Some stray thoughts from around the MLB

With nothing really exciting happening in baseball world right now, I figured I'd scour the internet (ie. scroll through MLBtraderumors.com) looking for any interesting tidbits going on right now. Here they are:

• Cliff Lee still hasn't decided where he will sign, but apparently the Yankees are growing increasingly pessimistic about their chances. What seemed like a slam dunk only weeks ago for the Yanks has now tilted in the Rangers' favour. According to Brian Costa of The Wall Street Journal, one reason why the Rangers are able to offer similar money to Lee could have something to do with the fact that Texas doesn't have a state income tax. So they could effectively offer the same money to Lee for less. On the other hand, Lee would presumably make way more money on endorsement deals in New York. Either way, he's going to be one rich bastard, so who really cares.
• Apparently the Red Sox were the only team to discuss Justin Upton with the Diamondbacks at the Winter Meetings, but "scoffed" at the notion of including Daniel Bard in the trade discussions. Really? That's what killed the trade talks?
• Six teams are interested in Derek Lee, including the Blue Jays. This would be a great pickup for the Jays.
• According to ESPN's Buster Olney, the Jays have no interest in including Drabek and Snider in a trade for Zack Greinke. No shit.
• Baseball time in Arlington has an interesting read comparing a potential Cliff Lee deal to the one A-Rob signed with the Rangers in 2001.

That's all for now. I'm hoping to get a much more deserving post up tomorrow!