Updated Dec 9, 2010 11:30 PM ET  Mirror, mirror on the wall, which of these teams is most desperate of all?  Is it the Yankees, who must sign prized lefty Cliff Lee to counter the Red Sox's two new left-handed threats, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and left fielder Carl Crawford?  Is it the Angels, who had long identified Crawford as their top offseason target?  Or is it the Rangers, who might be on the verge of losing Lee?  Can't wait for the owners to cry poverty in the next round of collective-bargaining negotiations.  Can't wait to see the frenzy of the days ahead.  The Yankees will erupt in chaos if they lose Lee.  The Angels will be lost if the Rangers trade Michael Young and sign free-agent third baseman Adrian Beltre.  The Rangers will stagger if they lose Lee — especially to the Angels — and fail to trade for Royals right-hander Zack Greinke.  They not only need to sign Lee, but also fellow left-handed starter Andy Pettitte and the top left-handed reliever on the market, Scott Downs.  Anything to neutralize Gonzalez, Crawford and the rest of the Sox's left-handed hitting brigade — Jacoby Ellsbury, David Ortiz and J.D. Drew.  Frankly, it's almost impossible to imagine the Yankees losing Lee now – unless Angels owner Arte Moreno absolutely freaks out.  Which, come to think of it, may be possible.  Moreno has been steaming since the end of last season, when the Angels missed the playoffs for only the second time in the past seven years.  Crawford was supposed to help fix all that. Crawford and Beltre. Or maybe Crawford and free-agent Rafael Soriano.  Moreno likes to surprise, likes to make a splash, the way the Red Sox did by grabbing Crawford.  Signing Beltre and Soriano — both of whom are represented by Scott Boras, an agent with whom Moreno hasn't always worked well in the past — would achieve only so much.  Signing Lee, then trading Jered Weaver or Ervin Santana for offensive help, could make a greater impact.  Then again, heaven only knows what it would take to outbid the Yankees for Lee.  Seven years, $175 million? Eight years, $184 mil?  Few thought Jayson Werth would get $126 million. Few thought Crawford would get $142 million.  Lee represents the game's most treasured commodity, starting pitching. CC Sabathia's contract — seven years, $161 million — might be his floor.  The Rangers will not be comfortable at such a level; they've never seemed comfortable trying to outbid the Yankees.  If they trade for Greinke, great — they'd be getting an ace who is 27, five years younger than Lee. But if they fail to land either pitcher, the top of their rotation will consist of Colby Lewis, C.J. Wilson and perhaps Neftali Feliz.  Is an MVP-caliber trade in store for your team? Follow every offseason move.  Not bad, but not World Series-caliber, either.  The Rangers, though, boast enough young talent and newfound financial strength to figure out a solution — unless, of course, the Angels completely trump them.  They might be rich, but they're also old at several key positions and dangerously thin in their starting rotation.  If Lee signs elsewhere and Pettitte retires, the Yankees' rotation would start with Sabathia, Phil Hughes and — ahem — A.J. Burnett  Imagine if the late George Steinbrenner were still with us.  “If he was, I'd have to write a whole new chapter,” said New York Daily News baseball columnist Bill Madden, author of “Steinbrenner, The Last Lion of Baseball."  The chapter, Madden said, would be titled: “The 2010 winter meetings.”  Steinbrenner, of course, would have ripped Red Sox owner John Henry for splurging on players while protesting the Yankees' spending — then flown personally to Arkansas to hand-deliver a blank check for Lee.  Mirror, mirror on the wall, which of these teams is most desperate of all?
FOXSports.coms Ken Rosenthal examines the impact of the Carl Crawford signing on AL contenders. Think Cliff Lee wont get his seven years? With Carl Crawford off the board, desperate AL contenders scramble