AL East

Nick Swisher: New York Yankees Star Weds TV Star Joanna Garcia

Nick Swisher of the New York Yankees will wed his fiance Joanna Garcia this weekend in Palm Beach, Florida.

Swisher and Garcia have been engaged since May, and according to NYDailyNews.com, this will be quite a large wedding with about 375 guests.

The waiting game continues as the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers hold their collective breaths in the wake of Cliff Lee’s looming decision over where he will play for the next six or seven years.

Both teams know that Lee is a difference maker and will be paid accordingly.

As the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers battle for position in the Cliff Lee sweepstakes, reports have swirled of offers from both teams offering up to seven years in length for the 32-year-old Arkansas native.

What do Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford have in common? 

Their prior teams couldn’t afford to keep them. 

Boston's general manager, Theo Epstein, stepped in with gold-lined pockets and pocketed them all.

As all baseball fans know, Cliff Lee is currently the best pitcher on the free agent market for the 2011 season. These previous days, the baseball community has been made aware of the offers for Lee.

The Yankees and the Rangers both have made strong bids. Although the exact offer has not been released, recent reports from ESPN both have show six/seven year deals from both the Rangers and the Yankees. Heck, even the Angels have an excellent shot of getting Lee!

t wasn’t a dream. Carl Crawford, who reached an agreement with the Boston Red Sox late Wednesday night, officially signed a seven-year, $142 million deal on Friday, making him the highest-paid outfielder in baseball, and was formally introduced Saturday morning. No baseball player, or any athlete, should be making that much money.

Buster Olney of ESPN is reporting that the New York Yankees will now take an aggressive approach in signing free agent catcher Russell Martin. 

The Red Sox were originally favored to land Martin, but after the Carl Crawford deal the Yankees have stepped up their efforts to try and sign him.

All the New York Yankee brass and fans can do is wait for ace Cliff Lee to make his decision.

The Yankees need Lee, and anyone who doesn’t think so is living in denial.

The recent acquisition of two lefties, Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, by the Yankees rival in Boston, does make the Red Sox slightly better.

Here is why:

Last season the Boston Red Sox won 89 games in what was predicted to be a "bridge year" for the franchise.  The constant storyline throughout the Sox season was injuries.  With various ailments affecting the young core of Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and Jacoby Ellsbury, the Red Sox were lucky to approach 90 wins.

With a disappointing season in the books and a rich free agent class, the Red Sox were hoping for Theo Epstein to make a splash in free agency to improve the team.

A better word to describe this offseason's transactions so far is cannonball.

The Yankees and Rangers have both made their offers and now wait for Cliff Lee to make a decision.

Here are the latest rumblings—