easy for New York-area fans, and Yankee fans in particular, to turn their nose up at this year’s World Series pairing of the Giants and Rangers. After all, the Giants can’t hit, and the ...