SI: A-Rod to become a free agent

[wickedwritah]

Did Lowell start sucking when I wasn't watching? I thought he was expected to produce great numbers in Boston.

Were expectations so low for him that a WS MVP performance is "gravy"?

When the trade was made, he was considered a salary dump, no more. His decent season last year was written off by some as facing pitchers not familiar with him, etc.

 

[Chi City 81]

What wicked said.

 

[Boomer7]

Boras clearly is the clubhouse leader for Biggest Douche in the Universe. How full of yourself do you have to be to e-mail Ron Blum (and who knows which other reporters) in the press box during a potential clincher of the World Series to deliver a decision that you'd have ten days to make after the series? And he works for A-Rod, so the buck stops with the player. And given A-Rod's history of not getting it, I'm hardly surprised.

 

[Boomer7]

I knew he was a salary dump, but I considered that to be more from the Marlins side of things. They weren't going to keep him, so they dumped him to Boston for financial reasons.

I didn't think that was any reflection on his abilities, which I've always thought were outstanding. He had one off year, in '05, but before that he was a three-time All-Star.

Why did everyone think he had lost it? That never occurred to me.

In Boston, there were fears that he was over the hill. Also there were not-so-subtle (and unsubstantiated) suggestions that he'd been a 'roid guy who stopped using in '05. People here were pretty wary about getting him, and expectations weren't high.

 

[Chi City 81]

I didn't think that was any reflection on his abilities, which I've always thought were outstanding. He had one off year, in '05, but before that he was a three-time All-Star.

Why did everyone think he had lost it? That never occurred to me.

The '05 season was precisely it. He was a 31-year-old who suddenly regressed to a .230 hitter. It was viewed as a likely trend rather than a statistical aberration.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Sam, the J.D. Drew opt-out didn't backfire on Boras last winter. This won't either.

The mere thought sickens me, Buck-Dub, but I recalled that move somehow working. Anyone dumb enough to give a living heart donor that kind of deal should be shot.

Yes, Theo, your team won in spite of J.D., not because of him. I know he had one hit. *Cue Bob Uecker's line from "Major League" here* ...

Scott Boras also just exposed himself as a bigger hypocrite - if that were possible. On a night when baseball should be celebrating a champion, one of its supposed biggest fans - that's Boras for those of you who haven't read stories written by his apologists - grandstanded by announcing that the highest-paid player in the game is opting out of a deal.

It's no secret I'm not much of a baseball fan. Self-important pricks like Boras don't help the sport's cause.

 

[Left_Coast]

The Angels won't go near him. Moreno won't pay the salary and hamstring the franchise for a generation. It's not worth it.

 

[Chef]

First team to offer up 8 years-240 mil.......with player option after 5.

If I'm betting right now, it's a 3-team race.

Cubs
Dodgers
Giants

Outside looking in;

Yankees
Angels
Rockies

 

[Herbert Anchovy]

I wouldn't discount the Cardinals. There's a lot of dead wood on the roster they can cut loose to free up resources, and besides that, their ticket sales alone last season covered the expense of their payroll.

Paid. That's before they even sold a single Anheuser Busch product or red T-shirt to anyone.

They can easily make the jump to the $115-$120 M stratosphere next season.

 

[jagtrader]

Scathing column by Olney. Strong ending.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=olney_buster&id=3084735

Olney and his network have contributed to this A-Rod phenomenon. So has the absence of a salary cap, which is why the level of play continues to drop in most places outside of New York and Boston.

 

[hockeybeat]

Heard Gammons for a second this morning. He said that it was telling that ARod interrupted Game 4 of the World Series to announce his opt-out and that it should be a warning--"buyer beware''--to the teams that get into the bidding.

 

[trifectarich]

I don't care which buffoon of an owner pays him an obscene amount.

I know it's not going to happen, but I'd like Scott Boras to call all the major league teams and get the same response: "We're not interested. Thanks for calling, and you have a super day."

 

[Pancamo]

Heard Gammons for a second this morning. He said that it was telling that ARod interrupted Game 4 of the World Series to announce his opt-out and that it should be a warning--"buyer beware''--to the teams that get into the bidding.

Gammons is as self-serving as ARod. He was pissed off because this announcement overwhelmed his team winning the Series.

 

[heyabbott]

First team to offer up 8 years-240 mil.......with player option after 5.

If I'm betting right now, it's a 3-team race.

Cubs
Dodgers
Giants

Outside looking in;

Yankees
Angels
Rockies

8 years 240 is basicaly what the Yanks were offering if he didn't opt out. If Cashman and Baby Stein stick with the plan of not signing ARod, the price should fall.
He'll be a Cub.

 

[Overrated]

The sleeper?

Detroit. The Tigers need a shortstop with Guillen moving to first. Boras and Dombrowski have a history of making deals. Illitch has proven he'll spend money when the time is right. He brought in several big names when the Red Wings were making runs and were the hot ticket in Detroit. That's where the Tigers are right now. Illitch is nearing the end and wants to see Detroit win a World Series...(I know, I know. Make appropriate disparaging A-Fraud comment here.)

CF-Granderson
2B-Polanco
DH-Sheffield
RF-Ordonez
SS-ARod
1B-Guillen
C-Pudge
3B-Inge
LF-Raburn

Right-handed heavy, but still an incredibly potent lineup.

 

[heyabbott]

I wonder if Boras will market him to Japan?

 

[Armchair_QB]

Detroit or St. Louis both make sense because the media spotlight is nothing like it would be in Boston, Chicago, LA or New York.

St. Louis is probably the easiest place to play in professional baseball in terms of dealing with the media.

Something else that hasn't been mentioned is this - is ARod still a shortstop or is he a third baseman now? If teams don't think he can play short anymore that cuts the list too. St. Louis, Chicago and Detroit don't appear to need third basemen.

 

[jagtrader]

A-Rod the attention ***** isn't going anywhere but New York, Chicago or Boston. The notion that the Cardinals or Tigers would get in the same area code as his demands is laughable. Neither of those teams has spent more than $100 million on a contract (and that went to Pujols in his prime). They're not spending $250 million.

 

[Overrated]

A-Rod the attention ***** isn't going anywhere but New York, Chicago or Boston. The notion that the Cardinals or Tigers would get in the same area code as his demands is laughable. Neither of those teams has spent more than $100 million on a contract (and that went to Pujols in his prime). They're not spending $250 million.

Ummm...if I'm not mistaken, Magglio is in the midst of a $130 million contract. The Tigers also offered Juan Gonzalez $143 million when they acquired him from Texas. Thank christ he didn't accept.

 

[jagtrader]

A-Rod the attention ***** isn't going anywhere but New York, Chicago or Boston. The notion that the Cardinals or Tigers would get in the same area code as his demands is laughable. Neither of those teams has spent more than $100 million on a contract (and that went to Pujols in his prime). They're not spending $250 million.

Ummm...if I'm not mistaken, Magglio is in the midst of a $130 million contract. The Tigers also offered Juan Gonzalez $143 million when they acquired him from Texas. Thank christ he didn't accept.

You are mistaken. Ordonez is at $75 million. Maybe they offered Gonzalez that much, I don't recall. But that's still over $100 million short of what it will take to get Rodriguez. The Tigers have raised payroll $50 million the past three seasons. Are they going to spend close to $30 million more on one player?

He's going to New York, Chicago or Boston. That's how baseball works.