« It’s About Time! Barry Bonds Indicted By Federal Grand Jury | Home | Reminder: ALS Vegas Fundraiser At Fenway Park Tonight »
A-Rod Crawls Back To The Bronx, Reportedly Staying With The Yankees
By Administrator | November 15, 2007
Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees have agreed to the foundation of a ten-year contract for something in the vicinity of $275 million… and, reportedly, he will earn millions more if he sets the career home run record while with the Yankees.
John Harper of the NY Daily News reported that there were four factors that sent A-Rod back to the Yankees — with his ego in check and tail between his legs — seeking a deal: 1) the emergence of Hank Steinbrenner as “The New Boss”, 2) the universal criticism he received for Boras’ stunt (the timing of his opt-out), 3) the absence of the big-money offers Boras had promised would be forthcoming, and 4) the Yankees’ pursuit of Red Sox free agent Mike Lowell.
A source told Harper that Rodriguez called him “to ask if Hank was serious about closing the door on him”. The source said that Boras had been telling him not to worry about what Brian Cashman was saying about the opt-out because he knew they had The Boss on their side… “but then Alex saw the shift in power, with the Steinbrenner sons taking over, and here was Hank saying ‘Goodbye, we don’t want you if you don’t want to be a Yankee’. Those words really messed with (Alex) because he really did want to be a Yankee”.
The source also said that the dynamic between Rodriguez and Boras has changed in the last couple of years due to Boras’ pentient to control every aspect of the player’s life. A-Rod reportedly had become resentful of Boras, but always gave in because the agent has made him wealthy beyond his wildest imagination. But that all changed after Boras made the ‘opt-out’ announcement during Game 4 of the World Series. The resulting criticism chaffed the third baseman — and he decided to re-assert control over his own destiny: “He was blind-sided by the timing (of the announcement). He was (ticked) and he got more (ticked) as time went on and he saw the hit his reputation was taking”.
And then there was the Yankees pursuit of Lowell — which reportedly drove Rodriguez over the edge: “The Lowell talks (with the Yankees) pushed him over the edge. He didn’t want any part of going to Boston”.
Yeah — we love you, too, Alex.
Topics: Around Baseball |
