The A-nnoucementIn a move fitting of the self absorbed a-hole that Alex Rodriquez clearly is, it was announced that he would not be returning to the bargaining table but instead would opt out. Arod/Boras chose to announce it in the middle of a World Series clinching game without a direct notification to the Yankees. Cashman had been texted and left a voicemail. My guess is Boras wanted to make sure he made news and couldn't let the Yankees find out too far in advance. When Cashman was unreachable he reasoned it was still more important to announce it and generate some buzz around his client. The reasoning was the current unknown state of the Yankees would not be resolved in the next ten days. We all know this is simply about money; it always is with A-rod and Boras.
Boras thinks he will still get paid
The timing of the announcement aside, I think Boras still thinks he will get the Yankees involved. Back on October 12th Boras said that the Yankees were very clear that the contract from the Rangers was for 4 years and after that it was very clear that it was something that was in Alex's control. This comment was preceded by a justification of Alex's worth and his impact on the Yes Network and Yankee attendance. Drawing from these comments and the ill-timed opt-out I can't help but think that Boras thinks the Yankees will pay. The line in the sand drawn by the Yankees is imaginary and up for negotiation.
This is a HUGE miscalculation on Boras' part. The new Yankee regime has made it clear that they will not back down. They began to show it with their reluctance to part with young pitchers at the trading deadline and made it even clearer with Torre's contract. A impetus George is no longer at the helm and it appears that thoughtful men with a plan are in charge. Shocking, I know!
What Now?
We can only hope that the Yankees stick to their guns and let A-rod walk. Having 30 million dollars a year in one player is questionable at best and once who clearly cant handle the pressure of the postseason is even more questionable. The Yankee offence scored 968 runs this past year and A-rod had a very impressive VORP of 96.6. So if the Yankees were to replace him with just a league average player you could roughly expect them to score around 872 runs. They would still rank in the top 3 of all of baseball ahead of Boston, Colorado and Cleveland. So even without A-rod the Yankees will have enough offense. ...and we all know Jeter is happy.
As Josh Beckett and the incredibly annoying Papelbon have shown us, the postseason is all about pitching. While Arod leaving makes a lot of noise and creates a little panic in the end it doesn't really matter. If the Yankees young guns continue to develop they will be back in the postseason and this time with a chance to do some real damage. Well, as long as the bugs cooperate.....damn BUGS!
