Open Thread: What If-Rod?
By
Earlier today Buster Olney wrote about how the Yankees don’t really care about all of Alex Rodriguez‘s shenanigans, and John Brattain of The Hardball Times followed it up by writing about the damage Scott Boras may have done to A-Rod and his reputation. Brattain reviews A-Rod’s career chronologically, and points out what parts appear to have that Boras Stamp all over them. He wraps up the article with this:
Rodriguez stated that he always wanted to be a Met—one has to wonder what direction his career would’ve taken had he enjoyed different representation and an agent who was more interested in serving his client than setting new standards and concepts in major league contracts.
Would A-Rod have been a Met at eight years/$184 million (just a guesstimate) and still battle hardened from his time in Seattle with a different agent and helped the Mets again reach the World Series in 2001? A contract like that wouldn’t have stuck out as much from the deal Manny Ramirez signed, and the consensus was that Rodriguez would land something in the range of $200 million. He would’ve gone to a winning team where he’d be fulfilling a childhood dream.
Assuming he’s telling the truth, maybe a $184 million deal wouldn’t have made him feel pressured to juice, and the three years of simply playing for stats in Texas never occurred. He’d go on to build upon the legend he began in Seattle. He wouldn’t have been royalty in the Mets clubhouse with Mike Piazza and Robin Ventura to help him stay on an even keel, and he wouldn’t have developed the bad habits he acquired in Texas as the crown prince of Rangers baseball and the only reason to watch the team after the first of June.
Sadly, he will always be linked with the most despised man in the game—Scott Boras did make him a lot of money, but he would’ve been rich in any event. Alex Rodriguez may be the author of some of his problems (as we all are), but I think Scott Boras ruined him.
In an alternative time line Alex Rodriguez may have been a legend instead of an enigma.
Lots and lots of what-ifs in this piece, and I don’t believe you can pin everything on Boras. It’s takes two to tango, after all. Make sure you give it a read, lots of interesting stuff in there.
Here’s your open thread for the night. The Devils are on the road while the Knicks and Nets are meeting in the Garden. Team USA is taking on Venezuela in a meaningless game tonight. Both clubs have already advanced to the semifinals, and all this game does is determine the Pool B winner. Japan takes on Cuba later tonight in a rematch of the 2006 WBC Title Game, and once again the loser goes home. I’ll never bet against Cuba in an international tourney, so my money’s on them. Anything goes, just be nice.
Photo Credit: J. Meric, Getty Images
141 Comments»
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Steroids and the opt out were bad enough – what’s going to happen when the tabloids find out he’s been implicated in war crimes?
I heard that ARod personally lobbied Congress to allow the bonus payments to AIG.
What an asshole.
Yeah, plus I hear he sold mortgage-backed securities to minor-leaguers who don’t know any better. “C’mon, Austin, it’s AAA rated, what could possibly go wrong?”
A-Rod is Chris Dodd?
Zing!
Actually, Dodd wanted the limits to apply retroactively, it was Geithner et al. who pressured him to apply only to future contracts (ie not the AIG bonuses at issue). Not that Dodd is exactly a hero in all this….
A-Dodd?
It’s all Jeter’s fault. If he never existed, Arod would have a nice, relaxed life.
“In an alternative time line Alex Rodriguez may have been a legend instead of an enigma.”
Did Arod die? Was this his last year in baseball? Whats going on here?
http://www.theonion.com/conten.....dead_at_33
“A-Rod was a person, but a much better baseball player,” a statement from the New York Yankees’ front office read in part. “We only hope that members of the press will respect our wishes for privacy during this very difficult period. We can assure you that the Yankee organization is going to be haunted by A-Rod’s passing for a very, very long time, or at least until his contract expires in 2017.”
Classic.
“(just a guesstimate)”
I hate people that use this ‘word’.
Thats pretty harsh bro.
Would dislike be better?
More like the whole concept of not liking someone because they used a word you don’t like. Then the compulsion to post your distaste on a website run by said person. It’s in the dictionary so you can do without the apostrophes.
I can hate people for any reason I like. And just because it is in the dictionary doesn’t mean I have to accept it as a word. This America pat!
In a serious note: Mike A. didn’t write guesstimate. So my distaste was not for him, rather it was for John Brattain. Please read the post first, then jump down my throat. Thank you in advance.
Rather childish argument.
Agreed.
Heh, maybe I should just sit this one out for a little bit. Learn to read correctly. Maybe work on the comprehension skills.
HEY LOOK BOOBIES!! http://tinyurl.com/dbqpon
I was adressing 3536 to be honest. Saying how he could hate people for any reason he wanted but ya…so how bout that game last night?
That was meant in a joking manner. Hence the second part of my post. My bad forgot the *SARCASM ALERT*.
Oops.
Portmanteaus rock.
Sincerely,
Everyone but you
I definitely had to look up portmanteau.
You know who interestingly doesn’t have to look up the word portmanteau anymore?
Brellky Cabretta. Because that man doesn’t exist anymore. It’s simply Gritt Grittner and Hacky McHeadfirstslide. Funny how March 2009 has separated that amalgam into it’s constituent parts again, isn’t it?
IETC.
Oh they rock. Just not that one. Who doesn’t love a spork?
Exactly. But I don’t know why you don’t like the word “guesstimate”, it’s a perfectly cromulent word…
http://tinyurl.com/2gm9lv
Mmmmmmm, tomacco…
“IETC”
I think I’ve figured out what this means
Intended
Exclusively (for)
Tommiesmithjohn
Carlos
Flattery will get you everywhere.
IETC
““(just a guesstimate)”
I hate people that use this ‘word’.””
It’s a Canadian word like “centre,” “labour,” “Don Cherry,” and “beer store” eh.
Do you know what I hate?
Catheters.
I’m guessing no explanations are necessary.
Best Regards
John
What if I took that date with Marissa Tomei?
Has she written a book on Baseball?
http://www.amazon.com/Safe-Hom.....038;sr=1-1
From Ben’s earlier architecture critic post today:
“. . . where it faces a favela of auto-body shops in Willets Point.”
I love the use of the word “favela” in that sentence. That’s just perfect.
I think that the only way that A-Rod could keep the media from criticizing his every move is announcing that he’s gay. They would still hate him but they would fear the backlash. Thoughts?
If he announced he was gay he would still be loved by some hated by others, that ship has sailed. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
You don’t want to get Rush Limbaugh involved in this, do you?
On a more serious note, IIRC Selena Roberts addresses this question in her book on A-Rod. So maybe there’s some truth to it, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
I agree that there is nothing wrong with that. The reasons I think it would work are:
A – It kills the “phony” claim.
B – It gets a large social group behind him.
C – If anyone unfairly criticizes him you just brand them as homophobes.
Definitely. C is the most tragic part about our society–people can’t make criticisms of others in different racial groups or sexual orientations, or they’d be considered racists or homophobes. That’s just my opinion.
Sure they can, they just have to make non-racist or homophobic criticisms of people.
If you call me stupid by saying that what I said didn’t make any sense and you explain why you disagree with it, there’s nothing wrong with that. If you call me stupid by comparing me to a monkey, that’s fucked up.
Unfortunately, even when there is ZERO racism/homophobia intended in a statement, some people are so hyper sensitive about these things (especially coming from someone of another ethnic group) that it has a chilling effect, which I don’t think is healthy in a melting pot society like ours is. It prevents people from discussing things honestly, and addressing real problems.
The answer is for all people to feel comfortable having a dialogue, which is impossible when you’re too busy calling people names, whether those names are “fag” or “homophobe”, “Monkey” or “racist”. It’s all name calling and counter productive IMO.
I agree that an honest and open dialogue should be encouraged. However, refraining from calling someone on their racism or homophobia when that person is in fact acting like a racist or a homophobe is disingenuous and also wrong.
Speaking the truth is not counterproductive. Refusing to speak the truth in an effort to placate the sensitivities of the ignorant – THAT is counterproductive.
No, EXPLAIN why what they said was hurtful or wrong, so they will hopefully gain understanding and regulate themselves in the future.
Name calling is all counterproductive. It usually devolves in to a screaming match that gets everyone nowhere. No one gains anything, and people just get pushed further apart.
Okay, that point I get. Although, I don’t think me saying the New York Post is racist is “calling them a name”. I think it’s assigning a characterization or a label to their actions. Name-calling is belligerent and bellicose. Assigning characterization is not belligerent, it’s in the interest of intellectual honesty and societal responsibility.
But, in any event, if you know me, you know that I’m DAMN SURE going to explain to you, at great length, why I’m
calling you a nameassigning a characterization to your actions. Just so you know.A – It kills the “phony” claim.
Would it? If I thought that ARod was a phony, and then tomorrow he announced to the world that he is gay, why wouldn’t I just think he was a gay phony?
He married and had two kids after all.
Well, it would provide an explanation for the behavior that people perceive as “phony”.
Why do people think he’s “a phony”? Because he never seemed comfortable just being himself in the clubhouse? Because his image seems so carefully crafted? Well…if he’s been living a lie, that’d certainly explain those things, wouldn’t it?
“Why do people think he’s “a phony”?”
I’ll tell you why. It’s because………
“Because he never seemed comfortable just being himself in the clubhouse?”
Uhh, yeah. Okay. And also, because…….
“Because his image seems so carefully crafted?”
Yeah, that’s it! Fess up…..you didn’t really need the answer, did you? You were just quizzing us.
I have gone on record that I sincerely hope some sports superstar comes out of the closet while still playing and goes on to utterly demolish the sport, in order to throw stereotypes on their ear.
If ARod is that guy, that would be all kinds of awesome. I want ARod to announce that he’s gay and then hit 59 homers and singlehandedly lead the Yankees to a 115-win season and the title.
Yes! Exactly!
I wish I could say it wouldn’t make me cheer for him any harder than I do now, but it would.
“I have gone on record that I sincerely hope some sports superstar comes out of the closet while still playing and goes on to utterly demolish the sport, in order to throw stereotypes on their ear.”
That would be cool, but I can’t see it ever happening.
“If ARod is that guy, that would be all kinds of awesome.”
I think he’d be the last guy to take that step. I think the guy who takes that step would be someone who is comfortable in his life and his own skin.
That is not Alex Rodriquez in any way, shape, or form.
The Rangers look a lot more like a real hockey team under Tortorella. If only the coaching change had been made two months ago.
Apart from the fight to make the playoffs this year, the primary goal of the offseason should be to undo the horrendous mistakes that Sather made during the last offseason.
Rich, the problem is the Rangers have a lot of undesirable contracts. Look at all that money they threw at Wade Redden, a guy everyone knew was in decline. Gomez and Drury both haven’t worked out either. Sather has made continually bad moves in the past, and as long as he’s the GM he’ll make bad moves in the future.
My proposal is to make Sather the GM Emeritus, which would enable him to save face by keeping the title, and it would be consistent with Dolan’s wish to give him a lifetime job irrespective of his utter incompetence. At the same time, Schoenfeld and Tortorella can run the team.
As for the cap problems, Redden and Rozsival need to be sent to the minors in order to recoup some cap room.
As much as this is going to piss you off, Rich, I’m a Devils fan. Sather, from what I’ve seen, is power hungry and driven by the name. He’s made some good moves, like the Antropov deal and picking up the winger whose name escapes me right now (the one from Columbus.) However, he’s always undone those moves with terrible signings. They’ve picked it up as of late, but if Sather could make a good move or two the Rangers could be ten times better.
Zherdev, who despite being prone to mental lapses, is one of their few real goal scorers, yet they may have trouble re-signing unless the cap mistakes like Redden are dealt with.
Obviously, my plan for Sather reeks of the fan boy side of me, and I resent that the man has been able to live off a bogusly earned reputation that he acquired in Edmonton mostly because Peter Pocklington was willing to spend big bucks on Gretzky, Messier, Fuhr, etc. when they were juniors, in order to keep them from signing with the NHL.
Anyway, I agree that until and unless Sather steps aside that they will have trouble being a legitimate championship contender.
It’s not meaningless Mike!!!
GO USA
What would have been had we won the 2004 WS (and ALCS of course)?
There are three American car companies. GM and Chrysler are in the toilet and crawl to the Feds to get bailed out so they can stay afloat.
Ford, meanwhile, is in a fairly robust position, is posting profits, and looks to be able to weather the storm and maybe even gain some market share.
Why are they in good shape, you ask?
Because everyone’s buying Ford Edges with Vista panoramic moonroofs and a Sync Bluetooth system in Blazing Copper.
(Man, it feels strangely good to see these annoying Jeter commercials again, doesn’t it?)
Tommie, your Jets picking up Samari Rolle?
Samari Rolle is old and slow, and he isn’t better than Lito Sheppard. I’d pass.
WELL I WASN’T ASKING YOU, WAS I, PABLO!!!!!
Haha sorry.
I just figured, maybe they bring him in. Former Raven, you have done it twice so far this offseason. Could be a nice little pickup, he isn’t what he once was but, he might be able to play some downs.
Same goes for Darren Sharper. Good luck to the Saints.
If he’ll take the league minimum, sure.
But like Pablo said, I’m not bending over backwards for Samari Rolle.
With Revis + Sheppard + Lowery + Coleman, we don’t have a pressing need for Rolle. He’d be decent depth, that’s all.
Peppers to the Pats seems no more. I have no clue where he ends up now, hope it is in the AFC. Any ideas? His salary is going to be huge, only a team with some picks and cap room seems to be logical. Maybe he ends up staying with the Panthers.
Yeah, I’m glad that didn’t happen… so far.
But I still think the Pats end up upping their offer and making the trade. It makes too much sense.
Interesting theory
Andruw Jones & Freddy Garcia might both be back on the market.
Pick up Andruw, drop Melky?
Convert Melky, he can be the heir to Mo.
Can Andruw play third?
He played 1B for 5 games in the minors last year…close enough
Offer Andruw another minor league deal, see if he takes it. No reason to put him on the 40 man, at ALL.
I think it is a little humorous that Starbury has 3 tattooed on his head, but wears 8 with the Celts.
At least a 3 can be changed to an 8, it would suck if he was 7.
http://tinyurl.com/starburyisadumbass
Eh. I guess it could be done.
Holy shit, I’m in that pic. I’m the very good looking guy in the background.
I think I see you. Are you the one with the blue Knicks hat to the far right?
Na, 8 rows back, 4 seats from the left, and 5 seats from the right. The guy who looks like a guy.
His IQ is somewhere between 3 and 8.
pure gold from the sports guy:
SG: Come on, it’s like you’re openly goading me into writing about the Garnett-Marbury reunion. Don’t make me go there. I beg you. I have changed my mind on the merits of the Marbury Era at least 730 times in two months. That reminds me, when Marbury looked great in his first game in Boston, I called my dad and we had the following exchange:
Dad: “Hello?”
Me: “You watching this? Marbury looks great!”
(There’s a three-second pause.)
Dad: “He has a tattoo on his head.”
Dunn-1b for the Nats?
Didn’t they have Nick the Stick and someone else already vying for playing time over there?
The way I see it, their options are:
LF-Dunn
CF-Milledge
RF-Dukes
1B-Johnson
Bench-Willingham
or
LF-Willingham
CF-Milledge
RF-Dukes
1B-Dunn
Bench-Johnson
Given Dunn’s atrocious outfield defense and Nick’s fragility, I’d choose Option #2.
Yep, I was referring to the WBC play.
Oh. Well…some of us are still at work and can’t watch tv, Popavero!!
You can’t fit a TV in the toll booth?
*golfclap*
I feel bad for Magglio. Not that I agree with his opinion and I in fact dislike Chavez a lot. But man, this guy has zero support and gets heinously booed by his fellow Venezualans here in the states.
“But man, this guy has zero support and gets heinously booed by his fellow Venezualans here in the states.“
That’s the key. You know what Venezuelans leave Venezuela and come here?
Venezuelans who don’t like Venezuela or it’s government. You’re not really talking about a balanced spectrum of opinions regarding Chavez there…
That is why I specifically said here in the states. He’s still a Venezualan. But it sure is prime example of why athletes should air on the side of ignorance regarging politics.
Just like the Cubans in Florida, typically one of the biggest opponents to normalizing relations with Cuba because they hate Catro’s guts so much. And for good reason, but as TSJC said they’re not exactly unbiased.
Yup. There’s a reason that Latinos in Florida are much more conservative and Republicans than their Latino counterparts in the other 49 states in the Union. The GOP is more than happy to continue the Cold War against Cuba, and Miami residents eat that shit up.
Was there supposed to be a prospect profile today? I was hoping for one.
Nah, I’m done with the the profiles for this offseason. Time to start focusing on the draft.
No Eric Wordekemper write-up?
(sob)
Really? I enjoyed the profiles, hate to see them go. I am anxious to see yout draft coverage, seems like it’s going to be pretty exciting. I hope the Yanks make this a really good draft, and take advantage of signability guys. A good farm goes a long way.
But Chris Malec???????
I profiled him way back in the day:
http://tinyurl.com/cj6e34
It’s outdated though.
I like the Games Without a HR meter.
I also like this little tidbit-Es befinden sich noch keine Einträge in diesem Blog!
FEBRUARY 2006?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? THAT’S LIKE 10 YEARS AGO!!!!!!!!!!!!
Matsui will be traded by July.
http://www.theyankeeuniverse.com/?p=1720
You heard it here first.
Good luck getting around that NTC. Players don’t waive those out of the kindness of their hearts.
And the 13 million dollar contract thing.
And the fact that the NL doesn’t have a DH spot. Also, the only teams likely to be interested in Godzilla are AL teams that are making a run at the playoffs. Unless the Yankees are getting a VERY good package back, I doubt Matsui gets dealt. Nady still seems more likely to me.
Agreed, plus I think Matsui still has some gas left in the tank. I’m thinking he is gonna have a good year and we wouldn’t want to trade him anyway.
Mike, read what I said. If he was playing LF everyday.
I did read it, Steve. But it seems really unlikely to me, and a team would not want to take him on for his defense. I would assume that a team would want him for his bat because he might not be able to handle the outfield for the rest of the year, if he was playing LF everyday. Just seems really unlikely to me. The only team that I could really see him fitting on is the Twins.
I would vote to keep him, when healthy he can mash. Just gotta hope that having him DH all year will keep him healthy and keep his bat fresh.
2010 team–Twins.
Nah, just locked up Kubel to be their DH, who’s a stud in the making.
Ahh yeah, forgot about him.
Didn’t he say he would be willing to waive his NTC this past off season? Also, I think its pretty safe to say he’s going to be looking for a new home after this season. If the team that trades for him also extends him (Sheffield) then the NTC isn’t an issue.
BTW- I wasn’t totally serious with my first post, it depends on a bunch of uncertain things in order to happen. But if they start playing him there everyday in June, my antennae goes up immediately.
Yeah, I was saying all winter long that Matsui would waive his NTC in January if we acquired Manny and told Godzilla that he was going to be fully demoted to the deepest recesses of the bench, never to be seen again.
I doubt Matsui waives it in June if he’s been healthy and playing just because we want to get more at bats for Nady at DH. I don’t see Matsui being cool with playing the last 3 months of the season in Seattle in deference to Nady as a realistic scenario.
If, in June, Matsui, Damon, Swisher, and Nady are all doing well and healthy, Xavier’s still the best bet to be dealt.
Matsui would probably waive it for the right situation, however its just complicates any trade, and why would the Yanks want to trade Matsui, and get very little in return, when they can trade Nady, and presumably get more, with lack of salary & ability to play the field
Nady’s a Boras client. You won’t be doing any extensions with him. You’ll get more for Matsui, Nady’s a rental.
But I agree that I’m not sure they’ll get enough for any of these guys to make it worthwhile, which is another huge factor working against this.
You’ll get more for Matsui, Nady’s a rental.
For all intents and purposes, Matsui’s a rental too. He’s entered Jason Giambi territory – one year at a time.
If both Matsui and Nady are producing similar numbers at the plate, I’d prefer to deal Matsui. Nady’s a better fielder, can play Right and Left (Matsui can’t) and gives you more balance in the lineup, which gets a bit left handed without Nady.
I want some lineup balance heading into the playoffs. If you don’t think that important, look what happened to the Cubs last year.
Obviously we’ve only had a small sample of Nady as a Bomber but in my opinion I’d prefer Matsui. He’s got great patience, he also has that clutch gene.
Because they can’t DH him for some of the games? Is Ortiz/Youkilis going to be traded by July?
No, if they leave him at DH then I don’t see anything happening, and even in that case I doubt the Yanks will shop him aggressively. But the ESPN article implies that he’ll get time in LF by June, and if he sees a lot of time in Left, I suspect they’re showcasing him.
Some interesting answers in BA’s John Manuel chat today on ESPN.
Jake [via mobile]: Who is the yankees most promising prospect.
John Manuel: Austin Jackson has a high ceiling and is close to reaching it. Jesus Montero has a higher ceiling but has a mature body that could go downhill fast, and probably won’t remain a C. You could choose either as their most promising; I picked Jackson, managers in the Eastern League raved about his intangibles more than I’ve heard about any player in some time. If he played football, he’d be considered a “playmaker.” Don’t hear that too often in baseball circles.
Otto (CA): Would anyone be talking about Austin Jackson if he was in Pittsburgh’s system? The overblown attention reminds me of the great Eric Duncan.
John Manuel: Eric Duncan was overblown; Jackson has actually accomplished something above A-ball, and he’s more athletic. If he was in Pittsburgh, he’d be called Andrew McCutchen. I consider them very similar players.
I hadn’t heard the A-Jax intangibles comments before, but I’m thrilled to hear that about him.
I love this tag line from BA’s Top 100 list
“33 ANDREW
McCUTCHEN OF, PIRATES
1: International League center fielders with a higher OPS than McCutchen’s .770 (Brett Gardner, .836).”
HE OUTSLUGGED BRETT GARDNER!!!!
No wait…I misread that, he didn’t. Not even Brett. Yikes.
Steve, you do realize that Gardner was the only one to outslug him?
Exactly
. . . . . you two. What do I do with you two.
And how much older is Gardner, three years? Four?
Did anyone get that joke?
Its nice that BA didn’t call him uninspiring
Only a real debbie downer would resort to such appalling name calling.
Who would’ve thought Hawkins would blow a game? Oh wait…
It is funny, Reynolds was referring to him as if he was this different guy who had learned a cutter and morphed into Mo. Sacreligous!!
Trying to remember a name- Mets had a fat pitcher from Cuba, I believe, a few seasons ago, fifth starter type. What was his name?
Soler?
Yup, thanks.
Alay Soler. I think he’s out of baseball now, though he could still be with the Pirates.
Looks like Jeter has his stroke going!
This guy Iwakuma pitching for Japan has some great stuff. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is posted sometime soon.
Before I post the entire thing…any one object to me posting my fantasy roster for the purpose of seeking 2nd opinions?