A-rod, A-hole

Forget what happened in the World Series this year. Something bigger and more influential occurred during Game 4 of the World Series. And that was: Alex Rodriguez has opted out of his contract with the New York Yankees.

Scott Boras, Arod’s agent, left voice and text messages to GM Brian Cashman, regarding Arod’s decision. The announcement quickly broke all media outlets, and was announced during the live telecast of Game 4 by FOX announcer Kevin Rosenthal.

As part of the opt-out, Rodriguez loses the final $72 million in guaranteed salary in the contract, of which $21.3 million was to be covered by payments from the Texas Rangers to the Yankees. Alex Rodriguez now becomes eligible for free agency.

Boras said during a telephone interview that Rodriguez made his choice because he was not sure whether Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, and Andy Pettitte would return to the Yankees. Said Boras, “Alex’s decision was one based on not knowing what his closer, his catcher and one of his statured pitchers was going to do. He really didn’t want to make any decisions until he knew what they were doing.” If anyone has ever read a bigger pile of bullshit, please leave a comment. Arod had TEN days after the end of the World Series to make his decision, yet he chose to make this announcement during what turned out to be the final game of the World Series. Clearly, if Arod wanted to see what his teammates would do, he could have waited a bit longer. But is anyone surprised here? I am not. Arod’s loyalty lies with money, and that’s where his loyalty will stay.

There are two glaring things which annoy the hell out of me regarding Arod. First, the Yankees were prepared to offer him a monstrous contract extension, one in which he would have made close to $30 million per year. He didn’t even consider this possibility. Second, Arod’s ego is beyond belief. He thinks that he transcends the game, and I am sure Boras and he conspired together to make the announcement during Game 4 of the World Series. What a shameful way to take the spotlight away from the Red Sox, Arod and Boras. A classless act by a classless player, indeed.

Now, the Yankees organization has reiterated that it would not attempt to re-sign A-Rod if he opted out. Said Hank Steinbrenner regarding Arod’s decision: “It’s clear he didn’t want to be a Yankee. He doesn’t understand the privilege of being a Yankee on a team where the owners are willing to pay $200 million to put a winning product on the field.” The last remark was especially caustic: “I don’t want anybody on my team that doesn’t want to be a Yankee.” And now we all know that Alex Rodriguez is full of shit. All that talk about wanting to stay in New York, liking his teammates…Throw that down the drain. Losing Arod is not likely going to devastate the Yankees, as they can use the money that they will save by focusing on other areas.

But I do pity the team in which Arod winds upnext, be it Boston (please no), Chicago, San Francisco, or Los Angeles.

~ by mlb2007playoffs on October 30, 2007.