Long-term, the Yankees have opportunity
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Oct 29, 2007 
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It speaks to the ego of a man that he would choose to announce such a decision on a Sunday night with Game 4 of the World Series going on.
Alex Rodriguez truly thinks he is bigger than the game. He is outstanding at compiling statistics and he has an unmatched work ethic. But it is for the greater glory of A-Rod, Inc.
Perhaps the Yankees are better off without such a player.
Short term, this is a disaster for the Yankees. You simply can’t replace that much production and they now have almost no right-handed power. With the new Stadium opening in 2009, the last thing the Yankees needed was to lose their best hitter.
But over the long term, this is an opportunity. The Yankees now have millions to spend on talent that they didn’t have yesterday.
The dynasty Yankees of 1996-2000 were not built around one player. Neither were the Red Sox of 2004 and 2007 or the Cardinals of 2006. It’s probably no coincidence the Yankees never went the World Series with A-Rod. At some point, they stopped being a team and became a collection of stars.
Now Cashman can build a team based on pitching and balanced team play. That seemed to work pretty well once before.
Agree.
dirtbag
I bet $man negotiates with him anyway. Clueless little weasel that he is.
amen.. crede would be low risk option.. he is a very good fielder and if he is healthy is a 25 hr 85 rbi guy, that aint bad….
save a ton of $ and use some of it elsewhere..again they will be fine..
Desperate times for some Yankee fans…
http://tinyurl.com/ynkfz4
“50 years worth of, up to this point, unwavering YANKEE pinstripe fan loyalty. The manner in which Joe Torre’s release is now the breaking point as to where we the Yankees and I have to part ways.”
well said
The Yanks were a team of stars before A-Rod hit the Bronx and $30M here or there has never been an issue for the Yanks before. Yes it is a time of opportunity for the Yanks but you’re reaching a little to connect the dots on this one Pete.
Pete, this whole ARod situation is FAR from over. None of us know whether or not the Yankees will stick to their guns, but I personally don’t think they will. Especially if the Mets or Red Sox get involved, they will panic and give ARod what he wants. Just because they were always saying they wouldnt negotiate with him, doesn’t mean they aren’t full of crap. The obvious stance to take was the one they took, but I think they will back down in the end
Jeez, relax. It’s merely a negotiating ploy.
This is ones hard to swallow but we all knew it was a big possibility. I always rooted for A-Rod but I’m a Yankee fan first and foremost. I’m more worried about who the possible 3b going to be and how we are going to fill the hole left in the offense than not seeing A-Rod retire a Yankee.
TIME TO REBUILD sounds good to me
I’ve said it a thousand times. This is business, if Arod isn’t going to get the money the Yankees will. How can you blame him.
Second, I am not a Joe Torre fan, but it was a terrible business decision to not keep Torre until the new stadium opens up. Just like Boras said when he quoted baby Stein, “This team is in Transition” Yeah I have an opt out clause and my team is in transition but I am not going to use it. Grow up kids, welcome to capitalist AMERICA!
“50 years worth of, up to this point, unwavering YANKEE pinstripe fan loyalty. The manner in which Joe Torre’s release is now the breaking point as to where we the Yankees and I have to part ways.�
Talk about attention whores.
I couldn’t agree with you more Pete. This is going to turn out to be a blessing. Now hopefully they hire Giradi, the right man for the job, and they’ll be on their way to rebuilding this properly.
The media is going feast on the Yankees this week if it is in fact Giradi though. They lose Torre, ARod, and Mattingly all in a matter of two weeks.
This is going to be a tremendous off season. I can’t wait.
In reference to your other post, there are options for third , and I’m sure they’ll find a way to fill the position. Like you said, it’s about team. They won all those titles with Boggs, Hayes and Brosius manning third…they’ll be alright.
The glass is half full? Hard to believe that on a tough night with the Sawx and A-Rod double-teaming Yankeedom in the corner.
Where is SJ when we need him?
Going along the lines of the bigger picture, I think Johan Santanna just became more likely to be on the squad. From a PR perspective, Cashman is going to feel the heat to make a MAJOR move before long.
It looks like the team is going to need to morph into the kind of team that wins games 3 to 2 rather than 12-8, which frankly would make for better games to watch and more sleep for me during the season.
Miguel Cabrerra has a ton of upside, and a huge backside. Maybe Joe Girardi can set him straight? The one thing that is certain is that a lot of ink is going to be spilled on a very interesting hot-stove (nuclear hot)
Arod is a Shmuck, for pouring on the news when the Yankees biggest nemesis, the Red Sox swept the Series. I have a feeling he’s heading to the Red Sox. Heck, at least that means they’ll stop winning in the post season!
You know, my gut tells me well look on today–28 or 29 October (depending on time zone) as the day the next Yankees’ dynasty was born…
(I mean, no one ever thought we could replace Donnie at 1st, and then we found Tino…)
Chin up.
The darkest hour is just before dawn.
Pete –
Please run a poll in the Journal News on what fans wants and let Cashman know that we don’t want to enter the dog and pony show. Yankees better not back paddle and end up negotiating with Arod unless they want the world to know that Scott Boras owns the NY Yankees.
okay very funny that a lot of these fans that wanted him gone last year now are all upset cause he opted out. I would have like him to stay but business is business. About your point Pete about a team of superstars, that was a issue wayyyy before Arod so stop it. Well this will be a interesting season coming up.
I hope Cashman sticks with the rebuilding plans and doesn’t do anything drastic. Don’t drop the ball Cashman!
I really dont think Boston is that stupid to hand him $250m when Lowell just won the WS MVP. Lowell won the MVP meaning he hit in the playoffs something Arod cant do. They won with mostly pitching and some timely hitting. Why spend $250m on Arod when you only have to spend $12m a year for 2 or 3 years on Lowell…doesnt make sense. If we havent noticed pitching wins not 1 player making $30m.
I’m all for rebuilding with young players, but I do the Yankees really have young infielders ready to step in at 1st and 3rd? I know they don’t have anybody that can take over at catcher.
Also, who will A-Rod’s money go to this year? The free-agent market looks weak, outside of center field.
this is a pretty good post, pete.
i agree that, in the long run, they’ll be okay. yankee fans are going to have to get comfortable with rebuilding and focus a little less on instant gratification.
in the short-term, they’re cooked. they went the wrong direction this offseason in a big way – if they want to win any time in the next few years.
arod would not have opted out if there wasn’t a back channel deal worked out already with some other club, like jd drew and the red sox. my guees is that there’s a deal already in place with a team like the cubs or dare i say it, the red sox.
i actually think this is a good thing, there’s a lot more freedom to go out and develop players now. and we can sign some free agent GAMERS, guys who won’t wilt when october comes around.
I would like to have Lowell.
Cabrera is too risky. Get Hanley Ramirez and move either Jeter or Cano to third. Damon can play 1st.
Problem solved.
Gammons on ESPN just called the Arod news:
“A sad commentary” on the type of person Arod is, that he would choose to upstage the world series and the story of a starter who’s survived cancer to win the world series. And Gammons said: “this coming from a player who has never made it to the world series himself. This maybe a buyers beware.”
SNAP!
I’ll miss Arod. I liked him and what he brought to the team and I’ve always felt he has been unjustly criticized when players like Jeter, Matsui, Posada, Wang, Giambi etc. have all failed in the clutch over the past few years. It wasn’t just Arod who didn’t win the world series with the Yankees, it was the whole team.
That said, the Yankees have a lot of money to spend and I think this frees up the Yankees to build the team they want to. They won’t be hindered by the Arod contract. They aren’t hindered by loyalty to Torre.
This Arod news will completely dominate the media this week and it will be a blessing when Donnie gets passed over for Girardi. This is a good thing.
It’s going to be about bringing the toughness and the desire back to the Bronx. It’s going to be about team first, hard nosed play. While I loved Arod as a Yankee, I can see this only serving to make this team closer and tougher. It’s going to be us against the world and we’re the underdogs people.
I believe in the players we still have and I don’t think this team is done by a long shot. It’s gonna look ugly for awhile, but by the time Spring Training comes along, we’re gonna realize that we have a different team and different vibe. The days of the 20 million dollar man at each position are over and they couldn’t have been over soon enough as far as I’m concerned.
Give me 25 guys who bleed Yankee blue (like Shelley and Joba and the young guys appear to), give me a firey manager who wants to win and isn’t afraid to step on some toes along the way and I will get behind this team like I always have.
I won’t say good riddance to Arod, but I will wave goodbye. I don’t think all the money in the world will ever make up for the fact that he just lost a monument in monument park not to mention for that moment he’s watching Jeter win his 5th ring on TV.
He chose his destiny. We’ll survive. We’re finally free of a lot of big ego’s who while they produced for us, also distracted us. The only distraction Brosius ever gave us was when he had to take care of his ailing Father.
I long for the days of guys we as fans know bleed Yankee blue again and I think we’re one step closer to that than we were yesterday. Arod doesn’t want to be a Yankee. Arod wants to be trademark. He got his wish.
Good riddance to bad garbage.
If the Yanks pursue this piece of crap in free agency, I am done with them.
2 draft picks! Frees up $16 million! No $30 million drag on the payroll fr a 36-39 year old declining DH! No Boras!
A great day.
Who’s the happiest tonight?
a. Boston fans who want A-rod
b. Yankee fans who are tired of the drama
c. Mike Lowell
d. Boras
e. Texas Rangers ownership
And the Yanks do get a #1 draft pick out of this when they offer him arbitration it was on his contract. Another #1 to add to Kennedy, Hughes and Joba.
Does anyone have ESPN insider who can post what Buster Olney wrote next to the Arod article? If it can be posted I would appreciate it. It starts off saying how he thought that he was bigger then the game and had to do this during the WS…..
I would’ve like to post something meaningful but G. Love beat me to it. Well said, my Yankees bother.
The big winner in the A-Rod opt-out
http://www.spearmintrhino.com/
What kind of implications does this have with any Boras clients in the future? Not saying that it wasn’t withing A-Rod’s/Boras’ right to opt out now, but the way they went about it(leaking it in game 4 of the series, not meeting with the Yankees and leaving Cashman a voicemail) has to leave Cashman a little angry with Mr. Boras.
Man… The current roster is horrible.
No offense.
No dependable starters.
No bullpen.
Unless Cashman can pull rabbits out of his a$$, this team is going nowhere in 2008.
It’s all brinksmanship.
The Yankees know they are leverage in the market.
Boras knows the Yankees need star-power for their new stadium, and talent to keep the fan base happy.
I’m most shocked by the *timing* of the announcement. During Game 4? Wow. Audacious.
I’d feel a lot better about losing A-Rod if we had bats in the minors, but we don’t. We have promising arms (but no sure things, not even Hughes or Chamberlain as a starter), so I really don’t know where this leaves us.
The good news is, my wife and I are having a baby in about 3 weeks, and the joy of knowing that has taken all the edge off this awful postseason! Boston just won the WS, and I don’t really care!
“in the short-term, they’re cooked. they went the wrong direction this offseason in a big way – if they want to win any time in the next few years.in the short-term, they’re cooked.”
Kasey-
How exactly did they go in the wrong direction? By hiring a new manager after not advancing deep enough in the playoffs, the same direction they went in ’95? And what direction could they have gone in differently regarding A-Rod? They didn’t even have an opportunity to negotiate.
NEVER DEAL WITH BORAS AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It speaks to the ego of a man that he would choose to announce such a decision on a Sunday night with Game 4 of the World Series going on.
This could be describing the George Steinbrenner of 20 years ago. If George was still calling all the shots, that move could have gotten him an extra $1 or 2M a year.
imagine if his name surfaces in the mitchell report…
Um…
Pavano’s gone, right?
PETER I disagree with you about the Cardinals being a great team in 2005 they won 83 games ,had a lousy regular season,backed into postseason,and won. Speak to any of their fan base, at the time,they wanted Larussa head for the bad season,until they won the WS.This yr again the cards fan base wanted Larussa gone at season’s end.Detroit dropped the ball or Yankees just wore them out!
The greedy, Mercenary, hireling, is gone Hooray! Hallelujah !Amen!
No more waiting to exhale. Now the Yankees move forward.
The Dark Ages are over,and the Renaissance (rebirth) of the Yankees begins.Without the highest paid pastseason choker in baseball.Hehehe
That’s crazy, Pete. Do you really think that this group of guys that “stopped being a team and became a collection of stars” woulsd have gotten past the Indians if not for bugs and Wang being terrible? They didn’t lose this year in october because they were just “a collection of stars” – it’s because Wang was terrible. In ’06 it’s because Johnson and Wright were terrible. In ’05 it’s because Mussina and Johnson were terrible. In ’04 it’s because Keith Foulke and David Ortiz were completely insane, and Javier Vazquez and Kevin Brown and the Yankee bullpen were not good.
Stop attributing losses to intangible things. There are very tangible reasons why the Yankees lost those series. This “collection of stars” won 94 games in the regular season. That sounds pretty darn good to me. What are you trying to say, that they don’t get along or something? Aside from farnsworth, who didn’t seem like they were having a blast playing out there this season? Matsui? I don’t know what you are talking about here. They were a solid team. But they weren’t the best – it’s that simple – why can’t people understand that.
it is insanely difficult to be the best team. They have been a very good team over the last several years, just not the best team, ok? That has nothing to do with this “collection of stars” crap you are throwing out there.
How about an end to the lazy thinking and meaningless cliches?? The Yankees problems were not due to some kind of team chemsitry issue as you seem to think it was.
Honestly when they playoffs began who did you think would win it all? If it was the Yankees, then you have already defeated your own argument here since if you really believed this garbage that you just posted, you should have known from day one that the Yankees could not possibly win the world series. And of course, that is absurd.
Why is this so hard to understand?
It’s funny how it took a cataclysmic few weeks like these to help the Yankees wake up.
I think Cashman realized a few years ago that the collection of ‘stars’ wasn’t going to get it done. He has this team back on the late-90s track. When Mussina comes off the books in 2009, the rotation could possibly be 100% home grown (Wang, Hughes, Kennedy, Chamberlain, Horne? Pettitte, even?). The horrible weeks the Yankees have had had might be exactly what they need to get back in focus.
Personally, I’m not a huge fan of going after Santana. He has great strikeout potential, but he lost some of that second-half magic this season and he’s getting up there in age. I’m just not as high on him as I am on someone like Peavy, who is eligible after next season. No need to break the bank now just to save face. The Yankees don’t need to scrounge for a pitcher… they obviously have enough youth in the organization to fill in holes until they can get the arms they want.
I would love to see them go after a grinder like Rowand, though. This team needs players who make no excuses and leave everything on the field. Lowell, as tough as he is, isn’t going to be that clubhouse leader they need. They need to be shopping for personality and chemistry just as much as they need to be shopping for talent.
Now we can spend on pitching…
Need to get two 15m/year starters and a couple BP arms that are actually reliable.
We could really use a guy like Hanley Ramirez, but we’d have to trade a bit for him. Just think of the production out of the leadoff spot. Wow. 51 SB, 29 HR? 338 avg?
Amazing.
Charlie, they went in the wrong direction not by choice.
They just lost 150+ rbis. That is certainly not the right direction.
So… How do you use all this money AND build with young players in the draft? Every time you sign someone you lose a pick! Catch 22.
$30 mil buys a heap of parts needed to win. It sucks to see those numbers go, but its quite possibly a blessing in disguise.
Hank has already spoken. They will not go after him, is Hank ever quite? Hank said they called Arod personally to set up a meeting and Arod never responded. Just some comments…
“It’s a shame,� said Hank Steinbrenner, who is now running the Yankees, “but we are all in agreement: myself, my dad, my brother, all the baseball people. If you don’t want to be a Yankee and paid what you’re being paid, we don’t want you, that’s the bottom line. You’d be hard-pressed to argue that point. If you don’t understand the magnitude of being a Yankee and understand what that means, and being the highest-paid player in baseball, I think it’s pretty obvious.�
Steinbrenner has said the Yankees will not pursue Rodriguez as a free agent.
“If we’re going to make you rich and we’re going to give you the privilege of being a Yankee,� he said, “you’ve got to show us you want to be here.�
Boras spoke to General Manager Brian Cashman about Rodriguez’s decision by telephone.
“He told me to thank Alex for all that he had done,� Boras said. “He told me that he was a great player.�
In all honesty I couldn’t be more excited about this turn of events. I’m just tickled. This is the kind of stuff you live for as a baseball fan. I’m tremendously curious to see what kinds of moves Cashman makes to rebuild this team. Do they keep Abreu? Do they sign a center fielder like Aaron Rowand and move Melky to right? What moves do they make in the pen? Does ARod opting out make New York a more enticing place to come to now…or less? Do you move Cano to 3rd? I say no. This is a good time to be Pete…
I think its funny how some people think that homegrown players mean they are good.
The Pirates have a homegrown staff. Awesome.
Hahahahahaha. Bobby
On a somewhat depressing night, you cracked me up just now.
The Yankees will definitely miss the power from A-Rod, but at least they won’t be paying him $30 million dollars as a 40 year-old 3rd baseman.
Any way that you slice it, Boras is the Son of Satan and the Yankees will lose on this one….either A-Rod is gone OR BorASS milks NY for every dime they have. This truly sucks.
My only hope is that he’s really gone,please. I’m tired of all the drama,over one player.
I’d love if they picked up Abreu’s option, traded him likethey did Sheffield, and signed Rowand for somewhere around 12 million a year for 3-4 years.
Great line by Olney at the end of his story
“Somebody will buy into A-Rod, of course. He’s an extraordinary player. The cost will be hundreds of millions, and the heart and soul, of his next franchise.”
gammons’ stuff was great, if that’s actually what he said.
i love the “now we can depend on pitching” people. what pitching? you’ve got wang – who really shined in the playoffs this year, right? – two rookies, and mussina. where’s the pitching in that lot? give it three years so wang can take his rightful place as a number three behind joba and hughes and then talk about the yankees fantastic pitching.
Not to sound like a cliche, but everything does happen for a reason. The Yankees will be fine. It may take a year or two to get back to the way they were, but they will rebound – with or without Alex Rodriguez.
When my brother broke the news to me about Alex opting out, all I could think of was the line in National Lampoon’s European Vacation: “Oink, oink, let’s be pigs.”
I agree with you, Pete. It sounds from the initial reports that Alex never intended to stay in New York. You mean to tell me he couldn’t have picked up a phone and called his teammates to see what was going on with them or which way they were leaning? He couldn’t even give the Yankees the time for a sit-down.
If he truly wants to leave, then I say good luck to him, but I think he is going to be like others have said, 1 player in a group rather than part of a team. If he wants to turn his back on 2007 and being part of something, so be it. I don’t care what he does anymore.
Now, who is our new manager? That’s what I am waiting to find out.
i smashed my Arod bobblehead just now.
boras said they needed time to understand what “transition period” meant and what the future for Mo, Jorge and Pettite is. Okay, so why did you refuse to even sit down to talk? Why did you refuse to answer phone calls? typically Arod, when you talk to someone, instead of at someone through your money grubbing whore of an agent, you can “understand” and “clear” these types of questions up.
take your selfish ass somewhere else. we dont want you.
Kasey, they’re talking about using that 30 million a year in the next few years and getting pitching, not necessarily this offseason.
Do you realize the only guy on the payroll for 2011 is Kei Igawa? LOLOL!!!
Gammons on ESPN just called the Arod news:
“A sad commentary� on the type of person Arod is, that he would choose to upstage the world series and the story of a starter who’s survived cancer to win the world series. And Gammons said: “this coming from a player who has never made it to the world series himself. This maybe a buyers beware.�
frankiefrank,
I’m with you except that I think we have a lot of players, really hitters, who look over matched in the post season lately. They don’t play like they do in the regular season. For whatever reason, whether it be the pressure or the lack of fire, something is going wrong when they come to the plate. The clutch hits are few and far between. Damon owns the clutchest Yankee hit (game 3 this year) in the past 2 Yankee post seasons.
I attribute this to one thing. Desire. This collection of players were all so wealthy that failure doesn’t mean anything to them. They know that when the season ends, they have the penthouse at the Shore Club and the Four Seasons to look to, to enjoy.
You can’t find it on a piece of paper, but you can see it on the field. We’ve been getting beaten by teams that are hugrier. That want it more.
Wang killed us. No doubt. But game 4 in NY we should have demolished Byrd and won that game by 6 runs. But we didn’t. We played tight. We tensed up. This is what we’ve been witnessing for awhile now.
I want a guy at bat who is thinking “I’m gonna hit the snot out of the next pitch”, not a guy who is thinking “I hope I don’t strike out or the media is gonna kill me”. That’s the look on a lot of the faces I see on this team of late. That had something to do with the manager, but it had more to do with the players.
We made Cleveland’s bullpen look the like the Nasty Boys from Cincinatti back in the day. The Red Sox made the same bullpen look like batting practice.
There has been something wrong with this team for awhile and to me it all comes down to attitude and desire and fire. Torre lost his. He became Grandpa Joe who told all his kids it was okay to strike out as long as you gave it your all. Couple that with multi millionaires who are set for life and you have a recipe for what we’ve seen recently.
Find me a 3rd baseman next season who hasn’t won a ring yet. Find me one that gets dirty, plays hard and would kill to get a world series title. That’s what we need. Girardi is the right guy to lead that kind of that ship.
We’re ending an era, but the most recent part of this era has been a collection of stars who produce in the regular season, get paid ungodly sums of money and tense up when the championship is on the line.
That era is over. It’s now time to find the guys who aren’t afraid to win and would bleed to do it.
Rowand is overrated. He had a career year this year. They will have to over pay for him.
Abreu is much more likely to have a better year than Rowand. Plus you’ll have to cimmit 3 or 4 years to Rowand, whereas Abreu is only under contract for one more year. The Yankees have a couple of good minor lague outfielders (Tabata, A-Jax), one of whom can probably take over RF in 2009. Stick with Abreu, forget Rowand.
And what’s with this gridning nonsense? That didn’t really help the Phillies against Colorado, did it?
What’s with all the doom and gloom? Sure, we’ll miss A-rod’s 50 HR & 150 RBI’s, but will you miss A-rod the person? He doesn’t want to be a Yankee anymore, nothing more, nothing less.
There had to be tension in that clubhouse with all the craziness that surrounds Alex. The team will be much more relaxed (once they figure out how to replace those RBI’s.) Think about it. A-rod could only mention one player he was close to last year. That has nothing to do with how great a player he is. Best of luck to Alex (except if he stays in the division).
“He did it for a reason. I wish him the best,” David Ortiz said. “Man, I never would walk away from $150 million.”
I hate the sox, but I love this guy. He’s probably one of the best players in the game and has the type of personality every player should have!
Beltre is the guy to get. Awesome fielder, ungodly talent, wouldn’t be asked to carry the team… give ‘em to Kevin Long. He could be an absolute monster, fulfill the prodigal billing for more than one season.
We don’t make the playoffs in ’05 or ’07 with A-Rod. Thanks for that. That said, peace, bro.
This is the best thing I have read tonight. I think this explains how Boston fans feel about Arod.
In Denver, as the Red Sox celebrated their fresh World Series title on the field, a few hundred fans stood behind the third-base dugout and gave them some off-season advice. They shouted, “Don’t sign A-Rod.â€? Earlier, the fans had chanted the R-rated version of “A-Rod stinks.â€? Mike Lowell, Boston’s third baseman, can become a free agent, too, so the fans also chanted, “Give Lowell the money.”
frankiefrank-
Best points thus far…the yankees made their run because Key, Cone, Hernandez, Wells, Pettite, Stanton, Rivera, Nelson and Clemens were all on the top of their game. Would one really want Brousis or Hayes at third instead of Rodriguez? The collection of stars argument is a weak one. Are Beckett, Ortiz, Ramirez, Schilling and Papelbon not stars? Look at some of the batting averages from Posada, Brousis, Tino and the like during their run–the pitching got it done. You still have to get to the playoffs and replacing A-Rod’s production will be almost impossible. The money being saved and spent elsewhere is not an issue–this is the Yankees. Hey, (not blaming him–he’s the greatest) if Rivera makes a better throw on the bunt in ’01 and he doesn’t walk Millar in ’04–we may not be discussing any “winning drought”–Anything can happen in the post-season (see ’06 Cards, ’88 Dodgers, ’03 Marlins, ’60 Pirates, etc. etc. etc. Finally, Pete keep in mind the Yankees have not won since Giambi, Mussina and Matsui have been here either
i’ve watched beltre for the last few years in seattle and he’s a defensive specimen. offensively, like everyone else on the mariners, his plate discipline is atrocious, but when he runs into one, he can square it up. i wouldn’t mind seeing him at third. he plays hard, plays hurt, and wants to win. if he doesn’t cost too much, he’d be a good option.
read the post and daily news or olney online.. they are not kind to Arod.. Hal commented, arod is done with the Yanks.
I think Boras and Arod are going to not make as much $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$4 as they htink???
His choices are dodgers, angels, red sux(no way) giants, and a few other teams and they are not paying him 7 yrs $30 mill he is 32.. The giants sole there soul for the bonds record parade the last few yrs. what did it get them?????????????????????????????/
I am really amazed how egocentric and misinformed arod really is… He announced it during game 4 of the WS>!!!!!!!!!!he does think he is bigger then the game and the team, man he is a ego ego ego maniac…………
It’s not true to say $30 million has never meant anything to the Yankees. It’s also an insult to the fans who are the source of all that money. Secondly, for every $100 million they’d give Arod or anyone today, $40 million more must be added for luxury tax. Where is all the money coming from? The Yankees don’t have an operating profit. Many point to the YES network, but whoever “the Yankees” is these days only owns 36% of that and there have been stories that shares of the YES network are for sale-this could add voting power to other factions. There’s nothing sure about this team today, and no basis for saying what has been in the past will be in the future.
What a joke this is. People were praying for this guy to return. Now that he’s opting out he’s persona non grata? Give me a freakin break. It is never about onee player; it’s about team. The sooner the Yankees get rid of these fat cat, overpaid, unmotivated players the better. I’m really surprised at Pete and his outlook on this turn of events. Before this happens he’s harping on how much they need ARod and how he thinks the deal will be done. Now he’s all broken hearted and acting like a spurned lover; saying the Yanks are better off with out him. Get real. No one person is bigger than than the team. ARod is a ghreat player; but not worth the money he’s asking for or the baggage he brings with him. Now all that’s left to do to get this team winning again is to jettison some more of the overpriced, underperforming talent like Giambi, Mussina and Damon and this team will be on the right track to reclaiming its rightfull place as the top team in baseball.
here are some more quotes from Hank from the Daily News interview. I am starting to like him more and more.
“It’s clear he didn’t want to be a Yankee,” Hank Steinbrenner told the Daily News last night. “He doesn’t understand the privilege of being a Yankee on a team where the owners are willing to pay $200 million to put a winning product on the field.
“I don’t want anybody on my team that doesn’t want to be a Yankee.”
Last night, Steinbrenner made it clear that his team had no intention of changing its tune on that stance.
“We’re not going to back down,” Steinbrenner said. “It’s goodbye.”
Steinbrenner said last night that both he and his brother, Hal, personally placed phone calls to Rodriguez expressing their desire to keep him in pinstripes, but neither call was returned by the third baseman.
“I’ll tell you this: the commitment from my family is ’78 through ’96,” Steinbrenner said of the team’s direction. “We will never go 18 years without a championship again. That’s our commitment.”
G.Love I think you are mostly wrong about this desire business.
The Red Sox have a whole bunch of wealthy players – Manny, Schilling, Ortiz, Lowell, Timlin, Drew, Varitek, Beckett, Matsuzaka, Gagne, just to name a few. But their “desire” was still there. So I don’t buy that argument at all, that’s just me I guess.
I’d prefer a third baseman that could hit 50 homers and carry a team into a postseason, as opposed to one that wants to bleed. That doesn’t sound very useful in a ballgame. But more seriously, A-Rod was a monster in October with Seattle. This idea that he can’t get it done in October is incorrect, since he already proved in Seattle that he could do well on this stage. I don’t think it’s smart to judge players on a small number of games or at-bats. The Yankees won 94 games and lost 68. There were times when lowly Baltimore and Tampa pitching dominated the Yankee bats, just like Paul Byrd did in game 4. There were plenty of weeks this year where the Yankees lost 3 or 4 games, like they did that first week in October. These things happen in a short series. Especially in October when the pitching is a lot better. Look at just about any hitter that has had 300+ postseason at-bats in their career – almost all of them have far lower batting averages in October than in the regular season because the pitching is much better – this includes guys like Brosius and Posada and Tino and Bernie. Most of those guys have awful October numbers.
In fact those Yankee teams in the late 90′s did it with really good pitching. The timely hits are overrated. The only reason they are considered “timely” is because the Yankee pitching usually held the other team to within a 2 run margin. Look at those games in the 2001 world series. Those scores were 2-0 and 3-1 in the 9th innings before the Yankees tied those games up with homeruns. My point is, if we had pitching like that this October, if Wang actually held them to 3 runs in game 4, then Abreu or ARod might not have hit such “meaningless” homers and one of those guys might be a hero right now for hitting homeruns late in the game.
The pitching is the most important thing. They put the hitters in a better position to get timely hits. But when you are losing by 5 or 6 runs people call your homers meaningless. Like the batters have any control over that.
Also, the general sentiment seems to be that the Yankees need more hitters that are “clutch” and “tough” and “gritty”. Well, look at the 2 hitters that killed more Yankee rallies in those 4 October games then anybody else – Jeter and Posada. But nobody is getting on them. Have they lost their magical abilities to be clutch or grind-out at-bats? Huh? How can you complain about ARod’s performance in this October without first mentioning those guys? They hit into some really ill-timed DP’s.
Don’t overreact to a small sample size. The Yankees had the best offense in baseball this year, and I would have loved to go into next year with the same set of guys.
The Cardinals did not win the World Series in 2005.
Absolutely loved this quote from Hank:
“I’ll tell you this: the commitment from my family is ’78 through ’96,” Steinbrenner said of the team’s direction. “We will never go 18 years without a championship again. That’s our commitment.”
susan mullen:
Where did you hear that the Yankees didn’t have an operating profit? That sounds absolutely ridiculous.
good post friede… I disagree with the Damon he can still play. he has 2 yrs at $13 mill(I think) he can still play especially LF..
tHere worst contracts now are Giambi(1 yr and a ton of $) and Moose 1 yr(a ton of $), krazy kyle is like $4 mill a yr for I think 2 yrs. and that is it… Matsui also has 2 yrs left but he will rebound this yr…
On Arod I know he is a great player but I also know he brings alot of baggage so of course they will miss his #’s but his exit will help them get back to basics and away from the bonds and Sf situation which for the team is a great thing..
Susan
Any team who is willing to give Roger Clemens a $18M pro rated contract knowing that they already had a $10M write off for Carl Pavano (that’s $28M for 6 wins combined) is not exactly pinching pennies. Throw in the Kei Igawa money and posting, the pinch hitter that makes $21M, the money they were still paying players who didn’t wear pinstripes last year and combine that with the fact that the Yanks are hoping they have found a have a few good pitchers under their control in the coming seasons for league minimums. While it may seem that the $21M from Texas was the deal breaker, it was more a line in the sand than economic necessity. The Yanks have proven time and again that $21M is ashtray money to them. If there is no basis for predicting future behavior based on past actions that means the Yanks are not likely to pick up a $16M option for Abreu, give Mariano a 3 year deal or want Andy Pettite back at $16M. Either way, Cashmoney has his work cut out for him this off season.
He’s definitely gone. The quotes from Hank in the Daily News have closed the casket on Arod and to be honest, Hank is right. If Arod doesn’t want to be a Yankee, then go.
What happened tonight is a clear sign that Boras know there is more out there. All of you guys posting that Arod will get less w/o the Yankees involved in the bidding are wrong.
We didn’t bid on Barry Zito, or Soriano and look at the record setting contracts they received last season. The Yankees don’t drive the market anymore. There are deep pocketed owners who are willing to spend. We didn’t even win the posting fee for Dice K when everyone assumed he was ours. We came in 3rd or 4th on that one.
Boras clearly knows he’s getting Arod a 300 million plus deal here. This is why he opted out. Arod wanted to opt out before the Yankees made him the ridiculous offer they were going to make him. He didn’t even want to listen. Why, you ask? Because he already was assured there is way more out there.
I think Boston has fingerprints all over this one. They did it last year with Drew. I’d bet money that while Boras was busy flitting around Colorado he got back channel assurances from Henry, Luchino and Theo that the money is there for Arod.
The Red Sox know Manny and Ortiz are getting older. They need to keep the power in the lineup. It’s much harder to develop young positional power hitters right now.
Not to mention they also know that Arod breaking Bond’s record in Fenway would be a coup. The Boston fans will embrace him and we’ll hear all these odes about how it’s the reverse Babe Ruth going from the Yanks to the Sox. Whatever. Let him go there.
If it’s not Boston, then it has to be Anaheim. I don’t think Arod will go to the NL for one second. By the end of his contract he’ll be a DH and he’ll want to DH at that point. He’s not going to be picking balls out of the dirt at 3b at 38. I also think the Orioles could be a player here no one has thought about. Seeing that stadium empty has to kill Angelos.
To me he’s going to another AL team and they have already told Boras that they will give him 300, maybe even 400 million. He might even get the piece of the TV network deal he’s craving.
The one thing I know for sure that whoever gets him is getting the worst contract in the history of baseball. It won’t be insurable at that dollar amount and if the guy starts breaking down or gets injured, it’s an albatross that can destroy most organizations.
You know what, if A-Rod wanted to wait 10 days, and he didn’t like the offer, and he opted out, I’d be disappointed but so be it. But, with the Yankees prepared to offer him the biggest contract in baseball history, he doesn’t even have the balls to meet with them face to face? He has his agent call and leave a voicemail? Screw him. That’s like someone breaking up with their girlfriend/boyfriend by having their friend call and leave them a message. That’s crap. I truly hope the Yankees not only don’t negotiate with him further but make it very clear to all times that it is not some ploy, the Yankees will not be offering him a cent. Don’t let Boras use the Yankees to get him more money.
ARod is not the be all and end all people! He’s a great player and i have no animosity towards him and his decision but it really boggles my mind that people think this team will fall apart without him. Get a grip! This isn’t basketball where someone like Michael Jordan can control the ebb and flow of the game whenever he touches the ball. ARod is one person. His numbers don’t need to be replaced. All the team has to do is get better pitching and more timely hitting and you’ll be surprised how well they’ll do. This team led the league in runs scored this year. How well did it serve them in the playoffs? People say that it was lack of pitching that led to their ouster in this years’ playoffs but if this team hits up to its reputation the pitching would have been sufficient enough. The Red Sox scored less runs than the Yankees this year yet they throttled Sabathia and Carmona. The Yankees had plenty of opportunities in the Cleveland series to get to these guys but they choked. This team needs to get away from these high profile, high salaried players and get themselves good players who can fly under the radar and thrive in the playoffs without the burden of high expectations. Cashmen just needs to get away from checkbook General Managing and use his scouting department to make shrewd trades and free agent aquisitions to get back to the lofty heights this team experienced in the not too distant past.
Great post. The timing of this is what makes me so sick. I had just accepted the fact that Boston was going to sweep their way to another WS and I was hit with this crap. Shows you what kind of person he is to try and upstage the WS.
If that Gammons quote is true, I love it!
Ugueth,
I see where you’re coming from and I agree with you mostly. I just think that we’ve gotten our tails kicked by teams that want it more in the post season. It started when we let Boston back into the series in 2004. As a fan, there’s a feeling you get. In the late 90′s, the feeling was we won’t lose and they will find a way. Yes, a lot of that had to do with the amazing pen we had then, but we still had to manufacture hits and runs and big moments.
Lately, I don’t see that happening on this team. Jeter was horrid this past post season. Posada had nothing too. While they have been clutch in the past, this post season they couldn’t do it and the collection of stars around them also failed big time against the same pitching that Boston scored 30-5 against in the last 3 games of their series.
While this whole “short series” excuse is valid, it’s also a crutch. A crutch that had been used by Torre too many times in recent years. I mean seriously, in any of the ALDS losses we’ve had do you really think if it were a best of 7 we were always going to sweep the last 3 games of the series?
There’s a problem on the team. It’s not talent or ability, it’s how they are channeling their desire. I know they want to win the world series, but they are so tied up in knots about it in the post season lately, they can’t do it. The confidence from the regular season gets lost as soon as the ceremonial bunting hits the field. It’s not just the hitters. Wang looked like a scared child in the post season this year.
Some toughness and grit will help this team go a long way.
By the by; i love the thought of getting Joe Crede. He’s just the type of player this team needs. He’s gritty, a very good fielder and a contact hitter whose numbers were on the upswing before his injury this year. Just look at Scott Broscous’ numbers the year before the Yankees got him . they were atrocious yeat he thrived with this team without the high expectations. I for one am looking forward to next season. From what i’m hearing from the Steinbrenner boys this team is definitely on the right track. This team is in good hands people. Have faith.
I wanted A-Rod back after we got eliminated. I was one of those people, a lot of us were. But after tonight, a lot of us became those people who didn’t want him back. If that’s the attitude he is going to bring back with him if we resigned him, then layda Alexander. Any player who thinks he is bigger then game, in my opinion, doesn’t need to be in pinstripes, or deserves it. He can carry his ego on some other team, let him and Vlad argue. Let him and Varitek hug it out after their little scuffle, just don’t do that shit here. Trying to show up the WS, a game where a kid came back, battled, and won a fight against cancer. Not even before the game, or after it, but in the middle of it. I, along with many others, appreciate what you have done for us in the regular season, you are a great player, but you just proved to me you aren’t a great teammate. Hope the homeless HOF enjoys his tenure somewhere else. This isn’t the end of the world, I am actually happy about all of this. A-Rod really showed his true colors tonight. A coward, egocentric and selfish… Nice person to have in the clubhouse… Payce kid.
“But over the long term, this is an opportunity. The Yankees now have millions to spend on talent that they didn’t have yesterday.”
That is the key to this all. Now they have money to sign Johan Santana + more. Screw you A-Rod.
Ok Arod isn’t coming back, it’s not the end of the Yankees.
This is the problem I’ve had all along,One player is not the whole team.He’s not above the team. Even if this is a ploy to get more money Arod looks greedy(hireling) and just looking for the the big payday. How would Yankees fan treat him if he does sign now. As a advid Yankees fan,no matter how good a player is,the team out weighs the would be “Primo Donno.” Free up the money. Yankees please don’t sell the franchise like Texas did,and was crippled by the huge contract.
Boras may think Arod could play til he’s 45,but he’ll look as pathetic as Bonds does now,just a shell of himself holding on to get the record.What happens if he never performs in postseason,your stuck with that contract,just like Pavano and Giambi,and Igawa(who may improve with new pitching coach.)
If this is a rebuliding year,Cashman will have plenty of work this off season,hopefully to field a better team!
Yankee stadium wasn’t built around Arod,yankees fan come to see the Yankees,as always,and that will continue.
We need a right handed hitting 3B, no question. We must fill the power void from the right side. Beltre would be our best option. We could probably trade for him without losing the farm, he plays solid D, his offensive #s are hindered by Safeco, he has good speed, and he seems to play with fire and a good attitude. Beltre for 3B.
I really don’t think it’s fair to talk about A-Rod’s ego. We have to blame the mind behing the games and that would be Boras. Do you think A-Rod could make such a contract that would have paid him $252M? Do you think he would have been smart enough to put in a clause to allow him to opt out?
The guy can’t even keep from swingin at outside pitches when he is 0-2. I think it’s unfair to beat up on him when the real ego monster here is Boras.
All this talk about the likes of Crede and Brosius being gritty and “the type of player we need”–A-rod never misses games and he plays the right way, runs everything out and had a very good year defensively–he is just a better paid and better looking “gritty”. True, this is not the demise of the Yankees but sticking a Crede in the lineup and going with what’s there?–it will be tough making to the American League playoffs (maybe if the Yankees moved to the National League West we would be okay)..And all this talk about “now we have money to spend on Santana”–when did the Yankees become the Royals–we can have both–not to mention the low salaries being paid to the likes Hughes, Kennedy, Chamberlin, Cabrera, Cano, etc. It is true that pitching gets it done (see Wang failures) but unless the Yanks get Santana they are banking on 3 unknowns (the kids), Petitte who may not return, and an old and ineffective Mussina. You can afford to lose a great power guy in your lineup when you know the pitching will be shut
‘em down like–can that be said of the assembled staff?
Yanks vs. Angels 2008 ALCS. 9th inning Game 5. Yanks up 3-2 after Yanks scored when ARod dropped an easy pop-up. Santana strikes out ARod with men on base. Yankees win the pennant!
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I give the Red Sox credit for winning this year, but grouping them with The Yankees of 1996-2000 is a little premature. Boston finished in third place last year, and they were swept in the first round in ’05.
_________
Pete, I understand this was a minor point in your posting and you were just noting that many teams of recent success were not built around one player, but it seems as though everyone is ignoring the past two years in order to proclaim the Red Sox a dynasty. Perhaps they will be(Heaven forbid), but they haven’t reached that point yet.
Yankee attendance is in for a dramatic drop in 2008?
If I owned the Bombers I would never do business with the likes of Scott BORASS.
The Hot stove league has really brgun with the BIG BANG.
The Sports writers are in their glory.
Pete…I’ve been critical of your handling of the Torre fiasco, but these last few blogs have been some of your best work ever. Well done.
I don’t think Yankee Stadium attendance will be down for 2008, especially since it is the last year for the current stadium. If anything, they will sell out.
I know I, for one, am planning on seeing the stadium one last time in 2008. I am from Upstate New York (but live in Southern California right now). I was only at the stadium once in 1987, but the fact that Alex Rodriguez has left, will not make me any less willing to be a Yankees fan or to go to go watch them play the Angels in Anaheim.
The so-called “fans” who jumped on board when Alex rolled into town (and who are going to go attach themselves to whatever team he ends up with) can go too — I won’t miss any fairweather fans.
If Mariano holds a one run lead in game 4 of the 2004 ALCS, Everyone would be talking about how A-rod carried the Yankees to the world series, he also almost single handily beat the Twins the series before that. Let’s not make A-rod the reason the Yankees haven’t won the word series since 2000, the reason was their pitching “SUCKED” in the playoffs.