Arod opts out of Yankee contract

And he and Boras announced during game 4 of the World Series event that he couldn't bother to attend to recieve his trophy. Just another example of both mens character.

Good-by, see ya later, hit the road....

All about him...as good as he is, he's never won and he's been apart of some pretty good teams..

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Yanks now can go after and re-aquire Mike Lowell. He'd be the perfect fit for Yanks and can hit and field in post season.

Isn't he a little young and healthy for them?

I was assuming (hoping) the cooler would be locked up by the Yankees for a very long time, $300M, unbreakable trade clause. Now, I'm not sure if I want him to cool another AL team or an NL team.

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Originally posted by CPLZ:
And he and Boras announced during game 4 of the World Series event that he couldn't bother to attend to recieve his trophy. Just another example of both mens character.

You got that right. Arod is nothing but a sideshow and a cancer to the Yankee organization. The Yankees need to get back to getting strong pitching, rebuild their team from within and get quality free agents to reload for a run in 2008.

Arod has been in the league for about 12 or 13 years and never has won and was part of some very strong teams. There's more than coincidence that this guy hasn't been on a winner.

Yes lets blame the MVP of the AL for the Demiss of the Yankees.
Give me a break.
EH

In fact it's a good business decision.
Why stay in a contract thats not Your Market value?

Wow.

A free agent MVP.
Hmmm.

EH

NYY could extend his deal at whatever making him whole with the add-on years. They still might sign him anyway.

It's nice to have Option's.
Make your decision's with no regrets.
EH

Market Value? What market and what value?

If he/Boras/anyone thinks he's worth more than $30 million a year, they might want to take a look at the market; he's asking for a third of many team's payroll, all of a few, and half of about 10. Barring a 162 game production of the old Bugs Bunny cartoon, signing him at that kind of coin would make no sense. Like when the Rangers bid against themselves for him and he complained they weren't competitive. Apparently he was a bit light on the Econ classes.

His 'market' is two teams -- Yankees and Yankees Mark II (the current Champions ) Unless he's just throwing it out there to see how dumb the owners can get.

And yes, I do realize the contract would be heavily backloaded. What value is a mortgaged future?

Of course, he could switch sports (maybe he's upset about Beckham's contract?) Chelsea, Man United, and Arsenal could easily afford him....

Marketing alone will take care of his Contract, In T-shirt sells alone.
He's the MVP of the AL??
Don't forget the Met's.
And the SFGiant's don't have a problem with a single superstar status ballplayer??
EH

The Angels have an owner with a lot of money willing to spend it, along with a need for another big bat. The Dodgers are a rich organization with a need to stop the Angels infringement on their turf.

Torre to the Dodger's ??

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Originally posted by theEH:
Torre to the Dodger's ??

It makes sense to me. But, the Dodgers owner recently said he doesn't want a coaching revolving door. Then again, what if Arod says his first choice would be to go where Torre goes?

Still looking at a third of their (the two LA teams) payroll to one player; that's a big jump. And how much sense would it make to suddenly pay a guy double what your top earner is making? That would spiral out of control in a hurry, come everybody else's contract time.

The Giants one-player made a bit over $15 mil (and we see how well that franchise has been doing in the standings). A-Rod's talking more than double what a number of team's top earners got. Still not making sense.

T shirt sales???? MLB logo properties make about $4 billion a year; Arod wants more than $30 million. So, with 30 teams and 750 players contributing to that four bil, A-Rod's moving teams will represent a 1% bump? Heck, let's just pay for half his salary...a .5% share? Right......and the cow has, indeed, jumped over the moon.

Don't much care who ends up with him, as long as it's not the Cards.

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His 'market' is two teams -- Yankees and Yankees Mark II (the current Champions ) Unless he's just throwing it out there to see how dumb the owners can get.

Then he's going back to NY, I guess, except Hank said "SCRAM COOLER!" The bridge appears in flames. The Mets, Dodgers, Giants, Angels could all pay him. Heck, the Marlins could use him to finish up their stadium deal and they would still be way under $60 million a year.

Torre to the Dodgers. Great move on their part. he proved himself as a manager with the Cardinals and Mets before George gave him great players, huge payroll and every opportunity to succeed. When push came to shove and he actually had to manage and make decisions (the last 5 years) his skills came out. Then there's his off shoot Willie. He must have learned a lot from Joe T as the Mets showed this year.
Good Bye Joe and A-Rod. Let the young guys move in...Maybe Joe should go back to the Mets...

And I'm a big Yankee fan..

This could be another Ranger-like Boras trick to get the Yankees to essentially bid against themselves. Otherwise, how could Boras get as much as he could have gotten from the Yankees with an extension. The Yankees had (have?) the advantage that the last 3 years of his current contract would continue to be subsidized by the Rangers.

If he really has opted out, this is huge for the Rangers.

The Red Sox are probably the frontrunners in the Afford It Sweepstakes, but why would they pay him much more than $20M per year? They've offered up Manny Rodriguez once or twice on waivers to anyone willing to take on his $22M contract, though I doubt they'd do that just now . A-Rod is worth a little more than Manny, but not that much. The Red Sox already have Lowell at 3rd and Lugo at short. Lugo's just come off a lower-production year for him, but they're not going to be desperate to write him off, especially if the Yankees are losing their best player.

The Angels' 3rd baseman and shortstop hit .330 and .301 respectively in 2007, so they're not going to be that desperate either. The Mets have Wright and Reyes, while the Dodgers have Garciaparra and Furcal. I just don't see any team out there being desperate enough to bid the $30M for 10 years that Boras says he expects.

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Originally posted by Orlando:
This could be another Ranger-like Boras trick to get the Yankees to essentially bid against themselves. Otherwise, how could Boras get as much as he could have gotten from the Yankees with an extension.

Won't happen. The Steinbrenners already told Boras all year and up thru last night that Arod's gone if he opts out. They won't negotiate. They told Arod to take a hike.

This is a smart move by the Yankees.

Now they can concentrate on winning World Series titles instead of MVP's.

Yanks will hold their ground on this and focus on fielding a winning team.

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Posted by Orlando: The Red Sox already have Lowell at 3rd and Lugo at short. Lugo's just come off a lower-production year for him, but they're not going to be desperate to write him off, especially if the Yankees are losing their best player.

The Red Sox have a minor leaguer from Stanford Jed Lowrie nearly ready for SS. Lugo will do for now. They might lose Lowell, but probably not to the Yankees. They could move Youkilis over to third in 2009 after they sign Texeira as FA or trade for him this winter for their extra centerfielder...Coco Crisp. They can improve without ARod.

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Originally posted by Coach Merc:
Torre to the Dodgers. Great move on their part. he proved himself as a manager with the Cardinals and Mets before George gave him great players, huge payroll and every opportunity to succeed. When push came to shove and he actually had to manage and make decisions (the last 5 years) his skills came out. Then there's his off shoot Willie. He must have learned a lot from Joe T as the Mets showed this year.
Good Bye Joe and A-Rod. Let the young guys move in...Maybe Joe should go back to the Mets...

And I'm a big Yankee fan..

And I'm a Cardinal fan who remembers the Torre years

Granted, Joe suffered through the Busch Board of Directors' stinginess, but he was unimpressive as a baseball manager. His years with the Mets, Cards, & Braves didn't even produce a winning record, overall.

I believe him to be an excelant people manager, and the time with the Yankees' stars, ownership, and the media made perfect use of those talents.

I suppose they could let Lowell go...minutes after being named WS MVP . One way or the other, they're just one more team that doesn't need A-Rod.

I was thinking about the Cubs wanting him, but I believe they're still a bit of an ownership question ---- who could make the decision on that kind of commitment? (Let alone the effects of their spending spree last offseason.)

Lowell wants to stay, was Jeter-like clutch down the stretch and his hugely popular with fans and in the clubhouse. While each deal should be at market, given the large number of minimum contracts to the kids, they could pay him for four years and actually use him two or three.

Isn't Cuban trying to buy the Cubs? He obviously has a home somewhere or Boras wouldn't have told the NYY to kiss off.

Boras has teams lined up for Arod. Otherwise, he would've kept the Yankee option open.

If Boras only opted out to drive up Yankee price, he made a huge mistake.

Cuban's on the list, but there are some local groups with deep pockets as well. And talk that MLB might not be interested in somebody quite that...um, vocal.

Cuban or no Cuban, it isn't expected to be settled until well into next year, which may be too late for ARodapolooza.

Should the ownership thing get stepped up, it could be interesting. I know zippo about the NBA, so I don't know if he spends wisely there. But, as there's no reason to believe he's a baseball man, would he be attracted to something shiney?

I understand about this making "market" salary and all, but how much is enough? Wasn't $252 million enough? This just makes A-rod look money hungry, not championship hungry.

He's a great baseball player, but he's headed towards Barry Bondsville on the personality chart.

The fact is, MLB is awash in cash. Who's to say who should get it, or that it's better for Steinbrenner to have it than A-Rod?

One thing that occurs to me, though, is that A-Rod will only get that money if he can get at least two teams to bid against each other for him. At least for now, the two biggest potential bidders -- the Yankees and the Red Sox -- are putting up the front that they won't enter the bidding. If that's the case, then A-Rod may find that the smaller market teams aren't willing to make the mistake Texas did in 2000 when it put all its cash behind one guy, had too little left to build a team, and finished last repeatedly as a result.

To get A-Rod, you don't have to meet his initial demand. You only have to outbid the other teams willing to make offers. Ultimately he'll have to take the highest offer out there, and there's no guarantee it will be as high as Boras is gambling.

Considering the fact that the Yankees were willing to offer him an extension of up to 5 additional years over the 3 he still had on his contract -- taking care of him until he was 40 -- I think he is taking a big risk, and it wouldn't surprise me if he ultimately regrets it. There just aren't many teams who can offer the kind of cash the Yankees can. Or the likelihood of being in playoff contention every year.

IMO, it is great what A'Rod and Boras are doing.
Up front, I want to say their timing is disgusting. This isn't their time. It is WS time and anyone who has respect for the game would respect the game and wait for more of his 10 days.
Boras and A'Rod owe an apology on that issue.
On the other issue:
Let's remember it was only 30 years ago that Curt Flood tried to control his future as a player, husband and parent. He found out he was a chattel, a piece of "property," a contract to be bought and sold without any input or control by the player.
Owners of MLB teams are billionaires who are protected by anti trust laws. They don't follow the rules that any other employer in the United States follows.
Their only rules are those with the players union and their unlimited resources.
Who would have very guessed Zito would get $126,000,000 for 7 years as a pitcher. If Zito gets that for appearing every 5 days, Boras will be able to sell A'rod as a bargain, and he will.
I have learned that baseball owners do not need much of our protection or sympathy.
It took folks like Curt Flood to give players some of the rights every one of us has. The owners didn't "give" the players anything and I hope A'Rod remembers Flood and others who gave him these options.

It wouldn't surprise me in the least if ARod didn't have a clue who Curt Flood is or what he did for the players. Remember when the Robinson anniversary was being celebrated and any number of players, black & white, were asked about him and they didn't know who he was? Shocked the bejaysus out of me at the time.

I have no sympathy or interest in the owners and their profitability. My interest is in the fans. Rangers fans (after, perhaps, an initial rush of excitement that Alex Rodriguez was coming to town) got saddled with a world of loss, just as pretty much any other team (other than Boston & NY) will be if the owners decide to hobble themselves with the kind of single-player salary Rodriguez seems to be seeking.


Re the Angels --- Moreno has said it's none too bright to invest a quarter of yourpayroll in one player.


If some player of that stature wants to be great, wants to remember the players who went before to make the system better for the major league players, and wants to show that he knows that without the fans he doesn't have a job, let alone the GNP of a small country as his annual income....let him negotiate the kind of deal Rodriguez & Boras are seeking, and then make part of that salary, say, a $5 per ticket price reduction and challenge ownership to match it.

That would sell T-shirts, EH

If fans meant anything to the owners and MLB, they would not saddle the fans with Fox, McCarver and Buck...and interrupt the games for Taco Bell promo's.
I attended a Red Sox/Royals game last August. Great game. The Royals lit up Schilling for about 10 runs. I would guess that the attendance was 25,000 and of that, 15,000 or more were Red Sox fans.
This year, the Giants gave up a season in order to draw the crowds and $$$$ for Bonds 756 chase.
Next year we should find out if fans will come when the team is very much rebuilding, probably not winning but you have a beautiful stadium. Or, we may see A'Rod as the successor to Bonds.
In 1993, the Giants bet the farm that marquis players were critical to being successful.
If you are not the Cubs, Cardinals, Red Sox or Yankees, that model seems to be correct in MLB, with a few exceptions.
For the first time, we can now see the Rockies, D'Backs and Brewers with great young talent which is developing early and drawing crowds. But they are the exception.
Boras and A'Rod know that.
There are plenty of teams that Boras will find to emphasize the dollars that A'Rod brings to the door.
Peter McGowan, the managing GP of the Giants is brilliant in business. I think he is the norm for franchises which "need" fans for reasons that are different than the Cardinals or Cubs for instance.
I don't expect Boras or A'Rod to give back anything, unless it gives them more.
I also don't think they care much what happened to Curt Flood. They enjoy the rewards.
So, we have the owners, Boras and A'Rod and more money than any of us could count. My guess is the fans won't be considered in that equation unless it is in economic terms, how much they currently pay and how much more they will pay to attend.
Experience says if you have a good park and good experience, then the park will be full. Might not be with fans. Might be with Taco Bell execs who would prefer to interrupt a WS game for their commercial...for free tacos for their "fans."

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This just makes A-rod look money hungry, not championship hungry.

Walks like a duck. Quacks like a duck. Priority 1, 2 and 3 is to wring every last dollar from the game. He didn't make the rules though.

On the other side, the NYY front office hardly made him feel wanted as in "Opt out and you're dead to me. You hear me? DEAD!"

Funny now Boras would like to apologize for poor timing about GREED-ROD. Sounds like they wanted to change there tune some after Georges boys said NOT A Chance would there be a deal with the greedy pair.

Georges boys said that they did not want someone who did not want to be a Yankee. Boras replied that he never said that, he was just using his option.

Do you think they expected the yankees would let him go that easy? Seems like a little back peddling there.

Yankees will stay competetive. I think its a blessing. But thats me.

I can understand a player securing the big contract his first time through free agency to secure his financial future. But at this point in time with ARod I would think playing for a team that can win it all would be more important than the money. Why do I think it's not going to be the case with ARod? Guys like Mike Lowell and Scott Brosius win rings to flash. I believe ARod would rather flash a fat money clip. Does the guy know how to win with everything on the line?

I happen to be one of the few that likes Arod, but I find the last few days rather distasteful. They couldn't have even waited until they announced the new manager? We went throught this last year with the yankees right after the WS, about keeping Joe around. They always have a way of stealing the limelight.

Although this business is about making all you can in the short time you have, IMO, Arod's best bet would be to find another agent. I think his agent has ruined his career, not financially but in another sense. He is so much more capable than he has performed, I think there's just a lot of drama created that he doesn't need and gets in the way of his performance. Is he actually the one who is greedy? I'll bet at this point he couldn't care less about more money give him back his original position where he was meant to play, you might see a different Arod.


IMO, big changes coming to the organization with Girardi as the skipper. He doesn't need or want the baggage that comes with players. He is also not a puppet, wonder how long he will be around as the skipper.

JMO.

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IMO, Arod's best bet would be to find another agent. I think his agent has ruined his career, not financially but in another sense.

It doesn't matter which is the greedier, player or agent. A player demonstrats his priorities with a choice of agent like Boras and always has the option of signing with another if he's not happy with the results on any level. There are clubs who won't deal with Boras' clients --- as they're going to be expensive, Me First players.

RJM is spot on --- no problem at all with a player getting himself the best deal. I also think the players, not the owners, are the show. But I'm not surprised know that owners, anti-trust exemption or no, pretty much always want to make more money than their employees.

I don't think it's about the actual money with ARod, it's about the "respect" of being the top-paid player. And if you double the salary of most other team's Name Players, it diminishes the chance of one of them displacing you.

Years ago, Kirby Puckett was the top paid player, briefly, with a salary of $2 million. When he was displaced, a reporter asked if that bothered him. "Why? I get paid $2 million a year to play a game --- I'm happy!" Ego seems to have mnoved on from those days, too...

It's pretty much a matter of complete indifference to me whether ARod gets a contract for next year or not. How's that for respect.