Bye-Rod

Arod opted out of his contract. I knew this last night, and I was up until very late discussing it with various people, but my mind was too erratic to write anything coherent. But now I've cooled down and should be able to record what may be my final post ever about Mr. Alex Rodriguez.

I'm thinking to myself: Do I let this one action effect my entire view of him? Do I balance his latest decision with all he's done for the Yankees? The answers are "no" and "no." Allow me to explain.

First off, Alex Rodriguez WAS quoted as saying:

“This feels like home. It’s hard to believe that I played for another two organizations. So much has happened to me here – adversity, some success – that I feel like anything but New York feels weird for me now.”

If you don't like playing in a place, that's fine. But don't lie about it. You didn't see Sheff and Randy ever spout off BS like that. They were honest with how they felt about the team and city, and although it wasn't the best for PR, at least they were truthful. Arod, on the other hand, goes on the record saying how he loves NY etc etc etc only to prove that he's a huge liar. Awesome. What a classy move there, Alex. Because not only did you end up opting out, but:

Through Boras, Rodriguez -- who had said numerous times during the course of the season that he "loves" New York and wants to stay -- turned down a request to meet with club officials.

...You didn't even want to meet with the team. It was common knowledge that they were about to offer you a goldmine, but not only didn't you wait for the 10-day window to begin, but you refused to even share words with them before you made your decision. If that's not proof that he didn't want to stay in NY and thus was lying through his teeth during his entire time here, I don't know what is.

(Point of contrast: Joe Torre. Joe may have made his decision, be at least he gave the management a chance and went to speak with them. But Alex Rodriguez? Not only did he not want to talk, but:

According to the report, agent Scott Boras sent word of the opt-out in writing and left phone and text messages for general manager Brian Cashman on Sunday.

Haha, a text message. Wow. Torre : Rodriguez :: Class : A--hole)

Honestly, I feel betrayed. I think all of Yankees fandom feels betrayed. We supported him so much throughout his time here only to get repaid in this way. Therefore, yes, I do indeed have the right to have this single move erase my previous opinions of him.

But what about what he's done for the team? you ask. Well, what HAS he done for the team? Since Arod joined up back in 2004, the Yanks have seen the worst postseason collapse in sports history followed by three first-round exits. I have to admit that we wouldn't have seen October 2007 without his help, but honestly, given how we performed, I'm not sure how much of a gift that was. All in all, if the ultimate end of a baseball team is to go all the way, Alex Rodriguez did nothing to aid with that. No rings. No pennants. No final reward. As such, he's easily forgettable in my books.

This decision says a lot about his character. I wanted to believe that Arod was above all of that material nonsense. I wanted to believe that he a) truly liked NY, as he said, and b) truly valued baseball over his salary. I guess I was wrong. He is indeed a mercenary without a real goal: he doesn't give a hoot about team loyalty or about the "love of the game" or any of those high baseball virtues. No sir--the Seattle and Texas fans were right. Alex Rodriguez follows the dollar wherever it goes.

What strikes me the most is that he clearly doesn't care about his own legacy in the game, either. By staying in NY and solidifying himself there, his name could have stood beside that of Ruth, DiMaggio, Gehrig, Berra, Jackson, etc etc etc. He could have been a legend! Someone hailed throughout all of sports history! But what did he do? He gave it up! He decided to pass on the opportunity of a lifetime in order to get a little satisfaction now. Congrats, Alex. You may be one of the best players in the game, but you will not build a legacy. You will be known as the Greatest Homeless Hall-of-Famer. Because realistically, he's in his prime now; he's not going to get 10 more quality years. So what hat will he wear in Cooperstown? Who knows. Perhaps the one with a dollar sign will suit him best.

This is amusing, too:

"Alex's decision was one based on not knowing what his closer, his catcher and one of his statured pitchers was going to do," Boras told the Associated Press. "He really didn't want to make any decisions until he knew what they were doing."

HIS closer? HIS catcher? HIS pitcher? Oh give me a break! First off, the use of that pronoun is completely out of line. Newsflash Arod and Boras: the Yankees aren't run by Alex Rodriguez. I wish the two would go elope and start their own team in some third world country, if that's what they want (but I digress...) Secondly, it's all just more BS. How did he not want to make a decision when, um, he made the biggest one of all? If Arod was truly concerned about the futures of Mo, Jorge, and Andy, he would have 1) talked to the organization about it, and 2) waited his full ten days after the World Series ended. Instead, he didn't even let his window open before "not making any decision." That statement, Mr. Boras, is an insult to the Yankees and anyone in the world with intelligence.

Oh, and on Scott Boras. The most evil man in baseball has struck again. You know, at one point I blamed him more than Arod. It was his greedy, conniving, and selfish words that made Alex opt out--I'm sure of it. In fact, when I heard the news, I screamed out "F--K SCOTT BORAS." But that direction of my sentiments was not exactly fair. You see, Bernie Williams had Scott Boras as his agent, too. And when Boras held his Jafar-style snake cane in front of his eyes to convince him to leave the Yanks for more $$, Bernie resisted and contacted Cashman on his own. Because he loved the team over the money. Imagine that.

If Bernie was capable of making his own choice, why wasn't Arod? Oh right, he was, too. He just clearly wanted to jet New York for the chance of getting an even larger paycheck. Boras may have prodded, but it was ultimately Arod's decision when the time came. Perhaps it means he's greedy. Or maybe he's a spineless headcase. Most likely, he's a lot of both.

So that's that. I hope he goes and joins the Angels or Red Sox and brings them down with him. He'll rack up more MVPs and Hank Aaron awards, but he won't see any rings for the rest of his life. His issues will infect the clubhouse and choke them to breaking point. And the best part? He won't be making anything near as much as the Yanks unofficially offered, because no GM in his right mind is going to dish out the money for that. Have fun, Alex and Scott! Your plans will backfire, Arod will continue to be in it for himself, and he'll get booed wherever he goes. I hope you enjoy yourselves!

In closing, you have to respect the new bosses:

"It's clear he didn't want to be a Yankee," Hank Steinbrenner told the Daily News last night. "He doesn't understand the privilege of being a Yankee on a team where the owners are willing to pay $200 million to put a winning product on the field.

"I don't want anybody on my team that doesn't want to be a Yankee."

The Yankees were planning to offer A-Rod a contract extension of five years and about $135 million to $140 million, a deal that would have kept the two-time MVP in pinstripes through his 40th birthday. The Yankees had not yet made the offer, as they were trying to set up a face-to-face meeting with agent Scott Boras and A-Rod, a meeting that never happened.

The Yankees have said time and time again that they will not pursue Rodriguez as a free agent because of the money they would now no longer receive from the Rangers. Last night, Steinbrenner made it clear that his team had no intention of changing its tune on that stance.

"We're not going to back down," Steinbrenner said. "It's goodbye."

But a more general point. On one hand, it's incredibly funny and ironic how Arod's news completely overshadowed the World Series winners last night. Once again, the Red Sox were foiled by the Yankees (in a sense.) But on the other, it's completely disgusting how Scott Boras totally ignored Bud Selig's wishes of holding all major news until after the Series ended. Not only didn't he respect this, but he did it during the damn game. That's how much of an ego this guy has. He definitely should be fined some amount, but he'll probably get away with it. As usual.

Well, in good news, we may have a new manager today who's initials are "J" and "G". Wahoo!