The A-Rod anti-climax.
Posted by Tino Evangelou on November 15, 2007
It appears both sides in the Alex Rodriguez soap opera realized they needed each other and are now working out a deal that will put A-Rod back in Yankee pinstripes for as many as ten more years. It seems to me the case here was simply that A-Rod realized that a market did not exist (outside of the Yankees) that could pay him what he wanted, and the Yankees realized that they could not possibly replace A-Rod’s production in the lineup.
It’s kind of funny, given the ridiculous timing of A-Rod’s opt-out and the back and forth between his camp and the apparently petulant Hank Steinbrenner, that they now have to awkwardly kiss and make up. It’s even funnier that the Yankee fans that relentlessly slammed Rodriguez upon learning of his initial decision now have to once again accept him as one of their own. The “biggest piece of garbage that has ever donned a Yankee uniform” and his MVP numbers will apparently be back, no doubt to the chagrin of a few delusional Yankee fans who had convinced themselves that they would have been better equipped to win a championship with Mike Lowell or some other inferior player at third base. Something tells me they’ll forget all about how angry they were when he’s leading the Yankees into another playoff push in 2008.
By the way, I get a kick out of picturing Jeff Weaver/Kevin Brown/Raul Mondesi/Carl Pavano/Kyle Farnsworth googling “biggest piece of garbage to ever don a Yankee uniform” and breathing a big sigh of relief when they found out that it was A-Rod and not them that was given said title by a buddy of ours. I can only hope that this has actually happened.
As for the Mets, it’s time to get pumped up and order your Yorvit Torrealba jerseys! It’ll be a good long-term investment because it appears that we’ll get to experience Yorvit and his career 80 OPS+ through 2010. 2010! The best part is that based on what I’m seeing on some forums, some Mets fans are already trying to rationalize a 3 year, $15 million contract to a career backup catcher as a “good move”. Uh, yeah, ok. Paul Lo Duca sucked, but he didn’t suck to the tune of a .618 OPS (!!!) outside of Coors Field last year. On the bright side, it appears that Omar Minaya is doing all he can to make us forget about an atrocious September collapse by putting us through an even-more-atrocious offseason. Whatever, I’m sure it’s all Beltran’s fault somehow. Ya Gotta Believe!
The rumors: The numbers presently being floated around are 10 years, $280 million for Alex Rodriguez and 3 years, $15 million for Yorvit Torrealba. However, I’ve also seen 2 years $10 million mentioned for Torrealba which would be only somewhat less atrocious a contract. And really, given everything that’s happened, who knows what A-Rod’s final deal is going to look like. I guess we’ll find out for both guys soon enough. They couldn’t really be any more different.
Update, Saturday: Oh GOD yes, the Torrealba deal has apparently broken down!
