A-Rod must have really hated NY

[indiandi]

Question now is where will he end up?  He opted out of the final 3 years of his contract to file for free agency.  In doing so, he left $81 Million on the table.  Do you think he'll head for Boston next?  If that's the case, I think Boston has seen the last of the Playoff/World Series for a while.  For whatever reason, it seem the teams A-Rod lands on, don't fair too well....until he moves on.  OK, the Rangers didn't improve all that much.

A-Rod opting out of contract
Newly crowned Aaron Award winner ends Yankees tenure
By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com

NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez has opted out of the final three years of his contract with the Yankees and will become a free agent, likely ending his four-year stay in New York.
Rodriguez's decision was first reported by Sports Illustrated's Web site on Sunday evening. According to the report, agent Scott Boras sent word of the opt-out in writing and left phone and text messages for general manager Brian Cashman on Sunday.

Boras later confirmed the opt-out in an e-mail sent to the Associated Press. The decision was made public during Game 4 of the World Series.

Rodriguez, this season's likely American League Most Valuable Player, will be forfeiting the final three years and approximately $81 million on his record $252 million contract.

The Yankees have said numerous times that if Rodriguez opts out, they will not pursue him as a free agent, sentiments that were voiced earlier this month by both senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner and Cashman.

"Alex made the decision today," Boras told SI.com. "I thought we should notify the club."

Cashman did not immediately return a telephone message.

Yankees Senior Vice President Hank Steinbrenner reiterated the club's stance to the New York Daily News.

"We're not going to back down," Steinbrenner said. "It's goodbye."

The Yankees had been constructing what figured to be a lucrative contract extension in order to keep Rodriguez, who led the Major Leagues with 54 home runs, 156 RBIs and 143 runs scored this season, batting .314 while helping the team to the AL Wild Card.

According to the report, the Yankees were never able to present the offer. Through Boras, Rodriguez -- who had said numerous times during the course of the season that he "loves" New York and wants to stay -- turned down a request to meet with club officials.

"It's clear he didn't want to be a Yankee," Hank Steinbrenner told the Daily News. "He doesn't understand the privilege of being a Yankee on a team where the owners are willing to pay $200 million to put a winning product on the field.

"I don't want anybody on my team that doesn't want to be a Yankee."

Boras told the Web site that Rodriguez felt he could not make a decision to stay in his allotted time period -- technically, he had until 10 days after the World Series to trigger his opt-out -- since a number of situations remain unsettled for the Yankees.

The club has not yet named Joe Torre's successor, though either Joe Girardi or Don Mattingly is likely to be announced as the new manager early this week. Having conducted an interview process over three days last week in Tampa, the team has also not yet made significant progress with such key free agents as Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte.

"Alex's decision was one based on not knowing what his closer, his catcher and one of his statured pitchers was going to do," Boras told the Associated Press. "He really didn't want to make any decisions until he knew what they were doing."

Following the Yankees' AL Division Series loss to the Cleveland Indians, Rodriguez and his wife, Cynthia, spent time at Boras' Newport Beach, Calif., estate for an information-gathering and strategy-planning session. Boras also visited Rodriguez last week in Miami as he mulled his future.

Rodriguez was named as the AL's Hank Aaron Award winner on Sunday prior to Game 4 of the World Series, but he was not present for the ceremony at Colorado's Coors Field. Commissioner Bud Selig said that Rodriguez had a scheduling conflict.

Rodriguez, 32, was acquired by the Yankees from the Texas Rangers on Feb. 16, 2004, with cash, in exchange for Alfonso Soriano and a Minor League player. The Yankees had said that pursuing Rodriguez as a free agent would not financially make sense because they would lose the approximately $21 million still owed to them by the Rangers over the final three seasons of the contract.

"If it's true, that's obviously good news from our standpoint," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said. "But I'm going to wait to hear about it officially."

If indeed Rodriguez's Yankees career is over, he leaves New York having played in 629 games over four seasons with the Yankees, batting .302 with 173 home runs and 513 RBIs.

[Satisaii]

I will offer to take the remainder of his contract for him.  Yeah, no problems there.  I LOVE NY! W00t

[Vezna31]

There's only a couple of teams that can afford him.  I could see the Red Sox, Giants (replacing Bonds), Dodgers, Angels, and Atlanta as the only teams willing to spend that kind of money on someone.

[monkeymaker]

Angels won't because they won't disrespect Bad Vlad by paying A-Rod more than twice his salary.  Same reason they won't bring Bonds in (even though Bonds will only command about the same that Vlad makes).  Then again, with Garrett on his way out (he's gotta retire eventually, right?) they'll definitely have the money to make the move.

Dodgers might, but they'd be wiser to save up to go after some pitching with all that money.  Don't forget that Johan Santana will be on the market after next season!  With A-Rod money they could score a top closer and still have enough to sign Santana.

The Red Sox won't unless they think the Yankees will be able to lure him back.  I can't see them screwing with their magical team chemistry for any other reason.  Maybe not even that, actually.

Atlanta is too cheap to re-sign Andrew Jones, so I find it implausible that they'd overspend for A-Rod.  They seem to be going the rebuilding route anyway.  If they could sign both A-Rod and Jones though they'd have one killer lineup!!

The Giants re-upped with Brian Sabean as GM.  There's no way in hell they make the same mistake with A-Rod that they made with Bonds for all those years.  Sabean may be a gambler at heart, but I seriously doubt they'd make that move, especially after devoting so much money to Zito.  I think it's more likely they cave and bring Bonds back despite the fans here who would love to see A-Rod in that lame ass Giants uniform.

It wasn't too long ago, remember, that we were all floored by the Texas Rangers' whopping offer to A-Rod.  If they can afford it, believe me there's other teams out there who have owners with deep enough pockets and big enough stones to do it too. 

One of the most likely candidates in my eyes is actually the Seattle Mariners.  Seattle's window is closing, and I'm sure they'd absolutely love to bring the guy back now that he's a seasoned superstar.  Their owner has more money than God, their team is very close to being a serious contender, and adding that bat to their already dangerous lineup will catapult them to the elite again.  I can see A-Rod being the catalyst to get more consistent production out of Beltre and Sexson, too. 

Now the team that I really think will end up with the guy is the Chicago Cubs.  Rumors are that some big name, big money people are lining up to buy the Cubbies (Mark Cuban for one), and when the franchise changes hands my guess is they are going to go big to try to win it all.  A-Rod, despite his baggage, gives them that chance.  Put him back at shortstop and insert him in the lineup between Soriano and Derek Lee and you're talking a serious NL balance of power shift and a team that could conceivably compete with the AL powerhouses.  Now just imagine if they buy A-Rod AND Johan Santana!

[Vezna31]

I meant to mention the Cubbies too.  I forget where I was reading that they said they might be in the running for A-Rod.

[indiandi]

So I guess he had a change of heart......or he realized that there wasn't anyone else that could pay him what he was getting from the Yanks.

Stay-Rod? Rodriguez Speaks With Yankees

NEW YORK —
Stay-Rod? In a startling turn of events, Alex Rodriguez and his wife met with New York Yankees executives Hal and Hank Steinbrenner on Wednesday in Tampa, Fla., and told them he wants to stay in pinstripes. His longtime agent, Scott Boras, wasn't involved in the talks. Yankees officials sounded confident the negotiations could lead to an agreement.
"The past is the past. I don't know what brought about him approaching us," Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner said in a telephone interview. "I guess you could say things didn't go the way before that he intended on and weren't handled properly or whatever.
"But the bottom line, the only thing that really matters, is he wants to stay a Yankee. And it could be very well that he's always wanted to stay a Yankee and we just didn't know it."
Rodriguez, likely to win his third AL MVP award next week, had not made any public statements since becoming a free agent following the Yankees' first-round loss to Cleveland in the playoffs. After consulting with his wife and family, Rodriguez reached out to Hank and his brother, Hal, through a third party.
"It became clear to me that I needed to make an attempt to engage the Yankees regarding my future with the organization," Rodriguez said in a statement. "Prior to entering into serious negotiations with other clubs, I wanted the opportunity to share my thoughts directly with Yankees' ownership. We know there are other opportunities for us, but Cynthia and I have a foundation with the club that has brought us comfort, stability and happiness."
When first contacted, the Yankees wondered whether the message was serious. Before Rodriguez terminated his record $252 million, 10-year contract on Oct. 28 _ forfeiting $72 million over the final three seasons _ Boras told the Yankees they would have to make a $350 million offer just to get a meeting with the third baseman.
New York was notified of A-Rod's decision to opt out during Game 4 of the World Series, and the timing angered commissioner Bud Selig and his staff.
Hank Steinbrenner and general manager Brian Cashman said talks were over because the Yankees lost the $21.3 million subsidy the Texas Rangers agreed to at the time of the 2004 trade that sent A-Rod to New York.
But after A-Rod hit the open market, the Los Angeles Angels were the only team that expressed a public desire to explore signing him.
Ill will was plentiful.
New York let A-Rod know that giving up the $21 million was pretty much a precondition for any talks.
"I also understand that I had to respond to certain Yankees concerns, and I was receptive and understanding of that situation," Rodriguez said. "Cynthia and I have since spoken directly with the Steinbrenner family. During these healthy discussions, both sides were able to share honest feelings and hopes with one another, and we expect to continue this dialogue with the Yankees over the next few days."
Said Steinbrenner: "He's willing to make certain sacrifices. It certainly appears that way."
"The biggest thing with me, and it's no secret with all of us, is the money we would have had from Texas that we don't now," he went on. "But he's willing to do something about that, which shows his dedication. And also, the other thing was, me being convinced he really wanted to be a Yankee, and it kind of looks to me like he does."
New York had begun initial explorations with the agent for Mike Lowell, who is a free agent, and had expressed interest in acquiring Florida's Miguel Cabrera, who is available on the trade market.
The Yankees had left the onus on A-Rod.
"Part of it is obviously him proving he really wants to be a Yankee, and I think he's doing that," Steinbrenner said.
One other team that might have been an option for Rodriguez was the Los Angeles Dodgers, owned by Frank and Jamie McCourt.
"I think definitely we would have been involved," new manager Joe Torre said Wednesday evening at a charity event in New York after learning about A-Rod's chat with the Yankees. "The McCourts are committed to helping this ballclub in any way they can to get them to where they want to be, win championships."
Torre, who managed Rodriguez in New York the past four seasons, said the two haven't spoken since the end of the season.
"He left me a message and I left one for him. We never really did talk about anything. Again, once he became a free agent there are rules, too. I'm with another team and I had to be careful. So I really didn't reach out that much, just tried to keep track of him through other people," Torre said. "He seemed very comfortable (in New York), that's why I was surprised he opted out."
Before Rodriguez did so, the Yankees were prepared to make an initial extension offer of four or five years with an average yearly salary of $25 million to $30 million. A logical endpoint for a deal could be to take the $72 million the Yankees owed, subtract the $21 million New York lost from Texas, add $10 million in escalators A-Rod would have earned in 2009 and 2010, and then add seven seasons at $30 million annually. That would total $271 million for the next 10 years.
Hank Steinbrenner said there was no time frame for the negotiations and that it was up to Rodriguez to decide whether he wants Boras to participate in talks.
"It doesn't really matter," Steinbrenner said. "No matter who's in the room, I'm going to go to a certain point in negotiations and that's it."
Boras did not return messages.
In July 1996, Rodriguez went against Boras' advice and agreed to a $10.6 million, four-year contract extension with Seattle through 2000. In December 2000, Boras negotiated the record contract for A-Rod with Texas.

AP Baseball Writer Mike Fitzpatrick contributed to this report.

[Vezna31]

I'm surprised the Yankees had talks since A-Rod screwed them out of the subsidy they were getting from the Rangers.

[indiandi]

Seems A-Rod has brains and knows who the better advisers are.  And his agents isn't one of them:

Buffett Advised A-Rod to Go Around Boras


NEW YORK -- Warren Buffett advised Alex Rodriguez to approach the New York Yankees and go around agent Scott Boras, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

The newspaper cited a person familiar with the matter, whom it did not identify.

"A-Rod really loves being a Yankee," Buffett was quoted as saying. He wouldn't comment on the substance of any discussions with the player.

The two became friends several years ago.

Rodriguez, on Boras' advise, opted out of the final three seasons of his record $252 million, 10-year contract on Oct. 28. The Yankees had said many times that if he opted out, they wouldn't negotiate because they would lose $21.3 million from Texas for the final three seasons that was agreed to at the time of the 2004 trade, money to offset the $72 million New York owed from 2008-10.

Upset with developments after he opted out, Rodriguez contacted Buffett, and the investor told him to approach the Yankees without his agent, the Journal said.

After speaking with the investor, Rodriguez contacted a managing director at Goldman Sachs that he knew, John Mallory, who then got in touch with Gerald Cardinale, a Goldman Sachs managing director who has worked with the Yankees and their YES Network.

With the assistance of the two Goldman executives, Rodriguez and the Yankees negotiated a $275 million, 10-year contract that is in the process of being finalized.

[indiandi]

I also heard that Kenny Rogers got some smarts too and dumped Boras all together.  Looks like Boras will be taking a hit in the wallet. 
Maybe ballplayers are finally getting smart and following their own instincts and not that of an agent who most likely wants what is best for the agent and not the players, owners, fans....

[indiandi]

.....And guess who received his third American League MVP today.

[Vezna31]

I still can't believe the Yankees would give him a contract that doesn't expire until he's 42 years old.  You don't see that ever.

[indiandi]

I read that the Yankees don't want Scott Boras in the room at all.  The union contract says if the players have an agent, that agent must be present during contract talks.  I wonder if A-Rod will dump Boras briefly to sign and bring him back on.  Didn't Andruw Jones do something like this a bunch of years ago?