Hank Steinbrenner says that Chamberlain and Hughes will be in the starting rotation to start next season, possibly Kennedy too. That leaves Mussina in the BP I guess if Pettitte comes back. Or maybe that means Kennedy is in if Pettitte doesn't come back. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...-10_george_steinbrenner_mum_on_joe_torre.html
I don't get this stance, and you're not the only one with it. We had the chance to renegotiate at least Posada and Mo before the season, but Cashman decided to adhere to some idiot policy of not renegotiating players in the final year of their contract, a policy I'm pretty sure he implemented himself. Mo and Jorge have every right to be pissed off. Like Mo said, he now knows this is nothing more than a business. Between these two and Bernie, don't be surprised if guys are even more standoffish towards signing with the Yankees in the future. There is exactly zero loyalty in this organization toward the ones that got them to the dance. Personally, I agree with Mo.
I'm not saying they shouldn't have negotiated before the season, I believe they should. They didn't and he had a whole year to get over it. Now, in the first hour after the end of the season he starts this crap? Then tries to use his feelings towards Torre as leverage? The guy isn't what he was even 5 years ago and what he is doing is talking himself out of a job in NY with this attitude. Actually, the more I think about it the Yankees shouldn't have negotiated with him before the season started. He broke down last year with arm problems, why would they think that couldn't happen again this year? All of these players want to be paid for nothing. They want 30 million dollar insurance policies in case they are done. It was smart not to negotiate with him and he can't stand it.
At the very least the Yankees need 1 7th inning pitcher and a setup guy. If Rivera leaves they need a closer too. I don't see any free agents that can fill any of those roles.
Thanks for making my point for me. Same thing goes for Posada. That's why they should have signed these guys before the season.
Posada for sure. Although he could have more likely hit .210 then .330 for a catcher his age. Rivera no. If he did break down he may have been done and we would be paying him 30 million for nothing..again...just like Pavano and Giambi..maybe to a lesser degree Damon and Matsui too..it was a good move.
The bright side. Contracts expiring now or after next year. Giambi - 24 mil Pavano - 12 Pettitte - 16 Damon - 13 Abreu - 16 but probably resigned Farnsworth - 6 Mussina - 19 Clemens - 18 Total - 123 million..another 30 if Arod opts out. Add in another 100 mil a year in additional revenue from the new stadium and all you can say is WOW
I actually like the thought of not having a 180 plus mil team and having a team around the135 range. A rotation of Pettitte, Wang Hughes, Kennedy and Chamberlain could not only be cost effective but very lethal with experience
I think this is exactly right. Arod wants to stay for all the reasons he notes. Where else can he become a legend and get his own monument? We all know Arod knows baseball history more then anyone. He also points out that it has already become Arod's team this year. http://www.nypost.com/seven/10112007/sports/yankees/bluffs_enough.htm
That sums up my thoughts on this completely from ARod's angle. But from Cashman's angle, I think he's bluffing, too. If ARod opted out, I still think that eventually the Yankees would have to be a player for him in the offseason. It's going to be an interesting and scary next few weeks.
I've always felt this was the actuality of the situation behind the scenes. The issue is that they hope he just renogotiates, and doesn't opt out. However, there's an extremely slim chance the Yankees would allow Alex Rodriguez to walk away without a fight. They want to keep the money from Texas flowing, of course. If that oil well dries up though, they'll dip into their own reserves.
I think we can all agree that if he opts out and we even THINK Boston is involved all bets are off. Of course Boras will make us think that too. This is the problem the Yankees face and why they say we won't negotiate if he opts out. We don't want to be bidding against ourselves when the final chapter has already been written before negotiations start. They use the excuse of the Texas money but it's really bidding against ourselves that has them so worried. Here's an interesting thought. We all know that it's illegal to give part ownership of a team to a player. I wonder if it would be illegal to give him part ownership of YES. Under the current agreement those profits do not count at all toward the team or revenue sharing or anything else. I don't think it's realistic even if they could because I believe the Yankees are equal partners in YES with somebody else. If they gave away a piece of that they no longer would be. I do remember Ray Kroc once gave Nolan Ryan a whole string of McDonalds in southern California to sign a contract.
AROD will become a legend over the next 10 years WHEREVER he signs, and its going to be for his next 10 years, not his last 10 years; AND arn't we all going to get a monument? Don, are you really hung up on what your monument is going to read? OR would you take 300 million over 10 years and say, screw the monument?
I get the feeling Torre is back next year. He will be in Tampa next week and just not invited to the starting meeting which is to discuss him. I think he geta a 2 year deal at much less money (if he wants it) or maybe a Walter Alston type contract (year by year). If they don't hire Girardi then Torre is my second choice anyway. Maybe even my first. I can't stand him much anymore but there isn't much better out there.
This is pretty interesting if true. Arod is already negotiating with the Yankees and is close to buying a 39 million dollar coop in NYC. He is also set to meet with Boras this weekend in LA so it may just be. http://www.nypost.com/seven/10112007/realestate/stay_rod_.htm
I'm not hung up on it but he is. You can't possibly call Bonds, Aaron(maybe him) or Ripkin legends when comparing them to Ruth, Gehrig and DiMaggio. Playing in NY is just different.
I have to disagree with you there. Obviously, Ruth is bigger than probably any other figure in the history of American sports, save for Ali. No one compares to Ruth because he single-handedly took a sport ruined by corruption and "saved the game". Gehrig and DiMaggio were great ballplayers, and deserve their spots in history, but had they not been champions, they would not be revered the same today. Aaron was bigger than the game he played. He is most certainly a legend. Ripkin is a legend as well, though time will probably pass him by. Regardless of his on-field skills, he played an insane number of games straight in the era of free agency, all with a single team. That's pretty legendary. Bonds is a totally different story. He would certainly have been a legend, even without his final HR total, had he played anywhere without the steroids. The steroids ruin what would otherwise be a stellar legacy. You're only a legend as a Yankee if you win a world series. Look at Mattingly. He was a great ballplayer on both sides of the ball. His career numbers are better than Keith Hernandez's. He holds records for most consecutive days in a row hitting a home run, most grand slams in a season, and I'm not sure if he still owns it, but he once set the record for most putouts by a player in a game. Is Mattingly a legend? Hell, the guy can't even get into the Hall of Fame.
Maybe that's why the Yankees I mentioned are legends and the others may not be. Did any of them (Bonds, Aaron or Ripkin) ever win a WS? I'm pretty sure Aaron won one. BTW, personally I think Mays is a legend over Aaron and then again he played in NY for the first 6 or 7 years of his career. If he didn't play in Candlestick all those years he would have been the one with the all time HR record.
But the thing is, you're using the fact that those guys played in NY to deem them legends, and that's not the reason they are. Without the titles, they'd just be the Mark McGwire of their day. A great ballplayer, but not a legend. It's not the city they played in that made them, it was the legendary championship runs that make them legends.
