WHAT "MISSING PIECES?"

Make no mistake, if the Yankees signed Cliff Lee, you could have made the argument that the Yankees pursuit for #28 was all but a lock. But they didn’t. Move on! Any fan who blames Cash or the Yankees organization for not getting Lee to New York is out of their minds! The guy did not want to come to the Bronx, plain and simple. The Yankees offered him the most money, and he did not come. What are they suppose to do? I even hear some people saying, “Well George would have got him.” Really, how? George would have done exactly what Hal and Cash did, they opened up their wallets and Lee said no.

Credit goes to the Yankees for pursuing Lee in the first place. There is nothing else they could have done. We know that Lee does not like the Yankees and this just proved it. Fine, see you in October/November Mr. Lee.

Okay, that tirade leads me to why I am writing this piece. This idea that the Yankees needed Lee, that Lee was some missing piece that the Yankees HAD TO HAVE, that not signing Lee has somehow set the Yankees backwards. I think that is a total crock! We are the New York Yankees! We are two years removed from our 27th World Championship (Last time I checked, Cliff Lee was on the losing end of that WS.) Look, no question Cliff Lee is a great pitcher, especially in the Post-season, but Lee would have been gravy to this team. He is NOT the answer for the Yankees. We can and will do it without him!

So, you want to tell me that Boston is the team to beat in 2011? You tell me their lineup is the new “Murderer’s Row" and their pitching is the best rotation in baseball? To those statements, I say this; OK, on paper you may be right. But does anyone really think Ellsbury plays half the season before he is on DL next year? He's accident prone. How about the health and age of Big Papi? He can't keep it up, believe me. Who believes the Evil Red Sox starting rotation stays healthy? Beckett? Come on. Boston is always our biggest threat, IT'S ALWAYS BEEN! I believe they will once again end up scratching together lineup mid-August because of injuries. It always happens. Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford are two of the best players in baseball, I am not blind to that fact, but, let’s see how they perform in Boston. I for one can hear the boo’s from the Fenway faithful already. Maybe Big Papi can handle and overcome those early season boo’s, but let’s see how Gonzalez and Crawford handle it if they get off to slow starts.

Make no mistake, the Yankees could use another starting pitcher and have to decide what the catching situation should be, but please do not use the word NEED around me when it comes to this Yankee team. I prefer... "could use."

--Mikey Blue- BYB Senior Writer

“Honestly, at one time I though Babe Ruth was a cartoon character. I really did, I mean I wasn't born until 1961 and I grew up in Indiana.” -- Don Mattingly

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