All Cash can do is wait for Lee's decision

Pleased with what he called the "full-court press" used by the Yankees in an attempt to land Cliff Lee but unsure how it will turn out, Brian Cashman left his office late Friday afternoon and headed home.

He did not have a weekend trip planned to Lee's Arkansas home, though he said before leaving: "They know I'd fly back down. I'd go again if necessary."

All Cashman can do is wait for Lee to decide between the Yankees and Rangers, a decision he is expected to make sometime over the weekend.

"I'm not optimistic. I'm not pessimistic,'' Cashman said. "It's out of my control."

One industry source said he thought getting the lefthander is a "50-50" proposition for the Yankees. He noted that it is potentially significant that oil pipeline billionaire Ray Davis, part of the Rangers' ownership group, was a member of the contingent that went to Arkansas Thursday afternoon to meet with Lee, his wife and his agent.

Davis' involvement could mean the Rangers are prepared to spend more than previously thought, though to this point, they have been able to keep the dollar amounts in the proposals they made to Lee on Thursday from becoming public.

The Yankees, who bumped their offer to Lee to seven years and about $160 million, haven't lost out on a big-name free agent they've ardently pursued since Roger Clemens in 1996 and Greg Maddux in 1992. "There are no sure things," a team official said.

Cashman feels comfortable that the Yankees have done their best to sign Lee. What they could control went well, he said. "We've taken a lot of care and time to put our best effort forward," he said. "You just kind of wait and see what's next."

Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner - who hasn't been involved in the planning or strategy sessions that produced the Lee offer - seemed to indicate that the decision should be a no-brainer. "For somebody of that stature, it would certainly behoove him to be a Yankee, which would probably be for the rest of his career," he told The Associated Press Friday. "I think that would be a great move for him, but of course, I'm prejudiced."

On Wednesday, the Yankees offered Lee $140 million over six years. With offer in hand, Lee's agent, Darek Braunecker, left the winter meetings later that day, and many figured an announcement that Lee was Bronx-bound would be coming soon.

But everything changed late Wednesday night when the Red Sox and Carl Crawford agreed to a seven-year, $142-million deal.

The Yankees, with their rival getting its second standout lefthanded hitter of the meetings - Adrian Gonzalez was the first - almost immediately increased their offer to something similar to the one struck with CC Sabathia two years ago, according to industry sources.

Steinbrenner said the success of 38-year-old Andy Pettitte (who was 11-3 in 2010) is one reason a seventh year for Lee shouldn't be a concern. "Looking at how well Andy pitched up until this year and so forth, and he's a lefty, the same kind of pitcher as Andy, I don't really see a problem," he said.

Rangers CEO Chuck Greenberg said his club made "multiple offers,'' ones he called "substantial'' and "highly" competitive, which most have taken to mean at least six years.

Cashman said Friday that although the Yankees are "staying engaged" in non-Lee-related matters - they continue to have significant interest in free-agent catcher Russell Martin, as Newsday reported Thursday - their offseason essentially is at a standstill while they await Lee's decision.

"It's just you have to wait," Cashman said late Thursday morning. "He's a premier free agent and so he's worth waiting for. So somebody will be happy and somebody will be disappointed. I'd rather be the happy one than the disappointed one."