Friday, January 30, 2015

Would it be better to cut your losses?


Would it be better for the New York Yankees to simply cut their losses, write Alex Rodriguez a check for $61 million and ask him to go away quietly? This circus that is surrounding the team right now, which will only get worse if the team flat out refuses to pay Rodriguez his $6 million bonus for tying Willie Mays, may be worth writing the check and cleaning their hands of the situation.

New York is sliding down a slippery slope, and you know it’s true when the MLB Players Association is willing to back Rodriguez even after he sued them last season, when refusing to pay a player for something that is stipulated in their contract. This not only hurts the team fiscally but it hurts the team on the field, A Rod doesn’t need any more distractions in his life right now, and it hurts their image across the league and with the fans.

The Yankees biggest advantage is definitely fiscal as the team seemingly has more money to spend, if they so choose, than anyone else in the league. The Yankees brand is bigger than any other brand in the world and for the team to stoop down to this level does not look good for the current fans, future fans or the brand.


Cut your ties, write the check and let him go. Open the roster spot for Jose Pirela or Robert Refsnysder and continue to get younger, more versatile and overall better. 

20 comments:

  1. Nope, it is too late for that now! If they had used some common sense they could have used the reasoning you gave above Daniel. Now that it is out in the open, fans will get bummed out on trying to hold back his payments. No one asked them to offer that contract to him, they bid against themselves, now be big boys and pull up your big boy knickers and live with it.
    Not that I approved of the contract in the first place, which I didn't and said so many times in the past. It was the Hal and Hank ineptitude trying to be King George the 2nd!

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    1. It's definitely not too late for it. They could do it now and give his 40 man spot to Robert Refsnyder. Team gets younger, team gets more versatile and the team remains the same fiscally.

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    2. Your right, they could do it but, between the NLPA, Owners and don't forget the Commissioner it would be a hard sell. Many fans of baseball would call the ownership to task for such a thing.
      If they were thinking of just cutting him loose, they should have just done it. Now if they do the dump it will look like they just wanted to save a little of the money they had to pay him...all without a chance to redeem himself!
      Poor baby! I really feel for him but, a raw deal is a raw deal...no matter who he is.

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    3. It's not against any rules nor is it really all that uncommon to eat salary and let a player go. MLBPA is there to protect the player and make sure he gets what his contract says. He will get his 61 million. They don't have to even get it approved, just file the paperwork .

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    4. Daniel...
      I meant the HR bonuses, that would be the hang-up with the unions, etc. But now, after that mess, they try and cut him loose, without giving a chance at the HR bonuses, it looks classless. As if they were trying to save about $12m by paying him off with $61m. I know it makes no sense at all but, that's what it could look like!

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    5. Kenny's Hell's Kitchen..............
      Was thinking the same thing today, about the $ 6MM bonuses. Alex will be better than
      most of that carry-over group. They'll thank their lucky stars, that they have him.
      Her's my take........" now batting, number 98, Chris Young."....Everyone, hide the good china, Chris Young is coming to bat !....A mass exodus for the mens room.


      Were you at Lego Dynasty this weekend, with Daniel ?
      How many Lego's did Daniel put in his pocket ?
      Have you seen Jeff....other than on the wall of a post office ?

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    6. If Jeter can play for the Yankees and do nothing but stand out there and not get much of an average at the plate, why can't A-Rod come back? He had and has more talent than Jeter had and will most likely DH most of the time (IF, he is fully healthy). I can see him hitting better than many of the hitters we have.
      But, he needs to loose that high leg kick and start using his upper body more, that is what many power hitters do in their latter years. I am hoping he worked on that over the winter.
      That is an easy thing to say but after over 30 years of doing a thing one way it is hard to change.
      Remember when Long tried to help Jeter in 2010? Jeter couldn't adapt to it and went back to his old way of hitting and only hit .300 once after that. Power guys don't need to hit for avg. just HR's and RBI's, which he can do if healthy!

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    7. HR bonuses are part of a marketing contract, if he no longer has a player contract he no longer has a marketing contract. I don't think the MLBPA could or would touch that.

      Difference between Jeter was he was paid to hit singles and A Rod is being paid to hit home runs. At 40, midseason, and off two hip injuries it will be hard to hit home runs.

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    8. No doubt about it, that was the reason Jeter hit #2, for the first 10/12 years he should have been hitting #1 (my opinion).
      That is why he has over 3,000 hits and more PA than any other Yankee in history! He was a very good hitter for many years (about 15 of 20 years) and go into the HOF.
      As for A-Rod hitting HRs, IF they give him enough AB's he should hit 20+, unless injured again...I hope so anyhow!

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  2. Whats going on here ?.............
    When I click on to the comments section, to read the ' complete ' comment, it
    takes me to a dark area, with dark stripes. Am I in Cuba, or LegoWorld ?

    And yes, I survived the North Atlantic today. Awful wind, and bad bad cold.
    My Speedo has finally been retired. I had enough.

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    1. Working for me brother, must be on your end.

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    2. Glad to see you survived the ordeal, Patrick! You did decide to hang it up after this year didn't you!???

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  3. Let's see if we can get anything out of ARod. If he does nothing by the All Star break, or sometime later when the Yankees need to make a move, then they can cut him.

    I don't think Alex will give us much of anything, but they might as well wait to see if they can get anything for their money first.

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    1. I think we could get something from him IF he is completely healthy. They may not give him very many ABs, letting him set on the bench and rot away....who knows!
      If they treat him as any other player on the team, he can do more than many fans think. The big caveat in this is his health and hips (same difference).

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    2. He's had long enough to rest and rehab them so you would think he would be fine. You have to think it's going to take a while to get that timing back though.

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    3. No doubt about that Daniel. His timing was way off before, because of that stupid leg kick! He has always had quick hands, he has to use them and trust them. In 2013, he was using his hands well, but with that high leg kick, the rest of his body was not in time with the hands.
      I know hitting, I don't know anything about power hitting...but, the principle must be the same...balance/timing/center (the ball)?

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    4. Maybe Pendleton and Bonds will get him figured out.

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    5. That is a very hard and scary thought, isn't it!

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    6. Bonds did wonders with the Giants staff this spring, so I read anyway, and it's not like A Rod's is going to get MORE haters for it.

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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)