How Bad for the Yankees is Arod's Contract?

Alex Rodriguez

After the 2007 season Alex Rodriguez signed a 10 year $275 million contract. For a player with a single team bidding entering his age 32 season this was quite the player friendly contract. Before Arod signed with the Yankees the lack of interest around baseball was significant enough that the MLB player association discussed filing a grievance. So while the Yankees might have overpaid how much have they overpaid? First lets get an idea of the production you can expect from Arod for the duration of the contract. Baseball Think Factory ran some rough projections before the 2008 season, I have replaced the 2008 and 2009 numbers with his actual production;

The RBI numbers will probably drop as Arod goes from a 3-4 hitter to a bit lower in the lineup as he ages. 2013-2017 seem to the big issue. Arod project to be a slightly above average player for most of the time(the average OPS in 2009 was .758) while most likely remaining the top paid player in baseball. You add in the potential 20 million a year Jeter will require for a 4 year extensions and the Yankees could be dishing out 50 million a year in 2013 and 2014 for below average players. They will have an additional 47 million invested in CC and Texieira. Texieria will only be 33 in 2014 and CC 32 so you can expect a fairly high level of production from those two. However the 2013/2014 Yankees will have 100 million in 4 players, possibly achieving only slightly above average production from those 4 spots.

Essentially what the Arod contract has forced the Yankees into is a budget minded approach where they will have to produce cheap players from within their own system. If they do not even the Yankees don't have the financially ability to spend their way into contention. As we get deeper into Arod's contract it will get worse and worse. I know this one is supposedly on Hank but Cashman has to get some blame here too.

But how bad is the contract? Ask me again when Arod is a 41 year old DH producing below average production while making 32 million a year....

New York Yankees Alex Rodriguez Pictures

Alex Rodriguez

What I want to know....

Alex Rodriguez

According to SI:

"at least 104 barreled ahead and peed into bottles when they knew there was a chance they would be dirty; reportedly, A-Rod was among those."

Where are the other 103 names? Leaking one person's name screams of someone having an agenda. Who leaked it and what is their agenda against A-rod?

I am not an A-Rod fan. His performance in the clutch and annoying insecurities make him almost impossible to root for. His steroid use is damaging to his legacy and the Yankees, but you have to wonder why his name was the only one leaked. Will the other 103 names be leaked? And why is A-Rod being targeted?

This is going to get ugly, but I hope the media swarm spends some of their 6 billion hours of coverage trying to get these questions answered. A-Rod's legacy is ruined but what I want to know who wanted to ruin it?

A-Rod Saga is Over

Alex Rodriguez

Based on the introductions last night and the general level of drama surrounding A-Rod this spring I really feel that the A-Rod soap opera is over. He has become simply the best player on our team and is no longer going to judged at-bat to at-bat. He isn't even the main story line this year, that is the performance of the kids. Jack Curry over at the times disagrees, but this is just another case of how the mainstream media misses the point. Curry titled his article "Rodriguez’s Opt-Out: A Mess That Sticks" but actually makes no concrete argument that the mess has indeed stuck. As a Yankee fan, and a former A-Rod hater, I can say that this is a non-story to me. A-Rod is here for 10 years and is the best player in baseball. The opt-out and drama of the offseason is no longer a story and I feel that most fans agree.

I wonder how much longer the media will try and make a story out of this? It is no longer one. A-Rod is officially a Yankee.

A-Rod=Griffey Jr Circa 1999?

Alex Rodriguez

A fellow blogger and card carrying member of Red Sox Nation at MVN wonders when comparing Arod to Griffey in 1999;

"At 30 years old, Ken Griffey, Jr had 1883 hits and topped 170 hits seven times in his career. He amassed a total of 1270 RBI. At 30 years old, Alex Rodriguez had 2067 hits and topped 170 hits nine times in his career. He amassed a total of 1347 RBI. You can see where this is going.
This is nothing against Junior, who, even through battling injuries throughout his 30s, made two All-Star teams and will reach 600 home runs for his career next year. Scott Boras has claimed that A-Rod is worth the astronomical figures he is demanding because he will, in time, break the all-time home run record, and the all-time hits record. His statistical findings are that, given all the milestones Alex will chase, break, and create will generate revenue through local television networks, ticket sales, merchandise, etc and validate Rodriguez’s salary. I’m not saying he won’t, but whenever you are basing a value on something that may happen, just remember, Ken Griffey Jr was Alex Rodriguez in 1999. Ask the Cincinnati Reds how that worked out for them …"

Obviously the main difference here is the injury issue. Griffey had shown even in 1999 that he had a propensity to get hurt missing significant time in 95 and 96. A-Rod had some minor injury issues early in his career and since has been a rock even showing the ability to fight through injuries. Also, ARod clearly takes better care of his body and won't risk hurting himself by running into any walls(as much as it hurts me to admit) not to mention the difference in positions and years on artificial turf.