yankees228

Ok, I gotcha. Then back to your original point, do you really think Jeter was always this bad defensively. In the past, I think he was servicable there, to the point where it didn't hurt the team, but that has changed over the past couple seasons. It's to the point where his defense is costing them much more than it used to, and I think a change is in order now, more than it was in the past.

Right, and those are the casualties of him having a huge year right before his opt out clause was set to kick in. When it comes to baseball decisions, I do not feel that the Yankee's front office looks foolish whatsoever, and, to me, the baseball aspect is what counts.

If Rivera doesn't accept this deal then he probably is looking to play for another team. It couldn't be about the money anymore, because that is a more than generous offer.

More money when compared to what other offer?

In terms of annual salary, I believe he is being paid fairly according to market value. As for the length, obviously it's too long, but everything can't be perfect. What it comes down to, in my opinion, is that, right now, they cannot really afford to lose him. It would be next to impossible to make up for A-Rod's offensive production without seriously damaging other parts of your team. In a perfect world, no, I would not sign him to 10 years, but I think the positives in this deal outweigh the negatives from the Yankee's standpoint. Kilo, I understand that you wanted the Red Sox to sign A-Rod. If this is true, what contract did you want the Red Sox to give him, that could have legitimately been accepted by A-Rod and Boras?

I believe that A-Rod was the person approached the Yankees and not the other way around. That is what multiple sources are reporting, so until I hear differently, that's what I'm going to believe.

Jeter: I have no idea about what he would be like as a first basemen, so lets look at what we do know. When compared to the other starting shortstops in baseball, he's near the bottom. He's also not the best shortstop on his own team. It is also more important to have terrific defense at shortstop as opposed to terrific defense at first base. Because of all those factors, I think they would be better off if he changed positions. I'm not saying it's going to happen in 2008, but before his Jeter's contract runs out (2010), I would not be surprised if he wasn't playing shortstop at some point. Santana: I completely understand you not wanting to part with any of those three, and as you said, I think a lot of people (including some in the Yankee's organization) would agree with you. However, if you want Santana, I firmly believe you're going to have to give up one, and probably two of those guys. After what Chamberlain did last year, I don't think you can trade him, so that leaves you with Hughes and Cano. It's going to be difficult to sell a lot of people on this trade (including you apparently), so at this point I'm not going to even bother with that. What I will say is this...they've been eliminated from the postseason the past seven years, the majority of those years in ugly fashion. They're clearly missing something, and in my opinion that's a bonafide ace. Phil Hughes could very well develop into that, but we really don't know. With Santana we do, and if the Yankees can lock him up to an extension then they're doing much more than just replacing Phil Hughes. As for Cano, that would be a huge loss, I'm not going to lie, so I think you need to look more at the gain rather than the loss. Cano is not going to be easily replaced, but you can to a lesser extent make up for his absence.

The Yankees say that he came back to them. A-Rod says that he came back to them. I don't think this is a whole conspiracy.

As I previously said, I don't really care about what these guys say. You're right, the Yankees went back on their word. But as a baseball decision, and that's all that matters in my opinion, THIS WAS THE RIGHT MOVE.

Well said. I think some of you guys are grasping at straws here. He shouldn't have said what he said, and I think we should just leave it at that. As for the Yankee fans here, the front office is doing the right thing, and I think we should all be happy about that. I'm all for making the club better on the field, and no matter what was said by the organization about what will and will not happen, re-signing A-Rod is something that basically needs to be done. In my opinion, that should be what is on everyone's mind (or at least the minds of Yankee fans) **For the record, I'm not out here to defend A-Rod or Boras or both of them. I really just want to talk about A-Rod as the player, and the Yankees as a team of baseball players. Because who are we to decide what people were thinking, or what motives they have off the field?

Look, I've said this before, I really don't care about the players like that. I don't need to feel like these players have good morals or whatever to want them to play for the Yankees. I care about the fact that A-Rod is the best player in baseball, and it's better for the Yankees if he's part of their team in 2008. With that being said, I'll ask you this. Do you really think it's out of the realm of possibility that Boras convinced A-Rod that the Yankees would negotiate with him, voluntarily, even if he opt'd out? Is it out of the realm of possibility to think that Boras thought that he would use other teams to drive up the price tag, the Yankees would see that they need A-Rod, and they would come crawling back to him and top every offer on the table? That is how Boras operates, and it doesn't always work out (see Kevin Millwood). I'm not saying that my scenario is exactly how it played out, but I think it's reasonable at the very least.

I don't necessarily think the whole thing was staged, although I do think that A-Rod never planned to play anyplace else. I just think that him and Boras honestly thought that the Yankees would voluntarily re-enter negotiations after A-Rod opt'd out. When they didn't do that, A-Rod had no other choice but to make it seem like he is distancing himself from Boras to get back in good graces with the Yankees.

I disagree. I think he simply opt'd out because Boras convinced him to. Although they're talking about A-Rod, I think they understand that the real culprit here was Boras, and now that he is out of the picture, they're willing to negotiate. The only reason I'm saying this is that something must have changed, between the time that they said they weren't going to negotiate, and today. What changed is that A-Rod agreed to keep Boras out of the negotiations. However, I really don't care how the Yankees ownerships comes out of this situation looking. Without Alex Rodriguez at third base, they will not be as good an offensive club in 2008 as they were in 2007. It probably won't even be close. Even if they traded for someone like Miguel Cabrera, they would weaken another part of their team (probably pitching). By re-signing A-Rod the Yankees organization is doing what is best for the present and future of the club, and, to me, that is all that matters.

Kilo, don't you think that the main reason they said that they weren't going to negotiate with A-Rod if he opts out is because of Boras? It really makes no sense not to negotiate with him, just because they would be angry that he's not "honoring" his contract. They probably felt that it would be impossible to negotiate with Boras, and didn't want any part of it. I firmly believe that A-Rod wanted to come back to the Yankees the whole time, and Boras convinced him that if he opted out the Yankees would get back in on the negotiations and he would get more money. Personally, I don't believe he ever had an interest to play for another team. However, once he realized that Boras had been wrong, and that the Yankees were filling up their holes (manager, closer, and catcher), he basically came crawling back. According to reports, Boras was not involved in a meeting today between A-Rod and the Yankees, and if this is the case, I don't see a lot of fault in what the Yankees are doing. Yes, technically they lied, but by bringing him back they are doing what's best for the organization. I don't think anyone can disagree with that.

Kilo, then I guess they A-Rod would just have to fire Boras. I don't know if he would do that. We'll see.

I want him back simply because I don't think there is any way they can reproduce his production through other options, without creating other holes.

Carl Pavano is going to be released to free up room on the 40 man roster. I have a feeling he's not going to be missed. Also, Posada was interviewed at halftime during tonight's Knicks game, and he said one thing of substance in my opinion...that he wants to sign with a team within the first week of free agency. He also said that it's basically between the Yankees and the Mets.

Very disapointing game. I'll say this though, Tony Romo is entering that elite level of QB's in my opinion.