Fallout From Crawford Signing

So Carl Crawford is a Red Sox, but there is going to be a lot of dominoes falling now that he is off the market.

- The Yankees have reported to up their offer to 7 years for Cliff Lee. They now know they can't get Crawford, and their fan base is not very happy right now. Also, the Sox made Lee a low ball 7 year offer, so the Yankees would have to add an extra year to his deal.

- The Angels have fallen on their face. Rumor is now they will go out and sign Adrian Beltre and Rafael Soriano. Have fun with that. Oh and I don't think Torii Hunter is very happy about all this...

"That hurts my heart, man," Hunter told Scott Miller of CBS Sports. "But hey, what can you do?" (all Twitter links). Speaking to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times, Hunter said, "I'm sitting here in a daze right now, like, what the heck just happened? (MLBTradeRumors)"

- With the Red Sox now out of the Magglio Ordonez race it is sounding more and more likely that he will resign with the Tigers.

- As for the Red Sox, rumor has it they are still going after catcher Russell Martin, and Scott Downs. Downs is now a much more attractive idea since the Sox won't have to give up their first round pick, since that is already going to Tampa Bay for Carl Crawford.

Magglio Ordonez Benched

"On Wednesday, the Tigers benched slumping slugger Magglio Ordonez indefinitely. Manager Jim Leyland said he talked to Ordonez about the outfielder's declining production a few weeks ago, so the benching shouldn't come as a total surprise. Leyland felt he had to make a move with the offense in a tailspin, scoring three or fewer runs in seven straight games. "Right now he's beating himself up," Leyland said. "Just let him breathe a little bit and see what happens. I really feel bad for him, but I've got to do something. That's just the way it is." Leyland said Ordonez didn't know what was wrong with his stroke. "I think he's just befuddled right now," the manager said. "I don't think he can figure it out, I don't think anybody can figure it out right now. If anybody can, I'm open for suggestions (Sportsline)."

Magglio has not been himself this season. You have to wonder if his age (35) is finally catching up to him. Still, I don't expect to him to be on the bench long. He just needs to find his power swing again, because he only has 2 HRs this season. His average isn't terrible (.273), so I think he will make the proper adjustments and be a decent player. Leyland had to do something as his team seems to be falling apart, and I think this was done to send a message to the rest of the team that anyone can be benched no matter your resume.