I’m calling him greedy. And I’m assuming he’s NOT going to get his raise to $30 mill because I think he and Boras acted rashly and miscalculated.

AROD simply wanted off the Yankees.

I don’t think you can say that. It’s not clear. And if he really did, why is Boras now calling for the Yankees to enter the bidding? I know you’re going to say just to jack the price up, but I don’t buy it. I think they naively think the Yankees are going to jump back in. They think the Yankees need A-Rod more than A-Rod needs them.

He wouldn’t jeorpardize his livelihood by making a prearranged “tampering” deal with an owner. And neither would any owner out there.

How would that jeopardize Boras’ livelihood? I can’t see it. And no owner is going to admit to it anyway. If none of the parties ever speak of it, no one will ever know. No one can prove it, but many believe Boras had a prearranged deal with Theo on Drew. In A-Rod’s case, I have doubts there is a prearranged deal because I don’t believe anyone is going to top the Yankees’ total package.

Honestly, even if AROD and Boras “goof” and free agency lands him a smaller per season deal, they won’t be kicking themselves.

I disagree. I think Boras and A-Rod will deeply regret it.

The biggest thing is AROD wanted out of The Bronx. He’ll have a choice of more preferable places for him to play in what may be his final contract. That’s a bigger factor for him than the necessity of breaking the bank.

Again, no proof that escape from the Bronx was the main reason. And I disagree he’ll have a choice of “more preferable places.” Where? Who? It seems many teams have already taken themselves out of the running. And if they haven’t done so publicly already, I bet privately they have (ie, the Mets).

I think breaking the bank was his #1 reason for opting out. It’s been reported that he wanted to see what his value was on the open market and that’s why he did it. IOW, he believes he’ll get a lot more than what the Yankees offered.

ARod is arguably the best player in the game, and there are around 10 other players in his ballpark and 20 more reasonably close.

He is not going to get paid 50% more than the next highest-paid position player simply because he is not 50% better than the next highest position player.

Warrior…How much is too much? At what point do you say “enough?” ARod can go lose in the first round with someone else! At what point do you see past the hype? At wht point do you not get lured by the siren’s call of the sexy name free agent? $40M/yr? $50M/yr?

Better yet, sign Mota for 7 yrs. $15M. In 4 years, everyone will be talking about what a smart move that was.

Honestly, even if AROD and Boras “goof” and free agency lands him a smaller per season deal, they won’t be kicking themselves. It’s not like their mortgage ARMs are resetting next spring and they’re banking on a raise to ward off foreclosure. The biggest thing is AROD wanted out of The Bronx. He’ll have a choice of more preferable places for him to play in what may be his final contract. That’s a bigger factor for him than the necessity of breaking the bank.

AROD simply wanted off the Yankees. He walked away from his remaining monster deal with no guarantee of making that kind of money again. Plus, he and Boras threw up a preposterous $350M sum so that the Yanks wouldn’t even have an opportunity to present their offer or do any sort of negotiations. AROD wanted out of The Bronx.

just kidding, but seriously, who cares? As long as he/she/it’s a Mets fan, that’s all that matters on this website.

There are many people who believe he never would have gotten $25mil/yr for 10 years if Tom Hicks hadn’t been bidding against himself for Arod’s services.

He is abandoning an unprecedented contract being paid by the Yankees, the team with the highest payroll in baseball. The team that acts like money is irrelevant.

This is a huge gamble for Arod. There is a chance he won’t get the $25 mil/yr matched by anyone with the Yankees and Hicks out of the bidding. Everyone else that thought about him last time knows that they could have had him for way less money.

Knowing that, why didn’t Arod just finish his last 3 years with the Yankees. He most likely would continue putting up monster numbers and be in line for a big 5-7 year deal at age 35.

For Boras to force him to walk away from his deal makes me think that Boras has spoken with another team out there and knows that the team will meet the price he wants.

MLB has made record profits, and the new trend is for teams to create regional sports networks. So Boras is right, there is more revenue and revenue streams than ever before. But I think these guys, unless Boras tampered with another team and knows he is OK, are risking Arod making less than $25mil/year.