The New York Yankees lost their slugging third baseman at the conclusion of the season, as the Darth Vader of agents, Scott Boras, convinced Alex Rodriguez to opt out of his contract in search of more money. Yankee comments at the time indicated that the split was final.
New York, which failed to make the World Series in all of Rodriguez's seasons, has said it would not attempt to re-sign A-Rod if he opted out. Hank Steinbrenner, a son of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, reiterated that point Monday, dismissing the possibility of negotiations.
"No chance,'' he said from Tampa. "Not if it's made official (filing letters on opting out). I haven't talked with Brian yet today.''
[...]
"We wanted him to stay a Yankee. We wanted to let him know how much we wanted him,'' he said. "The bottom line is ... do we really want anybody that really doesn't want to be a Yankee? How the heck can you do that? Compare him with Jeter. Jeter, since he was a little kid, all he ever wanted to do was play shortstop for the Yankees. That's what we want.''
Hold your horses there, Son of The Boss.
And by Wednesday night, not only were Rodriguez and the Yankees back on speaking terms, but sources said they were close to a deal that would pay Rodriguez $275 million over 10 years.
Unless talks break down, Rodriguez will have his Yankees and his record-breaking contract, and he won't have to go into the Hall of Fame as a Toledo Mud Hen – as one of the Steinbrenner boys wise-cracked two weeks ago – and Yankees fans can recommence sorting their feelings for A-Rod.
[...]
"After spending time with (wife) Cynthia and my family over these last few weeks, it became clear to me that I needed to make an attempt to engage the Yankees regarding my future with the organization," Rodriguez wrote on his website.
"Prior to entertaining any 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.
"As a result, I reached out to the Yankees through mutual friends and conveyed that message."
$275 million buys a lot of goodwill. It's the kind of money he'd get from no other team in baseball. Luxury boxes in a new billion dollar stadium can cushion the overhead quite nicely. Let's have a look at his production in the last four postseasons, though, to get an idea if this is a wise investment.
Year Team Opp Series W/L BA AB HR RBI SO BB OPB SLG
2004 NYY MIN ALDS W .421 19 1 3 1 2 .476 .737
2004 NYY BOS ALCS L .258 31 2 5 6 4 .378 .516
2005 NYY LAA ALDS L .133 15 0 0 5 6 .381 .200
2006 NYY DET ALDS L .071 14 0 0 4 0 .071 .071
2007 NYY CLE ALDS L .267 15 1 1 6 2 .353 .467
Gruesome. In Boston the discussion is, would you rather have A-Rod or Mike Lowell, this year's WS MVP? My answer? Yes. But I have to admit that, if Rodriguez had become a Red Sox, going into the postseason I'd be holding my breath and crossing my fingers.
