AL East

Just 24 hours ago, the Yankees made their first official offer to free agent pitcher Cliff Lee, a six-year deal worth about $140 million.

The Yankees have now come back the next day with a seven-year offer for Lee, according to Mark Feinsand and Bill Madden of the New York Daily News.

This offer is coming about 12 hours after the Red Sox signed Carl Crawford to a seven-year deal worth $142 million.

In the wake of Red Sox GM Theo Epstein channeling his inner Daniel Snyder and finally winning an off-season I find it interesting how investing somewhere around $300 million in your offense can make your fans forget what the real problem was last year-pitching and defense.  

As of this moment, right here, the 2013 Yankees already have in the neighborhood of 109 million dollars spent. That's with arbitration, or new contracts. 109 million...for a season 3 years away.

What is that team going to look like? Is it going to be as old and brittle as some forecast? Well, maybe. Let's take a guess at what the lineup and rotation might look like by then.

In The Field

1B: Mark Teixeira is penned in here for the foreseeable future.

Carl Crawford agreed to a seven-year, $142 million deal with the Boston Red Sox late last night. The signing gives Boston the premier offensive player on the free agent market and is a major blow to the rival New York Yankees, who were also anticipated to pursue Crawford.

Sigh...

It's been 17 long years since we've had something to cheer about, a parade to attend. Our hockey and basketball teams don't give us much hope, and we have the NFL every once in a while, but it's not authentic. If only we could party like it was 1993...

In signing Carl Crawford, the Boston Red Sox have powered their way back to the top of the AL East rankings, and don't look to give that up too easily. The Yanks are doing fine, and if they land Cliff Lee, well, nothing will have changed much in the Bronx. 

Carl Crawford and the Boston Red Sox have agreed to a seven year contract worth $142 million. The left fielder will be taking his talents to Boston after most rumors had him projected to land either with the New York Yankees or Los Angeles Angels.

The Red Sox were quiet on talks with Crawford, probably due to past experiences such as losing Mark Teixeira to the Yankees. In the end they prevailed and got what most consider to be the top outfielder on the market.

The Boston Red Sox have fired their second warning shot across the bow of the American League East by signing Carl Crawford to a seven-year deal valued at $142 million, according to multiple media outlets and first reported by the Boston Globe's Peter Abraham.

The Red Sox suffered a plethora of injuries last season and missed the playoffs. Attendance slumped and advertising dollars dried up. Meanwhile, the Patriots are poised to make a run deep into the postseason, the Celtics added Shaquille O’Neal and appear ready to challenge the Lakers for the NBA crown and the Bruins look like a Stanley Cup contender. Some pundits started saying the Pats had surpassed the Sox in popularity and conjectured The Olde Towne Team’s sellout streak could be on the line.

Just moments ago it was announced Theo Epstein pulled another fast one on Red Sox Nation by signing Carl Crawford to a seven year, $142 million deal.  The deal comes as a relative surprise since, even though the Red Sox loved what Crawford brings to the table, they already acquired the big time left handed bat (Adrian Gonzalez) and historically do not go on these Yankee-like spending sprees.

And just like that, the power has shifted in the American League. According to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, Carl Crawford has agreed to a seven year, $142 million deal with the Boston Red Sox. 

Just days after trading for first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, Theo Epstein and company made the biggest splash of the Winter Meetings thus far by signing Crawford.

It was previously believed that Crawford would not make a move until Cliff Lee was signed.