A-Rod's Contract

The Alex Rodriguez contact situation fascinates me. I'm sure I'll screw up some of the numbers, but it's the almost political posing back and forth in the press and the Rangers' indirect involvement that I find so interesting.

Let's take a step back and give Scott Boras some credit here. Forget about the fact that he got Tom Hicks and the Rangers to bid against themselves. He was able to get A-Rod the richest contract in the history of baseball, but also had the foresight to add an out clause so that A-Rod could become a free agent again at the end of the 2007 season in case he felt A-Rod could sign an even *more* lucrative contract at that point in his career.

A-Rod is due to earn $25M/yr for the next three years, but Boras has been suggesting that A-Rod could sign a contract for about $30M/yr for about six years if he were to become a free agent again. At the very least, it's not difficult to imagine that Boras could find someone to pay A-Rod more than he would be getting over the next three years. Plus, hitting the free agent market at thirty two sounds a lot better than hitting the free agent market at thirty five. That doesn't even take into consideration the fact that A-Rod may be sick of New York. You never know, he may be willing to take a pay cut just to get out of New York. So, we can see why A-Rod might want to opt out of his contract at the end of the season.

The Yankees recently announced (officially or otherwise) that they would like to talk to A-Rod about a contract extension but that they will not attempt to re-sign him if he opts out of his current contract to become a free agent. Remember that as part of the trade that brought A-Rod to New York, the Rangers are paying about $8M/yr of A-Rod's contract. So the Yankees are currently paying A-Rod "only" $17M/yr. If they extend A-Rod's contract, the Rangers continue to chip in towards A-Rod's salary. If A-Rod opts out, the Rangers are off the hook. It's pretty safe to say that the Rangers are silently rooting for A-Rod to opt out.

Of course, the Yankees have the financial resources necessary to pay A-Rod without the help of larger market teams like the Rangers. They could re-sign A-Rod if he decides to become a free agent and afford to pay him $30M/yr, but it makes sense that they'd prefer to have the Rangers continue to chip in. Plus, the Yankees may believe that A-Rod is worth $17M/yr to them over the next three years, but not $30M/yr. Actually, the numbers are even higher after you take the luxury tax into consideration. Regardless, I don't think the Yankees want to say that A-Rod is worth $30M/yr as they negotiate with Posada to deal with the fact that A-Rod would be earning almost twice as much as Jeter.

So the Yankees make the public threat that if A-Rod opts out that they won't re-sign him. Maybe that lowers A-Rod's market value. If A-Rod becomes a free agent and a team like the Angels or Cubs decide that they're interested, maybe they won't be as worried about the Yankees trumping their offers and won't make outrageous Tom Hicks bidding against himself offers of $180M over six years. Maybe A-Rod and/or Boras worry about that and decide to negotiate with the Yankees now. Maybe the Yankees are bluffing and would still be interested, but they hope/expect public threat will make A-Rod more affordable to them. Maybe the Yankees made the threat as a challenge in an attempt to get A-Rod to tear up the rest of his contract and end his time in the Bronx.

Here's the part that really shocked me. When asked about his contract status and the Yankees offer/threat, A-Rod said he won't discuss his contract during the season. The shocking part? It was the right thing to say and it got the issue out of the press fairly quickly. While I think that was the pretty obvious way to handle the situation, it still surprised me because I half expected A-Rod to say something calculated but ill advised. Maybe he'd talk about his favorite ballparks, the desire to raise his kids in an area of the country. Maybe a reporter would successfully bait him on whether he's considered playing for Lou Piniella again or the fact that a team that signed him to an eight year contract would likely receive the priveledge of having him setting the all time home run record in their uniform. A-Rod made the wise choice and kept his mouth shut.

Needless to say, I'm really curious to see what happens at the end of the season.

If A-Rod does opt out, I don't want to see the Red Sox sign him. While I'll admit I was bitter when the Yankees made the trade to get A-Rod, I was relieved when the Sox/Rangers trade talks over A-Rod broke down. As a friend at the time said, it seemed like the Red Sox were trying to out-Yankee the Yankees. He's exceptionally talented and one of the best players in baseball, but I just don't want him on my team. I don't think the Mariners or Rangers missed his leadership when he left.

For lack of a better explanation, I don't think he plays the game the right way, either on or off the field.

Years ago, a reporter asked A-Rod years ago about how he felt about comparisons to Jeter, his close friend at the time. A-Rod pointed out that Jeter had it easier than he did because opposing teams didn't consider "shutting down Jeter" as the top priority to winning the game. Was that an accurate statement? Absolutely. Jeter was still a very good hitter at the time, but Jeter was probably the fourth or fifth most feared hitter in the Yankees lineup at the time. Even now, Jeter gets praised for playing sound baseball by bunting runners over in the eighth or ninth inning with the Yankees down a run. How many other superstars aren't asked to swing away in that type of situation? Very few. I felt the same way about Jeter / Nomar comparisons when the Red Sox offense relied on Mo Vaughn and Nomar, and not always in that order. But no matter how accurate and heartfelt A-Rod's comment was, it was also ill advised and really damaged his relationship with Jeter. A-Rod would have been better off keeping his mouth shut, changing the subject, or flat out lying. Actually, that's a big reason I was surprised and pleased to see A-Rod shut down the contract talk by simply saying it wasn't something he would address during the regular season.

On the field, the lasting images I have of A-Rod are him celebrating after a walkoff home run in April as if he was a reserve infielder just called up from AAA but choking in the clutch when it matters. The other memorable A-Rod moments are him slapping the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's glove in the 2004 ALCS and then proclaiming his innocence, shouting "Mine", "Got it", or "Hah" (depending on who you believe) to successfully cause a backup third baseman to think his shortstop was going to catch the ball, and popping up awkwardly out of a slide into second to elbow Dustin Pedroia in the groin. To call these types of plays bush league or even little league might be giving A-Rod too much credit.

In fact, when I saw this item at The Onion's on line store, I immediately thought of A-Rod. Sure, there are people who say "If you're not cheating, you're not trying" or who consider everything from the hidden ball trick to deking a runner to be cheating. Maybe cheating isn't even the right term, maybe "bush league play that is likely to get you drilled in your next at bat" is, though it's a bit verbose. Had A-Rod had another at bat in that Blue Jays game or series, I would have expected the first pitch to be at his backside and I would have been surprised to see his teammates rush to his aid. The "Mine" play is my personal favorite because not even Joe Torre came to his defense after the game.

I didn't want to see A-Rod wearing a Red Sox uniform in 2004 and I feel more strongly about that now. The only real question is, as a Red Sox fan, do I want to see him still wearing pinstripes in 2008?