Do we want Alex Rodriguez?

[Benjamin Grimm]

Vote for the most generous package you think the Mets should offer if it's necessary to sign Alex Rodriguez.

[metirish]

I went with

Yes, I'll pay the $30 million, but not for ten years.


tough choices there.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I'm kinda stuck between options 3 and 4.

Fewer years, more $$, just not comfortable with specific figures 10 and 30.

[Valadius]

No. Never. He's a prima donna and would screw up the clubhouse chemistry. His teammates in Texas once called him "The Cooler" because he has a tendency to throw water on his team's success and ruin positive momentum. He's not a team player.

[Fman99]

I'd hate to see him on the payroll at age 41 making 35 mil per year, assuming his contract is backloaded.

That aside, I think the regular season contributions he does bring makes him a legitimate add. Of course I think he should move to 2B play for the Mets.

[Guest Kid Carsey]

I took no. The Mets don't need a 3b or a ss and everyone's gonna get their
shorts in a knot over this pussy AGAIN??? Fuck him and Boras and their at-
tention starved side show that is dominating the news on a day when the Sawx
should be story number one.

(holy crap, Valad and I agree on something)

[metirish]

Found this online.

] Lost in the shuffle of Alex Rodriguez's opt-out media frenzy - the Yankees should be able to snag some nice draft picks for him. They'll undoubtedly offer him arbitration, and he'll decline that offer. If that does happen and he's signed by the Cubs, Tigers, Mets, Angels, or Red Sox, the Yankees will get that team's first-round pick. The Giants and Dodgers' first round picks are protected however.

[TransMonk]

I think I would top out at 210,000,000 over 7 years. (I can't believe I just said that.)

The dude's numbers are too good not to at least consider. He should break Bonds' record within 7 years, so I don't find much use for him after that.

[nymr83]

...

[MFS62]

Having A-Rod lead the Mets to a World Series championship would sure peg the needle on the "Shove it up Boss George's Ass" o-meter.

Later

[Guest martin]

i would be happy to have him, but only under circumstances he would never accept.

and it unnerves me to shift people around defensively. it devalues players to play them at easier positions than they can handle. almost every other team has more of a place to put arod than the mets.

unless arod can play second. then throw the money at him.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Wow, five "no ways."

I'm a little surprised at that.

Here's my prediction: he'll eventually sign for $224 million for eight years. (Average annual value: $28 million.)

I hope that the Mets will be in the hunt.

[Guest Kid Carsey]

I don't get the love affair with this guy -- especially since he plays two positions
where we have our youngest and best players. One stud, and one stud in the making.

So we're to spend a quarter of billion dollars on a guy who never seems to be able
to finish out a stint with a team without some kind of drama and move our best
player to another position to do so?

The Mets aren't even on most of the lists of teams he may sign with.

We need pitching. Pitching, pitching, and some more pitching.

I'll be happiest if he lands with the Angels. Far away, not in the NL.

[metirish]

For that money he'd better fucking pitch too.

[Elster88]

Valadius wrote: No. Never. He's a prima donna and would screw up the clubhouse chemistry. His teammates in Texas once called him "The Cooler" because he has a tendency to throw water on his team's success and ruin positive momentum. He's not a team player.

This is pure stupidity. The cooler you are referring singlehandedly took his team to the playoffs this year and shhould win his second MVP in four years. Even if he hadn't done those things it's pure stupidity. Maybe the money is too much or the years are too many but the reasons above bother me.

This is one of the greatest players in the history of the game. I'll pay the 30 million per of Fred's money. He's got a tv station and a new ballpark. He can afford it. I don't want him for 10 years though, that'll cripple the budget too much in the later years.

[Elster88]

Kid Carsey wrote: I don't get the love affair with this guy -- especially since he plays two positions where we have our youngest and best players. One stud, and one stud in the making.

I love our young studs too, but neither will ever be as good as Mr. Rod.

Kid Carsey wrote: We need pitching. Pitching, pitching, and some more pitching.

I think so too. If ARod does land in Queens Omar can't stop there.

[Frayed Knot]

Do I want him? ... Sure -- even though he does have a habit of making himself a pain in the ass every now and then.
It's like he's not sure whether he wants to try and make himself into the best-liked boy in the school ... something he's failing miserably at, or whether he doesn't care in the least if all the world thinks he's a jerk ... that one he's pulling off more successfully.
Having said all that I don't buy the part about 'clubhouse cancer' or that his presence on the roster is the reason his teams haven't won. Not likable doesn't mean teh team gets worse on account of it.


So I went with choice #4: only if it's for less than $30 million per and fewer than ten years - but even then it's got to be for a whole lot less than $30mil.

Maybe I'm totally off here (wouldn't be the first time) but I'm having a hard time buying the notion that simply because his last contract ended with him making some $27/per that that needs to be the starting off point for the new negotiations. The team that signed him to that deal wanted out from under it almost immediately and paid lots of money to make it go away. And then the team that picked him up made it clear that they wanted no part of such a deal unless they could continue to get it at a generous discount. In the meantime, no one else in MLB is making more than $20 on a per/year basis and today's deals are actually a bit further away from the one he just opted out on as compared to when he signed it.
One would think that Boras knows better than I do but I find it hard to see some team paying him more than 50% higher than the next highest players and doing so on a long term basis and just as he's heading into the decline years. I can't see anything like that as being a good deal for the team.

[nymr83]

Elster88 wrote: ="Kid Carsey"]We need pitching. Pitching, pitching, and some more pitching. I think so too. If ARod does land in Queens Omar can't stop there.

sign Rodriguez, trade Reyes for Santana.
[/end wfan caller rant]

[Guest Rotblatt]

Fman99 wrote: I'd hate to see him on the payroll at age 41 making 35 mil per year, assuming his contract is backloaded. That aside, I think the regular season contributions he does bring makes him a legitimate add. Of course I think he should move to 2B play for the Mets.

Agree 100%. Especially about the 2B part. The sportswriters seem to think it's unpossible but I have a hunch that A-Rod won't care, so long as it means he nets the best contract.

I have to admit, A-Rod DOES look like a different player in the post-season, but after Mets 2007, I'd take just getting back to the playoffs. Plus, I still kind of have in the back of my mind that A-Rod's poor recent performance in the post-season is a fluke, and the possibility that he'd carry us through the World Series is delicious on a "Fuck the Yankees" level.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

I would like to see ARod on the Mets, but not at the price tag he will likely command. So I voted no.

[metirish]

] Klapisch: Mets may go for A-Rod Tuesday, October 30, 2007 By BOB KLAPISCH RECORD COLUMNIST While the Yankee hierarchy and Major League Baseball reacted with outrage at Alex Rodriguez's decision to opt out of his contract on the night of Game 4 of the World Series, the Mets didn't seem to have a problem with it. In fact, early indicators suggest the Mets are leaning toward a full metal jacket courtship of the slugger, pending David Wright's blessing. This is no small obstacle, since ownership is wary of offending Flushing's most marketable and loyal star. "We already have a third baseman," is what one high-ranking official said on Monday. That's the party line -- for now. But the Mets are well aware that Wright volunteered in spring training to switch positions if it meant luring A-Rod to Flushing. The story was first reported in The Record on March 4. Club officials plan to ask Wright if he still feels that way. As of Monday night, the Mets' third baseman was noncommittal, waiting to hear from ownership. "Nobody has talked to me about any free agents," Wright wrote in a text message. "I would want to speak with Jeff [Wilpon] and Omar [Minaya] first." Of course, there's no guarantee A-Rod would sign with the Mets, even if Wright moved to, say, second base. Could the Wilpon family write a big enough check? Apparently so. With free agents Tom Glavine ($10.5 million), Shawn Green ($3.7 million), Paul Lo Duca ($6.25 million) and Jose Valentin ($3.8 million) all likely to come off the books, Rodriguez's asking price of $30-something million isn't quite so prohibitive. "We can afford him," one Met insider said confidently. "It's going to be a baseball question more than a money question. Do we want him? Is he a good fit for one team? That's what we have to talk about." Wright seemed to feel Rodriguez was a perfect match -- and that was before A-Rod blasted through the greatest regular season of the last 50 years. Putting aside his insatiable appetite for money and ruthless negotiating tactics, the Mets ultimately will have to decide if A-Rod's 50-plus homers and 150 RBI are worth the tidal wave of controversy that would follow him into the clubhouse. Last March, this is what Wright had to say to reporters: "If Omar [Minaya] or someone from the front office approaches me and says, 'Hey, we're looking, Alex has an interest in coming to Queens,' I'd be the first one to offer to play anywhere they want me to because like I said, a guy like that just makes a team completely better from the get-go." What remains to be seen is whether the Mets' interest would tempt the Yankees to reenter negotiations. It's hard to know who's bluffing and who's not. Friends of Rodriguez believe he would have a sincere interest in playing for the Mets � at the right price, of course � regardless of how it would damage his Yankee legacy. It's worth noting that Rodriguez was house-hunting in Greenwich, Conn., in the last few months, and the idea of staying in New York was seconded by his wife, Cynthia. The other issue is where Wright actually would play. Second base is the obvious choice, but there's nothing that says he could learn the position quickly, if at all. And the wear and tear of turning double plays also might factor into the Mets' thinking. And then there's the dark cloud that seems to dog Rodriguez wherever he goes. You can now count the Yankees as part of the anti-A-Rod army. Despite general manager Brian Cashman's graciously worded statement that bid farewell to the third baseman, the organization's truer feelings were reflected in the comments of one high-ranking official, who was disgusted at the timing of Rodriguez's opt-out on Sunday. Not only did the announcement upstage the World Series, but, as the official said: "He had [agent Scott] Boras tell the media before he told us. That's not right." Asked if the Yankees would use the 15-day window during which they can negotiate exclusively with Rodriguez, the executive said: "No chance. Absolutely none. We're done with him. He'll never play here again" A-Rod and Boras didn't make any friends in the commissioner's office, either. Protocol says that no news is generated during the Series; the industry-wide blackout is observed in deference to the sport's premier event. But Rodriguez was the prime topic of discussion during Fox's broadcast Sunday night, trumping the Red Sox' sweep of the Rockies and their second world championship in four years. "There was no reason to make an announcement [sunday] night other than to try to put his selfish interests and that of one individual player above the overall good of the game," Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "[sunday] night and [Monday] belong to the Boston Red Sox, who should be celebrated for their achievement, and to the Colorado Rockies, who made such an unbelievable run to the World Series." One baseball official suggested A-Rod opted out on Sunday because he knew the Yankees were about to hire Joe Girardi, whom he didn't want to play for. So instead of bolting after Girardi's coronation and making it appear he was rejecting the new manager, A-Rod left hours before, under the guise of not having enough time to assess the direction of a team in transition. That ploy may have saved Girardi some embarrassment, but it didn't buy A-Rod good will anywhere else. Except, maybe, in Queens, where the fantasy lingers: just how would those 150 RBI look in the Met lineup, anyway? 7215004

[Frayed Knot]

Citing David 'Golly Gee-Wiilickers' Wright's off-hand remark about being willing to change positions in order to accomadate Sir Alex of Rodrigia as some sort of meaningful statement is a waste of time. Does anyone who knows young David even a little bit expect that he would answer 'No way Man!' to a question like that?

[Guest Iubitul]

If it doesn't stop the Mets from getting more pitching, why not?

[Benjamin Grimm]

I don't see second base as the obvious choice. I'd rather put him at first base. It's a more similar position to third base. You could leverage Wright's strength, which is his reaction time, and take the emphasis away from his weakness, which is his erratic throwing arm.

The Mets would then have to trade Delgado. And no, they won't get full value for him in a trade, but it's looking likely that they won't get full value from him as a regular first baseman either.

[soupcan]

Less than $30, less than 10.

And after reading that article I don't think Wright would be to amenable to moving.

[Guest Edgy DC]

="Klap"]Wright seemed to feel Rodriguez was a perfect match -- and that was before A-Rod blasted through the greatest regular season of the last 50 years.

How does he get away with this nonsense? I know he's trying to stir the pot, but from 2001-2004, Barry Bonds was tossing markedly better seasons off one after the other.

He's got to be stopped.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Iubitul wrote: If it doesn't stop the Mets from getting more pitching, why not?

The problem is that the guy that's displaced becomes the most marketable trading chip.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Edgy DC wrote: The problem is that the guy that's displaced becomes the most marketable trading chip.

I'm not sure I see why that would be a problem.

="Bob Klapisch"]Friends of Rodriguez believe he would have a sincere interest in playing for the Mets � at the right price, of course � regardless of how it would damage his Yankee legacy.

This is another stupid line from the column. Have we seen any indication that Rodriguez cares about his Yankee legacy? If he did, he would have at least listened to their offer.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Yancy Street Gang wrote: ="Edgy DC"]The problem is that the guy that's displaced becomes the most marketable trading chip. I'm not sure I see why that would be a problem.

Sentiment aside, I think David Wright at 6 years/$55M is looking like too good a bargain to trade. Reyes too maybe.

[metirish]

] "Nobody has talked to me about any free agents," Wright wrote in a text message. "I would want to speak with Jeff [Wilpon] and Omar [Minaya] first."

I wonder if David 'Golly Gee-Wiilickers' Wright typed all that out or if he uses text speak like Edgy.