I think the saddest thing about the A-Rod situation is that he isn't the problem (any more so than Cano, Sheff or Giambi were in the playoffs, anyway) -- it's the media's constant obsession over him. It's sick. It disturbs me as someone who works in the industry and it bothers me more as a human being.

He has to stick it out here, because like you said, he won't be able to move past it. Unless, of course, he defeats the Yanks in the playoffs with a fantastic performance, which I fear is what will happen if he goes.

As for the Yankee clubhouse, I've heard rumblings for awhile that Jeter isn't exactly Mr. Friendly, so if he's not sticking up for A-Rod, that doesn't bug me so much. Damon, Mo and Bernie, three people who seem like decent guys, do stick up for him/admit to hanging out with him off the field. I don't believe he's as shunned as it's made out to be, mostly because I doubt this team is 24 best buds and then A-Rod.

I agree with ya, KB, on all acounts.

Good god, I never thought about him having a good postseason against the Yankees. Now that would be a nightmare.

I certainly don't want him to go for nothing in return. He is not a no. 8 hitter. He's a .280/35/120 guy at worst, and that's among the best at 3B in all of baseball.

Paul-- I have an idea. Do you have Steinbrenner's phone number? He should like this. It's a win-win-win-win situation.

ARod needs a change for change's sake. NYY needs a change for change's sake. You need a 3rd baseman.

My Kansas City Royals need a shortstop. Badly.

Let's trade Mark Teahen and Cash for ARod.

Teahen was hurt all year and spent time at AAA, but still but up a line of .290/.357/.517/.874 in 109 games. ARod has a better OBP, but he drew over twice as many walks (Teahen didn't have any protection among the Royals' flaccid lineup most of the year), which would explain that.

But we have a 3rd baseman waiting at AAA.

ARod says he doesn't want to leave the Yankees. And while I'm sure this is true on some level, I also believe that it's his agent or publicist talking. I think ARod might like to find a place without the media circus of New York. Some people thrive there, some suffocate. We've seen enough of ARod as a Yankee to know he won't be able to cut mustard there-- no matter how much more he contributes to the team than the big-headed Giambi.

No, ARod could use a little open sky in Missouri. A place where he's the biggest star. A place where he could play his natural position, a position he enjoys WAY more than the third bag.

Steinbrenner gets to get a player for less-than-Cano wage (the best bargain in baseball), a player who has the credibility of being a Billy Beane star of Moneyball. And Teahen is the kind of player who wants the biggest stage in the game. He'll hack it in the Apple, ARod clearly won't. Then you guys can go buy a legitimate catcher or a starting pitcher that isn't a member of AARP.

I'm serious here. Do you have King George's email? I'll send him a note right now.

Blah... don't blame the media. That's a cop out.

No one forced A-Rod to sign the richest contract in baseball history for a team that had no chance to win, and then forced him to bitch and moan his way out of town forcing a trade, and then forced him to become a Yankee where the spotlight would be harsher than anywhere else.

I have a hard time building up sympathy for the guy.

That is an interesting take, GJoe, but how much cash do the Royals have to give to the Yankees?

The shitty part is why trade a guy who was an MVP just last season for a guy you hope will become an MVP-caliber player in the future? And yet it still makes a little sense.

I don't think A-Rod would go to KC, though. He would be ridiculed so bad for running away from pressure.

Normally, I think blaming the media is wrong. In this case, though, they have been dogging him all season long -- even when he's not doing anything wrong (and I hardly believe he is the only person to blame for the playoff loss, but you'd never know that seeing some of the headlines. So he's got a huge contract -- so does 3/4 of the Yankee team. It's not an excuse for shoddy journalism).

Randy Johnson has an illegitimate child and pushes a camera out of his face (and is only mediocre on the field), Paul LoDuca cheats on his wife and lies to his mistresses about being divorced, Jason Giambi actually cheated AT THE GAME, leaving the team without a player for a chunk of time as a result of his stupidity -- all make the front pages, but then die out. I've been a Yankee fan my whole life, and NEVER have a I seen a player under such a microscope. My favorite example is "SHIRTLESS! A-ROD! IN THE PARK! BAD MAN!" column that Jay Greenburg of the Post wrote back in July or August. It was a non-story, but it had been a few days since anyone in the Post had spewed some bile on the subject, so why not make a story out of it?

I don't think he deserves sympathy. He does deserve to not be blamed for every fart that's laid in this town, though.

CJ, how can you NOT blame the media? It's New York's blessing and their curse. The city is a pressure cooker, and not even all the strong survive.

PK, ARod's not going to be an MVP, at least not on the Yankees. Doesn't everyone know that already?

All signs point to Royal ownership putting a decent amount of money into the organization, that trend is certainly turning in KC. But since the Rangers are still footing most of ARod's salary, it shouldn't be too much for NYY to rid themselves of their pariah.

Frankly, I believe a lot in Teahen. And as a Royals fan, he strikes me as the next player in a long tradition of Royals... guys who build up their career here, but become more valuable as trade-bait than as Royals. Cross-Ref the 1998-2000 Royals Outfield, of Johnny Damon, (2004 World Series All Star), Jermaine Dye (2005 World Series All Star) and Carlos Beltran (Current Amazin' Met on their way to the World Series).

I don't see Teahen as a Royal for very long. If he begins 2007 as a Royal, he won't finish as one. Baseball needs more power hitting lefty third basemen. You know of anyone looking for one? KC needs a shortstop (and a rotation, but that's another story).

Just blow up the whole thing!! Its been proven a team of highest paid mercenaries wont win anything. And its not just baseball, look at the NY Knicks, and the NY Rangers a few years ago, highest paid teams, never made the playoffs.. Alot of times its about chemistry and it seems the Yanks have NONE!
All these guys are just worried about their paychecks, and from the SI article you see how aware A-rod is of who is making what.. hey guys why not just pull our your dicks and see whose is biggest.. oh wait I forget they all shower together, well maybe not I bet this team with all the personalities have private showers!!
While in the dugout it looks nice after a HR, or big hit everyone giving congrats to each other, but honestly do you think ANY of the guys making over 5 mil a year want to hang with each other..
Mussina sits there and does every crossword puzzle possible.. Sheffield probably walks around like Morris Day in Purple Rain with a guy holding a mirror for him to look at himself.. Randy Johnson who know what he does.. A-Rod and Jeter aint on good terms, its so obvious, plus Jeter never "stuck up" for A-Rod over the summer. No other Japanese players so Matsui is in a corner on his own.. Look at what happened when the NY Rangers surrounded Jagr with 7 other Czech players, they WON.. Chemistry baby..
Start by saying bye to Johnson, Mussina, Sheffield. Dont run out and spend that money on a Zito or whoever, 28year old pitchers are not a good investment, it would be nice to just find anyone who can throw a few inning and let the 930runs scored win games for a few years. Wait till the Philip Hughes and other young pitchers ar ready.. I mean looking at the tigers see what 23yr old 101mph pitchers can do... Man the Yanks are a mess, but I give faith to Cashman to do it.. Dont trade A-Rod, the fact Texas is picking up so much of the contract makes him a bargin, so he doesnt have friends, its only cause he is so pretty and biracial, not cause he isnt an MVP calibar player.

Ayan...as a Devils fan I need to call you on your contention that the Rangers WON last year due to Czech chemistry. They won nothing...they blew the Atlantic Division to the Devils by losing their final five games and got swept in the first round while being outscored 17-4.

Um... last time I checked... A-Rod was an MVP... while playing in New York. Is everyone's memory so short? It happened last year!

And, in his first dozen playoff games with the Yankees, his numbers were pretty damn good.

Are you honestly suggesting that the media in New York has suddenly gotten "tougher" on A-Rod? Is A-Rod the biggest pussy in the world that he suddenly can't take a little media scrutiny? Whatever.

It's a cop out. It's a convenient excuse for Yankees fans who don't want to see reality. If there's a pressure A-Rod can't handle, it's from the booing fans... not the evil media. Find a mirror.

It's always frightening to me when I say this, but CJ's right (hi CJ!). If you want to play in one of the greatest baseball cities you have to be able to take the heat and not crumble (or try to knock the ball out of people's hands), no matter how much you're getting paid. It's a privledge and an honor to play in such a place and if you don't agree.. go play in Tampa Bay for awhile, see how you like it.

Conch.. when i say the Rangers won, I didnt mean the stanley cup, i just mean they had a total turnaround, made the playoffs. After 7 totally horrible years, last years season could be considered WINNING. Yeah the stretch at the end wasnt good, and once Jagr went down, so went the whole team.. But Lundqvist and others played hard during the Olympics and i think that hurt them in the end.. I know PK is loving his blog turning into a hockey argument :)
A-Rod has only had 1 good playoff series with the Yanks, the opening round in 2004 vs Twins. Against the RedSox in 2004 he was HORRIBLE when needed and looked like a bitch slapping Branson Arryoro. In 2005 he was nothing, and made the last out a GIDP against the angels.. 2006 well its fresh in everyone head..

Uh, the last time I checked, A-Rod had never complained about the media -- it was me doing it - and I'm not using it as an "Excuse" for him not playing up to par -- I'm saying it's disgusting to see the lemming mentality of the media to sell papers over several stupid non-stories. And HE's never blamed his poor play on that or booing, either.

Perhaps I am the pussy then -- oh, that's right, I am! I don't have the option of going to play in Tampa Bay, though, so I'm not sure what to do about that.

Oh, and please don't EVER accuse me of being one of those douchebags who boo A-Rod. I think Paul (or anyone else who reads my blog) can vouch for that. Every Yankee fan I know wants to the toss the boo-ers and their bandwagon asses off the upperdeck.

And if the "reality" is that he's a guy who can hit .290 and knock in 120 runs in an "off" year, well, that's fine by me.

I'm thoroughly enjoying this thread.

Next year, the Yankees won't even make the playoffs. Not even King George and all his money can fill the holes on this team and all the key players will be another year older.

Enjoy Johnny Damon and his Bernie Williams-esque decline

Monte, haven't you learned from the past two seasons, when bells tolled mid-year for the Yankees, that you can never count them out of making the playoffs? I mean, c'mon, they didn't just sneak into the playoffs, they came in pretty strong both times.

And I'll vouch for KB as a fellow non-booer. I've never never booed A-Rod, and I can also report that the Game 1 crowd gave A-Rod one of the loudest cheers when the starting lineup was announced. Of course, plenty boo when he screws up, and I don't understand the mentality, because that clearly doesn't help anything.

(I may have booed Kevin Brown off the mound a couple of times, but c'mon, who didn't?)

Okay, you get a pass for booing Kevin Brown. I think that was your duty as a fan.

When it comes to booing, I think I'm an expert on the subject, after all, I'm a Philadelphia sports fan.

Our current equivalent is Pat Burrell, who always gets the encouraging cheer as fans hope against hope that he'll realize his potential, only to be followed by the boos after he strikes out or pops out once again.