ARod2212

My guess is that Kennedy makes it a deal breaker for the Yankees. It was tough enough to get Hughes in the deal, the Yankees will apparently throw a deadline on it once they settle on a prospect. If no deal happens, then they go to Haren. I think this gets done before the meetings, since that is what both teams want. Melky-Hughes-2nd tier prospect is a good package. I hate losing Hughes and Cabrera from a sentimental standpoint, they're really likable players. But from a baseball standpoint, it's really a no-brainer. Santana-Pettitte-Wang-Chamberlain-Mussina/Kennedy I'll be happy with that. Go talk to Andruw Jones and see what he's asking for. No arbitration means no draft picks surrendered. I don't want the Yankees to go into next season with Damon in center.

Make the move in a heartbeat if it's Kennedy and Cabrera and whoever. Hughes makes me iffy about a trade, and Cano is a dealbreaker. I honestly don't see the Sox making a legit move for Santana. They're not giving up Ellsbury, and Minnesota doesn't make a move with them without Ellsbury or Buchholz.

Clemens leaned towards retirement for a decade. I don't think Andy retires here. He's too good and healthy to quit at this point, especially considering that they're going to contend again with the roster they have.

Good move. Joba-Hughes-Kennedy are the key to the future, and Eiland maximizes that talent.

Nice win by the Jets this week. Sacked Roethlisberger 7 times (season high allowed was 4), Jones ran for 117 yards (hadn't allowed a 100 yard rusher in 34 games), and held the Steelers to 112 yards rushing as a team (averaged 151 per game). Thing that stood out to me was the guys stepping up and making plays in the big spot, something they've been lacking all season. Short week off before they get Dallas on Thanksgiving. Let's make it 2 straight upsets.

Yankees are just trying to drive Lowell's price up.

Are you f***ing serious? Bonds taking steroids is and was always about his ego. He never gave 2 shits about the team. Not excusing what Jeter apparently did, but these aren't even the same ballpark. Also http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8IUN4P01&show_article=1

http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=3111624&type=blogEntry Yes, same parameters. And the deal is worth $275 million. You people saying it's worth $300+ are the same ones who justified Matsuzaka by saying it opened up revenue in Asia. Everything beyond the $275 million is off of HR record revenues, which is basically saying the same thing. And again, my biggest problem with Rodriguez was saying he wanted to be with the Yankees when it seemed he didn't. The fact that he came back tells me he's not as full of it as I assumed he was when he opted out. I get that if there was a bigger offer out there, he would have taken it. But the fact he stayed with the Yankees says he at least had some desire to stay in New York. I honestly think him opting out was based mostly on bad advice from Boras.

Yes, actually. These were the parameters they were expecting to pay.

Good info. That said, his buddy trainer just got released from prison. It wouldn't surprise me if he was convinced to finally testify against Bonds. Hopefully they can make this stick, but it'll be awfully tough to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.

The attitude that the Yankees gave in is ridiculous to me. The only reason the Yankees weren't going after Rodriguez was the money they lost from Texas. The parameters of the deal are the same they were going to offer before he opted out. A-Rod just lost $20 million that Texas was going to pay. His mistake, and Yankees pay what they wanted from the start. The reason I was so pissed off was Rodriguez opting out after saying he wanted to stay, before he even got an offer. My anger was based on his disingenuous attitude more than anything else. He said he wanted to stay, and then took off presumably knowing the Yankees stance. The fact that he reached out to mend fences makes the difference for me. He went back to the Yankees and took less money than he would have had he not opted out. "My opinion won't change" was based on my expectation of the Steinbrenners caving, and paying $350 million. The way it worked out, I'm ok with it. The opting out really seems to be more Boras wanting to get the contract than Rodriguez wanting to leave, since he's here still.

They were going to extend him 5-7 years on top of his 3 years he was locked in for. So 10 years is not the Yankees reaching. The possibility of going to 10 was there pre opt-out. The whole reason for the opt out/no sign ultimatum was the loss of the Texas money. Rodriguez new proposed contract (anywhere from $220-$280) is backloaded, making the money he gets during years 1-3 comparable to the money the Yankees would have paid him before he opted out. The last part of the contract has higher pay, which the Yankees were willing to do all along. So the Yankees end up paying $275 million after Boras demanded them to offer $350 million just to negotiate. How did the Yankees get screwed in this deal again? Boras f***ed up, talked tough, and got caught on it. If this goes through, the thing I'm happiest about is the fact that Boras looks like a tool. Well that and the HOF third baseman the Yankees have again. Say whatever you want about Rodriguez, the Yankees are a better team with him than without him at this point. No need to give up a Hughes or Chamberlain to get Cabrera. Keep a right handed power hitter in the lefty heavy lineup. Give Girardi a real team to work with. And gives Pettitte that a little more incentive to come back with the whole team back on board trying to win another ring. If the Yankees land Rodriguez, it'll be a huge turnaround for the franchise.

Why is it time for him to retire exactly? Because he pitched well? Time to retire is a quote you can use when referencing Randy Johnson. Andy Pettitte was his usual self last season, and there's no reason to retire besides him saying he's had enough. He can still pitch, so there's no reason to write him off. Bartolo Colon? Are you serious? The guy is useless. Absolutely horrible. I don't know why any team would pay him any amount of money to pitch for their team.

That is the worst headline I've ever seen. Cashman said the only reason they're offereing arbitration is to get the draft picks. If he wants to accept it, fine. But there's no way that happens. This is no shift in Yankee position. This is a non-story.

He's already said if he were locked in to another year, he'd feel obligated to pitch. That's the whole reason he didn't sign a 2 year deal. Him wanting more time is no surprise, and no big deal. It'd be better if he'd just signed up right away, but taking more time doesn't hurt. Again, I'd be shocked if he retires. The Yankees need him, and he's got too much in the tank to just hang them up. What options are the Yankees going to miss out on with Pettitte in limbo? Tom Glavine? Bartolo Colon? Huge opportunities.

Get that ball to the Hall of Fame. It's win-win for everybody.

Regarding Rodriguez, who exactly is going to pay him? Every team has come out and said "well, it'd be nice, but it's a reach to expect us to land him." Teams see what happened to Texas when they invested in Rodriguez, and I think owners may not want to make that same mistake. I really hope Boras gets bit on this one. I don't think the Twins would be interested in Wang. He's a sinkerballer who has terrible numbers on Astroturf. How does that make him a good fit in Minnesota?

He also kept Hughes, Chamberlain, Kennedy, Cano, Wang, Melky despite being pressured to make a splash move. And Rivera and Posada are still probably coming back. And Girardi is probably becoming the manager. He f***ed up with A-Rod, but it looks a lot like he doesn't want to be here no matter what. There was no negotiation, he just opted out. If he was looking for the most money, he would have negotiated with the Yankees until the 11th hour of his opt out window. He wants to be a Cub, I put that on the media more than Cashman at this point. He got killed, didn't want to be here anymore. That's not the GM's fault. If there were negotiations and Rodriguez still opted out, then I'd put it on Cash. But this is not on him, IMO.

Even if he comes back, my opinion on him won't change after this. He talked and talked about how he was willing to give money back to go to a winner. How he wanted to play in New Yankee Stadium. And it was all ********. I gave him the benefit of the doubt on it, and I was wrong. He's a phony who's only chasing money.

Hahah, yeah. It just bothers me so much because I've defended him a lot the last 2 years among Yankee fans, and he turns around and proves to be this piece of s*** again.

Let that f***ing cock sucks piece of s*** go. He's the biggest f***ing phony in the world. You just want to win a World Series? This is the reason you left Texas. Go f***ing leech of some other owner and never win a big game. f*** YOU.

f*** him. I'm so pissed off it's ridiculous. In Miguel Cabrera we trust.

He took it to get his fastball up to 84.

Watched the conference call on ESPNews. Surprised he turned down the deal. 1 year, + 1 year option. $5 million base, $1 million bonus for reaching ALDS, ALCS, and World Series. Option vesting if they reached the World Series, worth $8 million.

Rivera's numbers this year are right along with where they have been since 2003. He gave up a few more runs, but his hits, walks, homers, strikeouts.. all along the same line. I really think he's still got gas in the tank, and it'd be a huge mistake to watch him pitch for the Cubs to end his career. Edit- link to his numbers http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/riverma01.shtml