And I was all set to link to my breakdown of key dates in the A-Rod opting out timetable.

Also, the rare post by Jon that duplicates a Griddle post.

And it took Fox only a few minutes to disrupt the 8th inning of the possible last game of the World Series to bring up A-Rod.

But it is news.

2
I was two minutes later, but Jon decided to actually you know ... write stuff.

2 - I won by two minutes. :)

Also, I thought this had enough Dodger interest that I could run with it, knowing that Bob would be running with it too. Bronx Banter may well do their own post too, right?

This is pretty funny, Joe, Tim and Kenny talking about the Red Sox signing A-Rod but only if it is appropriate.

Of course, unless you manually change the times, those times are the times the thread is created, not the time the thread is completed. So Bob might have actually won in terms of getting the news up.

4 Of course Jon, no problem. The funny thing is that someone will be posting on the game thread that A-Rod has opted out too.

At first glance I thought that read "There for the (Expletive) Taking."

I think Suffering Bruin posted it first on the game thread.

Bronx Banter regulars are now planning to boo A-Rod from now on.

Seeing Bad Altitude only had 5 posts when I checked, made me realize how good I had it at DT. To be frank, I would be happy to have nothing to do with either A-Rod or Scott Boras. After tonights announcement, I don't know who I find more repulsive, and this is both considered thought and gut feeling.

I did not change the time on my post.

Bad Altitude did not host the Game Chat tonight. It's on Cardboard Gods.

11 Thank you Bob. You may mitigate my foolishness somewhat.

As most here know I've long been one of those irrational (as someone here called us a few weeks ago) people who expected A-Rod to opt out. But I never expected that he would opt out before even receiving the Yankees extension offer. Man, that Scott Boras is one heck of an agent. Ned Colletti will be out of his element trying to negotiate with him. The two most likely outcomes will be:
1). Boras will just use Ned to up the price for others, or
2). Ned will have to overpay (and by a lot).

I didn't like Shaq when he was with Orlando, cringed when I found out he'd be joining my Lakers...By the time title number three came to L.A, my Shaq appreciation had long been solidified.

Watch, it will be Detroit.

You heard it here first.

I wonder what Bud Selig is thinking now?

I can't imagine that we'll actually land the man, but the Dodgers need to go after him this offseason. A-Rod plus whatever we get for LaRoche is exponentially better than anything else Ned could do this offseason, cost be damned.

I would love to see Colletti dance with the Devil himself.

Hypothetically speaking, if Arod goes to the Dodgers, what would everyone do with Laroche?

18- Package him with Pierre for a young arm...

That's what i would do:)

19 You guys must really stop this fantasy of dealing Pierre, trust me you will sleep better at night.

18 Trade him for Kevin Slowey

18 - Either package hime with Pierre for a good young outfielder or have him learn 2nd and find a new home for Abreu.

22- Since we know Pierre isn't actually gonna be dealt, I like the idea of moving him to second...Abreu would make a fine utility man.

15 Looking at Detroit's payroll for the next couple of years, they are going to be starting to pay several players multiple millions of dollars to play so despite the good working relationship they have with Boras, they might not be players after all.

But its a pretty short list of potential suitors.

19,22

LaRoche and Pierre pretty much cancel each other out. I think that for nothing is a pretty fair deal.

23
Would Juan Pierre be worse as a left-handed second baseman or a left-handed outfielder?

Left-handed second basemen don't turn many DPs.

Another scenario might be to have a crowded infield for a year and move Arod to SS after Furcals deal is up. Maybe even have Laroche at 3rd Arod at SS and trade Furcal to the Cubs.

Can Arod play shortstop anymore?

24 Suitors for A-Rod

1. Yankees, they said no dealing with him if he opted out, we shall see.
2. Mets, Wright and Reyes are taking up the left side of the infield, can't see it, though I'm sure they would love it.
3. Red Sox, the revenge for Roger Clemens, Lowell makes more financial sense though Big Papi and Manny can't last forever.
4. Cubs, they would have to trade their Ramirez, which wouldn't be easy but more importantly, their sale is still pending so MLB will frown on anymore long term debt being added to the franchise.
5. Tigers, they certainly have a hole in their line up, Leyland would be a good manager for him, he has Sheff with him but does Detroit want to be the 3rd highest payroll in baseball, that is doubtful.
6. Angels, I see a lot of local pressure (Simers, Plaschke, sports talk guys, etc.) coming down on the Angels to add this power bat. Arte has said in the recent past that he will not pay someone what A-Rod is expecting to ask for but if Alex signs elsewehere and they don't add that bat in the off-season, they will hear about it.
7. Giants, why not, they have space for him and it would certainly continue to bring fans into AT&T but economically, does it make sense.
8. Dodgers, on the one hand, A-Rod would certainly protect all the kids, make the Dodgers a strong contender for the playoffs and probably put the Dodgers over 4 million next year. But, that would be an awful lot of cash and they would have to deal with Boras.

25 LaRoche isn't worth 36 million for 6 years of pre-free agent salary unless he hits 25-30 HRs/season. Also, they would have to play Pierre too.

Did comment 1 get deleted, or did it magically vanish? We had that happen over at BB.

Also, I believe Cashman. I don't think Arod will be a Yankee.

30 I think you're over estimating what 36 million is worth. He would only need to be about 6 win shares above replacement a year to make that much. Kemp was worth that much for a good half a season.

Though the point was that you aren't getting anything if you put Pierre in a trade, so if you think it's not enough, that's fine.

So does the 15 day countdown for free agency start the day the game ends local time or East Coast time.

So Lugo has a World series ring.

Julio Lugo, World Series champion.

Awwww.

So how did the Red Sox survive with a mix of experienced veterans and coddled youngsters?

It just makes a ton of sense for the Dodgers to sign A-Rod. They have a low payroll going forward with all the kids, they need a big bat and a star, and it fits with our preferred philosophy of only signing a veteran who is a superstar.

It also makes a ton of sense for the Angels, who have a huge hole at 3B and also need power.

I fully expect A-Rod to be an Angel or Dodger.

32 I think you're over estimating what 36 million is worth.

Don't feel bad, I make that mistake all the time. I head out for the evening with $36 million in my pocket and by the time I get home, I'm asking "Where did it all go?"

38 Don't you think the Red Sox and Yankees will essentially swap third basemen?

With AROD do we just become the latest incarnation of the evil empire? I'd rather have A Jones and LaRoche the next 4 yrs than Pierre and AROD. If LaRoche can hit like Youkilis my tandem is worth around 14 WARP to 12.5 for AROD/Pierre.

41 I don't see it because I don't think the Red Sox break the bank for A-Rod. They've already got a World Series team. Do you think they'll become the new Yankees and sign him anyway and skyrocket the payroll?

I suppose I wouldn't be too surprised, but I still put my money on the Angels and Dodgers. If all things were equal, I'd guess Dodgers because he could be the guy in LA, and own the town, but of course he'll go where the money is highest.

I've had a revelation. If Ned goes after A-rod it could keep him from screwing up anything else. Believe me A-rod is no great shakes, and has never got a team a World Series. But then we would have to trade a package like Laroche and Abreu. And we better get something great. We would be giving a small market team a left side that would cost nothing. If properly managed we could be good. Not my personal preferance, but a competent person could found a dynasty on this.

I actually think pitching is the thing, so I would trade none.

43 It makes them better, why wouldn't they? They're dropping around 23 million between Schilling and Lowell alone so it wouldn't break the bank.

41 Why do we become an evil empire? We'd start the year with five key players from our farm and up to five more being added the next year. Spending money on one player doesn't make you evil.

Also, the problem with your scenario is Pierre isn't going anywhere.

43 A-Rod is one of the best players in baseball, if he isn't great shakes, who is?

41

your scenario hinges on

1. the idea that we could actually trade pierre

2. the idea that we could trade pierre and basically not pay his whole salary.

45 I sort off get it.
44 I this to my 43; elaborate--I don't get it.

47 Wow, lots of errors there. 45 was for you.

45,48 sorry about the Typos. Your point is good-my pessimism is about Coletti's ability to get value in that kind of trade.
And I suppose I must admit repugnance to A-Rod and Boras' GREED. Call it fair value if you must.

My pick for the Arod sweepstakes...the Giants. I think they will offer the most amount of money and replace Barry Bonds as the face of that franchise. My guess for a contract is 8 years and $252 million with opt outs after seasons 3 and 5.

50
I don't think A-Rod will go to a place where he can't win for awhile.

While I'm ranting--what is this policy of huge oil prices and a worthless dollar about OOps- it just slipped.I think the Dodgers are fine if they keep their players and stay the course.

AROD met with Boras for a couple of days and together they explored what AROD wanted to do. They could have decided where he could make the most money but not necessarily. AROD has plenty of money and maybe now he just wants to play where he wants to play and maybe he wants to get that paycheck monkey off his back.

Twenty million dollars is still huge and there are those endorsements.

AROD just might, odds be as they are, play for the team of his choice for $20 Million a year.

This will be interesting.

As I've said, I advocate overpaying for A-Rod. I wonder what Boras would say to a 3-year, $110 million deal... and I am not even sure it's a good idea.

If the Dodgers don't get A-Rod, then our opening day third baseman's first name will start with A: Anthony Nomar Garciaparra. He'll lose his job mid-season to LaRoche.

If Colletti does get A-Rod, I believe (but cannot prove) that he may feel the necessity to trade both LaRoche and Garciaparra, "the respected veteran." Garciaparra will yield nothing, of course... but I doubt he would ask Nomar to start the season on the bench.

If ARod can still play short here's what I could see happening. Boston signs him. They dump Lugo to whomever will take his contract, move Youkilis over to third and trade for a cheap fist basemen (Dan Johnson?). They'd be losing Lowell's and Lugo's contract so the payroll hit wouldn't actually be that big.

AROD just might, odds be as they are, play for the team of his choice for $20 Million a year.

No way. ARod is going to be the highest paid payer in the Majors and anything else would be an insult to him and Boras (Thats what they woudl think, not me).

ARod is not going to be playing short. He has his hands full at 3rd, and he's bigger and slower than he was when he played short.

There is no way Arod takes a 3 year deal. Not even at 110 mil total. Why would he, when he can near 10 years, 300 million total?

53 If A-Rod drops Boras, then maybe I could see your scenario. But he's not so it will be about the money. He's done well evan with being the highest paid player, so why should that change.

58 Why would he, when he can near 10 years, 300 million total?

Well, if Boras thinks that at the end of the 3 years, he will be able to put together a 7-year, $250 million deal, that would be one reason. $37 million a year is a lot and 3 years from now A-Rod will still be in, or near, his prime.

29. 4. Cubs, they would have to trade their Ramirez

Are we assuming A-Rod can no longer play shortstop?

58 60 I should make it clear that I don't actually think this will happen. Just that if it CAN happen, it MIGHT be a good idea. Or it might not. What do I know? Nothing.

I just don't know what reasonable argument exists for NOT going after AROD. It's not like there's a fixed budget we're working with that we can argue about how to allocate. Frank and Ned have shown a willingness to spend on free agents, they just haven't all panned out. This could be the best free agent in the history of baseball to ever come out, in his prime. We have a major hole at 3b, not to mention plenty of young players under minimum contracts. It seems to me that all the stars are aligned. Those who oppose such a push, I argue, have become complacent and accustomed to the losing the Dodgers have been doing in the past 10 years. There's not enough anger and hunger around here (LA). We're the friggin Dodgers! I'm not saying let's sign anything that moves at any price Kevin Malone style, but this is quite possibly the greatest player to ever put on a uniform when it's all said and done. And man are we starving for someone to bring us back to our winning tradition.

So are we going to bat ARod 3rd or 4th?

Where he should end up: Los Angeles (NL)

Where he will end up:

San Francisco
Chicago (both)
Detroit

It is laughable thinking A-Rod would opt out and not ask at least 30 mil a year( for about 6-8) years. Good luck to anyone that puts up with this.

Andruw Jones + a complete Pierre write-off plus LaRoche is still less than $30,000,000/year.

Bye bye A-Rod

>> New York was preparing to offer Rodriguez a four- or five-year extension worth between $25 million and $30 million annually and had hoped to meet with A-Rod to present the offer.

"We didn't want to enter in a discussion of the economic parameters until we knew the status of players because that was central to Alex's decision,'' Boras said. <<

http://tinyurl.com/36pw6y

67 Good point.

If you don't have premium content for ESPN.com, then just wait to hear Buster Olney on their various outlets blast A-Rod and Boras for upstaging the World Series with this announcement.

And he says more too.

Royce Clayton seems to be enjoying his first WS ring after 17 seasons. His 2007 contribution to the Red Sox: 6 hitless AB's. He did have 5 assists though.

70
It was Buster riding his highest horse yet!

70 And before I feel bad for the Red Sox being upstaged by AROD's news, I'll wait to see if they sign the guy.

70 That was amazing. Full judgment mode.

70 Any choice quotes? It certainly was bad timing and not fair to the Red Sox--as a Yankee fan I can't believe I'm saying that:)

70. If you don't have premium content for ESPN.com

Actually, premium content isn't needed to read the article.

http://tinyurl.com/2wgxtq

70 I think you can now read it on their regular site, go to their MLB page and look for Olney's story in the bottom left box.

76 Initially it was posted on their "Insider site" but it was reprinted on their regular site a few minutes later.

A-Rod opting out of contract

>> Boras hasn't said how much he believes Rodriguez is worth on the open market, but he suggested in interviews that Rodriguez could be worth $500 million to the Yankees over the next 10 years. It's clear he's shooting for a deal well in excess of $300 million, perhaps even as much as $400 million. Rodriguez was to make $91 million over the final three years of his Rangers/Yankees deal. <<

http://tinyurl.com/ypnr3q

Part of me wants to think that Boras is leaking this opting out stuff as a negotiation ploy. The only real chip that Cashman has is that they won't negotiate with Arod if he opts out. Now if he threatens to opt out (this may just be a Boras-threat as he has 10 days left to decide) and Cashman backs off and keeps negotiating, then Boras has won the chess match. vr, Xei

From the NY Times piece:

"It's a shame," said Hank Steinbrenner, who is now running the Yankees, "but we are all in agreement: myself, my dad, my brother, all the baseball people. If you don't want to be a Yankee and paid what you're being paid, we don't want you, that's the bottom line. You'd be hard-pressed to argue that point. If you don't understand the magnitude of being a Yankee and understand what that means, and being the highest-paid player in baseball, I think it's pretty obvious."

If you don't understand the magnitude of being a Yankee...

Wow. Perhaps we could just eliminate the word "hubris" and use "Yankee" instead. What does it mean to be a Yankee? Does the sun shine a little brighter? Do the roses smell a bit sweeter? Do canaries land on your shoulders and whistle in harmony? Goodness.

Kemp
Loney
Arod
Kent
Martin

2-6 could score some runs.

82 But I think he has public (Yankee fans) on his side in this debate.

84 Of course. But it takes outsiders to realize the insanity of a cult.

"Magnitude of being a Yankee." Just amazing.

82. >> "If we're going to make you rich and we're going to give you the privilege of being a Yankee," he said, "you've got to show us you want to be here." <<

http://tinyurl.com/33w6hc

80 By making the announcement before the 10 days started, Boras was putting pressure on the Yankees. If the Yankees do not budge from their stance, they will lose their best player. If the Yankees change their minds and agree to negotiate with Boras, Boras will know how badly they want to keep Rodriguez and will be able to use that as leverage.

http://tinyurl.com/33w6hc

"Does he want to go into the Hall of Fame as a Yankee," Steinbrenner said, "or a Toledo Mud Hen?"

Steinbrenner is not bitter is he?

At the end of the LA Times story about the World Series (for the record, Boston won).

Inside the Boston clubhouse, wearing a pair of goggles to protect his eyes from flying champagne, outfielder J.D. Drew leaned against a locker and smiled. He was at the center of controversy this time last year, when he opted out of his contract with the Dodgers to try free agency, and now he will wear a ring.

"I was looking for a team I knew had a chance to compete," Drew said. "Looks like I chose the right one."

Don't know if it got lost in ESPN-TV's truncated version of Baseball Tonight on Sports Center in between the Blitz, but Peter Gammons came down very hard on both Boras and AROD, and repeatedly made the point that AROD has never won a World Series and truth be told that both with Seattle and the Yankees he had teams that were better than the current make-up of the 2008 Dodgers.

If I were the Dodgers and attempting to sign AROD, I might take a different tack and make a public offer of 3-4 years at 30 million per year with certain incentives. I doubt Boras would take it, but it does prevent the Dodgers from negotiating against themselves and also might push the Dodgers and their players to know that this is the window to make things happen or else.

I realize this is fantasy, but who is to say that AROD can't have a major injury or get bored at 35.

89 I guess leaving a team that just made the playoffs to one that faded in August was the smart move.

Whatever.

90 Who's to say he won't finish his career as an inner circle hall of famer?

92 Inner Circle?

J.D. was one of the two idiots thrown out at the plate on the same play, right?

My Who's-To-Sabermetrics pythagorean sliderule says the Dodgers' chances of winning a world championship in 2006 dropped 68 percent right after that happened.

I can't think of a free agent that's more "Ned" than Mike Lowell. He has an infinitely better chance of signing here than A-Rod.

I hope the Red Sox buy ARod. They'll ensure the first ten years of their new drought.

I give up. Where others talk about the homegrown players on Boston's roster, we have this from our own flip flopper.

http://tinyurl.com/3amt54

95 Agree. I think Lowell will be in Boston next year, but I'm sure Ned is salivating to get him.

95

No doubt, silver. If Chick Hearn were around to see this, he'd say they TELEGRAPHED that transaction.

I know why Lowell is a bad idea, but for those of you who tuned in late:

Career Year in 2007
Low OBP in years other than 2007
Figures to hit 20 hr or less in '08 and beyond

---

Re: Arod. This is as surprising as Drew opting out. That basically means "not at all surprising." I just love how other players are quick to bag the Dodgers when they leave them. JD Drew didn't want a contender, he wanted "whoever paid him the most money." He can stop right now trying to say he wanted a team with a chance to compete.

97

You know they always used to tell me: The best way to make bullies stop pestering you is to not listen. Just walk away.

It's amazing how well that worked. I'm hoping Frank and Arte follow the same advice.

Doesn't the media control whether A-Rod opting out upstages the World Series?

97 So...Plaschke has gone from:

Veterans and money win championships
to
Damn the torpedoes, the youth movement shall be served
to
Prospects are chips, to be sold. Spend! Spend! Spend!

Is anybody at