Holy Crap, Batman! Alex is back?
Today was a good morning. I got to wake up to news of something I had believed all along would somehow magically happen. You all thought it was done and over with, but I had complete faith. I didn’t understand how someone who so seemingly sincerely wanted to be a Yankee would let greediness squash the dream and drive him away. It didn’t seem right that it would end that way… he HAD to come back! Even when all hopes seemed completely dashed, a little part of me still believed that a miracle would happen and A-Rod, a inevitably legendary player by any standards, would stay in pinstripes as an eventual Yankee legend. This was a laughable dream to most other fans… but look who’s laughing now! Miracles do happen.
Ah, Alex. We know you’re good looking. YOU know you’re good-looking. You’re thinking about it right now in that picture to our left, aren’t you? “Damn, I am seriously good-looking!”. I get it, but you really had me worried for a bit… I started to think you were all beauty and NO brains… How long could it have taken you to realize that all Scott Boras has done for you this off season is to make you look like a total douchebag? I mean, I’m sure he sounded nice and reassuring, “I’ll take care of everything, you just spend time with your family and don’t answer your phone when your teammates call you. It’ll all work out for the best… TRUST ME.”
It seems that Alex has always wanted to stay in pinstripes and that his desire to do so really isn’t ALL about the money. Scott Boras, however, makes a percentage on Alex’s contact so for him… i guess it really is all about the cash. It was apparent to many of us that Boras’ desire for more and more money and for obtaining yet another “record” contract completely overrode what his client wanted. In that respect, he’s an awful agent. He should be representing him client’s interests instead of his own. Because of this, and because Boras wrongly thought the Yanks would pony up any amount of money… Alex ended up out of the Yankees’ plans for next year, probably in a little of a panic, and looking like a spoiled money-hungry tool.
All that being said, and certainly not defending all of the drama that seems to constantly surround him, I think it took some real character to step around his superstar agent and sit down with his wife and Yankees ownership and talk about what HE really wants… not what Scott Boras wants. And to be so seemingly willing to sacrifice serious money to do so… effectively offsetting the loss of over 20 million the Yanks suffered because Alex opted out of his contract this fall. It sure will help his acceptance among the notoriously fickle New York fans that he was willing to sacrifice to be here. We are a tough crowd but we do notice these things.
It’s not a finalized deal yet (purported to be somewhere in the 10-year, $275 million range, heavily back-loaded) but I’m keeping the faith.
Torre, Mattingly and Bowa are still a serious loss, but having A-Rod back on the team (hurry up and sign already!), I think, makes the 2008 season look so much brighter.
ah my friend…everything old is new again