I am the first to admit that I don’t understand the economics of sports…(especially Basketball and Baseball).
But it seems as though A-Rod’s manager will be asking for $350 MILLION dollars! (And before anyone argues that it will be “spread out” over “X” amount of years…does it really matter?)
So:
Is ANY one person worth that much to ANY team?
What has A-Rod given to any Team in terms of World Championships?
(Note: Baseball NON-expert person question!):
Doesn’t it make more sense to get some heavy hitters in the middle of your line-up then put your money in your Bull-Pen?
Do you guys think that any Team in their right mind (besides the Yankees!) would pay A-Rod that kind of money?
I’ve been a huge Yankee fan my whole life (being that I’m from New York), and I hate to see A-Rod leave, but that is entirely too much money. He’s not that valuable to anyone.
With the money we’re saving from him leaving (and Torre going to the Dodgers =[), we can get a ton of young talent to put all over the place. We can find another great 3B player, good pitchers which we so desperately need, and a catcher to train so he can step up when Posada’s gone.
The point is that you can do a lot more with $350 million than get a guy who hits a bunch of jacks. He’s a stud, but he ain’t that good.
I live in NY, but do not allign myself with the yankees. I like them and the red sox equally, and seeing as how the yanks are seemingly on the way down, I’d love for the Red Sox to keep Mike Lowell, scoop up A-Rod, and put him at shortstop until he’s too old to be a competent ss.
Switching Lugo for A-rod would make for an absurd lineup. The Sox would be able to whoop the national league allstar team with that lineup and beckett starting with Okajima and Papelbon relieving…
I mean come on, what do the Yanks really have on the Sox? Better looks?
[quote]Mufasa wrote:
…
Doesn’t it make more sense to get some heavy hitters in the middle of your line-up then put your money in your Bull-Pen?
…
Mufasa[/quote]
NO!
Pitching wins championships. Signing hitters is like a football team signing WR’s. It makes the fans all excited and makes a nice highlight reel, but usually doesn’t do a damn thing about the team’s final record.
I’ve had to watch my Texas Rangers make this mistake over and over and over and over and over…
It makes me sad, knowing that if Texas had spent $250M on young quality pitchers instead of A-Rod back in 2001, they’d actually have a pretty good team today.
I mean come on, what do the Yanks really have on the Sox? Better looks?[/quote]
I’m afraid that’s what it’s really coming down to. The Yankees are falling apart at the seams and the Sox keep getting stronger and stronger.
The Yanks do have the Sox on looks, though. The Red Sox look like a bunch of filthy-ass Vermont woodsmen. I mean seriously Manny, get some clothes that fit, a haircut, and some class.
He’ll get the money and he’ll be on one of these teams:
The Angels (Guerrero finally gets protection)
The Giants (Barry who?)
The Cubs (Missing piece gets added)
A-rod is ridiculously productive and is a threat every time at bat. His one knock is that he disappears in the playoffs other than the Twins series while he was a Yankee, and his first time in the playoffs in Seattle. The guy is going to have two MVPs while in NY and the Yankees cannot replace his talent.
[quote]
With the money we’re saving from him leaving (and Torre going to the Dodgers =[), we can get a ton of young talent to put all over the place. We can find another great 3B player, good pitchers which we so desperately need, and a catcher to train so he can step up when Posada’s gone.[/quote]
Just had to add to this part. Who else is anywhere near ARod for 3rd? Lowell will most likely stay in Boston, and he doesn’t have Arods numbers, no one does. Yankees would not have made the playoffs if it wasn’t for Arod putting the team on his back for that stretch he had. There is no one else available.
What other pitchers? The best free agent is Schilling (40+ yr old) and he will not go to the Yankees (rumors about a Mets push to get him). After that, there is a drop in talent. A trade will need to be made to get Santana, and that means we lose Hughes and/or Cabrera. And for catchers, either sign Posada or Lo Duca because there is no one after that.
No, he is not worth that much, i don’t believe any player is. He is a tremendous talent, but his tenure with NY proved he is not the end all to a championship.
Having the best player (offensively at least in this case) does not = championship.
So much goes into being a champion beyond having the best player.
In baseball, it just about always has to start with the pitching, then a good combo of offense-defense-good luck (as in no injuries to key players).
A-Rod may be the best player, but with that kind of money, you can go a long way toward building a “team”, and a pretty good one at that.
Team chemistry is also an under-rated quality. Based on some media reports (which are not always accurate, I agree), A-Rod falls short in this area…despite his great on the feild skills.
Someone will pay him though, that’s just the way it is now days.
There is a huge amount of inefficiency in baseball hiring. Qualities that have little effect on baseball game outcomes are highly prized. A-Rod is a power hitter for sure, but compared to comparable guys he is far overpriced. Most of his value comes in the form of prestige I think.
[quote]tGunslinger wrote:
Mufasa wrote:
…
Doesn’t it make more sense to get some heavy hitters in the middle of your line-up then put your money in your Bull-Pen?
…
Mufasa
NO!
Pitching wins championships. Signing hitters is like a football team signing WR’s. It makes the fans all excited and makes a nice highlight reel, but usually doesn’t do a damn thing about the team’s final record.
I’ve had to watch my Texas Rangers make this mistake over and over and over and over and over…
It makes me sad, knowing that if Texas had spent $250M on young quality pitchers instead of A-Rod back in 2001, they’d actually have a pretty good team today.[/quote]
Sadly - the decision as to whether A-Rod is “worth” 350 mill is not answered on the stat sheets. The answer is found on the bottom line.
Will the signing of A-rod put enough asses in the seats to pay for him? How much can a given team jack the gate prices and have the fans still think they are getting some value out of the money spent going to the game?
The money being paid to A-Rod is not so much a salary, but 162 appearance fees per season for “X” seasons.
[quote]muscleshark wrote:
I live in NY, but do not allign myself with the yankees. I like them and the red sox equally, and seeing as how the yanks are seemingly on the way down, I’d love for the Red Sox to keep Mike Lowell, scoop up A-Rod, and put him at shortstop until he’s too old to be a competent ss.
Switching Lugo for A-rod would make for an absurd lineup. The Sox would be able to whoop the national league allstar team with that lineup and beckett starting with Okajima and Papelbon relieving…
I mean come on, what do the Yanks really have on the Sox? Better looks?[/quote]
Thanks for the insight, Freddy Frontrunner. I like the Yankees and Red Sox equally, too. Kind of how I like cancer and AIDS.
[quote]TJN713 wrote:
muscleshark wrote:
I live in NY, but do not allign myself with the yankees. I like them and the red sox equally, and seeing as how the yanks are seemingly on the way down, I’d love for the Red Sox to keep Mike Lowell, scoop up A-Rod, and put him at shortstop until he’s too old to be a competent ss.
Switching Lugo for A-rod would make for an absurd lineup. The Sox would be able to whoop the national league allstar team with that lineup and beckett starting with Okajima and Papelbon relieving…
I mean come on, what do the Yanks really have on the Sox? Better looks?
Thanks for the insight, Freddy Frontrunner. I like the Yankees and Red Sox equally, too. Kind of how I like cancer and AIDS.
[/quote]
Seriously. How does this even happen? If you say you’re a fan for both of them, you’re really a fan of neither. No self respecting yankee fan would root for the sox and vice versa.
So, when they play each other, who do you root for? Or does that change as the score or city you’re in change?
[quote]TJN713 wrote:
muscleshark wrote:
I live in NY, but do not allign myself with the yankees. I like them and the red sox equally, and seeing as how the yanks are seemingly on the way down, I’d love for the Red Sox to keep Mike Lowell, scoop up A-Rod, and put him at shortstop until he’s too old to be a competent ss.
Switching Lugo for A-rod would make for an absurd lineup. The Sox would be able to whoop the national league allstar team with that lineup and beckett starting with Okajima and Papelbon relieving…
I mean come on, what do the Yanks really have on the Sox? Better looks?
Thanks for the insight, Freddy Frontrunner. I like the Yankees and Red Sox equally, too. Kind of how I like cancer and AIDS.
[/quote]
[quote]rrjc5488 wrote:
TJN713 wrote:
muscleshark wrote:
I live in NY, but do not allign myself with the yankees. I like them and the red sox equally, and seeing as how the yanks are seemingly on the way down, I’d love for the Red Sox to keep Mike Lowell, scoop up A-Rod, and put him at shortstop until he’s too old to be a competent ss.
Switching Lugo for A-rod would make for an absurd lineup. The Sox would be able to whoop the national league allstar team with that lineup and beckett starting with Okajima and Papelbon relieving…
I mean come on, what do the Yanks really have on the Sox? Better looks?
Thanks for the insight, Freddy Frontrunner. I like the Yankees and Red Sox equally, too. Kind of how I like cancer and AIDS.
Seriously. How does this even happen? If you say you’re a fan for both of them, you’re really a fan of neither. No self respecting yankee fan would root for the sox and vice versa.
So, when they play each other, who do you root for? Or does that change as the score or city you’re in change?[/quote]
I root for both teams to lose. When they play each other, that is easy. Whoever is highest in the rankings, you want to lose so they fall farther behind. You see, that team loses more and that is what you want to see, right?
