A-Rod and Oriole?

Ken Rosenthal, Buster Olney, etc, etc, etc . . . they all bring up the Orioles as a potential landing zone for Alex Rodriguez. They talk about his adoration of Cal Ripken, his desire to play in a less intense environment, and the money that Peter Angelos could send his way. I believe they write these things because they need some filler. He is not coming here. Why?

1. The Yankees are not as ignorant as many Yankee fans seem to be.
The only reason why the Yanks are sniffing 500 ball and not 470 or 460 is because of their star third baseman. Yes, the guy who has won an MVP for them. The guy who has been just as successful in the post season as the rest of the Yankees these past few years. The guy Torre and Jeter go out of their way to be indifferent to in the media. He will go down as one of the best ballplayers in history. Him, Bonds, and Clemens. We are sure in an era where we hate our stars. So, yeah, life without A-rod and his subsidized salary is far worse than life with him. In fact, it is even better. The front office has begun the machinations to extend his contract, a necessity in order to keep the Rangers footing the bill.

2. Who else could the Yanks get?
Maybe Troy Glaus. Maybe. There is no one else worth a damn on the trade or free agent market at thirdbase.

3. Angelos has trouble paying 15 million a year for a player.
A-Rod is going to maybe high 20s or low 30s. Mark my words. He could be the first 35 million dollar a year player. This is where the Yanks have leverage. With the Texas deal and an extension, the Yanks can save now and later. They can use the seven million a year Texas gives them and apply that to the extension. Maybe four more years at 25+7 = 32MM. He'll be 38 at the end. Seems like a Yankee deal to me. And . . . I think that is conservative.

4. Melvin Mora
Our worst and saddest reason. He has a no trade. He is also our third best hit, by far, this year. We have other needs.

Well, it isn't going to happen. I'd love an A-Rod and Tejada combination on the left side of the infield, but the money seems too much. We have Bedard coming up and he'll be worth about 20 million a year. Roberts is worth 12 or so. Any free agents will be expensive. We are going to have to become a smart $150 million dollar team to keep this team together and compete. We'll have to stop giving stupid money out to guys whose peak years are average . . . like Gibbons. Or give three year deals to players who are experiencing a downfall in production (read: Huff . . . yeah, I was wrong about him).

Anyway, let's move on from A-Rod.