CLpower

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3112799

NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees have agreed to the outline of a
$275 million, 10-year contract, a deal that potentially would allow him to earn millions more if he sets the career home run record.

The amount of the guaranteed money was revealed by a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn't been finalized. A-Rod met Wednesday in Tampa, Fla., with the Steinbrenner brothers but the parameters of the deal were set in place last weekend.

"Yeah, I could say that," Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner said. "The meeting was a final get-together. He wanted to make sure myself and my brother knew that he was sincere and serious."

The Yankees still must draft the agreement with Rodriguez's agent, Scott Boras.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

sonnyg80

Just saw that - lucky bastard!

joerockt

Guarantying post season losses for the next 10 years!

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

Gpump

Well, if he sets a legitimate home run record and does most of it as a Yankee, it would be worth it from a pride standpoint (who did Babe Ruth play for? Red Sox fans be quiet).

Regardless, he's worth whatever he can convince someone else to pay him, same as the rest of us. I think it's ridiculous, but hope he gets whatever he can.

All that money to fail 2/3 times. I wish my job were like that.

subinf

That's a lot of cash. I'd like to see him play well for the rest of his career.

Yumcha

And only the Yankees are this stupid to ante up that kind of money for a positional player.





Seriously, can someone explain to me how a player who bats no more than 4 times a game is worth THAT much...? Baseball, of all sports, is not reliant on ONE player.

Scottman111

with Yumchah.

I can't see any one player being worth that much.

ZeroPSI

He actually averages 4.3 plate appearances per game.

(7350 At-Bats + 915 Walks) / 1904 Games = 4.34 plate appearance / game

GIBSON6594

I think other than basketball, baseball is the sport with the highest chances that one player will change a game all on his own.

You guys are crazy, do you have any idea how much money Arod bring to this team? Can you imagine once he starts getting close to the HR record how much the Yankees are going to capitalize off of this? i think he is worth more than he is getting. Barring something completely unforeseen, like injury, when all is said and done Arod is going to go down as the greatest player to ever play the game. And you people are saying he isn't worth it?????

It's not like it's your money, who cares how much he gets, the Yankees and other teams have that much money because they spent a lot in the past to win championships and gain revenue. When is everyone gonna realize that this is how the game works. You need to spend money to make money.

hornyleprechaun

I heard if he didn't opt out he would have probably gotten 30 million/year. The Yankees lost the 21 million from the Rangers, so with that money it would have been $296 million or pretty much $300 million contract.

Mokos23

who cares, A-Rod clearly is a person who isn't playing baseball for the love of the game for sure, but for the love of the money.

JediMindTricks

like any of us would turn down 275 million...

GIBSON6594

Lets say you worked in a building with 30 other employees, all of you did the exact same thing and had the same job requirements. You showed up on time every day and stayed late most nights, always got all your work done and exceeded expectations. Wouldn't you expect to be paid more money than the other guy who just does a mediocre job and doesn't really do great work like you do?

I know there is an issue of talent involved, but you have to realize that this is how life is, if you perform on a higher lever you deserve and expect to get paid more.

ZeroPSI

I would want a lot more cash than what A-Rod is asking for to put up with the people of NYC as a player.

JediMindTricks

well it's not like he's being forced to go back to NY. if he can't deal with the NY fans, then he should just leave.

ZeroPSI

ARod provides the one of rarest commodities on Earth. Certainty.

Without a doubt, he will produce numbers that will place him at the top of each stastical category every year.

Michael Jordan, LeBron James,
Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux,
Peyton Manning, Joe Montana.

Other great brokers in this rarest of rare product. With the demand for certainty at an all time high, you can bet that someone will pay the premium.

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

The Yankees are better with him then without. He may be a distraction however. But any big time sports player is going to be.

I'm a bit surprised the Yankees are taking him back. I didn't think they would. But this supports the idea that the Yankees are again be run by business people rather then baseball people.

sipark

I completely disagree.. There's maybe 4-5 chances per game to make anything happen in baseball. Even if you hit home run every time, that's only good for 4-5 runs.

In football or hockey, you have dozens of chances to score.

hornyleprechaun

He could make the game saving catch or turn the double play to end an inning. I agree he doesn't have the strongest affect, but he still poses a great chance of winning games.

Look at David Ortiz and what he has done in the playoffs, especially 2004. If he doesn't hit the walk off homerun, then the Red Sox's first WS would have been this year

GIBSON6594

I think you misunderstood what I mean...

In baseball, if someone hits a game winning home run, they didn't do it because of a great assist or a great block by a teammate. The individual wins the game.

CleanCL

iTrader: (4)

i think it's funny how everyone thought the yankees would fall apart because of the joe torre thing... i think with the players the yanks have and girardi to kick some ass, it should make for some good baseball.

GIBSON6594

I think that because they got the Rod and Posada back they will win even more games next year than they did this year. Torre was great for the Yankees but I think girardi will manage them better.

Yumcha

Sure Gibs...

But, I think that if their pitching stays the way it is, they'll still never truly contend...doesn't matter what A-Wad brings to hits/runs.

JediMindTricks

it's their pitching that will either save them or doom them again.

Yumcha

Honestly, if there's one player I'd throw this kind of money (which I think is lame), it'd be at Johan Santana.

If you want game-changer, he's the one right there...A strong pitcher brings so much more to the table than some slugger who hits for %-age. Just look at what Beckett did for the BoSox...

GIBSON6594

Depends on what you mean by truly contend? IMO making the playoffs means truly contending.

Plus, the Yanks have some of the best young pitchers in the biz ready to play. Kennedy Joba, and Hughes are future studs. Plus Wang is still young (27)

NetEditor

Well, the Yankees will have Hughes, Joba and Ian Kennedy for a full year. If Pettitte comes back, the Yankees will be set with those four and Wang. So the pitching staff will get much younger, which the Yankees desperately need.

And A-Rod had several game-winning hits/homers last year, especially when they were slumping badly and during the beginning of the winning streak. Without those, the Yankees might not have made the playoffs at all.

Yumcha

Hmmm...that's good that at least the Yanks have some good prospects coming down the pipeline then. Still, I think their $$$ and resources could have been better spent than on one player...

GIBSON6594

Sorry Yum, but I had to fix that.

The Yankees are not idiots, Arod is going to pay for himself and more. They know that, Arod knows that, Scott Borus knows that. That is why these deals go through.

JediMindTricks

true, but the problem is that santana will be a free agent after next season, i believe.

so the yankees and most other clubs are probably thinking whether or not they can trade for him now and sign him up for a long-term contract. or can they just take the risk and see if he's available when he's a free agent. or if they trade for him, what if they lose him after one season.

regardless...yes. the yankees pitching does look brighter with the young guns that they have. however, dealing for a player like santana will surely mean losing at least one of those pitchers.

if they hold onto the young pitchers and the other young players they have, they will be in good shape. i guess i'm just trying to say that their pitching situation is far more crucial to their success than a-rod.

and as for "truly contending"...for the yankees, merely making the playoffs is not what they consider "truly contending." the yankees players, management, and fans expet to be contending for the world series ring every year.

Yumcha

It's all good, dude. I dunno, just never was a fan of paying uber-$$$$$ for baseball players...

I enjoy the sport immensely but I've always held the belief that baseball is more a team-sport than pretty much any other type (as compared to football, hockey, basketball). And so, on that merit, I just don't see how a player is worth this much.

Like, if you were to throw this kind of amount at say a Sidney Crosby, Kobe Bryant, Tom Brady, I could at least understand...Come time where the game is on the line, where regulation is about to end and you're staring at a deficit, these guys can lead you to that score. A-Rod? Um, let's see if he'll even get to bat in the 9th or etc. You know?

CleanCL

iTrader: (4)

well said. my gut tells me that next season will be an even better year for the team as a whole, younger pitchers, much more energy, new manager (who i happen to think is perfect for the job right now), a good lineup. we are weak on the reliever end, but next season is basically up in the air. as i said, my gut tells me good things, but it could totally backfire. i doubt it though.

has anyone heard who the bench coach will be? or the pitching coach?

CleanCL

iTrader: (4)

IMO - this contract is really no different than a big signing such as labron james. people need to get over the dollar sign. the dollar runs the business. things like this will become more common place.

NetEditor

Dave Eiland will be the pitching coach. He worked with Joba in the minors.

CleanCL

iTrader: (4)

that's who i was hoping for. i thought he also worked with kennedy and hughes, or one of them.

stright-(paint)balling

i don't care if he asked for 500 million i'd pay for it as long as he beats Bond's record.
you think bonds will be pissed if he's in jail during A-rod breaks the record

Chr8808

iTrader: (1)

JUst wanted to note, as a business in NY, its the names that people want to see. When they were winning titles in 96, 98, 99, 00 - they were doing it without an all-star in every position but they were only drawing 3MM-ish fans. Of course you expect their first few winning years to be lower, but then by at least 99-2000, you expect 4 years for everyone to jump on the bandwagon by then. When they started their accumulation of non-winning allstars at every position, they drew more and more and finally broke 4MM in 06 and again on 07. With the more fans in the stands, the more $$ is generated and that can be used on bigger contracts like the outrageous one Arods getting. I would rather see that than seeign an organization like Atlanta, Minnesota or Oakland (though not familiar witht heir economics) stand hard on Payroll even when they're winning. I would think that being a fan would be very very fustrating seeing how ownership wont go the extra step to push for a title rather than staying in the black.

CleanCL

iTrader: (4)

i dont really see what everyone is going crazy about... 275M over 10 years is 27.5 yearly average, pretty much what he has already been making? what's the problem?

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

I don't get it either?