Davidoff: It's better for MLB that Yankees' bold move failed

What it comes down to, in the wake of the Yankees' swing and a miss for Cliff Lee, is this:

Baseball is better off this way.

Yup, I'm going there. Yes, the Yankees are entirely playing by the rules, and no, there was absolutely nothing wrong with their pursuit of Lee, the stud lefthander. Absolutely, Lee figures to be a Yankee in 2011 and beyond, and that won't offend the senses very much, either.

But right now, Lee to the cash-strapped Rangers makes for a better story. It doesn't change the Yankees' favorite status to repeat as world champions. It does, however, generate excitement about the possibility of a Yankees-Rangers American League Championship Series.

The Yankees' intense talks for Lee surprised us, because it went against the precedent they set when they passed on trades for Johan Santana, CC Sabathia and Roy Halladay. It's a simple principle: You don't pay in both prospects and dollars for someone on the verge of free agency, no matter how good he is.

They expressed a willingness to break that precedent because of their depth at catcher, which would have allowed them not to miss Jesus Montero, and at middle infield, so they could have bid farewell to David Adams. And because Lee is just ridiculously good at what he does, and because getting Lee now and re-signing him would have saved them the cost of a first-round 2011 draft pick it now will require to get him this coming offseason.

I wouldn't have crushed the deal if it had gone through. But I certainly wouldn't have loved it. If you get too reckless with such a philosophy - sacrificing long-range development for short-term gain - it will cost you more championships than it will win for you.

Besides, the Yankees already have a starting rotation capable of winning it all. If they had acquired Lee, they would've had some chair-rearranging to do when it wasn't really necessary. Trade Javier Vazquez? Yeesh. Move Phil Hughes to the bullpen? Double yeesh.

Of course, those constitute problems for which most teams would kill. And the other contending clubs would've felt particularly murderous if the Yankees had received Lee - in other words, if the rich had gotten even richer.

Yankees-bashing is fun but tiresome. It doesn't stand up to most logic. Again, the Yankees are merely playing within the rules that Major League Baseball established. And those rules aren't getting dramatically altered anytime soon.

The Yankees being ridiculous favorites, though? That's even less fun. October baseball allows for plenty of upsets, but goodness gracious, a rotation featuring Lee, Sabathia, Andy Pettitte and someone from A.J. Burnett, Vazquez and Hughes would have been pretty indomitable.

Of course, everyone besides Vazquez figures to be in that rotation next year. Now the Yankees will be able to plug the youthful Montero's bat into their aging lineup, perhaps making them even more dangerous. So . . . in that regard, maybe this trade would've been better off happening for Yankees-haters.

Ah, let's worry about next year next year. Right now, let's enjoy the fact that Lee, a most worthy enemy, still will make the Yankees and their fans quiver.