Winter meetings create speculation, nervousness, impatience

Baseball's winter meetings ended yesterday in Orlando, Fla., and the following topics were discussed in some form or fashion:

Michael Young came up in possible trade talks with the Colorado Rockies. In trading Young, the Rangers would apparently save much of his $15 million contract per season and use the money to sign free agent third baseman Adrian Beltre.

The New York Yankees initially offered Cliff Lee six years and roughly $140 million. One day later, after outfielder Carl Crawford signed a seven-year, $142 million contract with Boston, the Yankees upped their offer to Lee to seven years.

But here we are, late Friday night and early Saturday morning, without much actual news.

Young hasn't been traded. And Lee still needs to figure out where he's going to pitch.

I don't know what to make of this year's winter meetings. I kept up with the rumors because I love following baseball and because much of the meetings seemed to revolve around Lee.

The Lee saga is starting to become strenuous. I feel worn out, and I have no idea what I want the Rangers to do. Call me out for driving on the high road, but it's the truth.

On the surface, I want Lee pitching in a Rangers uniform again. Without him, we may not have made the World Series. Without him, we probably wouldn't have made Yankees hitters look lost in their own backyard.

But the price Texas will have to pay is astronomical for a guy who's 32. If the Yankees are offering seven years, that means Lee will be 39 by the end of the contract. He won't be pitching at this level when he's 39. Hell, what about when he's 35-36? Lee has the best control of any pitcher I've ever watched. But how long can he sustain it and rely on it as an elite pitcher?

And I don't know specifics, but I'd think bringing back Lee would make it tougher to retain the long-term services of guys like Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, Elvis Andrus, C.J. Wilson and Neftali Feliz.

Should Lee sign with the Yankees, the Rangers would need a backup plan. One possibility is discussing a trade with the Royals for ace Zack Greinke. He's not as proven as Lee. But he's a former Cy Young award winner, he'd be cheaper and he's five years younger (27). Living in Lawrence, I have a ton of friends who are Royals fans. Many have told me that when Greinke is on and in a groove, he's darn near untouchable.

Greinke represents another option with a different currency: prospects. If the Rangers want Greinke, they are going to have to part with top-tier prospects from the farm system. Kansas City has reportedly asked for too many high-end prospects, so nothing has been close to happening.

If I was forced to pick, I'd say sign Lee, keep the prospects and hope there's enough checks to go around to the guys who have been loyal Rangers for a few years now. With Lee, we'd be in contention for another deep playoff run for the next few years.

I just don't know if it will turn out that way.