With Alex Rodriguez on the cusp of winning his second AL MVP in four New York seasons, Yankees fans are sick over the thought of losing the greatest player to ever bat eighth in a playoff game.
Relax, people, he's coming back next year.
But not under his current contract, which he will assuredly opt out of to become a free agent, if only to increase his bargaining leverage with New York. The Yankees will lose the financial assistance they get from the Rangers, but they're better at signing high-priced free agents than, say, Nick Hogan is at driving cars.
That Rodriguez-in-pinstripes is a lock for 2008 boils down to three simple points:
1. A-Rod's legacy is up for grabs. No team owns it yet, and the Yankees are one signature away from doing it.
2. The Yankees want to own that legacy as he challenges all-time records over the next decade. The Giants paid a hefty salary to keep an aging and DH-perfect Barry Bonds through No. 755, but I doubt they regret it.
3. A-Rod wants his legacy to be owned by the Yankees. He's aware of his status as an all-time great worthy of mention with Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle. He's aware of who the Yankees are in the grand scheme of baseball history. In short, A-Rod is not an idiot; he'll be back. And No. 13 will eventually sit retired in Monument Park.
Other reasons why A-Rod will sign a new deal with the Yankees:
• George Steinbrenner's eery silence this season leads me to believe he's very ill. My best guess is that he is not in cost-cutting mode. In 1973, Steinbrenner bought a brand for $10 million, and he elevated that brand with a marriage of nostalgia and marquee star power. Reggie, Clemens, A-Rod ... rest assured they were among his favorites. He wants the biggest name is baseball to help open the new Yankee Stadium in 2009.
• I don't know if you've heard, but the Yankees have hella money. The Stadium is hosting 50,000+ crowds every night, the YES network is uber-successful, and the new park is expected to net the Bombers tens of millions of dollars more per year. Whatever A-Rod costs, we can still afford it more easily than anyone else.
• Whether or not he was comfortable in New York before, he's sure found a home in 2007. He's putting up, as WasWatching.com notes, the greatest season for either a third baseman or a right-handed hitting Yankee in more than 50 years. He's receiving deserved respect from local fans and media alike, and only a gargantuan personal playoff collapse would disrupt that. Why would he want to start over somewhere else, have less of a chance to win the World Series, and have to answer persistent questions about his self-abbreviated Yankees tenure?
The legacy part is most important. But those other reasons give us this result:
Yankees + A-Rod = Perfect Sense For Both
I agree with your points and the scenario will likely play out as you wrote but I'm still not 100% sure A-Rod is a Yankee next year.
How short is A-Rod's memory? It hasn't been the best of rides for him in NYC. He's gone through stretches where the fans and media were merciless. He's had his personal life dragged through the mud and his relationship with his Yankee teammates is questionable too.
The money from the Yankees will be there and it will be tough to turn down $30 mil a year but I'd be willing to bet A-Rod believes he can create his own legacy regardless of where he finishes out his career.
We love Mike Lowell here in Boston but the team hasn't even approached him about a new deal. I have to believe that the team (while they won't publicly admit it yet) will make a push for A-Rod as well. Remember, Manny's contract expires after next year which if memory serves me right is upwards of the $20 mil/yr range. Manny won't be back so there's a nice chunk of a potential A-Rod money freed up right there.
BTW - I have been told by people who know that George is suffering from Alzhimer's and it is getting pretty bad pretty quickly. The New York press is aware of it but has been asked out of respect for George not to go public with it which AFAIK, they haven't. It's a shame.
Posted by monte at September 7, 2007 11:51 AM