Cliff Lee's payday is coming soon (cont.)

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Two agents (not Lee's guy) offered their take on Lee's value during his brilliant, 122-pitch Game 1 mastery that included 10 strikeouts, no walks, an unearned run and some eye-catching plays.

Agent No. 1: "His option is obviously a bargain ... But the question is, what will the market bear for him? He is a few years older than CC but is elite and a proven big-game winner. He's still not seen as the overwhelming force with the infinitely high ceiling, so I would put him behind Johan and CC and I would guess $18 to $20 million a year for five years."

Agent No. 2: "He will get less than Zito or he will have to wait. He will get five ... $15 to $17 million."

The contract that gave him peace of mind when he struggled so unexpectedly in 2007 contains that option, which delays free agency until after 2010 and could prevent him from getting well into nine figures. The guess here is that Philly adds $91 million over five years, making it an even $100 million over six. Whatever they give him, with Lee's obvious drive and repertoire, it will probably turn out to be another bargain in a career of them.

McCourts' battle gets messier

Dodgers owner Frank McCourt is claiming his wife Jamie had an affair with the driver, with expenses-paid trips to Israel and other points thrown in.

Former Dodgers CEO Jamie McCourt -- Frank fired her earlier this month -- said in divorce papers she'll need nearly $500,000 a month if she's out of the Dodgers, and $332,000 if she's in.

"It's a real mess," one MLB power said.

There is a lot of ugliness here, but lawyers say the key claim by Frank McCourt could be that Jamie signed a post-nuptial agreement giving control of the team to him. No surprise, she doesn't' quite see it that way. She's apparently going to claim she didn't' know what she was signing. With her being a lawyer, it seems like a tough case. But other lawyers still seem to think she has a shot.

If Frank McCourt wins the case, it appears he might have a chance to keep the team. But if the team is split into two, it's going to be tough for either of them to wrest control (though she is said by Los Angelenos in high places to have more good relationships with the well-healed of L.A.)

If she wins her case, the team will be considered community property, and we may have a repeat of the San Diego situation, where club owner John Moores was forced to sell the Padres since the wife he was divorcing owned half of it.

"We could be headed for Moores-ville," the MLB big said.

Is Minaya being set up for a fall?

Mets ownership is loading up at the top of their hierarchy, talking VP of scouting Sandy Johnson into staying one more year after he had been threatening retirement and now also setting its sights on adding a veteran front-office person to join with Johnson and assistant GM John Ricco below embattled GM Omar Minaya. Johnson has always been like a father to Minaya, but people within the organization insisted Mets ownership's desperation to keep Johnson shows a diminishing confidence in Minaya. While all the rank-and-file scouts were retained with no raises this week, Johnson was said to have been offered basically a "blank check" to stay.

The question isn't anymore whether Minaya retains "full autonomy" but rather if he has any at all. With ownership planning to hire yet another senior level executive, one Mets official said all the front-office plans seem to be "setting the stage" for Minaya's eventual ouster.

Minaya's three-year contract (for $3.5 million) may be keeping him employed for now. But one Mets official said, "No way he lasts the three years."

Werth is just another Gillick deal of great value

Longtime GM Pat Gillick, the Phillies consultant known to have the Midas touch (besides being the GM for last year's Phillies championship team, he won two World Series titles in Toronto, won 116 games in Seattle, was the last GM to make the playoffs in Baltimore and has a hand in this Phillies team, as well), is the one who personally ensured that star outfielder Jayson Werth would sign with the Phillies after he was released by the Dodgers. Kevin Towers, the Padres GM at the time, called Werth at home in Springfield, Ill. But Gillick was already there sitting down at the dining table with the Werth family.

Gillick had the inside track anyway. Gillick originally drafted Werth with the Orioles and also had Werth's stepfather, Dennis Werth, as a player when Gillick was with the Yankees' front office in the mid-70s.

"I always thought (Werth) had a lot of potential and that he'd been hampered by a wrist injury," Gillick said. Werth wound up needing two wrist surgeries when the first didn't take.

Gillick also knew that his mother was Kim Schofield, an Olympic runner, his uncle was Dick Schofield, the former Angels shortstop, and grandfather was Dick Schofield Sr., the former Cardinals shortstop.

"He has good genes," Gillick said.

Notes

• There were no big umpiring incidents in Game 1, and the one controversial call was discussed in a huddle before the umpires got it right. They correctly called a double play when Jimmy Rollins caught Robinson Cano's soft liner on the ground and threw to first to double up Hideki Matsui (the play became confusing when Rollins acted like he might let the ball drop, then touched second for a fake force). MLB made sure to put together a top group, and MLB sources say all six ranked in the top half of umpires, a claim that couldn't be made in previous series, when several bad calls were made. "These are among the best senior umpires," MLB president and COO Bob DuPuy said. Gerry Davis, Dana DeMuth and Joe West are the senior guys on the staff, and DuPuy called Mike Everitt "one of the best young umpires" in the game. He also had high praise for Brian Gorman and Jeff Nelson.

• One reason A-Rod didn't act upset when he was removed for a pinch runner in the ALCS against the Angels, according to a friend, is that A-Rod "likes [Joe] Girardi." Rodriguez didn't complain publicly when Joe Torre batted him eighth, but privately he didn't take that nearly as well.

• Sabathia looks like he's almost assured of going in Game 4 and then again 7 (if necessary), but the Yankees may yet want to see how A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte come out of Games 2 and 3 before committing to them for Games 5 and 6.

• Jeff Moorad, the ex-Diamondbacks owner who's taking over the Padres, and his former partner in Arizona, Ken Kendrick, are in a dispute (though not as messy as the McCourts' mess). Kendrick apparently was upset that Moorad kept secret from him for months his talks to buy the Padres, and also that Moorad has set what he sees as a high price for his D-backs shares.

• Though the Nationals have expressed interest in Bobby Valentine, they are believed to want to keep their managerial salary under $1 million. It's getting harder to imagine that they will replace interim Jim Riggleman.

• Paul O'Neill's prediction of Yankees in four doesn't look too good now.

• But Rollins' prediction of Phillies in five is still in play.