Even if Pettite comes back he is no ace. He is perfect as the #2 stopper. There is no way you back off Santana simply because Andy’s coming back.

With the Angels, I can see them letting Vlad go. He’s becoming a DH with his knee problems. So if he loses a position to the Angels, he won’t be able to ask as much… and I don’t see him wanting to be labeled as a DH so he’ll probably go elsewhere after his contract expires.

The last Boras client to accept arbitration was Millwood. Arod is no Millwood. Arod will take the money. Let’s all not forget his infamous spring training quote: “Being the highest paid player in basebal… it’s cool!”

If I may interrupt your debate, it’s a win-win. The Alex in New York (Yankees) experiment failed and now it’s a do-over for both sides. Alex needs to go where he’ll be comfortable.

Alex knew the Yankees were going to try to keep him at all costs (because of his most excellent year). If he cared about Yankee legacy and his image he would’ve done the honorable thing and negotiated within the 10-day window. He would’ve had his cake and been able to eat it, too. For some reason they avoided that negotiating period like the plague. Either he didn’t give a spit or he grossly overestimated the Yankees’ desire to pursue him. He also grossly underestimated the backlash that would follow.

I respectfully disagree, Arod is as much ego as he is talent. He will not concede anything – especially with Boras at the helm of HMS Arod. Arod opted out for one thing only – money – and he will land elsewhere because someone will give it to him – whether it’s the Giants, Angels or Detroit.

I think it depends on the offers out there. It also depends on getting a team to make a huge offer. Giants might not be able to simply because of the debt they hold. Angels might but then it means they are held hostage to doing similar for Vlad.

There are upsides to A-Rod, but his numbers will decline. Its a tougher call for them to go that high with salary.

While I totally agree that A-Rod loves the big bucks he can get, he is also concerned about his image. Its taken a really hard hit with all this. Will that equate to dropping the price tag a little on him? Hard to say. It depends on what he thinks its worth.

The contract size is part of it with him, but he also thinks legacy and historic context.

The Yankees need to have something to salve their position, so does A-Rod.

It could also turn out that he accepts arbitration. If the right deal doesn’t come, then it goes to a one year deal where he still makes big bucks. I doubt it, but you never know.