[bigboydan]

If any teams out there sign A-Rod for $350 million they are fools!

Sources: Yankees more than $100M short of entertaining A-Rod

Before Alex Rodriguez opted out of his contract with the Yankees earlier this week, the team was told that it would not be able to meet with the third baseman unless it presented an offer of at least $350 million, sources say.

The Yankees had hoped to meet with Rodriguez this week, and would have presented him with an extension offer close to five years and $150 million, to begin at the conclusion of his 2008-2010 contract, through which he would have earned $81 million. Through the Yankees' proposal, then, Rodriguez would have made about $230 million over eight years, and during the last five years of the contract, sources say, he would have earned the highest annual salary in Major League Baseball history.

But team executives were told, sources say, that in order to arrange a meeting with Rodriguez, they would have to be prepared to make an extension offer that would take the third baseman's deal up to a total value of $350 million. That means that the offer the Yankees intended to propose would have been more than $100 million short.

Rodriguez's agent, Scott Boras, sent the documentation of Rodriguez's intention to opt out of the contract to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman during Game 4 of the World Series, Cashman has said, and the GM did not speak with Boras until after news of the decision was published on SI.com.

The timing of how this played out, and the fact that Rodriguez did not meet with the Yankees to hear their offer before making his decision, has led some baseball officials to surmise that a deal with another team may already be in the works. In an interview with ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick on Thursday, Boras said, "We have had no economic discussions regarding Alex Rodriguez with any major-league team."

The Mets, Dodgers, Angels, Giants and Marlins are among the teams which have not publicly ruled out pursuing Rodriguez. Sources say it is highly unlikely that the Dodgers will seriously entertain the possibility.

[babytyger]

A Rod is a ****ing loser. He is a choker! Time and time again he choked in the playoff. What had he done for the Yankees or teams that he played for except took their money and did not perform to earn his money. A ROD...**** you!

[imgv94]

I hope no one signs him. f\*\*k Scott Boras.

[Skankdog]

The owner that signs this guy is an Idiot! I will enjoy seeing them lose in the playoffs and lose money like crazy! You can only raise the price on tickets so much before the fans tell you to screw off! Hopefully, Cuban will get that second football league started during baseball season and that should be the final dagger in the heart for baseball. It has become a Latin sport anyway like Soccer. Let them have it!

[Willie Bee]

If any teams out there sign A-Rod for $350 million they are fools!

I remember the same thing said about the Houston Astros for giving Nolan Ryan $1 million per season when they signed him in the Winter of '79. Yet in his 20 starts that first season in 1980, some 544,737 tickets were sold. Just using a conservative $5 per ticket for that year -- I have ticket stubs that are mostly $4 and $7.50 from that season -- it means Dr. John McMullen and the Astros grossed $2,723,685 when Ryan took to the Astrodome mound in his first season. That doesn't include parking, concessions, etc., and the three postseason games that October.

If some MLB owner thinks that he can bring in $500 million having a $350 million A-Rod on his team, then it seems a sound investment to me.

It has become a Latin sport anyway like Soccer. Let them have it!

Mis personas dan usted las gracias

[louisvillekid]

i doubt anyone would sign him for that amount. maybe he or his agent just said that amount about NY, like that is what it would take for him to stay there. he might want to get out of the spotlight in the media capital of the world and sign in a smaller market for 100million. of course i'm only speculating. he and his agent could just be greedy, and A-Rod is more self-centered than i think.

[goldengoat]

lol at turning down 30 million per year over 5 years

what a f\*g

i understand he wants a long term deal but still. the dude semi-choked in the playoffs again

[bigboydan]

lol at turning down 30 million per year over 5 years

what a f\*g

Na... Thats just pure greed at it's finest.

[JAHgger4noz]

I'll sign him for 350 million peanuts cause that's all he does in the playoffs. I'll maybe throw in a few dashes of cajun seasoning to go with all those yummie BEER peanuts. Spoiling the guy but he is A-Rod y'know!

[bigboydan]

I'm starting to like the Yankees new approach to these types of things. I'm glad that Hank Steinbrenner is sticking it straight up Boras' ass after what he did during the World Series.

Report: Yanks willing to talk to A-Rod, but without Boras

The New York Yankees have been discussing a deal with their former All-Star third baseman Alex Rodriguez -- but the team says a deal can only move forward if his agent, Scott Boras, is not part of the talks, the New York Daily News reported Wednesday.

According to the report, a high-ranking Yankees source said the team is willing to bring back A-Rod on a below-market contract that would make up for the $21 million subsidy from the Texas Rangers that the Yankees lost when A-Rod opted out of the final three years of his contract -- despite team comments indicating he had burned his bridges by opting out.

But any such deal can't take place with Boras at the table, a Yankee source said, according to the report.

"We will not negotiate with Scott Boras," the source told the Daily News. "He cannot be in the room."

Boras, regarded in some circles as the most powerful man in baseball, has been A-Rod's agent since he was a teenager.

The Daily News also reported that Rodriguez recently approached the Yankees about a return through a third party, and that the team wanted person-to-person talks between A-Rod and Hal and Hank Steinbrenner.

The New York Post said Hal Steinbrenner was non-committal when asked Tuesday if A-Rod's return was possible.

"Whether something did happen or not, I am not going to comment on that situation," he said, according to the Post.

Rodriguez opted out of the final three years and $81 million of his contract on Oct. 28. The Yankees, had earlier pledged they would not deal with him as a free agent if he opted out and made good on their word, with Hal Steinbrenner saying "I don't want anybody on my team that doesn't want to be a Yankee."

Later, it was reported Boras had set a minimum salary floor of $350 million for the team to start talking with its former All-Star third baseman.

[Willie Bee]

Hank Steinbrenner hadn't seen his name or 'Yankees' in print for a few days I guess. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as they say, and in this case it's a rotten, wormy apple. We'll see how long this Boras boycott lasts. Boras may be an ass, but all this proves is young Steinbrenner is a member of the same club.

[paul Mordeeb]

" the team was told that it would not be able to meet with the third baseman unless it presented an offer of at least $350 million!!!"

" team says a deal can only move forward if his agent, Scott Boras, is not part of the talks!!!!"

Those quotes look good one after the other!!!!

[Illusion]

A-Rod should have taken the initial offer (s) Now that Scott Boras dropped the ball he's gonna settle for alot less money that he could have made.

I for one think the whole situation is funny. The best part is Boras loses alot of credibilty.

[Rollins08]

A-Rod should have taken the initial offer (s) Now that Scott Boras dropped the ball he's gonna settle for alot less money that he could have made.

I for one think the whole situation is funny. The best part is Boras loses alot of credibilty.

Actually the new deal is still more than the old deal. And has incentives to reach in the 300 million zone. Boras is going to make 15 million on this deal so I don't know if he cares about his credibility.

[Willie Bee]

The best part is Boras loses alot of credibilty.

If anything, Boras' credibility rises with players who see that his client got more money in the end, and that was the initial goal. The new Georgette's/Steinbrenner Lites in the NY front office are the ones left with egg on their faces.

[Illusion]

I didn't know about the incentives. I initially heard 10 years at $22 million per. I stand corrected then.

[bigboydan]

You figured it would just be a matter of time before it all was revealed.

Report: A-Rod plan to go around Boras came from Buffett

NEW YORK -- Warren Buffett advised Alex Rodriguez to approach the New York Yankees and go around agent Scott Boras, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

The newspaper cited a person familiar with the matter, whom it did not identify.

"A-Rod really loves being a Yankee," Buffett was quoted as saying. He wouldn't comment on the substance of any discussions with the player.

The two became friends several years ago.

Rodriguez, on Boras' advise, opted out of the final three seasons of his record $252 million, 10-year contract on Oct. 28. The Yankees had said many times that if he opted out, they wouldn't negotiate because they would lose $21.3 million from Texas for the final three seasons that was agreed to at the time of the 2004 trade, money to offset the $72 million New York owed from 2008-10.

Upset with developments after he opted out, Rodriguez contacted Buffett, and the investor told him to approach the Yankees without his agent, the Journal said.

After speaking with the investor, Rodriguez contacted a managing director at Goldman Sachs that he knew, John Mallory, who then got in touch with Gerald Cardinale, a Goldman Sachs managing director who has worked with the Yankees and their YES Network.

With the assistance of the two Goldman executives, Rodriguez and the Yankees negotiated a $275 million, 10-year contract that is in the process of being finalized.

"This year was a magical season,'' Rodriguez told MLB.com. "The way things went, we came up a little short at the end. But other than that, I'm happy with the way the year went. My wife and I finally feel like we're New Yorkers.''

[idontlikerocks]

i can't afford to go to games anymore and sit in a decent seat......sigh