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February 15, 2007
Mariano Rivera's Request For An Extension
Yesterday, Peter Abraham shared the following:
Brian Cashman just made an appearance in the press box, essentially to talk about Mariano Rivera.
He said his preference was to wait until after the season to discuss a contract extension. He did not rule out the idea of a contract getting done before then but indicated that would not be the case.
Even for a player of Rivera’s stature, Cashman said, it’s not fair to extend him while other players are in the same situation. Cashman said he “doesn’t doubt” Rivera will remain with the Yankees.
“I don’t think this is as big an issue as it is being played out to be,” Cashman said.
According to a trusted source that I have, Rivera is not happy at this moment. Mariano is displeased by the way the Yankees have elected to handle an offer to Bernie Williams (for 2007). That's part of it. But, more so, he is upset over the Yankees wait-and-see approach towards him.
According to my source, Rivera is not bluffing about entertaining other offers from all interested parties at the end of the season if the Yankees elect not to negotiate with him during the spring.
My source stressed that Mariano loves New York, the Yankees, and their fans. However, while his heart is here, he realizes that baseball is a business and everyone needs to do what they feel is best for them - because if you don't look out for yourself, no one else will do it.
Back on December 8, 2006, I shared my opinion on Rivera's contract situation: "Because of who he [Rivera] is, what he's meant to this franchise, and what he means to it at this moment, I think the Yankees have to go for it, extend him, and do it before the start of the 2007 regular season."
My opinion has not changed since that time.
I know where the Yankees are coming from here - Mo will be 38-years old in 2008 and he's had some recent arm woes. However, is the potential money saved with this risk analysis approach worth the P.R. nightmare of seeing Mariano Rivera closing games for the Boston Red Sox in 2008?
For the last dozen years, Derek Jeter has been the face of the Yankees organization. However, while Jeter is loved by most, there's still a noticeable segment of the Yankees fan base that realizes Derek is not all that many claim him to be, etc. - and there's not a total Yankees fan lovefest going on for him.
Mariano Rivera is a different story. I would guess that 99% of Yankees fans have unconditional love for Rivera because of his performance and class over the last 12 seasons. If an effective Rivera is allowed to leave New York over a money issue it will be the same as when the Mets traded Tom Seaver in 1977 over money. That trade almost killed some Mets fans.
Letting Rivera walk may be the biggest mistake Brian Cashman will make in his career. He needs to rethink his position on Mo - and do it fast.
Posted by Steve Lombardi at February 15, 2007 11:37 AM
Comments
However, is the potential money saved with this risk analysis approach worth the P.R. nightmare of seeing Mariano Rivera closing games for the Boston Red Sox in 2008?
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Seeing as we almost had a CF platoon of Gerald Williams & Chad Curtis with Albert Belle in LF, with Bernie manning CF for the Red Sox, I'd say the PR aspect doesn't mean much.
Barring any unforseen circumstances, I think Rivera will finish his career as a Yankee.
Given that the Mets weren't going anywhere, I can see why they moved Seaver & Kingman
Posted by: Raf ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.waswatching.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at February 15, 2007 12:35 PM
The whole Seaver/Grant/Dick Young thing was much deeper than that.
Posted by: Steve Lombardi at February 15, 2007 01:27 PM
Sometimes I just wish athletes would shut up with the respect crap when referring to contract negotiations and just admit that they're greedy bastards. On the one hand, Mo's earned 70 million in his illustrious career, while a close friend of mine has been teaching in an inner-city school for six years and still cannot afford a down payment on a mortgage.
Posted by: brockdc at February 15, 2007 01:30 PM
The whole Seaver/Grant/Dick Young thing was much deeper than that.
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I would suspect it to be more Seaver & Grant than Seaver, Grant & Young.
For whatever reason, some owners/teams didn't want to go along with free agency; remember Finley attempting to sell some of his players around the same time frame
Posted by: Raf at February 15, 2007 02:09 PM
Grant,Young and Young's son-in-law were all sleeping together on the Seaver trade.
Posted by: Steve Lombardi at February 15, 2007 02:29 PM
Now there's a mental image I did not need. So much for lunch!
:)
Posted by: Raf at February 15, 2007 02:37 PM
This situation has been framed incorrectly. Mariano has repeatedly given away all his power by saying he wanted to finish his career as a Yankee. His agent Fern Cuza should've been fired long ago. What happened here is similar to what they did with Pettitte. If you have a franchise player who's asked for a phone call, you don't have to sign or pay him,
just call. Say we're looking at things, we have concerns, but wanted to give you the same freaking courtesy we'd give a dog, instead of letting you twist slowly in the wind. No phone call, weak agent, Mo gets peeved, has no power, starts talking about respect, and most of this wouldn't have happened if they had shown him a tiny bit of it.ie, a lousy phone call. Now, the media has framed the discourse looking only at money, ignoring this pattern Steinbrenner has had of humiliating his best, most loyal players and driving them away. I'll say good-bye to Mo, because I think he has to leave and should leave after this kind of treatment. Mike Lupica, who's probably seen more of Mo's pitches than most Yankee fans, said separately in 2006: Mariano may be 'the most important Yankee of all time.' And, he is 'the greatest money athlete of all time.' You'd never know either of these things from watching the YES network either. That's why Mo should leave.
Posted by: susanmullen at February 15, 2007 10:03 PM