To say this has been a rough offseason for the Yankees might be an understatement.

First there were the less-than-pleasant negotiations with Derek Jeter. They ultimately re-signed their captain but the public relations hit both the Yanks and Jeter took was noticeable.

Then their arch-rivals in Boston traded for Adrian Gonzalez, who is one of the best first basemans in all of baseball, before signing premier outfielder Carl Crawford.

The biggest blow, however, came late Monday night when the Yanks learned Cliff Lee spurned their offer, signing instead with the Phillies. New York made no secret of the fact obtaining the ace lefty was their top priority this offseason and as of a week ago it seemed a near-certainty it would only be a matter of time before Lee was donning pinstripes.

That, however, did not happen.

Now begins the speculation as to why Lee signed elsewhere.

Did Lee only use the Yankees to drive up his price? Were the three months he spent pitching in Philadelphia in 2009 so great he was just waiting for an offer to go back there? Did the Yankees not show him enough love while courting him? Did the incident with a few Yankee fans disrespecting Lee's wife during the playoffs influence the decision? Did the Yanks' hardball negotiations with Jeter leave Lee with a negative impression with the organization?

Whatever the reason, Lee left anywhere from $30-$50 million (depending on which reports you believe) on the table to sign with Philadelphia. This normally does not happen to a Yankee organization prone to landing the big fish.

The Red Sox got better. The Yankees lose out on Lee with no known Plan B in sight.

I know it's only December 14 but for Yankee fans this is already shaping up to be a LONG, COLD winter.