I watch Yanqui games so you don't have to (MFYs 2015)

[Ceetar]

well it's a "separate" marketing agreement so i assume it neither counts against the luxury tax nor is applicable to the 'no money for stat milestones' (which is such bs anyway)

Which to me seems like it'd be even harder to get out of. If it's outside the normal contracts the drug testing agreement probably shouldn't even apply.

of course it's all speculation because no one's seen the terms.

[Frayed Knot]

Well the agreement apparently calls for a lump-sum payment of $6mil in the next 15 days meaning, however the arrangement reads, it's clearly NOT a one where Alex gets paid $X per commemorative HR-660 ball sold or anything like that. IOW, it's sounds, looks, and walks very much like a pay per threshold clause.

The tack the Yanx are going to take is that ARod's repeated steroid use (and general asshole-ish-ness) have rendered their marketing opportunities useless - hashtag: breach of contract, yadda yadda.
His counter, I assume, will be that they didn't agree to this payment (and future payments) only if their marketing efforts were successful money-makers. It was more like: he hits hit, they pay him, and if they then make $30 million back on their marketing then good for them. If, on the other hand, they can only make 84 cents off it then that's their problem, not his.

[Ceetar]

I'm still shocked the Yankees found something they didn't want to market.

[Frayed Knot]

Oh I don't think it's that they don't WANT to market this, they're just no longer convinced they can make enough money here to cover what they agreed to pay out so their only recourse now is to act as if they thought they were getting Prince Charming only to find out it was Walter White in disguise.
Good luck with that.

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

A team that welcomed back Roger Clemens multiple times has no businesses bemoaning other players for using steroids and being an asshole enroute to milestones.

[batmagadanleadoff]

They should put their mouth where their money is. Or isn't. If the Yanks don't wanna honor that A-Rod deal, they should also have to forfeit all their past wins generated by A-Rod's tainted hits and their 2009 WS crown. And Derek Jeter, who's above it all, will give back all the runs he scored whenever A-Rod drove him in with a tainted hit.

[MFS62]

Heard on the radio this afternoon (WCBS?) that the Yankees have announced that they will NOT pay the bonus.
Lawyers, start your engines.

Later

[Guest d'Kong76]

Roidiculous

[Frayed Knot]

According to what was aired over YES during Saturday's game (one wonders whether Michael Kay was reading this with an actual gun to his head or just a figurative one?):
�It is the sole discretion of the New York Yankees to determine whether each of these milestones is commercially marketable as the home run chase. � The Yankees have the right, but not the obligation, to determine whether it�s a commercially marketable milestone.�

If accurate, that wouldn't bode well for the ARod camp.

[stevejrogers]

LOL, roids, red juice or not, one would think top 4 all-time and going past a NY icon, as well as, in many eyes, the current greatest living ballplayer, constitutes a "marketable milestone."

But yeah, the Yankees can suddenly go full on every other sports league when it comes to milestone numbers and treat them as if they aren't worthy of anything beyond a brief mention in their media package for the game notes.

[Edgy MD]

Rodriguez smacked number 661 last night. Yay?!?

All his teammates made an incredible amount of silent noise by not storming out of the dugout and not greeting him at home plate. Only congrats he got was cursory slaps from the third base coach and on-deck hitter.

How incredible that a team can be in first place and be this miserable. They might win the pennant, protected as they are from distractions like joy and meaning.

[Frayed Knot]

He got a reasonable reception in his own dugout plus a curtain call from the home fans. Not sure if a tainted #661 deserves a whole lot more than that.
He's also on the verge of both 3K hits (needs 38) and 2K RBIs (needs 13). He'd be only the 4th ever in that latter category (3rd since 1900) and will leap NYY legend Gehrig along the way. Mmmmm, more milestones for MFY mgmt to ignore.

On the player side things actually seem to be sailing along all right with him for now. His teammates don't care about the contract disputes (and would probably be on his side if they did) and now that he's keeping his mouth shut (for once) and letting the legal process play out they aren't forced to comment on it every other day like they would be if he was still traveling from talk show to talk show (and lawyer to lawyer) with a band of hired protesters in tow raising a ruckus to anyone that would listen.
And might I dare surmise that maybe part of the smoother sailing is due to youknowwho no longer being in the dugout ready with a stern glare and a threatened ban forever from the cool kids' lunch table to anyone who makes the mistake of associating with little Alex?

[Frayed Knot]

stRangers try real hard to lose in the Bronx tonight, nearly blowing the game after having a 7-0 lead after 3 and a 10-5 lead after 7 before finally hanging on to win 10-9
7 different HRs in that joke of a park where it's gotten to the point where you almost expect lefty hitters to hit one out (and the Yanx had 8 LH or SW hitters in their lineup tonight).

Tampa won tonight* maintaining their hold on 1st place in the AL East so the Yanx have fallen to the same 1-1/2 games out situation as us.


* against Oakland who is a stunning 14-30 this year!!

[MFS62]

The MFYs have no sense of humor about A-Rod. This would have been fun.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/rays-minor-league-team-cancels-a-rod-juice-box-promo-after-yankees-complain-203148500.html;_ylt=A0LEV1CS619VbRMA_jRXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzdml2bXR0BGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDTUFQMDA2XzEEc2VjA3Ny

Later

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

lololloLLOlLlllllOOlLolLlLllloooLOllOLlollolollol

Texas have scored 10 against the MFYs in the 3rd inning and are still batting.

[MFS62]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: lololloLLOlLlllllOOlLolLlLllloooLOllOLlollolollol Texas have scored 10 against the MFYs in the 3rd inning and are still batting.

They stopped at 10.
But the MFYs got humiliated anyhow.
Made the day just a little bit easier to bear.
Later

[Frayed Knot]

Really King Felix -- tonight is the night you picked to suck?


And how odd is it that the Mets & Yanx are both on the west coast at the same time? And not just for a game but for an entire series.
May have happened once or twice before but probably not more than that.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Does anyone know: do they still show some kind of Thurman
Munson tribute between an inning at all Yankees' games?

[Frayed Knot]

Fuckin' Yanx gave up 6 to the Angels in the 9th tonight ... to eke out a 8-7 win
They even got it to 8-6 with the bases loaded and still no outs - but then Kirk showed everyone why his name starts with a capital K

[TransMonk]

I duped myself into watching the Yanks/Nats this afternoon. The Yanks went up 4-2 with a 4 run seventh and then blew the lead in the ninth and lost in extras.

The stupid Yanquis can't even win the one time per year that I DO root for them!

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

If it's any consolation, Andrew Miller is going to the DL with the dreaded forearm stiffness.

[Frayed Knot]

From the 'Nobody saw THIS coming' department, one could make a good argument for ARod being their MVP so far.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Frayed Knot wrote: From the 'Nobody saw THIS coming' department, one could make a good argument for ARod being their MVP so far.

And Girardi for MoTY for handling the situation so well.

[Fman99]

Wrong thread...

Uh, Yankees suck!

[Ceetar]

Frayed Knot wrote: From the 'Nobody saw THIS coming' department, one could make a good argument for ARod being their MVP so far.

I dunno, if I had to pick a guy before the season who'd have the best season for them, it would've been Gardner with A-Rod a close second.

[Frayed Knot]

Tough to bet on a 40 y/o (next month) coming off several hip surgeries and without his favorite drugs (at least theoretically) who's logged less than 200 ABs since the end of 2012.
Arguments could be made that Teixeira has been at least as valuable (he at least plays the field), same with Ellsbury until his injury, but I'm sure ARod wouldn't have been the top choice among YLDBs. He hadn't turned in OBA numbers like this since 2009, and if he notches 30 HRs that will be a first since '08

[seawolf17]

ARod's 3000th hit tonight was a home run, just like Cap'n Intangibles.

Amazingly, the ball was caught by the only person less likable than ARod in the entire park, ballhawk Zack Hample. (Who actually tweeted this afternoon about trying to catch #3000.)

[Guest d'Kong76]

Anyone going to the parade tomorrow?

[Frayed Knot]

So it turns out that, even after missing most of two complete seasons, ARod is a much better 40 y/o player than Jeter as well.
.278/.384/.505 vs .256/.304/.313

[Frayed Knot]

btw, ARod must have had a ton of friends and family in the stands tonight because I think he pointed and/or waved at everyone in the stadium during his trip around the bases.