Are you gonna eat that?
One of my favorite strategies when going out to dinner with a bunch of friends is to order a small dish then eat whatever everyone else doesn't finish or like. I can usually stuff myself silly that way. I kind of feel the same way about Alex Rodriguez right now.
"Is anyone gonna take that? No? OK, send it down here."
A month after single-handedly (or as single-handedly as possible for an offensive baseball player) helping the Yankees make the playoffs, A-Rod is persona non grata for everyone everywhere. The Yankees don't want him since he opted out of his contract. The Red Sox don't want him because he showed them up by opting out the day Boston won the Series. The Angels don't want him because their owner has said in the past he wouldn't want to spend that much of his payroll on one player. No one else wants him because of the price tag and because he's a clubhouse cancer and will never win a championship. At least those are a few of the reasons I've heard tossed around this week. Most of all though, everyone just dislikes him because all he cares about is money.
Well, I dislike him. I do think money is most important to him. And I do think he's a basket case come the playoffs. But I'll take him on the Mets, given a slightly different reality, and if no one else wants him.
This year the Mets paid Delgado $14.5 million, Pedro $14 M, and Beltran $13.5 M. Oh and Shawn Green was fourth on the payroll with an insane $11.8M. Those guys are still under contract next year, and they've got to do anything possible to keep Wright and Reyes forever. Also, the Mets need to spend money on starting pitching. Now is not the time to buy A-Rod. But if Delgado and Green could magically be erased. If Wright and Reyes were inked to magical contracts that pays them what they deserve and locks them up for 20 years. If Pedro suddenly turned back his clock eight years and if the Mets knew beyond a doubt that Maine and Ollie Perez would both win 17 games. Then I'd take A-Rod.
OK, those are huge ifs. Obviously, I don't really think it'd be a good idea to sign A-Rod given the current situation. But I do think A-Rod would be a good fit for the Mets. I think he could help the Mets win a championship. Actually, I think he could help a lot of teams win a championship.
Take Boston. Every Boston fan wants to sign Mike Lowell without a glance at A-Rod. Certainly, Boston fans hate A-Rod. But consider this: Papi, Manny, A-Rod. Are you kidding me? That's one of the greatest clutch power hitters of all time, one of the greatest RBI hitters of all time, and the greatest hitter of this generation in his prime. They would absolutely blow the Yankees out of the water in the regular season, and Papi and Manny would take care of business in the post season so that A-Rod would come to the plate looking to continue a rally rather than start a rally. I would love to see A-Rod win a series with Boston. That'd really delight me in the same way that seeing Shaq win a championship without Kobe delighted me. Listen Boston fans: Mike Lowell is never going to be this good again. Let him go. I really think A-Rod is a good fit for Boston. It'd be a rocky start, sure, but it would work.
I guess I don't buy that A-Rod is the clubhouse poison that people are making him out to be. He's not insane. Maybe he's a bit standoffish but he's not a jerk. He just likes making a lot of money putting up historic numbers.
"The Yankees will be better off without him," has been a common refrain this week. Has anyone thought that perhaps A-Rod would be better off without the Yankees? The Yankees were always going to be bigger than A-Rod, no matter what he did. And he was always going to be judged solely on the post season. But most of all, I don't think the personality of the Yankees matches up with A-Rod. They're too intense, too clean cut, too centered on their tradition. A-Rod could be the one and only star in California with the Angels or the Dodgers. Or he could grow a goatee, stick it to the Yankees and win a title in Boston. Or he could jump over to the happy-go-lucky Mets where traditional expectations are lower and a single World Series title would be MORE than enough to earn him the love of Mets fans.
I'm rooting for A-Rod to end up on the Red Sox because of what that would mean for that rivalry, and because I really believe that would bury the Yankees in the AL East. I'm not predicting A-Rod will win a championship with whoever he ends up with. I'm not even predicting he'll definitely be a success. I'm just saying that you're wrong if you pass on A-Rod for any other reason than cost. And if you do, you can pass him down to me.
* * *
On a related note, I think Joe Girardi was the right guy for the Yankees job. But I still stand by the statement I made when Torre left: "The new manager will be gone by 2010."
"Is anyone gonna take that? No? OK, send it down here."
A month after single-handedly (or as single-handedly as possible for an offensive baseball player) helping the Yankees make the playoffs, A-Rod is persona non grata for everyone everywhere. The Yankees don't want him since he opted out of his contract. The Red Sox don't want him because he showed them up by opting out the day Boston won the Series. The Angels don't want him because their owner has said in the past he wouldn't want to spend that much of his payroll on one player. No one else wants him because of the price tag and because he's a clubhouse cancer and will never win a championship. At least those are a few of the reasons I've heard tossed around this week. Most of all though, everyone just dislikes him because all he cares about is money.
Well, I dislike him. I do think money is most important to him. And I do think he's a basket case come the playoffs. But I'll take him on the Mets, given a slightly different reality, and if no one else wants him.
This year the Mets paid Delgado $14.5 million, Pedro $14 M, and Beltran $13.5 M. Oh and Shawn Green was fourth on the payroll with an insane $11.8M. Those guys are still under contract next year, and they've got to do anything possible to keep Wright and Reyes forever. Also, the Mets need to spend money on starting pitching. Now is not the time to buy A-Rod. But if Delgado and Green could magically be erased. If Wright and Reyes were inked to magical contracts that pays them what they deserve and locks them up for 20 years. If Pedro suddenly turned back his clock eight years and if the Mets knew beyond a doubt that Maine and Ollie Perez would both win 17 games. Then I'd take A-Rod.
OK, those are huge ifs. Obviously, I don't really think it'd be a good idea to sign A-Rod given the current situation. But I do think A-Rod would be a good fit for the Mets. I think he could help the Mets win a championship. Actually, I think he could help a lot of teams win a championship.
Take Boston. Every Boston fan wants to sign Mike Lowell without a glance at A-Rod. Certainly, Boston fans hate A-Rod. But consider this: Papi, Manny, A-Rod. Are you kidding me? That's one of the greatest clutch power hitters of all time, one of the greatest RBI hitters of all time, and the greatest hitter of this generation in his prime. They would absolutely blow the Yankees out of the water in the regular season, and Papi and Manny would take care of business in the post season so that A-Rod would come to the plate looking to continue a rally rather than start a rally. I would love to see A-Rod win a series with Boston. That'd really delight me in the same way that seeing Shaq win a championship without Kobe delighted me. Listen Boston fans: Mike Lowell is never going to be this good again. Let him go. I really think A-Rod is a good fit for Boston. It'd be a rocky start, sure, but it would work.
I guess I don't buy that A-Rod is the clubhouse poison that people are making him out to be. He's not insane. Maybe he's a bit standoffish but he's not a jerk. He just likes making a lot of money putting up historic numbers.
"The Yankees will be better off without him," has been a common refrain this week. Has anyone thought that perhaps A-Rod would be better off without the Yankees? The Yankees were always going to be bigger than A-Rod, no matter what he did. And he was always going to be judged solely on the post season. But most of all, I don't think the personality of the Yankees matches up with A-Rod. They're too intense, too clean cut, too centered on their tradition. A-Rod could be the one and only star in California with the Angels or the Dodgers. Or he could grow a goatee, stick it to the Yankees and win a title in Boston. Or he could jump over to the happy-go-lucky Mets where traditional expectations are lower and a single World Series title would be MORE than enough to earn him the love of Mets fans.
I'm rooting for A-Rod to end up on the Red Sox because of what that would mean for that rivalry, and because I really believe that would bury the Yankees in the AL East. I'm not predicting A-Rod will win a championship with whoever he ends up with. I'm not even predicting he'll definitely be a success. I'm just saying that you're wrong if you pass on A-Rod for any other reason than cost. And if you do, you can pass him down to me.
* * *
On a related note, I think Joe Girardi was the right guy for the Yankees job. But I still stand by the statement I made when Torre left: "The new manager will be gone by 2010."
Labels: Alex Rodriguez, Boston Red Sox, MLB, New York Mets, New York Yankees
posted by Prof. A at 1:36 PM
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