A-Rod goes to the movies
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- November
- 15
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Over the years, Alex Rodriguez has said several times that “Wall Street” is his favorite movie. That always raises the requisite snickers, of course. Greed is good, right A-Rod?
But when you think about it, A-Rod had his Bud Fox moment yesterday.
He turned on Gordon Gekko (Scott Boras) and took the tough-love advice of Carl Fox (Hank Steinbrenner) after all. In the end, he couldn’t turn on the Yankees. Or Blue Star Airlines.
All that we need now is for Boras to punch out A-Rod in a rainy Central Park while Alex is wearing a wire to record the whole thing for the Mitchell Investigation.
Can’t you see it?
“Sandbagged me on the Yankees, huh? I guess you think you taught the teacher a lesson, that the tail can wag the dog. … I opened the doors for you … showed you how the system works… the value of information… how to get it! Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers and this is how you pay me back you cockroach!”
But in the end, Alex realized that as much as he wanted to be Scott Boras, he’ll always be Alex Rodriguez.
Call Oliver Stone, he has to make a movie about this.
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on Thursday, November 15th, 2007 at 11:39 am by Peter Abraham.
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Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
Josh Thomson
I dont know if it will happen but if Arod fires Borus I’d be very happy.
I’d be thrilled if we signed Lowell for 1B. He’s a guy who could start at 1B, 3B and DH. Also after this year when Giambi becomes a FA there aren’t many good choices out there who will be FAs. It seems that besides Teixeira, Lowell would be the best 1B available. Plus we know Lowell can play in this market and he’s a proven Champ and team player. He’d bring another right handed bat to our lineup and when it comes to Teixeira I love watching him and I wouldnt be mad with him on my team by any means but he and Giambi are so similair that he scares me. He’s gonna sign a multi year worth a boat load of money that will be similair if not bigger than the deal Giambi got to come here. Whose to say if his body will hold up or if he’s break down like Giambi? At least we’d know Lowell is a relatively short term deal with a 4-5 year deal and a contract like that would be much easier to trade than a monster deal a guy like Teixeira would get, if we could even sign him. After Teixeira the FAs are not good. Lowell’s splits are bad but he’s a suport player who I think could thrive as the fifth or sixth star on the team. People need to remember that although he seems like he was made to play with the green monster that he was a successful player without it and incase anyone forgets our main rival who looks like they’ll be good for years to come is Boston so even if Lowell was only dominant when we play them he’d be worth it if he helped us pick up those wins. Remember, we score a lot of runs regaurdless. Lowell would more bring us defense and stability which we havent really had since Tino left and Mattingly before him.
Next years first baseman choices via FA:
- Mark Teixiera
- Richie Sexson
- Carlos Delgado
- Nomar Garciaparra
- Ben Broussard
Those are the okay ones. Lowell seems like a nice alternative to them. The only downside is we’d give up our #28 pick to Boston by signing Lowell but I honestly think it would be worth it.
Great, Pete! Have a really nice time on vacation, you deserve it. Where are you, by the way?
Now all we need is a Hughes, Melky and Tabata for Johan deal.
funny post. enjoy your vacation, dude.
Why in the world would anyone want Mike Lowell to play 1B?
Makes no sense and Cashman isn’t stupid enough to actually pull the trigger on such a moronic move.
Yeah it’s definitely time for your vacation to start.
Mo is beginning to sound like Gordon Gekko:
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/s.....4?MSNHPHMA
There is a reason why Mariano Rivera has not accepted the Yankees’ offer of a three-year, $45-million contract.
Rivera, according to major-league sources, wants a fourth guaranteed year.
The Yankees remain the overwhelming favorite to retain Rivera. No other club is expected to even approach their proposal, much less top it.
But Rivera, who turns 38 on Nov. 29, has instructed his agents to shop him, in part because he was angered by Hank Steinbrenner referring to his age in recent comments about the Yankees’ offer, a source says.
Rivera has specifically mentioned following Joe Torre to the Dodgers, and his agents also are contacting other clubs about his availability.
Rivera, sources say, believes he deserves the same length of contract as Yankees catcher Jorge Posada, who is on the verge of re-signing for $52.4 million over four years, and Mets closer Billy Wagner, who received $43 million over four years after the 2005 season. Posada and Wagner are both 36, nearly two years younger than Rivera — and Wagner was 34 when he signed with the Mets as a free agent.
Rivera also is certain to note that third baseman Alex Rodriguez would be 42 at the end of his proposed 10-year contract with the Yankees — the same age that Rivera would be at the conclusion of a four-year deal.
Rivera’s ERA rose to 3.15 last season after four straight years below 2.00, but he went 30-for-34 in save opportunities, regained his dominance in September and worked 4 2/3 scoreless innings against the Indians in the postseason.
Matrk Teixeira is the cream of the crop of first baseman. Next to Albert Pujols, of course. Tex is way way way better than Lowell. And Tex is a gold-glover at the position as well.
Ben Broussard isn’t a bad secondary option though.
They do not need Lowell at first base. That is beyond stupid. It’s just a ploy to harass Boston into giving Lowell a bad contract.
WE DO NOT NEED MIKE LOWELL. THANK YOU
“Great, Pete! Have a really nice time on vacation, you deserve it. Where are you, by the way?”
STALKER ALERT!
Hey, guys,
Pete had it 100% right. He said all summer that A-Rod needs the Yankees and the Yankees need A-Rod and so they’ll negotiate to keep him here long term.
Nobody, not even Cashman, knew that Boras was going to opt out without even meeting with the Yankees, so how can you criticize Pete for not knowing it?
If he wants 4 years, offer him 4 years, $45M
If he doesn’t want 3 years $45M, the Yankees would be better off without him – this contract wasn’t about how much he was worth, but about rewarding a long-time player with a contract to take him to retirement (and to be able to attract free agents in the future (by how we treat our own)).
Blue Horseshoe Loves 13 at 3rd
also Larry Luccino is Sir Larry Wildman.
Boras the great, hah nothing but a greenmailing pirate!
LMAO
Mo, come on, sign already.
Wow, how did Mo get to 4 years when he was saying last spring he only wanted 2…
i hate the steinbrenner sons so much. i can’t believe i’m going to have to read quotes by these idiots for the next few decades
Annie Savoy (on the last thread),
“Let him go to the Dodgers where he can be a ‘celebrity’ and act like one. The National Enquirer will love following him around to all his ‘activities’ both on and off the field.â€
Well, I almost feel this is a little unfair, as everybody else has already been (rightly) piling on your comments. However, it should be obvious that if the National Inquirer was around when the Babe played, there would have been plenty of notable headlines then as well (not to mention how Mick would have been ‘exposed’ if there had been no code of silence in regard to players ‘extra curricular activities’ in the 50’s/60’s.) But do we, as ‘real Yankee fans’ think today any less of the Babe or the Mick? None of these guys, A-Rod included, has killed anybody, beaten any wives (that we know of!) or otherwise used violence of any kind on any innoncent people. Their private lives should really be a matter between themselves and their spouses and not fodder for ‘yellow journalism.’ Alas, that is the world we live in, but that doesn’t make it right.
I wouldnt be suprised if HBO or something did a movie about the underlinings of deals like this like they did in “The Late Shift”
Oh Pete. Why? I love how the media is deeming this as A-Rod crawling. It tickles me pink. He got 25 million more than the Yanks were offering before the opt out. He, A-ROD, won
if AROD fired Boras, he would make major headway with the fans…now if he could stop the bushleague bitchslappin stuff – we’d be so proud! I could care less about his “affairs of the strippers”, that doesn’t bother me much.
you can’t offer him an extra year without changing the money, that’s insulting and lets him you know either don’t care if he signs or that you think he’s a moron.
Maybe you reduce the annual, but you don’t give him the same money for more years. MAYBE, you go 4 years, 48M to go up but not a lot… but I don’t even know about that.
Man, 4 years is a lot for a guy who’s been defying his age for several years already. Eventually, something’s got to give. 4 years?? Seems like 1 or 2 too many, at least to many to gaurantee.
I think it’s foolish for any of us to assume Boras is being sat in the corner or anywhere near fired. I also think it’s foolish to think A-Rod did this on his own. I would be more surprised if this wasn’t Boras’ idea – they weren’t getting a better deal anywhere else, he knew they needed to come back to NY, and knew the best way to do it was for A-Rod to eat a little $270M laced crow, and Boras to look like the prick everyone already thought he was.
Yanks need to up their offer and give Rivera the fourth year, if only to ensure that Joba is in the starting rotation next season.
In the meantime, it’s nice to have A-Rod’s offensive production back, but am I alone in wishing that the Yanks had held firm and told him to shove it? I’m still not convinced this team will every win a championship with A-Rod. Unless, of course, A-Rod magically becomes a team guy and loses his ridiculous self-obsession sometime soon…Then maybe there’s a chance…
Another analogy that I heard this morning on ESPN Radio that I thought was genius was yesterday was Arod’s Bar Mitzvah Day. You know today I become a man.
Mo wants a 4th year wow that surprises me. This is someone who yes is the best relief pitcher of all time. yes is a TRUE Yankee and without him those 4 world series probably would not have happened BUT 42 year old relief pitcher who has had arm problems in the past getting 15 mill which is way anove market valuiie not sure I go that route.
Fred – in response to your comments, you make it seem that Boras opted out of his contract without telling A-Rod. C’mon, that’s not true. And second, once he left, Pete insisted that he was never coming back and that they would never negotiate with him. That’s not true as well. And then he insists that A-Rod has spurned Boras. That’s CLEARLY not true. Tell me again how he has it 100% right?
Chris NY,
I agree it’s either 45/3 or 48/4. If we give in on the years, he has to come down on the per annual. If he wants the money and thinks he can still be a top closer in 4 years, then take the 45/3 and get top $ in his next contract.
Besides curmudgeony is a sign of age. Either that or he’s menopausal.
Pete…great post!!!
Hank, Hal, and Brian got what they wanted and filled a vital need: superior power, RH bat and an average to above-average defensive 3B while still getting the Texas money in the form of a discount. They didn’t have to give up any prospects nor give up any draft picks to get him.
Pete -
Great movie tie in… I guess you could say that Alex looked into the abyss, and nothing was staring back
Maybe Alex did find his character
My favorite quote from Lou in Wall Street:
“The main thing about money, Bud, is that it makes you do things you don’t want to do.”
A bit of trivia: Lou (Hal Holbrook’s character) is based on Stone’s late father – who was also a stockbroker
I’m sure the Yanks didn’t want to give Posada a fourth year, either, but eventually they caved. Obviously, Rivera is thinking, “If they did it for Jorge then they damn well better do it for me!”. And who can really blame him?
I wish everyone would stop bagging on Rivera. Lets see how this all plays out. In the end, if he signs with the Yankees, who cares how much they pay him? He stays in ridiculous shape and will still be an above average pitcher in his 40’s. Our bullpen is horrible and he is the only reliable reliever we have. There is no one available on the market who is even close to him. And dont say Joba, because if we move Joba to the closer we make the rotation weaker. if Mo leaves, then we can all rip him a new one. Until that happens, let the man get what he can.
The difference between Posada and Mo is that Posada can move to another position, become the DH etc. Mo if he doesnt pitch that’s it.
Post of the year, Pete!
Although you left out the best part of that rant, which in this case would go as follows:
“I gave you your manhood, I gave you Cynthia, I gave you everything!”
Don’t worry about winning a championship with A-Rod on board.
Mattingly was the curse. He’s gone now.
Can someone explain to me how the yankees ended up getting arod for less? We origially offered him 8yrs 232 mil. Now its at 10 years 275. What am I missing. Please enlighten me. I havnt been able to sleep knowing we probably got screwed on this deal. I am not looking forward to seeing a 42 year old A S.S.I. ROD.
Boras took quite the bashing in today’s papers…I wonder how this is affecting his other clients?
Hey,
I was very upset with the A-Rod situation and all and I even said that I didn’t want him back but even though he is making crazy money doesn’t mean he can’t be a victim and it seems he is a Scott Borasss victim…He’s just a rich victim I’m glad he’s coming back and the fans will love him because he’s dammmmm gooooood !!!!!!!
Its a good deal for the next few years. Once he hits 40 though, he might become a liability. At any rate, its the Yankees, so wasted money doesnt matter as much. If there are just too many problems, im sure Cashman can find some adequate trade, as long as we eat most of the money.
http://insider.espn.go.com/esp.....ney_buster
Free insider edition of Olney’s blog. About none other than Alex Rodriguez. Links to ALL the articles and some tidbits & rumors at the bottom.
Funniest thing? He calls out his pal Gammons for dumping on Alex.
“The difference between Posada and Mo is that Posada can move to another position, become the DH etc. Mo if he doesnt pitch that’s it.”
It’s been said that Mo’s the best BP outfielder on the team.
232/8 = 29m/yr
275/10 = 27.5m/yr
What will be real interesting is if there are any opt out or escalator clauses in the new deal, as there were in the old one. If not, there is more value given up that would have been there is an extension was signed.
pat…not only is he the best BP OF on the team…he’s also a heck of a shortstop. He’s one of the few pitchers on the team that relishes the chance to jump in and take grounders from Bowa/Pena/Mattingly. And he’s pretty good at it.
What the Yanks were going to offer Arod before he opted out was a 5 yr 150 mil extension. But sources have said that they were willing to add 2 more years to their offer. The original offer was just their starting point. So when you take that into account, they’re going to get him for less than if he took the extension before he opted out.
Mo is outta his mind. Let him shop around….remember a 3B can DH in the AL….a broken down closer can do NOTHING for us other than stink it up….How many 42 year old closers are out there making 15mil a year ??? ( insert cricket noise here )….Until Mo signs,,,,he is the new A-Rod….WAKE UP DUDE !…You are being given 45mil to CLOSE BASEBALL GAMES for what will likely be the last 3 years of an awesome career and the Yankees are WAY OVERPAYING you for those last 3 years….if that is not good enuff for you…don’t let the door hit you in the @$$ !….adios….nice to have known ya, Mister Greedy Man Pouting Man….Throw your temper tantrum while you are WALKIN’ !!!
After looking like we might be looking younger for the future, these last signings make it feel like weve taken a step backwards. Signing Posada till hes 40, Alex 42, Lowell 39, Mo 40. I can only immagine what were going to look like in a couple of years. Yanks need to stop thinking with thier hearts and think with their heads. We look like were going fill the field with a bunch of old timers in a few.
Sorry for being negative today but im not liking these extra years that they are tacking on. It probably wont effect us this year or next, but for sure after. Does anyone feel the same way? Thoughts?
Give Mo what he wants…………who cares if he will be grossly over paid like the rest of the Yankees……If anyone deserves $$$$$ it’s Mo. He is being paid for the future as well as what he brought the Yankees the last 13 yrs-CHAMPIONSHIPS
Stop all this madness. ARod is now our savior and he is a saint for leaving money on the table? He is his own man now and Boras is the bad guy? Give me a break. I would rather have a cone play third for us next year. ARod is not “leaving money on the table.” He tested the market and no one would give him more than the Yankees offered. Boras must have miscalculated. ARod told him to fix the problem which would mean to get the Yanks to make their offer again. Boras told him we need a third party to talk to the Yanks on your behalf since they wont talk to me.
Simple as that. Dont get me wrong…this is business…its all about money and I dont mind that. But I dont like ARod’s attitude or at least the attitude I perceive when I hear him speak or read about his actions.
I can only imagine plenty of his teammates were not happy to hear that this cancer has resurfaced.
So go ahead and cheer for him, I want the Yanks to win but I will never cheer for ARod. Now I have 10 years to suffer listening to how beautiful he is, how I dont like him because I am jealous of his greatness, or any new delusion he can come up with.
I just hope the Yanks concentrate on pitching specifically relief pitching, stop trying to get power hitters, get guys that work the count and get on base…the rest will take care of itself.
The yanks will eventually extend Jeter. That means we’re going to have two 40+ players making over 20 mil a year. There’s only 1 DH spot available on the team. Won’t be fun times.
Boras will be fine with his other clients. The Alex deal is just so outside the normal perameters of baseball. Boras shot for the stars, and Alex emergency-landed on the moon.
Boras will continue to get top dollar for his clients and the studs will keep lining up for his services.
S.O.S.,
I agree with your overall point. But Lowell will be 34 this season. so if they did sign him to a 4 yr deal (and I hope they dont) he will be 37 when the deal ends. Again, I agree with your point.
SoS
The bottom line is – without blue chip prospects ready to step in to replace these guys, the only alternative is to trade our young prospects for guys like Miguel Cabrera or Miguel Tejada
I’d rather keep the prospects – even if we end up with a couple of contracts that might be a year too long.
It is just money after all – and it buys time for the Tabatas, Jacksons, Cervellis, Monteros, and Vechionaccis to develop.
Cashman got a slightly later start in player development than Theo did – this buys a little more time for catchup.
If we do end up taking Lowell away, we weaken our rival, and force them to trade for a 1st or 3rd baseman. Lowell is also a solid hitter, and gives a lot of flexibility in the infield. (Give Alex a day off at 3rd, for example)
If not, we make Boston pay more for Lowell, and sign him for 4 years. Again… smart
That’s the thing about WASPs, Buddy boy…Love animals, hate people.
“All that we need now is for Boras to punch out A-Rod in a rainy
Central Park while Alex is wearing a wire to record the whole
thing for the Mitchell Investigation.”
Boras wouldn’t be able to punch out Arod, not if he’s simultaneously distracted by the aliens landing in central park.
OK, now Rivera wants 4 years?
I don’t know, that is a bit much for a closer who ain’t what he used to be. We got Posada locked up, about to have A-Rod locked up, and you gotta figure that Pettitte is still a possibility. If we get 3 of 4, it might be time to stop letting the price get driven up.
Tough call on Mo though. He is a true Yankee for sure. I’d give him three with a team option for the 4th with a 7.5 million buyout.
Chooch,
Great point. A DESPERATE was having all the doors slammed shut on him. What a coincidense he comes back after it was reported that wright was not switching positions, Angels are going after Cabrera, Cubs are for sale, Boston cant stand him, Dodgers cant stand Boras(drew situation), San Fran looking to sign Rowand for big money. Did I miss anyone?
Dont get me wrong, yes he is the best player in baseball and the best free agent. But to think that he came back cause he loved to play here or that he didnt like what Boras did is plain ignorant. He is a big boy with an ego bigger than anyone in the game. As he stated before, being the highest paid player in baseball is cool. There was no discounts. We bid against ourselve like we did in the Giambi deal. Hopefully he doesnt become a 30 mil pinch hitter at 40.
I will root for the uniform he wears, but not the person.
Why are people so sure there were no offers out there for A-Rod?
It was 2 days into free agency and he was already dealing with the Yankees for those 2 days. Waiting out the market, A-Rod would have gotten his money but it probably wouldn’t have happened until January. Once the Cabrera sweepstakes was done, everyone playing in it would have been in on A-Rod. A-Rod also had arbitration to fall back on and while it may have only been for 1 year, he would have gotten at least 28 million for 2008 and then the Yankees might have gotten involved anyhow to work out a longer deal.
Catching up here. I know you can’t believe everything you read in the papers but if the story on Mo is true, I think the Yankees need to walk away.
Glad they resigned Posada, but disagree with the 4th year. As for Mo, I know his resume but not for four years and age 41.
Curious though about professional athletes. You are offered a contract for 45 million, how much better off is your life for one more year at 15 million? Seriously, when is enough enough and it really becomes about greed.
Probably a stupid statement but it is really driving me nuts with these players and their agents. A guy with a family is happy to get a job after being laid off for a year, and these players are bitching about an extra year.
Beck,
Thank you, I forgot about Jeter. He will end up signing for a couple more years. Maybe they will re-up Abreu as well.
Dh
Monday arod
tuesday Posada
Wednsday Lowell
Thursday Jeter
Friday abreu
Sat start over.
I presented this question last week. If you gave me the choice to have a lost season in 08, but after that we would be competing for the championship from then on. I would bite the bullet and take the 08 loss. We keep forgetting that the 90’s teams were above average players and excellent PITCHING. Yes pitching is what we should be focused on. Not over paying for players who cant hit in the post season.
Now that I got all this off my chest I feel a little better. Hopefully Miller is really Cashman and he is reading this.
I’ve read a lot (but not all) of the posts the last 2 days, I’ve heard all the coverage on ESPN this morning with Buster Olney…
Why is it that this was Arod’s idea – to go behind the back of his big bad agent and meet with the Yankees.
Couldn’t his agent have put him upto this?? The agent was at the GM meetings, was working hard to get Arod in position for his payday. Perhaps the agent found out that it wasn’t going to work so told the player to go to the Yankees himself and work out the outline of a future deal and not involve his agent. Arod gets his payday, the agent gets his commission. They both win and the previous bad publicity be damned.
I think the Yankees caved here much more than they should have if the reports hold true. They gave him a raise to $27 million/year and added 2 more years than their original 8 year offer. At $25 million/year he is still 10-15% higher paid than anyone else has been in the past 5+ years. I don’t see where Arod gave back the $21 million from the Rangers – if he did, does that mean the Yanks were offering $300 million for those same 10 years??? That is INSANE!
The Yankees blinked first, suckered into thinking that Arod was going behind Boras back and then giving him more years and more money than they were going to prior to the opt-out. They got a better deal than what they had hoped for after all the bad press in the last month.
What was wrong in going with 8 years at $200 million. Prior to the opt out, I believe it was 8 years, $231m. Tell him he left money on the table by opting out and not even attempting to contact the Yanks. He still makes $25 mill/year and is still and always will be the highest paid player in the game. Yanks save 2 years and $75 million to spend elsewhere.
I’m sorry but if this is the deal, Arod got more than he could’ve hoped for and in my opinion, the Yanks are the ones who backtracked after all their posturing and shenanigans over the past month.
When Arod is 40, he will be approaching bonds record. At that point his values is more of a spectacle than production. You cannot put a value on that from a marketing standpoint. His off the field value could be off the charts…
BTW – you will know that the a-rod thing is done once you see his face on YES… it is amazing how quick they plucked his commercials out.
I agree with V, 100%. 4 years and $45m is quite a payday. I can’t believe he’d be upset at retiring a year early. What does he want, 4 and $50m? No other team would give him that. Seriously, I’d give him the 4th year, but not for a penny more than $45m.
If another team is willing to do this, good luck and God bless.
I stand by all of my earlier comments re: Rivera.
Alex wouldnt have had the stones to face the team or the fans if he accepted the arbitration. You think he heard the boos in the past. Immagine all the scritiny he would have recieved. I would immagine it would be like Bonds gets away from home. But as we know alex is a weeker individual than Bonds and would probably would have cried and folded like in the playoffs.It was either leave for good or act like it was all Boras’s fault. And act like your giving a hometown discount. I just dont think there were many teams that were ging to fork up that kind of money. My guess the team was Anaheim and they had a change of heart knowing that Cabrera was put on the market.
Pete — Will the aliens be landing in Central Park at the same time that Boras punches out A-Rod?
Chicago Dave,
I hope you know that Joba isn’t going to post a 0.47 as a starter.
And maybe a 10 year contract will make A-Rod more of a team guy. After all, he won’t be playing for a contract and his money is guaranteed. Think about it.
this year he WAS playing for a contract and he had his best year ever
Yesterday on espn they said it was 10 years 220. Im hoping that figure is more accurate. Iv heard 220,275,280,295 Can we drop the bidding a tad please.
OK all the geniuses that think we should sign Lowell… compare his stats at home, away and the stadium to see how this idea makes perfect sense. If you aren’t getting the slight hint of sarcasm you’re smarter than I assumed you were. Here’s a thought, having in mind how it went with Pedro and Damon, maybe just maybe we made that offer knowing there are other teams making an offer and ultimately knowing for sure that Lowell wouldn’t accept our offer(like he would choose us and switch positions or go with another team and stay at 3rd.) Why? Because we want to up the price on Lowell and make sure he gets out of Boston. Again, this is just a maybe.
I’d like to see JoPo catch for 3 years and then play 1B in his fourth and final year (2011). Then, in 2012, I’d like to see Alex move to first base to play out the rest of his contract. He’ll be 37, probably 235 lbs, and 1B will add years to his bat IMO. He’s too good of an athlete to just be a DH, even late in his career.
Sign A-Rod back? Great.
You know what? Sing Lowell if he’d be willing to convert to 1B. Then trade him with a couple back-of-the-rotation pitchers like Karstens (and cash) to the Twinkies for Santana, the Padres for Jake Peavy, or to Tampon Bay for Scott Kazmir, or to Florida for Miguel Cabrera if he’d willingly/successfully switch to 1B. If any such trade happens Lowell could still play 3B.
Or NY could offer to turn around & trade him back to Boston with a couple Karstens-level player/prospects for Jacoby Ellsbury and/or Buckholz, both of which they’d have to give up for a guy like Miguel Cabrera anyways. I realize Theo Epstein would never let that kind of a switcheroo trade happen, but it sure would be funny if it did. Badda-BING.
So now Rivera becomes a diva. People want to talk about Arod what about him. He is 38 years old and there is no way you can tell me another team would give him 4 years!! If he wants the 4 years I would tell him then my offer is 4/$48. You get $12m a year and you are still the highest paid closer. What a joke.
One more thing. Not only is he supposidly getting 10 years 275 but he also get incentives. Like 275 isnt enough. Next we’ll hear that he gets free plane trips for he and his family to Florida and free hair cuts with frosted tips.
In addition to signing A-Rod of course. Sorry I left that part out … thought it was implied enough.
How is it that so many think that Boras doesn’t take a big hit with this?
His golden boy saw the dark road he was put on by Boras, Boras mis-read the market (possibly – though there are plenty of people talking about how A-Rod could have gotten more in a deal with the Angel, Dodgers whatever) and he totally forgot that the client’s image is meant to be polished by the agent, not dragged through the mud and cess pool.
Boras won’t have as many clients lining up for him with how bad A-Rod was made to look. Legacy means a lot to high caliber players. After a certain point the money doesn’t mean as much because it can’t all be spent anyway. It is only a status thing after it reaches the level that A-Rod is in. So, going along with the highest salary status, it gets diminished by the postures and actions that are RECOMMENDED to the client by the agent. Reputation is tatters, greed over playing every thing else, villified for being a liar.
Someone who is supposed to be a savvy as Boras should have foreseen the damage to his client. We all did. Everyone here was jumping on him big time in minutes, how does the great Boras not see that reaction coming?
Boras takes a big hit. No matter how you spin it, even with the % he gets from A-Rod, the actions he did cost A-Rod his image. That is something that take years and a lot of effort to build up when it gets over shadowed by the money he makes. How would younger players look at this? I doubt they would mind the money. However, many agents out there are getting very snazzy deals for their clients. Just look at the over paid value of Jorge. Yet Jorge looks golden, image intact.
That also costs in merchandise sales, advertizing deals, sponserships, the list goes on.
Boras blew this one, and A-Rod, his client, had to bail himself out, lost money that could have been in his pocket, all because Boras crapped the bed with his projections, his reading of the market, his mis-reading of A-Rod’s desire and the blowing it on the call that the Yankees would back down.
Boras is the chump with all this, and it will cost him in new clients down the road.
“We origially offered him 8yrs 232 mil. Now its at 10 years 275. What am I missing”
what you are missing is that you have no idea what the yankees were willing to go up to before the opt out.
did you really think their initial offer was going to be their final offer?
the yankees made an offer. Boras was going to counter.
they’d meet in the middle. that’s called negotiating.
it’s not rocket science.
the Yankees were offering $29M/year. Boras wanted $35M/year.
maybe they would have met at $32M/year.
sounds like now it is $27M/year.
Amber,
LOL “diva”
El Comaduce,
I think that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Think about it? When did Alex start making calls? Not after the opt-out fiasco, not when GM’s said, “Thanks, but no thanks”, not when he realized the market was bone-dry, when his stuff stopped selling. It’s when he realized that he wasn’t on YES or the Yankees official site!
Thanks Pete for starting a new post! That scroller thing was getting pretty small.
Lol… the only reason he is coming back is because nobody else offered the money, and in the end the Yankees will end up paying more than in first place… LOL 10 years…. good luck at that HA!… I wouldn’t be surprised if this is all controlled by Boras.
“The yanks will eventually extend Jeter. That means we’re going to have two 40+ players making over 20 mil a year. There’s only 1 DH spot available on the team. Won’t be fun times.”
well, if the choice was A-Rod or Jeter filling the DH role, i hope they’d choose A-Rod.
so, it sounds like they’ve made the right choice so far.
and jeter is not going to get $20M on his next contract. sorry, he’ll be 37. not going to happen.
wicketkey,
Pete was right because he understood the underlying economics. He was right because he rejected out of hand the New York Magazine “scoop” that A-Rod had a secret deal with another team.
He’s not a mind reader.
What makes us so sure that Posada will still have a good bat in his 4th year? He is losing his power and it will continue to go. He isnt getting any faster. He will be what Girardi was and what Molina is. A mentor and a backup.
As far as moving Alex to first in a couple of years. I like that idea alot. He would stay fresher and less wear and tear.
What float is Arod going to be on during the Thanksgiving day parade to announce his signing? Bank of America..? He can bring that rat Bor-ASS with him.
The tv crew on YES better get busy adding Arod back to the Yankeeography commericals. He was taken out and now he is back..but Torre is still out. That is so funny.
Amber,
Thank you. I almost wrote the “d” word in my rant earlier, but something held me back. It started with his little comments, heightened by his “I can always play for Torre”, and then the demand of a 4th year. I’m not all that opposed to a 4th year, but that $45M/3 year deal was one that any reliever would kill for. Can you imagine what Goose Gossage and Trevor Hoffman must be thinking right now?
Love you Mo, but please be reasonable.
“You know what? Sing Lowell if he’d be willing to convert to 1B. Then trade him with a couple back-of-the-rotation pitchers like Karstens (and cash) to the Twinkies for Santana, the Padres for Jake Peavy, or to Tampon Bay for Scott Kazmir, or to Florida for Miguel Cabrera if he’d willingly/successfully switch to 1B. If any such trade happens Lowell could still play 3B. ”
this is a joke, right? i’m 99% sure that it is, but i’m just checking.
SOS-
I never said Posada would have a good bat in 4 years. I think he’ll be .255, 14, 70.
No problem having Jorge be a back up in four years’ time, maybe tutoring Jesus Montero or one of the other catchers that they drafted this year. Hopefully, one of them turns into something. If we can afford to pay Giambi over $20M to sit on the bench and Pavano $40M to pitch ten games or whatever it was, then we can afford to pay Jorge.
Actually come to think of it, that might be closer to .235, 10, 50…
I love the guy but 4 years is a long ways away.
The difference is Jorge can be a dh in his 4th year. If Mo doesn’t hit 80 on his fastball in the 4th year where do you play him?
Would the Yankees be wrong to hold firm on a $45M/3yr offer? Could we live with the possibility of Mo going to LA?
Hmmmmmmm….I don’t think he / she is kidding….people always make lousy trade proposals and say “include” cash as if Karstens, “Cash”, and Lowell (who can’t be traded until June or July once signed) is fair compensation for Santana….if I’m the Twins, I’d rather take 2 draft picks.
An executive with some knowledge of Torii Hunter’s discussions predicts he will sign with Texas for six years and $90 million.
Can we now please end the Hunter to the Yanks speculation? 6 years of Hunter with Jackson and Tabata around the corner? No thank you.
sunny,
If we were as prospect-poor in the outfield (and didn’t have Melky as an adequate stop-gap) as we are in the infield, Hunter would be here in a New York minute. He’s absolutely obsessed with Yankee money. It always popped up in his interviews whenever we played against the Twins.
That being said, I’m looking forward to seeing Action Jackson in the Bronx.
Good. I did not want Hunter with all of our prospects in the wings.
Yes, Hmmm … it was a joke.
Just sign A-Rod and Git-R-Done. The rest was indeed supposed to be humor. Besides, Lowell would never agree to that.
Signing Lowell for first base would be a waste of money. The Yankees are simply driving up the price on the Red Sox.
However, if they actually do sign Lowell, it will probably signify their intent to trade Jason Giambi or Hideki Matsui. Talk about a log jam at 1B.
I save money and look for bullpen help. I think the Yankees need to demand an answer from Rivera within a week because if they don’t keep him, they should be all over Francisco Cordero or planning to throw Joba in as the closer, thus creating the need for a starter.
If Rivera is asking for 4 years at 15 per, the Yankees should walk away.
lalalala sorry couldn’t resist.
Don’t we have a first baseman that is 2-3 years away? Signing someone to a 4 year deal for first would be wrong, unless it is Tex.
What cash would we give the Twins anyway along with Karstens and Lowell and some other unnamed back of the rotation starters? I guess to cover Lowell’s contract? You know, on second thought, it’s not worth the brain cells to consider even talking about this retarded proposal.
“Besides, Lowell would never agree to that.”
Yes, that is the biggest hangup in that proposal. lol
I’d like to see Mo get an offer that even approaches what the Yankee offer is. No one will approach the $ much less the 4 years he wants. The Yankees should either A, hold firm to their offer or b. lower the money per year and add the 4th. Give him 4/45. There is your 4th year mo.
Dudes .. it was just a joke. To sign (not sing sorry) Lowell anyways to play 1B then trade him would never get done.
Ya, it is retarded if any of you think that KARSTENS is going to be a major bargaining chip for the Yankees if they try to deal for Santana.
Do any of you really REALIZE how much a team will have to give up for that guy in a trade? I’m not saying it wouldn’t be worth it, but stop already with the “let’s give them Melky and Karstens, that’s fair” because it is anything but fair.
If we got Lowell by accident, default, or design it would just mean we’d have a DH/bench with Matsui and Giambi. Not too shabby.
I’m hoping that Giambi is not too drunk to realize that this is his contract year. I’m hoping that he’ll show up in excellent shape and stays healthy.
I know there are a LOT of Matsui haters here, but he’s not going anywhere. He has a no-trade clause, he takes great pride in being a Yankee, and is important to the Japanese market. He also has some power, works hard, and does a great job as the Director of Entertainment in the clubhouse.
Yanks hot stove is on tonight. They must be happy that they didnt plan that show for Tues, or they would of had nothing to talk about. Maybe it was all planned this way. But they cant forget to add him back into the commercials.
Not sure if anybody read it, but Bobcat is confident (through his sources) that Mo is going to remain in pinstripes and that his holding out is partly due to the “edginess” of his character, much like Posada.
Jennifer,
I completely agree. The Yankees need to draw a line.
This money game is getting old. Guys are blatantly taking advantage of the Yankees’s deep pockets.
I love Rivera and everything he has done for NY, but he needs to realize that the offer he is getting is heads above what he is going to be offered elsewhere and having him until age 41 isn’t exactly the most enticing benefit.
Mo should talk to Alex about how quickly business interests in New York can suffer when you opt out. j/k.
“Dudes .. it was just a joke. To sign (not sing sorry) Lowell anyways to play 1B then trade him would never get done.”
i’m sorry for prompting the follow up pile on.
i was 99% sure it was a joke. had to make sure though.
Take this with a grain of salt, but on one of the Baltimore radio stations, not sure which one they are saying that the Yankees are making a push at Bedard. I live in the Baltimore area and my buddy just called to tell me….stay tuned.
that is the dumbest thing i have ever read.
PIGS DO FLY when it comes to covering yankees i guess
I think Hank’s comments on the negotiations were uncalled for, but Mo should get over it. He’ll be well-paid, be in a better position to win with the Yankees than with the Dodgers, finish as a career-Yankee, and, hopefully, he hasn’t forgotten us- the fans. I would hope that he, in some way, loves us the way we love him because he doesn’t seem to me like your typical self-centered professional athlete, but I guess I could be wrong about that.
Mo’s too proud and self-aware to continue pitching when he knows he’s no longer able to help the team. If he signs 4/53 and at the end of the 2010 season, if he feels that he was ineffective that year and not helping the Yankees, he’ll retire.
Jake, Mariano Rivera is not the Yankee with whom they should be drawing the line. Not for nothing, they “drew the line” with A-Rod and look what happened.
I’m more concerned about the Yankee front office losing all semblance of the class and dignity it used to have than whether Rivera comes back.
What do you mean dumbest?
I would take Bedard in a heartbeat, and I wouldn’t put it past Angelos to let Bedard go…
Its cool hmmm … sometimes the pile-on can be amusing too.
I think the Yanks are talking to Lowell now just to raise the price for there friends in Boston. Before they knew that Arod was coming back they probably figured they would rather have Lowell then have to trade 2 good prospects for someone else. But I dont think now that Arod is back they want him for 1st. I would much rather wait for Teixiera next year and jump all over him. He will definitely become a free agent because Bor-ASS is his agent and will not let him sign during the year and the Braves dont have enough money for him. Yanks are just doing there job helping Lowell so Boston gives him 4 years.
Not saying I believe it, but that’s what they are saying about Bedard.
so – do the yankees sign rivera to four years?
Is Mo (38 yrs old) asking for 4 because of posada (36 yrs old) and wagner (who was 34 when he signed a 4 yr contract) or because Mo really is angry with Hank the mouth Steinbrenner and the way he commented how old Rivera was?
I wouldn’t give Rivera 3 years, much less 4.
sunny: It’s Mo saying “you guys wouldn’t sign me then, so you’re gonna have to pay up now”
giambi will get the minimum a yr from now or retire he is a mess…
maraino at 3 yrs $45 mill is very very generous.. Mariano is being a mega pig..
$15 mill for a relief pitcher who is 38 yrs old!!!!!!!!Wagner who is not mariano got $11 mill a yr at 34 yrs old……If Mariano wants 4 yr $60 mill I hope he gets it somewhere else, I would be shocked if someone paid him that….
I can’t believe everyone is falling for the “ARod goes behind Boras’ back” story. Boras orchestrated this whole thing. He saw there wasn’t much interest at the GM meetings last week, and knew this was the only way ARod could return to the Yanks. And he still gets the last laugh because ARod will now be making more money per year than his last contract.
Call me ungrateful, but it’s times like this when 1997, 2001 and 2004 come to mind.
That’s one sure ring (2001) and two more potential rings blown.
According to Jeff from the Baltimore Sun:
Why the heck should the Yankees give Rivera 4 years when no other team (at least thus far) is even giving him 3 years? Not too long ago he wanted to only pitch for 2 more years now it’s 4? Odd!
I’m tired of the Yankees over paying for players. Why would should the best franchise in sports have to over pay for players to come. It’s not like we’re the KC Royals or the Rays such a bad franchise we have to over spend to get players to play here.
3years 45 million take it or leave it Rivera.
stuart, once you called everyone on this board who disagrees with you moron, idiots, and gays, whatever else you might say means nothing.
Yeah – but would you do that deal – 4 yrs for a 38 yr old reliever named Mariano Rivera?
sunny, where do you live in MD?
nope
I’m going to start a bandwagon. The “people who think Wilson Betemit should play 1B”.
Or how about “the people who think that Shelley Duncan could be our Richie Sexson”.
What do the Yankees do with these guys?!
Tell Mo that the offer will expire by tomorrow. Pull the offer and have him take a paycut when he comes back. Im tired of all these winers. He is being offered more than any closer in the game. Even though last year was subpar compared to his previous 3. Its a privalage to where the stripes. If he doesnt like it go where the winers go. L.A. and say hi to Mr.Sleepy for us.
Mo is one of the most decent guys in the GAme.
No reason to refer to him that way!
MIGAMES – you left out “retards”….
Italiano – Fredneck.
How about Rolen at first. Less wear and tear playing first, has a good glove and can be had for less prospects and will cost less than Lowell.
LOL, I live in Eldersburg.
Now that this is over can some of you please stop typing bor-ASS, it really isnt that clever
Migames I never said gay. but for you moron is appropriate….
sunny,
I think that is the idea, yes.
Rivera sees Posada and Wagner signing these deals (even though they are younger…duh) and expects the same.
3 at 15 per is ridiculous as it is. Adding a fourth year is fine as long as it doesn’t exceed 45 million.
I wonder if Mo feels disrespected… The one thing that really irked me was when Cash said “we dont negotiate with players in season” and then a month later was trying to talk to A-Rod.
Ken Rosenthal has also said, in the past days:
He said that arod’s deal was not gonna happen as late as yesterday:
“The Yankees can avoid Boras only if Rodriguez fires the agent and chooses either to represent himself or pick another representative.”
He also said that Arod had another dear in place:
“The deal is done. Or darn near close to it.
I don’t know the team. I don’t know the terms. But I know this much: There is no way Alex Rodriguez would have opted out of his contract with the Yankees unless he and his agent, Scott Boras, knew they had a bigger score coming.”
“Migames I never said gay. but for you moron is appropriate….”
We need a referee!
“There is no way Alex Rodriguez would have opted out of his contract with the Yankees unless he and his agent, Scott Boras, knew they had a bigger score coming.â€
unless Boras has King Kong size n*tz
hmmmmm – you are a tool!
If Mo was on Boston there offer would be 1 year with an option or 2 at the most. They would never give him 3 years and definitely not 4. I think players see that Boston does have a limit and dont go over it, I am sure Lowell will take the 3 years from them if he really wants to be there. Mo is just trying to milk out whatever he can from the Yanks because he knows that he will most likely get it because players know they dont have a limit. Yanks need to start having one.
hope you’re not commuting into DC from there!
Ken Rosenthal is a bigger jackass than Tim McCarver. Complete hack sucking up all the wire feeds via AP and ESPN. Nothing original in his brain, which he rented from the Scarecrow.
nah, I work at Ft. Meade.
stuart
November 15th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
Migames I never said gay. but for you moron is appropriate….
Yesterday Stewie said:
How many of you losers just want to date afraud!!!!!!!!!!
————————
Unless we are all women that post here or we are, in a word, gay, as you described us.
Go home son
lucky dog… I commute to Northern VA.
SoS… in our dreams
“lucky dog… I commute to Northern VA.”
Ouch…
Italian: I’m surprised you can get to the blog from Meade. Over at Ft. Detrick, it is blocked.
Now that Arod is back and Mo looks good, the team obviously needs to focus on pitching. I doubt there’s enough to ‘out prospect’ the LA teams, especially after Cabrera goes to one of them. What would it take to get Haren? Maybe Melky and Horne? Maybe you’d have to add Sanchez?
Mo is a done deal? I didn’t read that anywhere yet… Did he sign on the dotted line?
Mo should sign already. 3 yrs $39 million, then Yankees up the contract to 3 yrs $45 million and he still hasn’t signed. What is he waiting for?! The Yankees should withdraw their offer.
The Yanks 3 year, $15M/yr., $45M offer to Mo is more than fair. If he doesn’t accept it, someone has to close and it can’t be Joba Chamberlain. I’d offer Francisco Cordero, a younger, better closer than Rivera, 3 years @ $11M/yr. ($250K > Billy Wagner’s 2007 salary making him the highest paid reliever in M.L.B.) = $33M and I bet he takes it in a heartbeat considering $11M for 2008 is more than double his 2007 salary of $5.425M. If the Yanks signed him, all Mo would have is Milwaukee (Cordero’s old team), Houston (who traded their closer Lidge to Philly), and Atlanta (if they don’t re-sign Wickman). I seriously doubt any of these three teams would offer Mo anything close to $15M/yr. or $45M total -they may not even offer him 3 years and if they don’t what’s he gonna do?
Boston has Paplebon. Toronto has Ryan. Tampa Bay has Reyes and can’t afford Mo anyway. Baltimore has Ray, needs to keep Bedard, and has to get a closer far cheaper than Mo to hold it down until Ray returns thus can’t afford Mo. Cleveland has Borowski and needs to keep Sabathia thus can’t afford Mo. Detroit has Jones. Kansas City has Soria and can’t afford Mo. The Chi-Sox have Jenks and need offense thus can’t afford Mo. Minnesota has Nathan and needs offense thus can’t afford Mo. The Angels have K-Rod and need another big bat besides Vlad thus can’t afford Mo. Oakland has Street and can’t afford Mo. Seattle has Putz. Texas has Benoit/ Wilson and needs offense and starting pitching thus can’t afford Mo. The Mets have Wagner. Philly has Lidge. Florida has Gregg and can’t afford Mo anyway. D.C. has Chad Cordero and can’t afford him anyway. The Dodgers have Saito.
Arizona has Valverde. Colorado has Fuentes. San Francisco has Hennessey and needs at least 3 hitters. San Diego has Hoffman if they haven’t re-signed him. St.Louis has Isringhausen. Cincinatti has Weathers. Chicago has Dempster/ Howry. Pittsburgh has Capps.
If Mo wants to close meaningless games for lousy Houston, close for Milwaukee and battle the Cubs, Cardinals, etc., or close for Atlanta and battle with the Mets and Phillies, fine. He won’t be the closer for Boston, Toronto, Detroit,
Cleveland, Chicago, Minnesota, the Angels, Oakland, or Seattle, so who cares where he goes in the A.L. outside of them or in the N.L?
Mo is not as image-conscience as Alex, so he won’t give a spit about what he’ll look like after walking away from a $45/3yr deal.
I’d sign Kerry Wood and Ron Mahay.
didn’t mo say he’d pitch for the dodgers?
OK this is bent.
A day before free agents were free, someone posted that the Yanks should cave in and give A-Rod what he wanted. Others were posting this-and-that trade. Others wanted the team to sign Mike Lowell. I said I’d Lowell to play 3B because NY wouldn’t lose young players in a trade. I also said the only way A-Rod could be accepted back is to take the Yanks offer, multiply the annual salary out to whatever length they could agree on, then subtract the Texas money. I also said this would never happen, so they should sign Lowell to take his place. I’d never have expected that a few days later taht’s what’d essentially be happening.
Earlier in this thread, maybe a little more than half an hour ago, I was joking about still signing Lowell to play 1B then trading him for what amounts to a handful of laughable trades. Lowell would never switch to 1B to play for NY, especially with A-Rod coming back, so I thought it would be a neat joke about both sticking it to the Sox and some of the far-flung trade scenarios we read about here. OK I was bored.
I did not see this article until a couple minutes ago:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=3111752
As great as Mo has been, I don’t think he is worth 4 years.
If this is his position.
sunny,
Yes. And Torre said anyone would be crazy not to take him. Other guys would be honored to give way to him or something like that.
so is mo going to sign a 3 yr deal or wait out a 4 yr one? If he does that, I’d lean towards letting him go to the dodgers.
Sign Kerry Wood, Mahay, and/or trade for Fuentes.
Rivera said he would play for the Dodgers.
“hmmmmm – you are a tool!”
at least i don’t think Andy Phillips is a good player.
are any of our minor leaguers ready for the full time role? Cox, Melancon, or any others?
Another thing:
The Yanks rewarded Mo for his 1995-2000 with a then-record 4 year $39.95M contract after 2000 then gave him a 3-year extension after Boston made him their bitch (which he has been since the 2004 A.L.C.S.) and offered him the most lucrative three-year contract for a reliever in M.L.B. history including a record annual salary for a reliever (3 years, $15M/yr., $45M) after that. He made $10.5M this season, only $250K
sunny, from what I understand, we have arms that could be ready as early as June, but I think it would be a stretch, Joba aside, to expect any of the younger arms to step in immediately.
Hilarious. This post is fodder for a college professor. I think it’s time to get back to your vacation Pete.
I know it is a mute point since Jorge is back. But I wonder if anyone wanting the Rockies catcher actually looked at his ba and splits.
well crap… wonder what Beane wants for Street.
Got cut off there. Basically, the Yanks have given Mo top dollar and respect three times (2001-05 contract, 2005-08 extension, 2008-11 record extension incl. record yearly salary for a reliever). They are not showing disrespect towards him at all. Hank’s a blunt guy, so what? It worked with A-Rod. Mo is fourth and last on the totem pole as important guys to bring back like this: A-Rod/ Posada/ Pettitte/ Rivera.
If a record 3 year, $15M/yr., $45M contract incl. a record annual salary for a reliever when you’re not what you were
through 2006 isn’t enough, go pitch for Torre if the Dodgers want to replace Saito with you. Enjoy entering the Hall Of Fame as a Yankee but without your number retired or a Mariano Rivera Day since you wanted to leave the Yankees an mercenary ingrate. Or enjoy waiting to have your number retired and day for 10-15 years after you retire and trust me, you’ll care.
Read my post from 2:16 … just a few minutes ago:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=3111752
Mo will return, if not we can use the draft picks.
Too often we see that young arms come up and while they show some promise, can’t deliver up to the hype created about them.
Wouldn’t it make some sense to underplay their value and skills? This would not hurt trade deals, as they are scouted anyway, but it wouldn’t create unhealthy expectations of young arms.
Migames I meant it like a joke because you guys are in awe of the great arod and his stats…
If I wanted to say you were gay I would use the word gay.. You guys look at everything like fantasy sports and look at #’s alone.. Hey maybe afraud can go only 30 AB’s before his next postseason RBI!!!!!!!
Migames do I think you are clueless and throw millions of dollars around like it is a game? Yup I am guilty as charged….
Now we have the Mariano disrespected nonsense.. Yeah Mariano has been disrespected about $90 million dolaars worth in his career and they Yankees are giving him if he will take it at a minimum $4 million a year in severance/guilt overpayment….
at least for posada we could rationalize it because the catchers around stink and the yanks have no internal short term solutions but Mariano has lost his mind… Maddog says mariano should go to the cubs for $4 yr 60 mill.. That would be a great contract, getting $15 mill at 41 and 42 yrs old… Mariano has been very very good since 1996!!!!!!!!!!
Is someone offers Mo 4 years, let him walk. It pains me to say that, but I also don’t believe that anyone will do it.
Jennifer, no disrespect intended, but it isn’t mute it MOOT.
Its just one of those things that drive me crazy.
And is anyone else the least bit annoyed that the media is running to Joe T to see what he thinks about the Yankees moves. Um Joe is no longer the manager therefore his opion no longer matters, nor do I care what he thinks. When we start the season 20-4 are they going to run to him to see what he thinks of the Yankees hot start?
Sorry
thanks for the English lesson 
Torrealba agrees to terms with the Mets. Where will poor Lo Duca go?
Please stuart, explain to me what arod has done?
He switched positions
he realized he made a mistake, came back to the yankees, on the yankees term and signed the same deal he was offered minus the Texas money. That 21 million he could have made and he forgoes that.
What did Arod do? Did he spit at you? did he injury you? make you lose your job?
Honestly, what has arod ever done to you personally for you to hate him so much?
Ranting Guy, that’s old news and not what we were laughing about- it was the idea of signing him in order to trade him, which couldn’t be done until May anyway, and certainly wouldn’t bring back any one of the pitchers you mentioned in a terribly failed joke. Not to continue the “pile on” or anything, but your “joke” was just ridiculous, not funny. Hey let’s trade Melky and Karstens for K-Rod- aren’t I hilarious?
Migames,
A lot of people don’t like A-rod (including me) because he rubs them the wrong way. Nothing rational about it, but that’s it. He’s just not a popular guy.
But as long as he wears the pinstripes (and hits a lot of homeruns
), I’ll cheer for him.
Torre will be gone to because he is so friendly with the media.
He is going to miss the NYY limelight, this is going to be his only real chance to face the reporters.
I really don’t care if they do it, but agree with your point, Jennifer, that he is no longer a Yankee, for better or worse, so it really doesn’t matter what he says…
Other than when he said Mo was using him like a shill. That was priceless.
Migames, What do you expect from a homophobe? That Stuart, who subjects us to ranting and raging on this blog, thinks that inferring someone’s homosexuality is a “joke” means that he lacks the intellegence to understand many other matters. Ignore him, he isn’t worth the effort.
mel,
thanks for the honestly. Its just sounds like when people were sayin during the ‘04 election that they would rather have a beer with bush than with kerry.
Crap like that, just doesnt make sense. I want the president to run the country. I want my 3rd baseman to be good. Thats it.
Jennifer –
It’s expected that the media will ask him; what I think is that he should keep his own counsel at this point by simply saying that he’s no longer involved with the Yankees.
I also think it will stop at some point. Hopefully soon.
Yankee Hot Stove on Yes tonight. 6.30 p.m.to 7.30.p.m.
repeat 10 to 11 p.m.
The only reason I can think of is the most obvious one – both Posada and Mariano have played their entire careers under Torre and the fact that Mo even said “hey I could always go back to Joe and the Dodgers”… so the media is going to follow that bread crumb trail. Also, Torre will be opined for the Arod move for two reasons – the dodgers had mild interst in getting him and Torre was “the guy” who batted arod 8th. It’s a story and we’re going to hear it.
Think of it like the press seeking previous presidents or government officials to critique the current government/administration. It’s always gonna happen.
I believe the reason why Torre was asked was that last night he was at a media event for Four Seasons of Hope so ie was there and available for the media to ask. Once he is in LA I am sure they wont be going to him about the Yankees and I am sure he will be too busy with the Dodgers to care about the Yankees and the goings on there.
If Joe was not at this event last night they would not have “gone to him”
I love MO and want him on this team with every fiber of my being, and I badly want Joba in the rotation. But 4 years is unrealistically insane. It bothers me a bit if it’s true that he is saying he wants what Posada got. First of all Jorge is younger, second their offer to Mo is more per year than Jorge got, third how can you really compare a closer (even the greatest of all time) to a catcher? Jorge’s job is way more demanding, and then of course there’s the issue of being able to move Jorge to DH or 1b.
All that aside however, please sign, Mo. It would take me at least until the All-Star break to even stomach bringing myself to watch someone else close out Yankee games. Although like some of you have said I’d be willing to give him the 4th year if it were less money per yr. It seems to me that it would be in his better interest to take the 3/$45 though, because I agree that he would retire by the 4th year if he can’t pitch effectively anymore.
I am not thrilled with Mo’s hardassery in these negotiations but I do understand where he is coming from. I have always considered Mo to be the godfather of the Yankee dynasty and the godfather of relief pitching in general. Much like other notable godfathers in history, he is just old fashioned about respect. He is pissed about the way they treated him in ST and what Hank said, but probably more so about the way Joe was treated. I think he will get over it however, realize his legacy is here and sign on the dotted line.
I also think it’s important to remember that alot of what the media is saying about him right now could be smoke and mirrors. Just yesterday I read in the Times that he wanted more money and today it’s more years. Clearly there is a lot of speculation here so I am keeping that in mind before indicting Mo’s character or his negotiation tactics.
Migames
I’ve asked that question alot when people have gone on rants and the best I can tell there is no reason. The only ones I’ve gotten any reason from say he disrespected Jeter 6 years ago. The shortstop war is over. Jeter won. They are both on the same team now and people could actually cheer for both of them now.
I can just imagine Torre, in the middle of a playoff game, being asked some question about the Yankees, while they totally ignore that his team is in the playoffs.
This of course is three from now, at the end of his current contract.
Oh, one more thing, I read where some were saying that if we signed Lowell we could trade Matsui. I’m not sure we need to sign Lowell to do that. Now that Alex is back, doesn’t that make Mats’ bat more expendable, couldn’t we possibly just trade him anyway and let Betemit/Duncan share 1b and Big G/Duncan share DH?
Maybe they should have offered Mo a 2 year deal at first. Then he would ask for 3 years.
And I doubt Torre would do this blatantly – because he is a classy guy – but I’m certain during the course of next season, the media is going to look for inroads and innuendos into Torre’s opinion or critique of how Girardi is doing. looking forward to that… let me tell you.
not.
Think of it like the press seeking previous presidents or government officials to critique the current government/administration. It’s always gonna happen. But unless its Clinton or Jimmy Carter the past Presidents will say “no comment”.
Just spoke to Cashman–A-Rod and Mo are back!!!
And Lowell is coming!
Migames,
Believe it or not, I think the fans will give Alex the benefit of the doubt the second time around. You really don’t know what you’re missing until it’s gone. The prospect of losing 50HR/150RBI was a wakeup call. I surprised myself yesterday because I felt relief when I saw the news breaking. Amazing, because I was relieved when he opted out and wanted to see what the Yankees sans Alex was going to be like.
If Alex can stop being so phony, I’ll start to cheer for Alex the person, not Alex the Yankee.
Sigh. You can only trade Matsui with HIS blessing on it. He has a FULL NTC. Not gonna happen, in other words.
BBB
sure but how do you trade a guy with a no-trade clause?
Matsui for Broxton?
Apoint – funny how you and I keep posting the same opinions – you just do it faster…
“The only ones I’ve gotten any reason from say he disrespected Jeter 6 years ago.”
It is a pet peeve of mine also when people use this as an excuse/reason to dislike A-Rod. I find it to be a rather implausible excuse. Jeter is far too pimp to care about something that happened 6 years ago, he has bigger and better fish to fry than to worry about a beef that is older than Farnsworth’s latest illegitimate child! (uh oh, can I say that here?
)
Why won’t Mo take a player option on a fourth year, like Andy Pettitte’s agreement? He has always said in the past that he would only pitch as long as he felt he was effective. How can he know that 4 years down the road he will be? I guess another questions would be, what if he can no longer be an effective closer, but can still work in relief pretty well?
But it sure looks like the Yankees are throwing money around the last couple of days, as well as years (10 for Alex, 4 for Jorge), and Mo is well aware of his importance to this team, historically and going forward, I guess I can’t blame him for a little selfishness.
But here’s the other question — what if he really doesn’t want to come back to the Yankees, but wants it to be their decision? I don’t know. Because if the Yankees tell him to shop around, I don’t think he’ll come back here. I think he’ll take less somewhere else.
Nice work Pete. Well done….very well done.
:$:
I think Matsui would agree to a trade if he felt it behooved him. If it were a team where he could play LF every day, why not?
I’m not guaranteeing he’d agree, but I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility at all.
I really do hate all these NTC’s though!
Doreen,
But don’t you think that $45M/3yrs is throwing around money?
Doreen – Mo’s already told Cuza (his agent) to shop around.
BBB
I don’t know if you can, but you did!!!
Mel, I don’t think Alex is a phony, I think he just tries too hard with saying the right things, like Jeter seems to, yet it just doesn’t ever seem to come out quite right.
Think about the statements he made over this past year. Loving NY, enjoying the fellow team mates, not being able to imagine being anything other than a Yankee.
When this gets finalized, which I expect will happen pretty soon, then is he a phony? Did he tell lies about wanting to remain a Yankee if he came back around Boras to work something out with the Steinbrenners, and by a decent number of reports, for a lot less money than he could have gotten by waiting till late December?
See, the problem is, all his comments could have very well been true. We took them as such during the season. Then when he opted out we thought he was phony. Yet, now, when he has stated again that he wants to remain a Yankee (not saying what the circumstances are just stating what he said), he is still viewed as a phony.
I guess the guy just can’t win when no matter which way it goes he gets these labels.
I don’t mean that in a way to slam you, I’m just putting it out there as my take on things.
The only way that the Lowell signing would make sense with New York, (assuming ARod is in the fold), would be to use him for his strength – third base. That leaves: moving ARod to SS and Jeter to 1B or CF:; or moving ARod to 1B.
Not likely to happen, but, in the Twilight Zone of the Bronx, nothing is impossible!
what has arod done wrong..
1.opted out during game 4 of the world series(fact) do not tell me his agent did it.. Arod is a grown man and knows what is going down
2.refused to meet with the owners and GM of his employer. Should meet, he did not need to agree to anything and of course could opt out anytime over 10 days..
3. had his agent/surrogate talk trash about mariano to try to show arod is not a unclutch…
4. did not call back any of his teammates after he opted out.
5. refuses to go on tv or give any interview to explain his position. he can simply say I want and need to make a great living like everyone else and therefore I did blah blah blah.
6. said for the whole yr. how much he liked NY and the Yanks but still did the 5 things above.
I actually often stick up for him but the evidence of whom arod is is just so overwhelming it is nuts.
one last point the red sux player(whom like most ballplayers are not exactly rocket scientists) hate arod(are they jealous) they do not hate other players such as Jeter…Arod rubs people wrong because he is so phony, plastic, calculating etc.. The guy is the supposed best player in the game but he really only believes that when it comes to his compensation..
there is some facts, some details why arod is a BAD dude and a cancer on his team..
Great minds and all that?
Mel -
In a word, yes. I think the Yankees made a more than fair offer to Mariano. Especially considering how I’ve been under the impression that he’d previously been looking for 2 years. But the reality is, it looks like 4 or no mo’ Mo.
Sunny -
Yes, I heard that Mo’s already told his agent to shop him around. But I was speaking from the other end of it. If the Yankees don’t improve their offer, I think he will take less from someone else. I think there is a very good chance that the Yankees will no longer have the premier closer in MLB. I’m a little stunned, frankly. But, then again, perhaps Mo felt a little taken for granted – I mean everywhere you read that Mo wasn’t going to go anywhere; it was assumed he’d go back to the Yankees.
Mo wants 4 years?
Mo is one of my all-time favorites, but: Bring on Joba!
Now a little more realistically, if Lowell were to actually be signed to play 1B (and NOT be traded) maybe then some of the guys in the current 1B logjam could be used in a trade for something more useful. What trade would it be? I really have no idea. Pitching probably.
Hard to know if that article on Lowell & NY (I swear I was joking earlier in the day) actually considering a 1B move for him is practical talk, or just something made up in the media by Lowell’s side in the negotiations with Boston, or just some over zealous newspaper guy’s imagination.
There should be better 1B options available to us this year or next though.
Mo wants Jorge’s contract. Mo is going off the deep end. Jorge has a place when he is finished catching. Mo would become the highest paid coach in mlb history.
Doreen,
And I don’t think that anyone will think that Mo was shoved out the door with that offer.
Sorry. I’m peeved at Mo, not you. I think I need help, because I’m starting to think like Hankenstein.
Lowell is one of the best defensive 3b in baseball. Moving him to 1B weakens his defensive worth. Offensively, he does not project well as a first baseman.
newsflash mike and the maddog says give mariano a 4th yr… they give out the yankee money like candy.
screw mariano go to the phillies enjoy 4 yrs in philly..
he is offended, yeah my last salary offended me also, so what..
3 yrs $45 mill is really offensive..
philly can have gordon and mariano together they are 77 yrs old…..
I wonder is Boras ever called Arod with a chunky, brick motorola and uttered the phrase ” This is your wake-up call, pal. Go to work.”.
A-point,
I think you said it better than I did. What I was trying to say is that Alex is always trying to be perfect, say the right thing. Just be yourself. He tries so hard to act cool when he is, as he oftens says, a big goofball.
I don’t care about what he said during the year. In fact, it looks like he was really speaking from the heart.
Doreen
I’m not sure how Mo could have felt taken. It’s not like Mo played for the Yankees at a consistently discounted rate ($5 mil per) or something ludicrous (like Wolf did with the Dodgers – apples and oranges … I know). I mean, Mo is and has been very well compensated for his talent. I honestly don’t know why Mo thinks he needs a 4 year deal ?? Is it the “respect” thing? How does years equate to respect? Money – I’ve heard that argument before and I can understand to a degree, but at 38 yrs old, I think it’s a little wierd he’d be pushing for years instead of dollars.
not sure Lowell would be a good fit for us. i think he would be avg. fielder at best on forst. and offence would be marginally better than our other options.
That being said, not sure avg field and decent bat = the money and length of time it would take
1.opted out during game 4 of the world series(fact) do not tell me his agent did it.. Arod is a grown man and knows what is going down
-Realized he made a HUGE mistake, came back to the yankees and basically asked for a 21M dollar forgivness
2.refused to meet with the owners and GM of his employer. Should meet, he did not need to agree to anything and of course could opt out anytime over 10 days..
-Made initial contact with the yankees. Sought out the yankees to express to them he wanted to come back
3. had his agent/surrogate talk trash about mariano to try to show arod is not a unclutch…
-the yankees told him that his superagent, the best agent in the sport, was not allowed to come to the table. Arod agreed.
4. did not call back any of his teammates after he opted out.
-don mattingly never returned my fan mail in 87, i dont hold it against him
5. refuses to go on tv or give any interview to explain his position. he can simply say I want and need to make a great living like everyone else and therefore I did blah blah blah.
-what about pettitte, why didnt he go on tv to explain his position?
6. said for the whole yr. how much he liked NY and the Yanks but still did the 5 things above.
-and still came back to the yankees
one last point the red sux player(whom like most ballplayers are not exactly rocket scientists) hate arod(are they jealous) they do not hate other players such as Jeter…
-this is how you view the red soxs players. Im sure they could care less about arod.
If Mo is ok with the spliting up the $45mil that is already on the table over 4 years that’s fine. But if he’s looking for more than $45mil then I think it’s time to part ways.
The sad part is that Hank made all of us cringe when he opened his mouth the other day. He actually made Mo out to be an ingrate if he didnt take the offer. Mo’s a proud man and he’s decided to come at Hank with a hard cutter. It could be strike 3, you’re out.
The Sox are just sitting back waiting. If the Yankees bite, so be it. If Lowell comes back, good. They’ll just sit on their hands and wait. They’ll likely lose him to some team (Philly), but they won’t shed a tear. They’re pretty smart about letting older players walk.
Lowell at first doesn’t sound like a terrible idea and here’s why. Lowell will be 34 years old on opening day next year. There aren’t very many third basemen who are in their mid-thirties. Third base is the ultimate reaction position, the position where you almost need to have the reflexes of a cat. The older you get, the more that your reaction time begins to decline. Lowell’s reaction time at third would definitely be on the downswing in the final two years of a four-year contract. Changing positions is one concession that players have to make to Father Time.
Stuart,
How do you know that A-Rod didn’t call anyone back? From a few accounts where a player said they didn’t hear back, while not saying how long it was that they called. Also, he called Steinbrenner a few days after he opted out to talk to them. That was from Hank himself.
Contrary to your belief, not all things get reported, and those things that get reported are not spin free.
How do YOU know that A-Rod agreed to the timing of the announcement? Obviously he agreed to opting out, but the announcement was a Boras action designed for maximum effect. Its what he “does”.
Not talking to the prior to opting out… Boras always becomes the point man in negotiations. Yet, now, we see A-Rod is excluding him as that person and is working this deal himself. So, maybe it had A-Rod’s blessings, but the MO fits with how Boras always insists on working.
For not talking during that time… come on get real or get off the drugs or something. Had he appeared anywhere right after that opt out announcement he would have been drawn and quartered. Being that is what you are insisting on doing anyway, I guess that is what you would have wanted.
Take all the statements he made through the year and add them to his current action of going to the Steinbrenners and asking them through an intermediary if things could be worked out, and you have
honesty.
You are the one who can’t believe what others are saying. That usually happens when people aren’t the most forthcoming themselves.
As long as we’ve got a little bit of a movie feel injected into this blog post –
I’ve got ESPN on in the background right now and they are talking about how this move by Alex affects Boras, how other agnets could use it as leverage against Scott to pick up some of clients, etc.
Back when Alex first opted out and people were talking about how the best thing he could do was to leave Boras and come back to NY (obviously it didn’t happen exactly that way, but you know what I mean), I kept imagining a real-life “Jerry Maguire” moment because of that suggested scenario. If Bob Sugar wasn’t modeled after Scott Boras, he should have been. Anyway, I kept thinking about how Sugar’s clients saw the genuine friendship between Jerry and Rod Tidwell and asked how come they weren’t like that. Then Sugar tries to hug whoever it was and it looked so stupid and awkward, for good reason.
Alex obviously has a very human element to his personality, in the way that he is sensitive (overly, at times) and values what people think of him. Regardless of whether Alex signs the contract with NY or the extent to which Boras is involved, I think it’s fair to say that ARod had a “kicking Bob Sugar to the curb” moment, even if it is simply a figurative and superficial one.
“don mattingly never returned my fan mail in 87, i dont hold it against him”
Dude, that Donnie baseball guy is a JERK!
He is an ingrate if he doesn’t take the offer. Mo has been the highest paid reliever for years now and he has an offer on the table that 4+ mil more than any other closer in the game is making. On top of all that he’s 38 years old! Does he really think any team will give him 4 years?
With all that being said, let’s see what happens with Mo before we label him anything.
Sunny, Mel –
Just listening to the news on the radio, it sounded like people are – what’s more than surprised — SHOCKED — that Mariano is asking for 4 years. It sounded like the “noise” is that the Yankees were offering a very, very good deal; that no one would offer him 3/45 on the open market. However, it was also pointed out that so many teams are flush with money right now, they just might want to give Mariano that kind of a contract. So, believe me, I’m not thinking here that Mo should feel disrespected. I think he’s always had the utmost respect from the ownership, management, his teammates and the fans.
One of the things that was said was that he was truly insulted by Hank’s reference to Mariano’s age. Now, I think Hank should take a moment before he speaks, but he rarely says anything that isn’t inherently true. But they gave Roger Clemens $28 million at age 40-what? So, it’s not such a cut-and-dried issue for me. (Which is my problem – I tend to see too many sides of the equation.) I think it’s not just what Hank might have said; I think it’s not extending him in the spring, it’s Bernie, it’s the way Joe’s departure was (mis)handled. Which is why I’m thinking Mariano is not sure he wants to stay with this team anymore. It’s going to cost the Yankees the 4th year to re-purchase Mariano’s good faith.
Again, I realize the money is insane. But it’s not about the money. (I know, it’s ALWAYS about the money.
)
what would you guys have preferred, the stone cold silence from A-Rod during his negotiations, or Mariano’s constant bitching for the last month?
sometimes silence is golden.
and i love how we all know who A-Rod did or didn’t speak to on the phone over the last 3 weeks.
we have officially crossed the line into insanity.
I would think that Rivera would want a 2 year deal or maybe 3 and then retire on top when he is 40 years old. Instead of being 42 years old and really hittable with a 4 era and pitching the 7th or 8th inning. I know money talks, but dont you go to the hall and on top instead of allowing everyone to see you declining.
Does anyone know if Hank Blalock is going to be a FA or no and if so wasnt he a first baseman at one point. Wouldn’t mind him playing for us.
NAPLES, Fla. — Baseball revenue climbed to $6.075 billion this year, and commissioner Bud Selig envisions an even rosier financial future.
-those poor owners, how dare those player ask for money!
A point,mel, migames, stuart,
The one thing that we can all agree on is with Alex, you either hate him(phony,says the wrong things, money whore,choker) or you love em(mvp,best ever,hard worker). I am one who likes him as a player but thinks he is a phony as a person. He always seems to be calculating his actions in public. Almost robotic. But again he will probalby go down as the best player in history and a yankee at that. I just wish it wasnt for 10 years. I hope that he plays and acts like he did this year. No huffing and puffing at the plate when the pressure is on and less comments to the media worked out well this year.
Now if we can only pry Haren or Peavy for away we’ll be in good shape. PITCHING WINS.
Everyone is giving Mo the heave ho. Watch he comes back and is just as dominate as hes always been.
Miller,
What’s the skinny on the trade front? I know you got some.
“It’s going to cost the Yankees the 4th year to re-purchase Mariano’s good faith.”
by definition, isn’t this BS?
if your good faith can be bought, what does it mean then?
it’s about the money and it’s about Mo’s ego.
which i have no problem with, he should do whatever he can to get whatever he can. but can we, as a fanbase, drop the whole Saint Mariano routine??
he’s an incredible pitcher, and probably a pretty good guy, but when it comes down to it, he’s just like everyone else in sports.
nothing wrong with that. but hopefully it opened some eyes.
No Lowell, please don’t give THeo Epstein our first two draft picks.
hmmm,
We know everything here. We know who Alex talks to or doesn’t talk to, we know the exact location of his private plane at any given time, we know of mega-deals DAYS before they break. All in the day of a LoHud blogger.
Miller -
I’m not giving him the heave ho; I want the Yankees to fold, give him the 4 and move on with life (even if it makes no sense, financial or otherwise to do so). I’m just not sure Mariano will be back.
One of the things that makes Mariano such a killer closer is his ability to move on; forget the past and start anew. He is mild-mannered, and a gentleman, but he should never be underestimated.
“No Lowell, please don’t give THeo Epstein our first two draft picks.”
just to clarify: the Red Sox would get the Yankees’ first round pick and a pick in the “supplemental” round, the round between the first and second rounds. that pick does not come from the yankees.
Wait. I really don’t get this part.
Mariano might not desire to be a Yankee anymore, and yet that all goes away if he gets a fourth year added on to the deal? If he doesn’t want to stay, then wouldn’t he just say no, not enough? Why would you want to leave a team, and yet if you get an offer to stay a year LONGER then all is fine and dandy?
What am I missing here?
like I said before, I hope mo stays, but only for 3 years. the money thing, I have no problem with – it’s the years for a 38 yr old reliever.
Has Boston even offered Lowell arbitration? Secondly, it wouldn’t be the Yanks first 2 picks, it would be the Yanks 1st round pick. Boston would get an additional supplemental round pick. However, Boston has to offer Lowell arbitration first.
This seems like a whole plot by A.Rod Inc. to disrupt Pete’s vacation
Doreen,
I’m the opposite on Mo. I’m sure that he wants to be a Yankee and I wouldn’t change the offer on the table by one cent or a single day.
He’s got so many reasons to stay. $45M dollars, home, kids in schools, businesses, hero worship, good friends on the team, a chance to be a Yankee lifer.
If his pride’s going to get in the way of all that, then maybe he’s not that smart after all.
Hmmm -
It may be BS, but it is what is going on isn’t it? Mariano is telling the Yankees, if you want me it’s going to cost you another year (and probably a few more dollars, as well). He’s the one who, by saying he was insulted by the age reference by Hank, that the Yankees have to make reparations. It’s really difficult within the parameters of the blog to be clearly understood sometimes. I’m not saying Mariano is a saint. But at least in the interviews I’ve seen of him over the years, he is no-nonsense, and he doesn’t usually play games.
BBB (if you’re still in here)…I love your new name. I’m jealous I didn’t come up with it first.
Sunny615, agree with that. The money per year is one thing, but he is getting up in years for a pitcher especially. Maybe he can be like Clemens and keep coming back and dealing, but he hasn’t shown that his pitching is being adjusted to add new ones in to counter his loss of speed.
If he wants 4 years, if he want to come back, give it as an option if certain mileposts are met. Or as a club option, but that doesn’t give him the power. So, player option provided he can strike out so many, or pitch so many innings in the third year, and have an ERA at 3 or lower. Whatever.
If he doesn’t go for that kind of deal, then maybe Doreen is right about his desire not being there to remain with the Yankees.
The taxman cometh for Mr. Jeter
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,311830,00.html
J-Dawg:
Lowell would not be a good option at first Base. For 4 years/$55 Million, his offensive output would not justify the lofty salary. Plenty of guys have been productive third basemen well into their thirties. Schmidt, Ripken, Brooks Robinson and even Nettles had good defensive seasons between their 34-38 years.
Mo can likely pitch when he’s 41, but I highly doubt if he can maintain the dominance of his vintage years, so paying him $15 Mil per year beyond even two more years is a stretch. I believe that 3 years/$15 Mil was an “olive branch” offered to Mo and the Yankees FO sign of respect.
Hank needs to keep his mouth shut right now as Mo mulls over any offers his agent may receive. I really can’t see any other team offering 4 years @ even $13 Mil per year for someone his age. I mean, how many Teams have a desperate need for a closer AND enough cash to afford to pay Mo for 4 years?
hmmm,
Yes,we know who alex is talking and what he’s doing every minute of the day. We have THE ONE that post here. Thats right Miller a.k.a. Boras.
THE BEST YANKEE BLOG ON EARTH.
Thanks again Miller
Torrealba signs for 3 yrs. 15 million w/ the Mets, LaDuca must be pissed
Doreen, he is sure playing games now though.
If someone was going to pay me 15 million a year to throw a ball, he can paint my rear, slap it and call me stupid for all I care, I’m the one with the fatter bank account.
He is getting old for a pitcher. Look at all the comments on signing a guy 34 to a 4 year deal being way too long, yet at the end of that deal he would be Mariano’s age RIGHT now!
Like it or not, Hank wasn’t out of line for saying his age is catching up to Mariano. It is. Its life.
He should light a candle, say his prayers and thank God he’s been a Yankee.
Mets are gonna get all the headlines now and they deserve it when you sign someone named Yorvit.
“Lowell at first doesn’t sound like a terrible idea and here’s why.”
So…basically, your rationale is that Lowell is getting old and might lose a step at 3B, so he’d be a good fit at 1B. But he’s actually a good defensive 3B right now. And he had a CAREER YEAR with the bat. Don’t be fooled. He’s more like his career numbers. He’s a middling hitter. Why spend a big chunk of change for a slick defensive 3B with a middling bat only to put him at first?
That’d be incredibly stupid.
As for the ARod situation, he takes great care of himself and will probably be able to play 1B adequately in the twilight of his contract. So I think it’s reasonable to think he won’t be a DH until the last two or three years of his potential deal.
As for Jeter…I think he’s going to have to change positions in the not too distant future. Certainly by the time he’s up to be re-signed. If he’s truly this team guy everyone thinks he is, then he’ll have to realize when he’s no longer able to play SS adequately. His bat isn’t 1B caliber, really. With his knees barking and his range decreasing every year already…maybe he doesn’t get re-signed at all. I dunno.
LathamJoe- I just thought about Lowell because of the Yankees’ need for an extra righty in the lineup. It may be a moot point anyway. Reports are saying that Lowell doesn’t want to play first base. You’re right, there probably are better options out there.
Are the NYY over-reacting or are they simply paying the price now for years of poor scouting an player development.
The recent moves although apparently popular, trouble me:
1. Signing Posada to 4 yrs, should have been only (3). Why does NY commit $$$ to a catcher who will be 40+ plus at contract end. I agree there’re no viable internal options in the ST, but externally there are adequate options, esp. defensively.
2. Will disagree if the Yankees cave and sign MO to 4 yrs. Why do we want a closer > 40 getting paid 15m+? I love MO, but his value will plummet in 2 years when he is getting rocked and can’t close. 3 years is the max, stick to it!
3. Resigning Arod for 10 years (original 3+7). Why are we ransoming the payroll for someone who will be 42 when his contract is out? Arod’s leverage is down, he has come back to NY crawling as other potential suitors can’t meet his price point (300m), knowing only the Yankees can come close. The Yankees would be wise to give him at most 175m for 6 years, + incentives for Reg and PS MVP awards. Committing to anyone for 10 yrs is ludicrous, not only you have risk of career threatening injury but also what kind of production are the Yankees expecting at 38 yrs plus??
4. I don’t buy this rumour, but if true, why would NY sign Lowell to play 1B? Last I looked he was a gold glove 3B, age 34, who came off a career year hitting wise in a RH hitter band box. Good FA option as a 3B,, but looks as though the Yankees don’t need one anymore. Forget Lowell, do you really think the RSOX are going to be fooled into signing him because the Yankees have ‘alleged interest in him for 1B’ Theo can’t be that stupid. And hopefully C-man hasn’t lost his sense of direction.
Other than that,, I love all the Yankee moves…
Torrealba should be pissed, he is not getting respect. Only 3 years and at such chump change.
Are any of the local raio stations talking about the Yankees having upped their offer to Mariano or is 3/$45 the highest they will go?
Hank usually does speak the truth but he’s going to have to learn that he is dealing with 2 legged athletes with egos now and not 4 legged ones that you whip to get them to perform better.
Any interest in these two guys to fill out the bullpen?
Yasuhiko Yabuta, RHP, Chiba Lotte Marines
Height: 6′0″ Weight: 187 Bats: Right Throws: Right Age: 34
Yabuta spent most of his career as a pedestrian starting pitcher for the Marines, occasionally bordering on awful. But then in 2004 the club switched him to relief, and a star was born. Over the last four seasons Yabuta has distinguished himself as a terrific late-inning pitcher with the ability to strike out a batter an inning while also working multiple innings per appearance. His fastball tops out in the mid-90s, but generally sits in the lower 90s. The out pitch that has made Yabuta successful is his excellent forkball, which is almost always located nicely. In the WBC, he became one of Sadaharu Oh’s most trusted relief options, and delivered 4 1/3 innings of two-hit, one-run baseball, striking out five and walking none.
Masahide Kobayashi, RHP, Chiba Lotte Marines
Height: 6′0″ Weight: 196 Bats: Right Throws: Right Age: 33
Kobayashi is the closer for Lotte and the final piece to “YFKâ€, which stands for Yabuta, Fujita, and Kobayashi. You’ll notice that I’ve skipped over Soichi Fujita, another WBC member, despite his free-agent status. Yabuta and Kobayashi are simply in a different league from their relief corps teammate. Kobayashi has been a dominating closer for the better part of seven and a half seasons, thanks in large part to a 98 mph fastball and powerful inside-out slider. In some respects, I like Yabuta’s game a bit more, but the power profile of Kobayashi and the proven track record as a closer puts him in an excellent position to cash in with a desperate US team looking to plug in an established veteran presence at the end of close games.
When does Jeter make the switch? 3 years seems too long. He seemed to lose a step this year, granted he was injured. Watching the shortstop from Seattle (bettencourt) this year really made me realize how much ground he doesnt cover. He’s my favorite but im not blind.
whozat- I just threw that out there as an idea, I’m not saying that I wanted it to happen.
A-Rod is getting paid for the HR chase as well within that contract. That is the reason for the length. Do you want to see him possibly coming up real close the he goes elsewhere to hit the big go ahead record HR?
The Giants had to have gotten pretty fat with the games Bonds was still in the chase for.
I’m really curious…ASIDE FROM THE MONEY…is there any reason why Posada couldn’t be a back-up in the last year of his contract? Everyone is complaining that he got 4 years, but the Yankees needed to give him 4 in order to make sure they got him, but is there any reason why in that 4th year he can’t serve as the back up catcher?
Jeter was the second worst fielding SS this year and has been in the bottom tier most of his career. I can’t see him lasting even 2 more years there unless the Yankees are willing to deal with another Bernie-like situation in the field.
Andrea,
That’s an excellent point. I never even thought of that. Everyone is under the impression that Jorge will just fall off the cliff when he goes down. He could be a backup like Girardi was.
I’d be interested hearing MLB scouts report on either japanese reliever. We’ve seen success from Japanese relievers more frequently than starters. I’d shoot for one of them on a 2 year deal.
unless another superstar SS comes along (Hanley Ramirez or Jose Reyes type of player) Jeter won’t volunteer. Not unless his legs fall off and his throwing arm shrivels. Alberto Gonzalez is good, but he won’t displace a Jeter for another couple of years. Outside of Gonzo, there really aren’t that many challenges from within our system and if the Yanks trade for/sign a SS, it better be Hanley or Reyes for Jeter to relinquish that spot. If Jeter didn’t do it for Arod – who, at the time, was the best SS in the game, you can bet your monkey’s uncle he’s not going to do it for Gonzo.
What would really win over Yankee fans. Is if A RICH broke the record in 8 years and decided to retire leaving the last 2 years on the table. How would that be for a movie.
mel: That was the situation with Girardi, right? I wasn’t imagining that? I thought I was making it up the way everyone is all “aging catcher noooooo!”
Oliver Stone is to movies (Doors, Alexander) what Alex Rodriguez is to October.
No reason PO couldn’t serve as back-up catcher, the issue is do you devote $13m+ of your payroll to a back-up catcher.
My opinion only,, no way.
The Yankees are not the Giants. They don’t need a gimmick like the HR farce chase that Bonds got on, to sell seats.
The Yankees don’t need Arod’s HR chase to sell seats, If the reason you sign a guy to 10 years is for the expected bump in revenues an all time HR chase will give you,, where are the facts the incremental difference will be anything but negligible to the Yankees coffers?
Andrea,
And to hear the story, someone (Torre?) had to tell Steinbrenner, who wanted to ship Girardi’s bleep out, to keep him in 1998.
Hanley Ramirez was the worst fielding SS in baseball. He’s a butcher.
A backup catcher rarely plays and is usually a defense first type position. It’d be pretty insane to think Posada would be used in that role.
O.K., can we all agree that in an ideal world, you don’t pay big money to aging stars? But these are the Beatles of MLB.
Posada, himself, is like the Fonz. Ayyyy.
And really, this is the last hurrah. Wait, where’ve I heard that before?
“When does Jeter make the switch?”
I dunno. And where does he switch to? I don’t know. His arm is strong and he’s good on balls in the air. He could probably play a corner OF position, but would his bat play there? 1B, but would his bat play there?
Unless there’s a good option to replace him at SS, it’s kind of moot. Fans here laud the Sox for making tough calls on vets (letting Nixon go, for instance), but will probably scream if the Yanks don’t re-sign Jeter when his deal is up…even though they’d have nowhere for him to play. Bottom line, the Yanks have built a stable of good young pitching now, they need to look to make prospect-for-prospect deals that allow them to get middle infield and catching prospects.
B,
I’m sure that wouldn’t be his primary role. He’d be the DH/1B/backup catcher. We’re really hedging against the possiblity of having the likes of Josh Phelps being your emergency catcher.
ESPNEWS is dedicating their poll question to A-Rod, asking “are the Yankees making the right move by bringing back A-Rod?” At least they are finally talking about something besides the latest O.J. Simpson case.
Andrea- That’s a really good question that you asked about Jorge. I just wonder if he would have too much pride to be a backup later on. Sometimes established players don’t want to be backups toward the end of their careers. Maybe Jorge is different, though. I don’t know.
Any responses to: Are any of the local radio stations talking about the Yankees having upped their offer to Mariano or is 3/$45 the highest they will go?
UGH!! I can’t believe it regarding Mo. I love him so much as a Yankee…he’s one of my all-time favorites…but DANG! Four years?? Three years was almost a gift. Four? That hurts.
I see Chamberlain becoming our closer….
I counter w/ Josh Wilson !!
Dude guys, I’ve finally figured out why Pete’s job kicks so much a$$:
Free wireless in the airport.
michael kay: this deal is not done yet
mel: see, you get my point.
And I hate this “you don’t pay X million for a back up” crap. It’s already been done, they already agreed to pay it. Might as well find a useful role for Posada. Wouldn’t he be better as a back up catcher than an occasional 1B or DH? I don’t really see Posada as an everyday 1B, or an everyday DH.
“If Jeter didn’t do it for Arod”
He’ll be 5 years older than he was then by that point, though. If he won’t move, then someone needs to stand up to him and tell him to move…if they have somewhere for him to go. Or, deal with it and then don’t re-sign him.
“A backup catcher rarely plays and is usually a defense first type position. It’d be pretty insane to think Posada would be used in that role.”
If you’ve got a young kid that’s stepping into a lead role and your backup can still hit, and he’s a tolerable 1B/DH, then who cares if the backup is “traditionally” a terrible hitter that’s strong behind the plate?
Jorge will be a 1B/DH/backup C in the last two years of his deal. That’s fine with me.
No, not Chamberlain as a closer
joba will not close – he’s a potential number 1 starter. If the Yankees need one, Cash will go find one – or try some prospects during ST to see how far along they are.
Question? 10 years from now , no titles, Arod retires with all the records, does he get his plaque?
J-Dawg: I see Jorge being able to admit when he’s tired, though. And that’s when he’d need to be a backup.
Michael Kay: Reports are that Boras is negotiating the contract, and because of this, the deal might breakdown.
It isn’t the PR gimmick, but it does bring in new fans. It did for the Giants, it will for A-Rod merchandise and Yankee merchandise.
It is also about the HR record currently with a taint on it in view of many fans, seeing that record fall would be a draw for a lot of people, and it would bring back the HR champion to the Bronx. Marketing will have a field day with that. Babe and A-Rod. Spanning the generations. HR king then and now.
To remain a power house club you always need new fans to replace the bandwagon types and those who die off. Just a fact of life.
“He’d be the DH/1B/backup catcher.”
That’s nice and all, but his bat is going to decline quickly unless he’s a freak like Carlton Fisk. He’ll be a below average DH/1B and a terrible defensive backup catcher. He’ll be the new Giambi by the end of the deal.
Oh, Lord. Forget “The Bronx Burns”. This is now “As the Bronx Turns”.
Ugh!
“Wouldn’t he be better as a back up catcher than an occasional 1B or DH?”
He’d play a lot less. I don’t see that as an advantage, if his bat is still decent. I’d like to see him catch 40-60 games, depending on the quality of the other catcher, play 1B as much as he can, and DH the rest of the time.
B,
That’s true. But him and Jeter are true Yankees.
Why is it that Kay is reporting totally different information. Everything else i’ve heard is it is very close. I think Kay is hedging his bet. He wants to be the one who is right.
And what is going on with Jorge’s contract? Did he pass the physical? Is is signed?
Michael Kay says that he thinks it will get done. But he is very cautious saying that the deal can breakdown and he keeps pointing at the boras factor.
“That’s nice and all, but his bat is going to decline quickly unless he’s a freak like Carlton Fisk.”
That’s what we said this year:-)
Yes, he’ll decline. But, his plate discipline will likely keep him productive than most aging catchers. Also…the reason the bats decline is the wear and tear from catching. So, having him catch less could help his bat hold up.
If they have better bats to play, they’ll play them. Joe T and his Bernie-love are gone.
Buster thinks the Monday after Thanksgiving.
kay reminds me of that guy in the commercial, “I’ll have the ‘99 Bordeaux,” to that girl at the lemonade stand. The one where he asks his dentist for a wider chair. You know the one where he interrupts the play with “I’d like to see a comedy now.”
Michael Kay is a dramatic alarmist.
It’s reported that the negotiations are down to merchandising money for the homerun chase. Considering that amount could be anywhere from $0 to a zillion dollars, would they really let that become a sticking point?
Also just heard that Goldman Sachs was the intermediary in the A-Rod conversation. Seems only appropriate that they would be the ones to get a millionaire and a billionaire in the same room talking. Randy Levine is also getting creditted for getting the 2 sides together.
This deal isnt going to break down. No other team is going to give ARod $270mil. Michael Kay loves being the boy who cries wolf.
Buster: They are at the 3 yard line. people who he has talked to think its a done deal. But its not done yet.
back, track, wall see ya, can he get some originality?
Bryant, if that is the case than that is chump change. That will not hold up the deal from being complete. I’d say it will be done Before Thanksgiving.
Marc: the Saffron Risotto guy! we love him.
what ever happened to mel allen? kay, waldman and sterling should go on broadway.
buster seems to know much more than Kay on all of this…
“Question? 10 years from now , no titles, Arod retires with all the records, does he get his plaque?”
is Mattingly’s number retired?
Buster just confirmed what Bryant said. Re: merchandising.
l crack up when he says saffron rissoto.
Its going to be exciting to see how Girardi does this year with practically the same team. My bet is we do better than 11-19. Who wants to lose their money?
I love the Saffron Risotto guy!
The mystery has been solved
http://www.nydailynews.com/spo.....ml?ref=rss
hmmmmm….you are correct sir but arod is a different breed.
donnie was POPULAR. Loved.
gayle, the new york times had that info…god bless goldman sachs
saffron risotto looks just like kay.
oneill rips kay a new one every chance he gets.
Was anyone around the night of a Baltimore game when I think I was a little out of my mind and started talking about Saffron Markakis?
the hold up, marketing package. Someone should call George Lucas
Alex Rodriguez is going to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. He’s going to make everyone forget Barry Bonds’ home run record. He’s going to win his third MVP award in a few days. That’s great, Alex. Now do me one more favor … don’t come anywhere near my team.
Apparently, I’m not alone in my thinking. Last time I checked the Page 2 poll results, 61 percent of you agreed with me. And here’s why: While he may put up ri-friggin’-diculous numbers, he’s much easier to boo than to cheer and will deliver countless awards that keep your team relevant but won’t deliver what you want — a World Series.
Alex Rodriguez
Kathy Willens/AP Photo
Here’s A-Rod hitting another big home run — in April, of course. Congrats, Alex.
A-Rod defenders will recite career numbers and averages to you. Yes, they’re great. We never said they weren’t. But when are they great?
In 2007, A-Rod carried the Yankees in the early months with a record-setting offensive explosion … but in the ALDS he could manage only four hits in four games. A-Rod did manage to hit one homer … a solo shot in the bottom of the seventh inning while down 6-2 in an elimination game.
In 2006, A-Rod put up a 35-HR, 121-RBI, .290 performance … but in the ALDS against the Tigers, his .071 average so crippled the Yankees that manager Joe Torre dropped him to eighth in the lineup in Game 4 (he went hitless and the Yanks were eliminated).
In 2005, A-Rod won his second MVP award … but in the ALDS against the Angels he hit .133 with two hits and no RBIs. The Angels eliminated the Yankees in five games.
In the 2004 ALCS, A-Rod did hit .258 with five RBIs … but in Games 4 to 7 had only two RBIs and two hits. One of the defining moments of that series was when he slapped the ball out of Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo’s hand in Game 6, helping to kill a potential Yankee rally in a game they would lose 4-2.
You will get All-Star appearances (he already has 11 of them), Silver Slugger awards (nine of them) and home run titles (five so far). But you won’t get to the World Series. And in the end, isn’t that late October parade what you really want?
MORE ON A-ROD
• Jim Caple: If you don’t want A-Rod, you’re nuts
• Poll: Why does America hate
A-Rod?
• Keith Law: Top 50 free agents
No debate over A-Rod would be complete without discussing his contract. If you’re going to argue the reality of his gaudy numbers, you need to discuss the reality of how much it will cost your team. Conservative estimates have A-Rod getting a $300 million deal (10 years at $30 million per).
Let’s not all become forensic accountants and attempt to break down how ticket sales, marketing, etc., will help pay A-Rod’s salary. The reality is that only two or three teams operate without a budget. So unless you’re from Boston or New York there are plenty of things you won’t get if you sign A-Rod. You’re not getting that free-agent pitcher you need in two years. You’re not re-signing the home-grown right fielder who is eligible for arbitration. Need a couple of relievers? Sorry, too much payroll locked up with A-Rod. If none of this convinces you about the cost of A-Rod, consider that the Yankees — the billion-dollar Yankees — let this guy walk over money.
It’s not just the long-term financial implications — the reality is that his contract will forever be a story. Three years in? It will still be discussed with every spring training opening and every early October exit. You’ll get the writer who fires up the calculator on his laptop and tells you how much money A-Rod got for each one of those many homers he hit. And if he hits 50 home runs, there will be cries that he should have hit 60. Ask Alex about his treatment in New York: Two MVP awards in four seasons and he still couldn’t win over the fans.
Then there’s the issue of chemistry. Many people will tell you it’s all bull and that it doesn’t matter. If you have talent, chemistry will come. Really? How did talent work out for the Yankees this season? Or the Dodgers? The Mets seemed pretty talented, too. Sure, everyone seems to get along when you’re winning. But if you’re a clubhouse divided, winning can be more difficult — and don’t look to A-Rod to eliminate that issue.
THE A-ROD FILES
A look at how A-Rod’s teams have fared each since season his first full year in 1996, with overall team payroll ranking in parentheses:
1996 Mariners: 86-76, 2nd (8th)
1997 Mariners: 90-72, 1st (15th)
1998 Mariners: 76-85, 3rd (7th)
1999 Mariners: 79-83, 3rd (18th)
2000 Mariners: 91-71, 2nd, WC (15th)
2001 Rangers: 73-89, 4th (7th)
2002 Rangers: 72-90, 4th (3rd)
2003 Rangers: 71-91, 4th (5th)
2004 Yankees: 101-61, 1st (1st)
2005 Yankees: 95-67, 1st (1st)
2006 Yankees: 97-65, 1st (1st)
2007 Yankees: 94-68, 2nd, WC (1st)
Payroll figures from USA Today
We’ve all seen the interviews and the postgame comments delivered with the sincerity of a robot. We’ve also experienced the times when A-Rod needed a teammate to back him up and the silence was deafening. He comes across as an awkward CEO trapped in the body of a Hall of Famer. And while other teams may win with guys who are flaky or arrogant, there’s still something there that allows them to connect with their teammates. Is A-Rod capable of that? No. And for $30 million of your team’s payroll, you need a clubhouse leader.
Finally, there’s the issue of being a fan. It sounds crazy, but people want their team to win a certain way. They don’t want to win with cheaters. They don’t want to win if the opposing team was without its staff ace or team MVP. That just wouldn’t feel as good. And you certainly don’t want to be accused of buying a title. If your team brings A-Rod on board, let the unfriendly dollar sign e-mails begin. You don’t want any part of a situation in which your friends can toss in the dreaded conversational asterisk while you bask in your championship glory.
I asked Phillies fans Justin Isabell and Brian Waldron if they would want A-Rod for the chance to put their team over the hump. Remember, these guys are from Philadelphia, which is Iroquois for “city where the sports teams shred your soul.”
“I wouldn’t want A-Rod on my team, because it’s just that — a team,” said Isabell. “As nice as his glove and offensive production would be at the hot corner in Philadelphia, the most fun teams to watch and cheer for are true teams, not one player.”
Waldron added, “If they signed A-Rod I would be totally pissed. That means there’s no way they’re getting any pitching. Besides, there’s no way I can root for that guy.”
Since Alex reached the majors in 1994, the Braves, Yankees, Marlins, Diamondbacks, Angels, Red Sox, White Sox and Cardinals have managed to win the World Series without him. The Indians, Padres, Mets, Giants, Astros, Tigers and Rockies have reached the World Series without him.
The Mariners, Rangers and Yankees — the three teams he’s played for — have never reached the World Series with him on their roster.
Which list do you want your team on?
Mike Philbrick is an editor for Page 2. You can reach him at michael.w.philbrick@espn3.com
He says it a lot better then I ever can…..
leiter asked him if he ever threw a ball
Mike Lowell isn’t coming to the Yankees to play first base. If he doesn’t re-sign with Boston, its either going to be Philadelphia or Anaheim.
Mo will sign with the Yankees.
Carry on.
Goldman Sachs work for YES, in a nice way he’s working w/ NYY, but in a mean but beautiful way Boras is getting fired
no doubt stuart arod ’s signing will signify a new era in yankee history. hopefully it will be a great one.
Francisco Cordero
Francisco Cordero
Francisco Cordero
Francisco Cordero
Francisco Cordero
Younger and better than Mo. ‘Made $5.425M this year. ‘Would probably jump at the chance to get 3 years @ $11M/yr. = $33M, $12M double Cordero’s salary and $250K > Billy Wagner’s salary this year.
Mo doesn’t like that his age was brought up? Too bad. It’s true -he is 38 thus old- and he’s neither A-Rod nor Posada.
He’s not even Pettitte. Hank tells it like it is and puts his actions where his mouth is. See his stance on A-Rod. What’d that get the Yanks? I hope Hank says something like this:
“Fifteen million dollars a year for three years, a record annual salary and contract for a reliever, is a respectful and more than fair offer, and our final one. If Mariano Rivera doesn’t think so, it’s his right as a free agent to look for and get a better deal elsewhere and we wish him the best wherever he goes.”
B.t.w. if Mo thinks he’s worth 4 years, then why did he accept only 2 years and a vested option for 2007 after 2004 when he was 3 years younger than he is now? Why didn’t he ask for 7 years after 2004 in the first place? ‘Guess he didn’t think he was worth 4 to 7 years then. What an ingrate mercenary bitch. I’ve lost all respect for him and I hope the Yanks never retire his number, give him his own day, or let him throw a first pitch. He’s a disgrace and showed his true colors. Go pitch for Torre.
“It’s about respect”? Here’s the respect the Yanks showed you (taken from Cot’s Baseball Contracts -anyone has his 1999 salary? it’s not listed):
Mariano Rivera p
2 years/$21M (2005-06), plus $10.5M 2007 club option
* 05:$10.5M, 06:$10.5M, 07:$10.5M club option
o 2007 guaranteed with 60 GF in 06 OR 114 g 05-06 (vested 2006)
* 4 years/$39.99M (2001-04)
o $8M signing bonus (paid over 4 years, 2001-04)
o 01:$7.15M, 02:$7.45M, 03:$8.5M, 04:$8.89M
o no-trade clause 2001-02; out clause after 2002
o avoided arbitration 2/01 ($10.25M-$9M)
* 1 year/$7.25M (2000), lost arbitration ($9.25M-$7.25M)
* 1 year/$0.75M (1998)
o renewed 3/98
* 1 year/$0.55M (1997)
* 1 year/$131,125 (1996)
* 1 year/$0.19M (1995)
* signed 2/90 as amateur free agent from Panama, $3,000 signing bonus
* agent: Fernando Cuza
* ML service: 11.105
SJ44,
I remember a few weeks ago you tried to tell me Beinfest had been demoted by becoming President of the Marlins, and that was an indication that he was not a good GM and was not responisble for the Marlins 2006 success. Got anything to say now?
“Loria promoted general manager Larry Beinfest to president of baseball operations, with assistant general manager Michael Hill moving up to the titular role of GM. Beinfest and Hill will retain the same basic duties, with the new titles merely an attempt to head off potential inquiries about future positions elsewhere.”
alex is one smart man, and people were calling him dumb. Who does he reach out to? Goldman Sachs. The same goldman sachs that owns 1/3 of the YES network.
one more thing
“A-Rod did manage to hit one homer … a solo shot in the bottom of the seventh inning while down 6-2 in an elimination game.”
if the yankees would have won that game 7-6, wouldnt that homerun be extremly important?
A run in the 1st inning as in the 6th is AS important as run in the 9th inning. Always has, always will.
I’m here and all my alien friends are coming with me! Oh and we’re taking A-Rod too. Have fun on your vacation Pete!
BTW, the back story of all this from Arod’s end is fascinating.
What people don’t realize is, Arod is VERY popular in Miami and in South Florida. He has given millions of dollars to the Boys and Girls Club, his HS, his HS coach’s new school in Broward County, the University of Miami, and to various other charities in the area.
The way people feel about him down here is so different than NY its almost as if its two seperate people we talk about on a daily basis.
Because of that, people who really like Arod went to him in an effort to “see the light” in terms of how he was being represented in these talks. They are the one’s who bypassed Boras. They are the one’s who didn’t allow themselves to be seperated from Arod during this process, as is customary with Boras. They forced themselves into the fray, and that’s not how these folks conduct themselves. That’s how important it was for them to talk to Arod and his wife about this situation.
Folks in Miami were really disturbed about how bad a PR hit he took with everything that went down. Additionally, there are people in Arod’s life whom have no dog in the fight.
They don’t want or need money from him, fame, tickets or any of that junk. They just like the guy and want to see him happy.
Its those folks who got the ball rolling. Not so much with the Steinbrenner’s as much as explaining to Arod and his wife the importance of HOW you do business, not just doing business.
That, coupled with the GS involvement (which is ongoing in this) are what got the parties together and made this deal a reality.
mo is upset, i can’t believe it, very un-Mo-like tactic.
mad at hank for giving his age? cmon mo. just say you want 4years like po and they’ll offer an option year. then what will you say?
Jeter is in trouble, something to do with him not paying his taxes.
JETER?! Not paying taxes?! PHONY Jet-fraud….oh wait, I dont care about Jeter not paying his taxes.
I didn’t say he Beinfest was demoted. I said he was no longer the GM. His current position involves overseeing the entire baseball operation and Michael Hill assumed the GM duties.
By baseball rules, you can’t keep someone from getting a promotion for another job. In other words, if an Assistant GM is up for a GM job, a team can’t say, “He performs GM duties with my team so he can’t take the job”.
The concept is to not keep executives from being promoted to better deals.
If Michael Hill wasn’t the GM of the Marlins, and stayed in his previous position, he could go after GM jobs.
Now, he can’t. As far as Beinfest is concerned, his duties have shifted to overseeing the entire baseball operation. He no longer has GM duties. If he did, it would be against the rules.
i really hope that we as yankee fans don’t regret this arod signing. i can picture 10 years from now, the curse of the arod continues. i was relieved when he declined the option but also relieved when he came back on his knees. 2nd guessers that we all are i feel like we are selling our souls with this guy.
mike and the maddog are making their xmas plans, is this a slow day?
Whoops, 2007 was a club option. So a record 4 years $39.99M for 2001-05 followed by $21M guaranteed 2005-06 then another $10.5M this year, only $250K
SJ44,
You told me some saw it as a demotion, yet Beinfest is still mentioned in every article as being the guy negotiating trades and acting as the GM. Just admit you were wrong and move on, little guy.
“Younger and better than Mo.”
Wow, that’s not true. There’s a reason he lost his closing job in Texas. Also, he wants Wagner’s deal, 4/40. And he’ll get it somewhere.
buyers remorse already?
mixed feelings
Welcome back Alex…now you will win a championship.
I do believe Arod is a good teammate,just ask around a dugout,this is a business.If he is honest hes welcome at the bronx.
As for Mariano,he deserves the 4 years for 50.0 million,he was and still is a big part of our Yankee tradition of classy(and winners)people.
Honesty does not seem to be his greatest asset.
You may hate ARod and his plastic personality, but he’s a right hand hitter, hits Homers and produces many, many runs……I’d sell my soul for a player like that on my Team!
SJ, that is really interesting background on the Arod situation. Thank you.
One question, how the heck do you know these things?
So the guy sitting next to me is on the phone talking ALL Yankees. If it wasn’t so completley awkward and whatnot, I would totally be like “Dude, do you read Pete Abe?”
…
Pitching is what wins championships. I can see us winning it with him having an off year if the youngsters come through.
Cordero is a joke. Take a look at his stats on the road last year, hahaha. Give me a break. It’s unreal how fast some of you turn on your own players. If Mo takes a deal elsewhere I’ll be the first to rip him. But until that happens everyone should just relax. Someone mentioned jeter being in trouble. Looks like the state of NY is looking for back taxes because Jeter plays in NY. They’re arguing double residency. He lives in FL, but because he has an apt in NY for during the season they want him to pay NY taxes too. Either way it’s not a big deal. Nobody is claiming he did aything wrong. They’re saying it was an oversight. He’ll either pay a mil in back taxes or he wont. I’m sure he can afford it.
“That’s nice and all, but his bat is going to decline quickly unless he’s a freak like Carlton Fisk. ”
i’ve been hearing this ” freak of nature” anomaly thing about fisk all week. carlton fisk was one of the first catchers to work out after games. he basically did squats and lunges and busted his butt keeping in shape. what he did ahead of his time made him look like an anomaly. most players work out now. posada most certainly does. pitchers do their dr. jobe exercises and catchers do their leg work. there is absolutely no reason posada can’t be productive at age 40. look at the number of over age 40 pitchers. it’s rising each year.
catching is no different. a major part of a catcher aging in the past was losing the ability to throw well. just like pitchers throwing well into their 40’s, with proper work ,catchers arms are in better shape too.
the old myths about catchers is dated information. part of being cutting edge in baseball is knowing how to get the most out of players as they age. knees do not simply get worn out. there are exercises to keep them healthy.
i don’t think fisk knew about them , but russian pistols are excellent for catcher’s knees and legs. they are not easy to do , but are far superior to free weights because they increase balance dramatically in addition to adding leg strength.
the bottom line is that posada may be healthy and productive the whole four years and may sign another contract after this one.
Rebecca,
If he doesn’t look like a biker dude or axe murderer, do it!! Double dare.
WFAN reporting Joe Girardi met with Mariano to see if he could nudge him.
HaHa!
Cross country tug-of-war between the two Joes!!
could it be that mo has this sick sense of humor, like when he says,”I’m only human” after he blows a save or the 04 alcs
he is just tweaking lil stein…don’t know if i would mess with that man.
“hmmmmm….you are correct sir but arod is a different breed.
donnie was POPULAR. Loved.”
i thought rings were the only thing that mattered. now i’m confused.
he’ll give him the 4th, maybe at an option
according to newsday, The guy from goldman sachs started talking to the stiens 7-10 days ago. Holy sh!t. talk about things not leaking out….7 to 10 days.
barry bonds has been indicted for tax evision and perjury.
hmmm…5 years from now with no rings and he won’t finish this contract with us, hope he has an opt-out.
actually perjury and obstuction of justice……Now Arod knows what the target is 762 Homeruns….
pat:
That would make sense since Girardi was in the DR today. Mo just has to tell them what he is thinking and I am sure they can work out a deal real quick.
Barry Bonds indicted on Federal Perjury Charges.
“i was relieved when he declined the option but also relieved when he came back on his knees. 2nd guessers that we all are i feel like we are selling our souls with this guy.”
this is fair. it has been a roller coaster.
mel–I did.
He’s a Sox fan.
Still having a very intelligent conversation.
Bonds will still play this year I believe, if he wants to. He might now go to trial for 3 years. Wasn’t he previously indicted on those charges anyway?
bonds in trouble could not happen to nicer guy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“hmmm…5 years from now with no rings and he won’t finish this contract with us, hope he has an opt-out.”
i hear you. but i’d be shocked if the yankees gave him another opt out. shocked.
It seems like the cover up is always worse than the crime.
….are you serious about Bonds?
This would make my life.
raymagnetic
Who’s gonna sign him?
The new Joe takes control of the situation.
“We want to sign Mariano,” the Yankees’ new manager said Thursday. “I already spoke with him on this trip and I think that there is a good chance that he will return to the team.”
Rivera also is in the Dominican conducting baseball clinics. The two met Wednesday night.
“One question, how the heck do you know these things?”
SJ44 is Brian Cashman. don’t you guys know this by now?
I don’t think Matsui would be traded. Not because of the NTC, but because he brings in more revenue than any player other than Jeter. All the Japanese market that we get would be totally lost to the Sox, Mariners, and whatever team we traded Matsui to. If we signed Kosuke Fukudome, possibly, but Matsui is one of a kind. With Ichiro and Dice-K, he is the most beloved active baseball player in Japan.
Bonds will still play this year I believe, if he wants to. He might now go to trial for 3 years. Wasn’t he previously indicted on those charges anyway?
Nope, this is new. He needs to turn himself in and get mugged shot.
Yeah, im sure a team will want to sign this guy…
Pat, I don’t know, but the man is still one of the best hitters in the game today and still a major draw like him or not. Someone will sign him.
Boy did Pete take a vacation at the wrong time. The stories are writing themselves this week.
“Someone will sign him.”
Much like Michael Vick came back to the Falcons?
Migames, Bonds isn’t the first sports player to get indicted and still play his sport. Until/Unless he’s proven guilty in a court of law someone will sign him up.
Migames, Michael Vick is in jail. Are you telling me that when he gets out no one will sign him? If that’s the case then you obviously have never paid attention to the NFL.
Does anyone know what our team yearly salary will be if they sign Mo and Alex to whats being rumored? Assuming Pettite retires.
In news from Beansville, the Socks are raising seats an average of 9% with the exception of the far away ones that fans need binoculars for anyway.
Well …….. somebody has to pay for John Henry’s sagging hedge funds. It might as well be the fans.
There is no opt out and, from what I hear, no incentives in Arod’s new deal.
It may very well be a backloaded deal with Arod and the Yankees in partnership on all the merchandising and marketing opportunities that will be available as he approaches milestones later in his career.
That part of the contract, because of the uniqueness of it, will have to be approved by the Commissioners Office. That make take a week-10 days but, that’s a guess on my part.
All contracts have to be approved by the Commissioners Office. However, with a contract this large, with so many different tentacles to it, expect it to take a little longer for approval than the usual contract.
From Miller, the man himself:
According to the Associated Press, Barry Bonds has been indicted on purgery and obstruction of justice charges
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/articl.....p;c_id=mlb
Bonds charged with perjury… this is the greatest day of my life!
I love statements like this! Why are you deriving so much pleasure from Bonds being indicted? Who did he kill in your family?
I dont want to read another Barry got charged with perjury crap. All I want to know is if there is an attorney on this site and will we finally be rid of his sorry a$$ for 08.
” One question, how the heck do you know these things?”
i think i know how sj44 knows these things. he lives in florida, knows baseball people because they may be his neighbors or go to the same bar or restaurant he does, goes to a ton of games on all levels from rookie league to the major league level, loves the game, puts in the time paying his dues, and he’s not stupid.
he probably doesn’t say all he knows at times because he’d be violating a trust he has with someone in the game.
i’m kind of annoyed with sj44 because i’m wating for the minor league report on the yankee players and coaches that he promised us last summer.
ray, where is this list of past federal indictmented sports or non sports stars that have gone on to excell?
Marion Jones?
Michael Vick?
Bernard Kerik?
Scooter Libby?
Yeah, all 4 of those are golden
What is this world coming to?!
I mean geez, if we start prosecuting everyone for lying about drug use (PEDS) and cheating on his taxes, we’ll have to lock-down entire cities.
Hell, they just pardoned a guy who severely damaged national security. And Giuliani may be involved in a perjury scandal, himself.
Migames does federal indictment matter or just an indictment period? I can run down a list of 1000’s that have been indicted/gone to federal/state prison and still came out on top. An indictment means nothing, and even after going to jail you can still come out on top.
could this sudden arod move have been precipitated by an impending mention of his hallowed name on the upcoming steroid list to be announced shortly?
russo just said hiney-ous instead of heinous, oh lord have mercy lol
well, it is my opinion, based on this federal indictment, he will never play again. He is old and has a court date coming up. And its not like he was charged by the county, but by the feds. Bonds is done
enough bond stuff, this is all yankee all the time
We can all sleep better tonight knowing Barry bonds is under Federal indictment for lying about Steroids.
If sentenced, can baseball remove his homerun record from the books?
I’d love to see the look on Hank’s face if during negotiations ARod says.. “and how ’bout an opt clause at around year 4?” lol
I guess he won’t be playing for us next year
i get the feeling arod’s name will appear on the new steroid list, better sign fast
Should the Giambino be worried about this indictment?
Sure can, they should however remove all the spit/scuff ballers of years past also while they’re at it.
Not to mention all the greeny takers as well.
Giambi admitted to steroid use so he didn’t perjure himself.
Bonds will do hard time. Federal perjury charges are real ju-ju. Barry will be doing laundry for a 350-lb. weight lifter who will call him Sugar Lips.
10 years is a long time…we better win some titles or at least get thru the alds…unless we have come to expect losing like the old sox…we must remove the curse
“Should the Giambino be worried about this indictment?”
giambi told the grandjury that he took steriods. That information was leaked. Giambi said sorry, for something.
Bonds told the same grand jury that he had never taken steriods.
Giambi is in the clear (no pun)
No, he told them he had never knowingly taken steriods, that is a big difference. Secondly, it took them 4 years to indict, unless Greg Anderson has decided to testify I can’t see what new information they found out that changes anything.
so what’s been happening lately, nice time for a vacation
moporobo
greg anderson is busy making license plates for the rest of us…
Randy,
Sorry about that. This is my busy time of year, business-wise.
Here’s what I can do. Once Pete gets back from vacation and the Winter Meetings, I will coordinate with him a time I can do system-wide report on the Yankees.
Its probably best to wait until after the Winter Meetings anyway in case they trade or add prospects.
If that works for you, I will look to get something out by Mid-December.
we are all on some list or another
randyl,,
agreed. IMO,, aside from SJ there are some others canvassing this blog that are well connected to the game and can let their ‘insider’ knowledge come across in a way that adds to the knowledge base while generating good debate- all without resorting to sticks and stones.
This is one hell of a yankee forum. I wonder what I did before I stumbled upon this 6+ months ago.
Ray,
He killed nobody in my family. I am a baseball fan. I am glad to see those who disgrace my favorite thing in the world be brought to justice.
I hope I answered your question and I am glad you love statements like the one I made.
“CBS4 Boston’s Dan Roche is reporting that the Yankees have offered Mike Lowell a four-year deal worth $56 million-$60 million.”
Please let that Lowell deal be false/misreported.
SJ44 – I really wish you had your own blog. I don’t guess you do, do you? I love reading your posts!!
randy l … there are plenty of yankee blogs that do fantastic jobs with yankee minor league affiliates and prospects.
river ave blues and pending pinstripes are fantastic.
marc,
could we verify your phone number and address….
Im just wondering…Is Arod our curse??? HOPE NOT
Anthony,
Regarding Matsui,, you raised a couple of points about merchandising etc.. but from a little first hand knowledge having lived in Tokyo 7 years of my adult life,, Ichiro is not so much beloved by Japanese fans, as he is well respected for his devotion to excellence. Ichiro is apparently about as outgoing as a pillow.
You talk about beloved,, then you are in fact talking Matsui and yes, Dice-K.
What is Mo’s problem though? Schilling didn’t get all pissy that the Sox waited until after the season to give him another deal. Posada didn’t really act up all that much either. Mo needs to stop acting like a little girl.
Raul, if ARod is our curse, what happened from 2001 through 2003? (Not that I believe in a curse to begin with.)
Barry Bonds will not be Convicted by SF Jury.
Raul- I wouldn’t necessarily say that A-Rod is a curse to the Yankees. The only curses for them in the playoffs lately have been inadequate performances from starting pitchers and a lack of timely hitting.
J-Dawg; agreed, amazing correlation don’t you think?
SJ44 – I think many, if not all, of us frequent posters here recognize what you bring to the blog. Whatever your sources may be, I’m sure we all would love that sort of discussion of the younger players, especially since there is a newfound emphasis on developing our own players, and going to the FA market for spot needs.
It’s a lot better than talking about Barry Bonds and his indictment.
I dont understand the Lowell 4yr offer. how can they offer that but tell Mo that he isnt worth 4 years. I know Lowell is younger but it still cant please Mo.
Anthony and J-dawg,
I agree about perfomances and hitting…I just want our beloved team to win again.The curse will vanish soon.
Mariano is really starting to piss me off. Little stein mentions his age – the primary reason why his contract shouldn’t be VERY long and all of a sudden, that is a horrible thing to say according to Mo. And now he deserves a fourth yr guaranteed because of it. Are you kidding me? OK so Mo was one of the best closers in baseball for a long, long time. The operative word being was. His best days are behind him. Not to mention, he has been more than fairly compensated. Posada deserves a four yr deal for three reasons – his best season of his career was last yr, their is absolutely no solid catchers coming into the free agent market for yrs and once he cant catch any more, he will still be a solid dh for us for a yr or two. Mo had an awful yr last yr, Joe Nathan and Krod are better, younger replacements who are both free agents next yr and Mo will be useless if he cant effectively close (we don’t need any more over-paid crap in our pen.) Oh and lets not forget the little fact that Mo is two yrs older than Posada cuz it seems like Mo didn’t remember that little diddy.
Ok, so according to Mo the yanks are just another team after torre left. The fans, the city, the history, the stadium and his teammates are irrelevant i guess. According to Mo, making 5 million more than the next highest payed player with his job just isnt good enough for him any more, even tho he is 38 and had one of the worst seasons of his career last yr. And Mo thinks some team is going to offer him 4 yrs and 60 million guaranteed for a 38 yr old closer. YEA RIGHT! The yanks are almost competing with themselves if they go any higher than 3 yrs at 45 – even that sounds outrageous. Just leave Mo with his tail in between his legs like we did with arod. He will either come crawling back and accept the 45 if its still there. Or he will sign with someone else, we can go after cordero this yr and sign K-Rod or Nathan next off season. That actually sounds like a cheaper, better idea to me anyway. K-rod is about 12 yrs younger and prolly wont even be asking for anything close to 60 million. There is greedy and there is lunacy and Mo has crossed the line.
Yankee prospects
for those of you that cant wait for SJ…. this is a pretty good blog with a listing of the top yankee prospects.
http://emedia.thetimes-tribune.....fault.aspx
mariano is a spoiled baby. 3 years 45 million not enough?? you want another year??? gimme a break.
Drac – The difference with Bonds is he lied to the grand jury about stuff. At least McGwire didn’t (at least as I understand it he didn’t) didn’t commit perjury when asked by the grand jury. Can Bonds hide behind ‘plausible denialbility’? I really don’t know. Glad I’m not him right now, although I do wish I had his bank account.
SJ44 is a condescending know-it-all. He is the most annoying one here. Wake up people.
lowell is 5 yrs younger then mo. pitching is the position with the highest probability of injury, and there is no chance in hell Lowell will be the Yanks 1B..
People pitchers get hurt all the time, DH’s don’t………
Stuart
Tell that to Giambi!
Dave, dont be surprised if KRod does get a mega-deal for a closer. i wouldnt be surprised to see 6yr/$85M (if he even gets away from the angels and has another solid season in 08).
this just in… teams are starting to spend money… alot of money. even the royals are spending more.
Yankees Hot Stove coming up on YES now. Let’s see if Bob Lorenz knows as much as we do.
‘SJ44 is a condescending know-it-all. He is the most annoying one here. Wake up people.’
THAT is total BS. SJ(also known as Yankee Chef on another board) is VERY connected to the Yanks and he does us ALL a favor by sharing info.
Go figure..
Apparently hell hath no fury like a Stuart scorned.
stuart, im not even sure why im wasting my time, but do you honestly think lowell would be more valuable to the Yankees as DH/1B for the next 3 years than Rivera would be in the bullpen? this just in, the one area where the yankees probably need the most help this offseason is in the pen. using your logic, or lack of, I guess you should never sign a pitcher because its just too risky. good luck with that.
Looks like a day for Baseball stars in some type of trouble.
Bonds Indicted.
Jeter cheating on his taxes.
What’s next?
ya know, both Rafael Palmeiro and Curt Schilling lied under oath to Congress, yet they weren’t pursued.
Palmeiro for saying he never used PEDs and 38-Donuts for retracting all his prior PED rantings and pulling a Sgt. Schulz, saying “I know nothing, nothing!”
I think we should take the Mo offer off the table and use the money in re-upping Pavano.
They also could have gone after McGwire for refusing to testify about other players (hindering an investigation/obstruction etc.). Though I admire him for not rating out his teammates.
Angel, the only fury in Stu’s life is the endless struggle that goes on inside his head in a futile attempt to come up with a logical thought. well, that and when he screams and cries about ARod, blaming him for all of his misery.
The head of the U.S. Dept. of Justice, whose agents are indicting Bonds, lied to Congress.
But i digress, sorry!
Someone needs to tell Mo that his D.O.B. was out there for the public to see before Hank mentioned it. I just hope his birth certificate wasnt made from the same place as El duque or Greg Oden.
Forget about the asterisk. Now I doubt that Bonds ball will even make it to Cooperstown.
Yes, the Bonds ball will still be shown in Cooperstown. Just like Rose’s bats are displayed. They are both part of baseball history, right or wrong. How you judge their place is up to you.
Arod
10 years
$275M
ESPN breaking news
SoS – still, some of us including myself have been questioning Hank’s need to criticize the players.
Does Mo need to toughen up and take it with a grain of salt? Yes
Is the Yanks offer more than fair? Yes
Is there a need or anything to be gained by Hank running his mouth and taking shots at players? Absolutely Not.
Thanks, Boston Dave!
yeah pretty much done deal
10years/$275M
looks fine to me
More details on my site
WOW!! All kinda of baseball news tonight!! Thanks!
Arod the prodigal son is back.
MO HURRY UP AND SIGN!
“Its probably best to wait until after the Winter Meetings anyway in case they trade or add prospects.
If that works for you, I will look to get something out by Mid-December.”
i was of course kidding that i was annoyed, but i do look forward to your report. late december- january is good because there’s a lull in baseball news.
one thing about disagreeing on the blog. if everyone agreed on everything, what’s the point of commenting here. i don’t even agree with myself always if i let some time go by. for instance i wanted lowell, then saw his 2007 splits, then didn’t want them, then hmmm pointed out the 2007 splits were an anomaly, then maybe i wanted him again. that’s how a legitimate debate goes. ideally you pick up info as you go. if you can’t change your opinion with new information you’re not going to learn much. if you’re not learning anything why bother? no blog is perfect,but this blog is pretty amazing in the info that comes out in it. despite some craziness at times the collective baseball iq is pretty high.
and on the subject of lowell moving to first base. graig nettles was one of the best first baseman i’ve ever seen. he had no trouble simply going over and playing the position. i think lowell would do the same. i’m still not sure about his hitting though. one thing in his favor was when he took out a yankee in a hard collision (posada maybe) at some point this summer, he said it wasn’t dirty and that’s how he learned to play the game the right way in the yankee organization. he basically said he’s a hard nosed player , and he learned it growing up as a yankee. what’s not to like about that?
i wouldn’t be upset if they sign him for first base.
Boston Dave,
He”s Georges son. What does he and all of us expect. Its the way he does business. Its like Mo is doing the same thing Torre did, look for an excuse to leave. We dont need these over sensitive guys in our team. Like that is the worse thing anyone has said about him. For god sakes he was being bood a couple years ago for blowing games in April. Mo needs to $HIT OR GET OF THE POT.
I read somewhere that Andy Phillips is coming back. Wouldn’t he be playing 1B? I’m still partial to Minky…
Big Yank1-
What’s the other board where the Yankee Chef can be found?
Thnx
Big Yank1-
What’s the other board where the Yankee Chef can be found?
Thnx
Buddy, here is the link:
http://www.baseballfans.net/ya.....&page=
Sos – there is still nothing to be gained by taking shots at people. so why bother? it cant help. it could hurt. i dont care how sensitive a player is if he has heart, gives 100%, and performs. Mo deserves some respect – whether he leaves NY or not.
As Pete said, it doesnt seem like a good idea to offer incentives based on HR. Though ARod will hit plenty, he shouldnt be trying to hit them. most hitters will say thats a bad idea.
“What’s the other board where the Yankee Chef can be found?”
he’s a cook too?
amazing.
hmmm-
LMAO!
can someone explain to me how this is a reduced contract for ARod that makes up for the lost Texas Rangers money?
First offer = 8yrs/$231M with Texas paying $30M = $201M = $25M/yr expense to yankees
This offer = 10yrs/$275 (possibly more) = $27.5M+/yr expense to yankees
It’s either heavily backloaded OR its not reduced at all
(luxury tax not included)
Boston Dave:
This is pure speculation, but one possibility is that, while the initial Yankee offer might have been 8/$231, it was just that–an initial offer, and that the Yankees would have been willing to go higher. The assumption, then, is that whatever that highest cap would have been, is not the same number that is being floated on now between the Yankees and A-Rod.
The reality is, I don’t think anyone outside of the Yankee organization–unless informed otherwise–really knows how much the Yankees would have finally offered, and how far or close this contract is from that.
Phoenix – good point. thanks.
Quit the SJ44 bashing. I love his posts and I’m anxiously awaiting this prospect report.
Why anyone would feel the need to belittle someone who has intelligent things to say and write here is beyond me.
I thought people eventually grow out of picking on the smart kids.
As for Arod, I’m still trying to figure out where the Yankee discount is in the Arod deal. I’m guessing the Yankees must have known he was going to get $300 million from Anaheim or LA or Boston, so the 25 million is the discount.
I wonder how much of it is deferred money to, if any.
I also have a conspiracy theory about Boras promising Hicks in Texas he would make sure Arod opted out and get that money he owed the Yankees back.
Would any of you be surprised if Hicks starts overpaying for mediocre Boras clients again now that Boras saved him 21 million in dead money?
In essence Boras and Arod never lost that Texas money since the Yankees have made up for it and Boras has given Texas a nice fat Xmas gift to spend on free agents.
randy l,
when did nettles play 1st, not for yanks?
Rumor is the 5 year extension was just the initial offer and they were willing to go to $298 million for 10 years. The first 3 years are going to reflect the deduction of the Texas money. Incentives are not for homeruns hit but for a share of the revenue the Yankees would make from the homerun record being broken. Now that the outline has been agreed to, Boras will be back in the process to round out the deal and dot the i’s and cross the t’s. The commissioners office will need to approve the the deferred money and the way the incentives are set up before they can announce the deal done.
bryant,
any opt-out clauses?
there better not be any opt-out clauses unless its mutual. the yankees would have to be fools to let this happen again unless they have some say.
I believe SJ44 mentioned there wouldn’t be an opt-out clause? I cannot imagine the Yankees would agree to one, anyway.
Did people look at the report of the deal via the AP? Reportedly, the details (money, years, etc) were hashed out last weekend. The most recent meeting was Alex and the Steins to make the final commitment. Boras is there now to dot the i’s and cross the t’s.
So, it sounds like the negotiations happened without boras directly involved, and there wasn’t puppetry going on.
Stein’s comments about AROD would’ve gotten more $$ on the market:
“Steinbrenner said he thinks that had Rodriguez tested the free-agent market, he would have gotten a more lucrative contract and cited the interest of the Los Angeles Dodgers, led by new manager Joe Torre, and perhaps other teams.
“There are a few cynics who say, ‘Well, he really couldn’t get this there,’ ” Steinbrenner said. “Trust me, he would have gotten probably more. He is making a sacrifice to be a Yankee, there’s no question. … He showed what was really in his heart and what he really wanted.”
whozat, yup it sounds that way.
Also the report confirms the reports we had here about the two Goldman Sachs intermediaries.
Only the Yankees could keep something this big under wraps. Much like when we got him the first time, I belive the deal was signed sealed delivered in 48 hours.
Hey … I thought you were going on vacation?
Okay I heard something a little different re: Alex’s contract. The 275 thrown around INCLUDES 25 million in incentive clauses. Can anyone else confirm this.
damn did Pete pick the wrong week to vacation
Speaking of Goldman Sachs intermediaries:
Miller? Oh Miller? Bobcat? Oh, Bobcat?
“I work in finance and know a lot of current and former players and executives”
thought this quote from hank steinbrenner was interesting…
“There are a few cynics who say, ‘Well, he really couldn’t get this there,’ ” Steinbrenner said. “Trust me, he would have gotten probably more. He is making a sacrifice to be a Yankee, there’s no question. … He showed what was really in his heart and what he really wanted.”
How about 3 for Mo with a vesting option for the 4th?
Great thread Peter,Now if ony Arod would fire Boras!
Did I say something earlier about getting Mike Lowell to play first base? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say Mike Lowell. I must have meant Lowell Mather from the ’90s TV show Wings.