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November 14, 2007
A-Rod Spoke To Yankees Today About Return
From the AP -
Alex Rodriguez spoke with the Yankees on Wednesday, telling them he wanted to explore whether he could work out a deal to return to New York.
Members of the Steinbrenner family and top team officials participated in the discussion, according to a person familiar with the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team didn't make any announcement.
Rodriguez, who opted out of his Yankees contract last month, said he had not yet begun discussions with other teams.
This just might be the second biggest cave-job in New York this year after the Mets.
Update, 11/14/07, 4:08 pm ET: From A-Rod's site:
After spending time with Cynthia and my family over these last few weeks, it became clear to me that I needed to make an attempt to engage the Yankees regarding my future with the organization.
Prior to entering into serious negotiations with other clubs, I wanted the opportunity to share my thoughts directly with Yankees' ownership. We know there are other opportunities for us, but Cynthia and I have a foundation with the club that has brought us comfort, stability and happiness.
As a result, I reached out to the Yankees through mutual friends and conveyed that message. I also understand that I had to respond to certain Yankees concerns, and I was receptive and understanding of that situation.
Cynthia and I have since spoken directly with the Steinbrenner family. During these healthy discussions, both sides were able to share honest feelings and hopes with one another, and we expect to continue this dialogue with the Yankees over the next few days.
It's like that scene that you see in the movies all the time - when the kid says he's running away from home and then turns around when he gets to the end of the block (and retreats).
Make him runs laps, Hank. Make him run laps.
Update, 11/14/07, 4:17 pm ET: From Ed Price:
"It's pretty clear to all of use he definitely wants to stay a Yankee," Hank Steinbrenner, team executive and son of owner George Steinbrenner, said today. "And that's all he's had to prove to me."
"Alex has reached out to us through a third party," Steinbrenner said today. "It kind of looks like he wants to stay."
Steinbrenner hinted that Rodriguez might make concessions on his salary to make up for the lost Rangers subsidy.
"It looks like he's willing to make certain sacrifices to stay a Yankee," Steinbrenner said.
Reports said Yankees officials want to meet with Rodriguez without agent Scott Boras. Boras did not immediately return a call seeking comment but has generally been opposed to being left out of contract negotiations.
"I'm not going to get into details at this point," Steinbrenner said.
What a love-fest, huh?
Posted by Steve Lombardi at November 14, 2007 03:59 PM
Comments
This just might be the second biggest cave-job in New York this year...
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Maybe so. But it demonstrates, first and foremost, how stupid it is to try and negotiate when you use the media as your soapbox. Cashman said it once and should've left it at that. By saying it over and over (and then by having Hank unleash his bluster) it set the team up to look silly.
Having said that, if A-Rod somehow ends up back in New York for something less than the initial offer the Yanks made to him, then they save face as having played hardball and gotten him back on better than their expected terms.
It CAN work out ok for the Yanks, even if they look like they're caving. That's why standing on principle is such a silly thing to do. You have to take a far more pragmatic approach. Declarations, threats, and metaphoric lines in the sand are for the jackasses that run our country or for the boobs in the United Nations. A business leader should never tie his organization's hands behind its back out of spite or bravado.
Posted by: MJ ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.waswatching.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at November 14, 2007 04:15 PM
i think Steve meant that Arod would be the one caving.
Posted by: Travis G. at November 14, 2007 04:25 PM
ARod's caving not the Yankees, MJ. He's coming back to the Yankees on their terms (namely no Boras). I believe that's what Steve meant, not the other way around.
Posted by: JohnnyC at November 14, 2007 04:26 PM
All I care about is if A-Rod is back that gapping hole at 3rd is closed and we don't have to talk about giving up a few of our young arms to fill it with a guy like fat Miguel Cabrera.
Posted by: Melland at November 14, 2007 04:27 PM
WOW!! After all the bull it looks like he's coming back. I, for one, I'm thrilled. And for those who say he's a phony or you don't want him back, please don't cheer for him. The rest of us will recognize how much better we are with him.
Posted by: Josh at November 14, 2007 04:33 PM
Why is it an all-or-nothing proposition? A-Rod opted out because he wanted to test the waters. That didn't mean he didn't want to be a Yankee, it only meant he wanted to see if he could be a Yankee at a contract richer than the one he signed in 2001.
Either way, if it does happen that he comes back, I don't care who caved. I was sad when he opted out and I'll be happy to have him playing third for the Yanks for another several years. I don't see any problem with having one of the five best players in baseball in the middle of my favorite lineup. Screw the haters...
Now we just need to whisper sweet nothings into Andy's ear...
Posted by: MJ at November 14, 2007 04:34 PM
According to Ken Rosenthal A-Rod would have to fire Boras to negotiate with the Yankees on his own. It is against the collective barganing agreement to negotiate a contract with a player if he has an agent.
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7446572
Posted by: Rich M at November 14, 2007 04:38 PM
~Either way, if it does happen that he comes back, I don't care who caved.~
Exactly. I don't understand why people need to declare a winner or a loser in this negotiation. A-Rod is going to end up with the richest contract in the history of sports and the Yankees are going to end up with one of the best players in the history of the game. They are both winners. The only losers are the fans who became emotionally invested in all the drama.
Posted by: christopher at November 14, 2007 04:41 PM
You guys are missing the point...they BEAT Boras! Boras is not in the room, they beat him. They won. Rodriguez drops Boras and you're saying THEY caved, please.
Posted by: 8negatives at November 14, 2007 05:10 PM
I agree 8negatives, if this deal comes to fruition as reported, Boras was finally punked. After pulling his stunt with JD Drew last year, he thought he was king of the world. Now the deal A-Rod is reportedly getting is nothing to sneeze at, but it's nothing compared to what he thought he was going to get, and what he probably promised Rodriguez.
Now I'm not going to sit here and lie, A-Rod has really ticked me off over the last few weeks and I don't know that I'll ever look at him the same, but the alternatives were not looking too good. And I have some legitimate concerns about giving him 10 years, if that's indeed the case, and the fact that he brings a soap opera with him. I guess we'll wait and see how this all plays out before further discussion.
This has probably been the most insane thing I've ever seen in baseball though.
Posted by: JeremyM at November 14, 2007 06:43 PM
I agree that if he signs it's Boras who is the big loser - which is great.
If he does come back, doesn't some credit have to go to Cashman and Steinbrenner for sticking to their guns and not pursuing A-Rod on the free agent market?
Posted by: mickleib at November 14, 2007 07:34 PM
A-Rod's greatness notwithstanding, giving a 32-year-old a reported 10-year guaranteed deal, worth over for 270 mil. is lunacy; in that sense, it seems that the Steins are the ones who are about to cave.
Posted by: brockdc at November 14, 2007 09:52 PM
Supposedly Buster Olney is reporting it as 10 years for $220 million. Sounds a little far-fetched, but if so, you can see why the Yankees jumped on it so fast. Maybe A-Rod is being very sincere here? We'll see.
Posted by: JeremyM at November 14, 2007 10:40 PM
the FAN was saying 10/275
Posted by: Corey at November 15, 2007 01:17 AM
waswatching! There is a new yankee website that has caught my eye. It's real interesting. It has 2 writers and there blog has lots of animation. It's up and coming and these 2 guys fight each other over what the yanks should do. The A-Rod coverage is humerous. The website is memotosteinbrenner.blogspot.com/. Check it out. It's not as good as this one or riveraveblues but it's up and coming I think.
Posted by: Billy15 at November 15, 2007 04:31 AM