Gom

Arod will destroy any teams chances long term due to his salary demands. The only two teams that won't have this problem will be the Red Sox and the Yankees, and I don't see him signing with either one.

My pick is the Giants. He'll sell out their park, and they have a good young nucleus. LA...no way if they get Torre. Mets....no sense if he wants out of New York Red Sox...I'd love it, as he would cripple the Red Sox financially in the next few years. Next year, he'd be outright filthy though. Angels...best fit for him, but doesn't look like Moreno wants that big time fiscal hit. Cubs...if ownership was steady, very possible, but team sale makes unlikely Yankees...if the old Steinbrenner was in charge, maybe. However, Yankees lose plenty of face, and all good will Arod built up is trashed. No way in my mind. Tigers....a posibility, but not very homer-friendly park. 2nd best option overall for Arod after LAA.

Arod was only being paid 20 million from the yankees...the Rangers were subsidizing his salary by 7 million.

You know what nobody has realized yet? Torre is rumored to be the next Dodger manager. Scott Proctor is sharpening the blade he will use for ritual seppaku. He must think he's cursed. His elbow starts to hurt when he hears the name "Torre"

Buchholz is better than Kennedy. Period. It's not even close. End of story.

You know, this is not the demise of the Yankees as everyone keeps predicting. This is a team that had an opening day rotation of Wang, Pettitte, Mussina, Igawa, and Pavano. We go into next season with Wang, Pettitte, Hughes, Chamberlain, and Kennedy. This is still a 90 win team. If the Yankee young guns live up to the hype, Arod will be a distant memory come this time next year. Big if, though.

The truth is, the Yankees will more than likely offer Wang, Cabrera, and a prospect [probably Horne or Tabata] for Santana. The deal makes a lot of sense for both teams. Cabrera is a cheap replacement for Hunter, and dollar for dollar, Wang is a much better buy than Santana [due to the fact that Wang makes $9.46 a season]. The prospect will just add to the deal. The Yankees will then most likely acquire Alan Rowand to replace Cabrera. Considering the Yankees are now flush with cash, even for them, money shouldn't be an issue. The Yankees would then be going into next season with Santana, Pettitte, Hughes, Chamberlain, and Kennedy, with Moose as the alternate. That should get them into the playoffs next year, if they bring back Mo and Posada. The truth is that Arod's departure may be the best thing to happen for the Yankees. They will free up payroll that is better spent elsewhere. Their offense will be fine. They had the best offense in baseball to begin with, so now they'll have a good, not great offense. Which team won the World Series? The Red Sox. Why? The best pitching. The Yankees are better off letting Arod go and spending it on pitching. This by no means is to be interpreted that I didn't want Arod. You just have to play the cards you've been dealt.

Neither one of us would have it any other way. It will be weird being the clear underdog, a new position for us Yankee fans, but hopefully one we can embrace and enjoy.

Nothing surprises me about this guy. If I could ever feel sad for someone who is so insanely rich, good-looking, and the best in the world at what he does, it's Arod. In Seattle, he had a phenomenal team, and the love of the fans. The team started to decline, so he left...and signed the largest salary in sports history with a perennial last place team. Got tired of losing, and orchestrated a trade to the Yankees. He ripped a player [Jeter] who was one of his best friends because he couldn't understand why an inferior player got so much more love than he did. He then orchestrated a trade to that team so he could win a championship, which he never did, and was in part, one of the main reasons for their initial success [in getting there] and one of the main reasons for their failure to win the championship [post-season numbers]. Finally wins over the city and the fans for having a career year and is instrumental in one of the best in-season turnarounds in baseball history, nearly single-handedly carrying the team to the playoffs. Now...he was poised to make more money than any baseball player in history with the most famous team in baseball. His legacy would be completed with the most storied franchise in history. The Yankees and their rival Red Sox seemed poised, with their influx of young talent, to be atop of the heap for the next 3-5 years, and he had the ability to be the determining factor and add to the rivalry, and perhaps make great theater, regardless of the outcome. So he leaves it all. I can't really blame the Yankees, although I would like to, but it was ultimately his decision. I think in the long run, it's the best more for the Yankees for him to go. In the short run, it's devastating. However, I just don't get the guy. Unless he signs with the Red Sox, no team can offer the greatest chance of a ring than the Yankees over the length of his contract. No team can afford to pay him his salary and field a competitive team as well as the Yankees. No city will give him the marketing opportunities that New York gives him. This is not bitterness or anger, just incomprehension. What did he want? A fan base, that would have embraced, had embraced him, because he came around after his struggles to shine. Money? Offered. A championship? The best attempt was put forward every year. Thank you for two MVP's in 4 years. Thank you for trying your best. Goodbye Arod. We liked you in New York. We tried to love you. We couldn't. Not because we didn't want to. We just didn't understand you. You'll never really understand why Jeter, Papi, Manny, Tek, Gwynn, Ripken, etc. will always be loved more than you. That's what's sad. It's not just a job, take one look at the celebration the Red Sox celebrated tonight. Not many people get to celebrate at their jobs like you have the ability to do. Good luck Arod..maybe your travels will one day bring you the championship you claim to desire. Even then, I'm not sure you'll ever be a part of the team that won it. Just the guy who got them there.

Are you naive to think the fans had anything to do with this decision? I am surprised that he opted out. However, this is all about money, always was. It would not surprise me if he ended up coming back to the Yankees. It would not surprise me if he signed with the Marlins. Nothing about Arod surprises me anymore.

If the Yankees won the Series he'd be here...I think. He didn't like Torre. That had no effect, and you'd have to be an idiot to think differently.

Congrats fellas. You deserve it.

You guys definitely deserve it. You had the best team, the best organization, and truly deserve it. You've suffered a lot of the years, and now you can say that you're on top of the hill, and likely to stay there for a while. As much as I hate your team, you guys here at TalkSox are a good group, and deserve it. I tip my cap to you, your team, and you city. Enjoy it. You most definitely deserve it. Congratulations to all of you. Sincerely, gom

He and Boras wanted to talk an extension in the spring. Cashman said no, then changed his mind when he saw the monster season he was having. Now he lost him for nothing. He gambled with Posada and Rivera, and they had great years, and the team will pay for that as well with inflated salaries to keep them. His gamble cost the Yankees a chance at the post-season next year. Time to cut the strings with this bumbling front office and start anew with someone who has a clue.

He needs to go. He had a chance to sign Mo, Posada, and Arod to extensions. He lost the big one. He gambled and lost. He needs to go.

I have no animosity towards Arod. He came to play every day, was the best player in baseball by far this year, and was the primary reason we made it to the playoffs every year he was here. However, I think he made a bad business decision. The only way this pays off for him is in Anaheim or in Boston. That's what I meant. Any other team he signs with, he's not guaranteed to make the playoffs like he was in New York. He'll get his money, because Boras is a great negotiator. However, there is a very big chance that his enormous salary may hurt the team he signs with in getting the pieces they need to compete. His salary will look horrible in a few years. Right now, Cashman gambled with Arod and lost. That alone should cost him his job.

Well, hopefully the money will be better spent.

It just doesn't make sense ORS.

Why don't we let them complete a full season before we put them in the Hall of Fame. None of these guys had the hype of King Felix, and with a few exceptions, he's been ordinary.

No one really knows how Chamberlain, Buchholz, Hughes, Kennedy, Lester, et al. Will do. The only constant is Beckett and Papelbon and Cano. The rest is just hope. Good hope, yes. I wouldn't be surprised if Kennedy is the best of the bunch when all is said and done.

No, he's been stellar in his bullpen rotation for quite some time now. That whole Arod debacle in the playoffs last year was the beginning of the end for him.

The truth of the matter is that Joe Torre is one of the best managers in baseball as soon as the game is over and up until the start of the next game. He is great with the players, the press, he does everything right after the game. In the game, he is one of the worst strategists in the game. He can't manage a bullpen in the DHing American League. He does not deserve to be the highest paid manager in the game. He was made an offer that would have kept him that way. He is not as good a manager as Francona. Not by a long shot. He is not as good as Mike Scioscia. He is not as good as Leyland, or Larussa. He was outmanaged by Wedge in the series. He got more in an offer than I would have given him, that's for sure. I would have given him a $2 million base, and up to 3 million in incentives. If you don't like that, walk.