We’re not sure exactly what Rangers CEO Chuck Greenberg had hoped to accomplish by claiming that his organization might be responsible for Cliff Lee signing with the Phillies instead of the Yankees — a claim we don’t entirely believe anyway. But the statement has had one effect: It’s set off Randy Levine. Here’s the Yankees’ CEO, via the News: “If he really wants to impress us then he can get the Rangers off of welfare and show how they can be revenue-sharing payors, rather than recipients for three years in row, without financing from Major League Baseball,” adding, “That would really be something.” It would appear that this beef goes deeper than Greenberg’s comments on the Cliff Lee sweepstakes. (Greenberg, you’ll recall, also had to phone Levine to apologize for his comments about Yankees fans last year.) But that’s not to say Levine doesn’t have thoughts on Greenberg’s most recent quotes. More from Levine: “I think Chuck is delusional. He’s been in the game a few minutes but it seems to be that he thinks he knows what everybody else is thinking. He should really let Cliff Lee speak for himself.” Though for someone who’s only “been in the game a few minutes,” he’s sure managed to get to Levine, hasn’t he?
Yankees president Randy Levine rips Texas Rangers over Cliff Lee: Team is ‘on welfare’ [NYDN]