Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees are perfect together.
The two sides agreed on a 10-year, $275 million dollar deal with another $25 million in incentives based on A-Rod passing Ruth, Aaron and Bonds.
This comes after A-Rod opted out of his original deal with the Yankees costing them about $25 million in contract subsidy from the Texas Rangers.
It also comes after Yankees owner Hank Steinbrenner said that if A-Rod opted out the Yankees wouldn't resume negotiating with him.
But after a few weeks on the free agent market A-Rod and the Yankees resumed talks, without A-Rod's agent Scott Boras. Incidentally, the news of the renewed talks was first reported by Master Bates's childhood friend Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.
Initial reaction is to think that A-Rod came crawling back to the Yankees but I actually think the Yankees were the ones who caved here.
Yes, A-Rod did ask for $350 million but I'm quite certain he knew he would never get that and he was just starting the negotiations high. I also think A-Rod wouldn't have gotten more than $225 million from any other team, meaning the Yankees overpaid by as much as 33%. The only team that seemed to have more than marginal interest was the Angels, but they didn't seem to want to pay A-Rod so much more than what their current star Vladimir Guerrero is making.
But the psychology of Alex Rodriguez is so interesting to me. As Jems pointed out, it seems as if he wants to be loved by the fans, that he doesn't understand why Jeter is so popular and he isn't, yet everything he does makes people hate him.
All of his actions are contrary to his goals. If he really loved New York the way he said, and he really wanted to stay with the Yankees, and if he really wanted the fans to love him, why didn't he try to work out this deal with them without all this free agency bullshit.
I guess you could blame Scott Boras, but that absolves A-Rod of a lot of other greedy actions in the past. Most significantly, according to reports when he signed with Texas the deal was supposed to be for 10 years and $250 million. A-Rod asked for $2 million extra because he wanted his contract to be worth twice as much as the previous record sports contract (Kevin Garnett's $126 million).
One other thing about A-Rod, the jury is still out as to whether he is a winning player. He has never won a World Series. I really believe that having A-Rod on a team fosters a fractious clubhouse atmosphere because everyone hates him. They hate that he is making so much more money than them. He hates them because everyone likes them more than they like him. And he doesn't produce in the playoffs when it matters most.
I hope A-Rod and the Yankees are very happy together for the next ten years...with no World Series rings.
3 comments:
Very well put. I can't stand A-Rod and am relieved that rumors of the Mets getting into the mix were just that.
To me, this underscores the glaring lack of balance among MLB teams' payrolls, and I think it's a broken system. It seems there's no consequence for the Yankees' spending - they simply outbid every other team, and if a player doesn't really pan out a la Kevin Brown, Jason Giambi, and Roger Clemens '07, they just buy an expensive replacement the next year.
In basketball and football where there are salary caps, big market teams have to live with their poor personnel decisions, and I think it creates a much more level playing field.
Just my two cents - I'm curious to hear what Paul thinks about this.
Without going into all the problems of baseball, yes, the system is horribly irreparably broken. There are about 10 teams that have no chance, will never have a chance and don't really care. There are 10 teams that need a miracle to have a chance. And there are 10 teams that are always competitive because they can afford the best players.
That's the biggest problem with baseball.
Thing is though, the Yankees haven't been able to buy themselves a championship with this strategy. Buying the best players helps you win in the regular season, not the playoffs.
I think everyone has a chance. They just can't sustain it for 10 or 12 years straight like the rich teams can. Teams like the A's and Twins have it right. They build a great team using sound financial decisions and good scouting, and if after 4-5 years these players haven't gotten it done they have to reload or rebuild for 2 years for the next go around.
Teams like the Royals and Pirates don't compete because they're poorly run and ownership doesn't really care. Think James Dolan running a franchise that wasn't rich while collecting revenue sharing. Haha
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