Let The Fun Begin!
I have to admit, the title of this post is pure hyperbole. There is nothing fun about this right now. Nothing fun about not having baseball I care about to watch and nothing fun about seeing a very good man twist in the wind while a bombastic tyrant makes up his mind.
I don't think that the lack of news from Yankeeland is a sign they are bringing Joe back. On many levels, I would like to think so, but I think it is more a function of trying to figure out what they are doing on a number of levels and that simply takes time.
If you are Yankees' management right now you have to ask yourself two questions before you fire (techincally, not rehire since his contract is up) Joe Torre. 1- Is there someone as qualified to handle this job right now? 2- Will letting Torre go affect our ability to exercise our offseason plan?
I would say the answer to #1 is no right now. Don Mattingly is many things, but he is a total unknown as a manager and it certainly doesn't sound like he wants the job. (Comparing taking over the Yankees right now to coaching UCLA when Wooden left is a good hint) Joe Girardi did some great things in Florida, but he also overused a young pitching staff. Is that the guy you want in charge right now? Tony LaRussa would last about five minutes in New York before he attacked a reporter with a bat. Who else is out there who can come into New York and manage this team as well as Joe did? The only guy I can think of is Bobby Valentine, he has handled New York before, but I don't see that happening. The time to replace Joe was after last season when you could have turned to Lou Pinella, now you don't have that option.
As for question 2, it appears that Joe's departure would affect some players' decisions. Mo, Pettitte and Posada have stated that they want him back. So have many of the players who are not free agents. Now, the question is will the players really feel that way if the money the Yankees throw at them is more than anyone else? I don't know, but it has to enter the calculations.
And, that is probably the conversation the Yankees are having right now. I imagine Cashman is trying to convince George and whoever else wants to ditch Torre that a decision like that will guarantee that Posada and Rivera hit the free agent market instead of signing deals in the next few weeks.
The one player it won't affect is A-Rod. Sadly, Alex seems destined to head down the path of ruin again. He has finally become accepted in this town and he has a chance to be mentioned in the same breath as the Yankee immortals. But, Boras is prattling on about his value being worth a billion to a regional sports network, etc.. I will outline my approach with A-Rod tomorrow, but this seems to be heading to Alex ending up in a baseball backwater, richer than Midas and stuck in last place (again).
Comments
Re A-Rod: Who is going to pay him significantly more than $25 million per year? The Cubs don't have an owner. The Red Sox have payroll problems of their own. The Angels don't have unlimited resources.
In New York A-Rod gets his $25 million and all the media advantages and competitive advantages of being in New York. I just don't see how it is in his own interest to exercise the option.
I really think that Boras is overplaying his hand. Hopefully what is really going on here is that the Yankees agree to an extension that gives A Rod still more riches. Don't know if you can do that without voiding the deal he has now and all the good money we're getting Texas. But if you could do it and could structure a deal that, say, gives him an option to renew his deal at a certain price, that would probably be in his own best interests.
Posted by: Corey | October 11, 2007 02:25 PM |
When is Arod going to grow a pair and tell Boras he wants to stay. Yankees are going to offer him top dollar so it's not like he is taking a pay cut by staying. He will still be the highest paid player in baseball. When does money just not become a factor anymore? When do you have so much money that it just doesn't matter what you earn every year and you can go out and have fun? INTEREST WILL PAY HIS LIVING EXPENSES FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE. He doesn't even have to dip into the money he is earning now. He is making millions alone in interest if he's invested it properly. I don't understand why this is a hard decision for a player who is so obsessed with his legacy and what not.
Posted by: Tripp | October 11, 2007 03:12 PM |
Boras wants to start the bidding around $30m/year. You would think the deal would have to be around 7-10 years.
I really just dont believe the Angels/Giants/etc will follow through with that kind of investment, knowing full well that having a winning team brings in far more revenue than a single player putting up 45HR/year would, and investing that much into a single player seriously hurts their ability to finance a winning team (read: pitching).
The more this drags on, the more it looks like a single horse race. Im very glad Cashman made it clear they will not be in the bidding should he opt out.
Ill wager he will accept a healthy extension knowing full well the market they are betting on might not exist.
Posted by: ian | October 11, 2007 09:15 PM |
Yanks have the inside track. They can easily structure a player option that he can pick-up when this deal runs out that has a signing bonus structured in installments to give him a small raise until the deal starts. This keeps Texas paying over the next two years. Which is very important when you look at the Yankee payroll that sheds Giambi, Mussina, Abreu, Damon, Pavano, Farnsworth, etc in 2yrs. It'll be easier to pay him $30mm then.
Notice, Cashman says "if Arod opts out they will not be in the bidding", this is because the Yanks best bid will be before he opts out.
The new math for the Yanks to do is to come up with a number and years that they are willing pay and extend with the thought in mind that Texas pays $28mm of it. If that number is less than what Boras thinks he can get than the Yanks are definitely out of it.
Personally, I think you guys are right. A-rod wouldn't get much more than the $25mm he gets now, except he'd probably get that for 7 more years. The leverage that Boras is using is that the Yanks only pay him $14mm for the next two years. He's trying to do two things. (1) force them to give him an extension (2) force the Yanks to give some of the money they get from Texas to A-rod & Boras.
Pretty sneaky bastard and the year A-rod had puts the Yanks in a very high stakes poker game.
So, in the end, if he opts out, of course the Yanks are out. If they can't offer him a deal with someone else paying 28mm of it they won't offer him a better deal when they have to pick up the whole thing.
Posted by: tim | October 11, 2007 11:25 PM |