Happy Anny BB!

Was this the first post:

http://bronxbanter.baseballtoaster.com/archives/3106.html

But, that was 5 years ago?

Hooray!

Would AROD take a below market contract, if he could get a market or above market contract elsewhere?

If I am AROD, I agree to the demands of "no Boras at the table", only if the Yankees agree to have George Castanza as their representative in negotiations.

vr, Xei

Happy Boidday!

And we keep coming back for the solid writing at this site. And all the bantering.

PS, I'd take that certain player back, for the right price. Right handed power? check. Solid (if not spectacular) glove at third? check. All-time HR champ in pinstripes (where it belongs)? double check.

Happy 6th birthday Banter!

Can Stephon Marbury play third base?

Congrats, Alex! How does it feel, having done this for six years now?

And happy birthday to the Banter. Who's supplying the cake, and where do I get my piece? =)

Happy anniversary, my man!

Yikes, my math is so bad. This is the start of our sixth year, so I assumed we were six. It's really five. Dag.

8 rats - i already bought the 'so you're 6...' birthday card.

happy birfday, bb.

8 so this is the dimaggio year.

Six years. That's it?!

Hell, if this blog was "Boras Banter" it would be celebrating it's 666-th birthday, and Alex, Cliff, & Co. would be the highest paid baseball writers in the business ... waiting to opt out of their contracts on Opening Day.

Seriously, six years is no small feat. Congratulations, and please keep up the great work!

Make a wish!

Oh, and, I'm sorry, but I'm not familiar with the player in question. How do Feinsand and Madden dig up these obscure names??

http://preview.tinyurl.com/2877v2

Happy birthday guys.

I think baseball toaster is like the third home for it, no?

Happy birthday, Alex and Cliff. I stumbled upon this blog around the time of the first Randy Johnson trade and have been checking in every day since then. The top quality writing and intelligent discussions easily make this my favorite Yankees site.

Happy Birthday Alex.

Just one comment on Arod. I am over him. I don't want him. It's pitching, not hitting that won those titles. Let's not fall for that siren song again. I really don't want him back.

Yeah, I started it on blogspot.com and then moved to All-Baseball.com and then finally to Baseball Toaster.

16 I'm not over irreplaceable offensive production. To even try to replace it (read: Cabrera) would mean getting rid of some of the exciting young arms we have.

If he wants to come back on the Yankees terms, gotta make that happen.

Way to go, guys!

As for these rumors, they are (1) unnamed sources from a story by (2) Bill Madden in the (3) Daily News. This might qualify as being story that's 0-for-3.

I'll await some confirmation before I discuss it.

8 13 So will next year's birthday post be "Five Alive"? Or will you save the Alive bit for year 11?

16 Jeb, that kind of thinking is so 14 hours ago, at least as far as I'm concerned.

I swear I fell asleep last night with those same thoughts in my head, and awoke this morning with a new attitude about the third baseman.

Some would say I've been manipulated (nay, brainwashed!) by the stories in today's papers, published in the same place where I'm certain I read A-Rod's obituary just weeks ago.

I have a different theory.

The ghost of ARod must have come to me in a dream.
Before He revealed Himself in my dreamworld, there I was -- playing third base for the 2008 New York Yankees. I knew I was not qualified to be on the field, but I also understood I got the job because the team didn't have to trade Melky Cabrera, nor Ian Kennedy for me, nor did my new bosses have to commit 4 years at top dollar to watch me play baseball like the 41 year old man that I am.
There was a pop up. Way, way up.
The ball disappeared into the bright lights of the Stadium. I couldn't see it.
I had to look away from the harsh light, and lowered my gaze to the field.
I saw ARod jogging toward me wearing a brand new Tampa Bay Rays (no Devil!) jersey.
He smiled, and suddenly shouted "Boo!"
I was scared, and the ball landed in the dirt behind me.
Yankee fans started booing me as ARod rounded third, and headed home.
I watched the ball spinning in the dirt. There would be no throw to the plate.

Perhaps I had too much salsa before I went to bed, but I'm taking this dream as a sign that the Yankees should at least talk to the deadman.

16 Hardly a comprehensive study of the issue, but those 98 Yanks did lead MLB in runs scored. So there must be something to having a good offense. You're staff ERA could be 1.00, but if you score 0 runs per game you'll lose every time. That's a hyberbolic scenario to be sure, but it does suggest that it takes some offense and some pitching to win. That's not to say that ARod should be brought back, but I think we need to stop obsessing about being "over" him or whatever. Who cares? If the reason the Yanks don't talk to him is because Cashman doesn't want to lose credibility in future negotiations, well, I hear that. But we should be here saying "Don't talk to him because he's mean and not a true Yankee and Jeter wouldn't have done that!" (I know no one is making those arguments exactly, but this I-feel-jilted-and therefore-we should-not-negotiate-with-ARod meme has got to stop before it really gets going; fercrissakes Mo is showing how un-Yankee-like a true Yankee can be but we'll all take him back when he's ready no doubt).

Anyway, happy b'day BB.

Congrats, Alex...long time my friend.

Congrats, Alex. Five is quite an accomplishment. I remember those good ol' days of All-Baseball and, before that, blogspot.

Re: 8

And, you want to be my latex salesman. I don't think so!

J/K AB

Congrats on the anniversary. I've loved the site since the all-baseball days (and Cliff from the BRB days). Keep up the great work.

Congratulations Alex, Cliff and all contributors. Also congrats to having the best group of folks commenting, mostly with intelligence. I am so amazed at the facts and links you all are able to find. As a Yankee fan since 1961, you all deserve #27 next year!!!

I think the hardest positions to fill with quality are Catcher and Pitcher. For that reason, I'd avoid our former 3rd baseman with his long contract. Sign Bonds to a 1-2 yr DH contract and go after Rolen. By doing so you retain flexibility in the foreseeable future and you basically match your production from last season.

That way, you can save the blue chippers (IPK, Melky) for the positions which are harder to fill. You need to have ML trade options - not everyone wants 3 MiL'ers in trade. Sometimes they want MLers too, but most of our MLers are immovable due to years or price. We need more flexibility, not less.

8 Please, Alex, get your terminology right. It's the start of your sixth season.

Andre 28 , to get Rolen (who misses an awful lot of games due to injury) you'd have to trade somebody. So if the idea is to save trading chips to get pitchers and catchers, surely signing A-Rod fits that bill better.

an interesting tidbit found within a foxsports article regarding the a-rod rumors:

"Another indication that the Yankees haven't ruled out Rodriguez: They are talking to free agent Mike Lowell not just about replacing Rodriguez at third base, but also about playing first, major-league sources tell Rosenthal.

Lowell, 33, has been unable to reach an agreement with the Red Sox, who offered him a three-year deal believed to be in the range of $38 million to $40 million. After Lowell became a free agent, a source said the Yankees were "all over" Lowell. The Red Sox would lose two options at third if the Yankees signed Lowell to play first and kept Rodriguez, perhaps leading them to increase their pursuit of the Marlins' Miguel Cabrera in a trade."

while it would be nice to throw a wrench into the red sox plans ... i'm pretty sure i don't want 4 years of mike lowell at 1stbase, especially at the price tag he's going to come with

Happy B-Day Banter, and Congrats to everyone who've made Banter the top[ hot spot it most certainly is! Cake and ice cream! Whoo-hoo!!

8 If that's the way you feel about it, does that now make it the Furious Five? >;)

31 I agree that I don't want Mike Lowell at four years at any position.

I heard a similar rumor (with no legs) that the Sox would sign Lowell at 3B and go for ARod at SS and try to dump Lugo on somebody (eating part of his salary). This would throw a wrench in the Yankees plans.

I don't think either rumor holds much water.

There's some question as to whether the Yankees can (or could -- it's just a rumor) tell A-Rod that they'll negotiate with him but not with his agent. That might violate the CBA. Ken Rosenthal quotes Michael Weiner (from the Players' Union) saying that it would indeed violate the Agreement.

34 the articles i've read have said that arod is the one proposing a meeting without boras, not the yankees. is meeting without an agent against the cba, or is conditioning a meeting with a free agent on his agent's absence a violation? and is it the players' union's interpretation or is it true?

Doesn't Scott Boras have associates working for him? "No Boras" doesn't mean "No anyone from Boras' agency"

35 Good question. Bob Timmerman posted some of the CBA language in the comments at Dodger Thoughts. What's clear is that the Yankees may not negotiate with another agent. The language Bob posted, read strictly, does not say they cannot negotiate with him.
And I agree that the union rep doesn't have the last word on this, although it's relevant that he says so even if he's wrong. (Cashman, I'm sure, would rather not have to battle the union to make a new contract stick.)

36 True, but if that's what they meant, I don't get it. No, we won't negotiate with that snake, but we're happy to talk to his lackeys?

35 FOX says it was the Yankees who drew the line:

The Yankees, who lost $21 million worth of contract subsidy from the Rangers when Rodriguez opted out of the last three years of his contract, do not want A-Rod's agent involved in the process at all.

"We will not negotiate with Scott Boras," a Yankees source told the Daily News. "He cannot be in the room."

31 I'd absolutely take Alex back. We took Clemens back after he lied to us for a year. But much like Clemens, we'll see the guy for who he is this time around.

If he comes back (or hell, no matter where he goes) I don't want to hear how we're all SO MEAN and he's so SENSITIVE and we're hurting his feelings. He's a bullshit artist of the highest degree.

Check out the comment on Arod's website.

http://tinyurl.com/3ajor6

41 Well, no one will be able to sign him now.

I can only assume he was struck by lightning following that.

41 "we need to engage in negotiations with the Yankees" - in order to drive up my market value.

Congrats on the Banter's continued success, Alex.

41 Leverage, leverage, leverage.

41
Love,
Scott Bor- I mean Alex Rodriguez

43 Nah, I don't think he would take it this far just to drive up his price.

41 Hmmph. The Daily News was right?

I can't shake the feeling that Simone has been right all along, this is all about leverage . . . but if this doesn't result in a deal with the Yanks, wouldn't it be even more clear that the Yanks aren't involved?

Or is this a ploy to get the Angels to drop a big offer, and fast?

I bet that Alex is now returning all the calls from Steinbrenners, Cano, Damon, etc. Ha.

46 Why not?

John Sterling on M&MD says it's a done deal "101 on a scale of 1-100". Now granted, it's John Sterling on M&MD but....

46 Yeah, Alex has ALWAYS been so sincere in the past ...

Cool that NJYank posted that blockbuster link in comment 41 .

50 "That deal is high-priced, it is long, it is... He's signed with the Angels."

47 Ding, ding, ding! Shaun P, you win the prize. This is all about getting the Angels to stop stalling and put out their offer. Think of Alex reaching out to the Yankees as the Trojan horse, while Boras hides inside. This is the perfect way to jump start the bidding war.

52 Best Post Ever

49 ,51 Only because he went out of his way to make a public announcement. He's always so tight lipped about this stuff. The rumors would have been enough to gain leverage. He didn't need to make a statement for leverage.

55 Yes, but making a statement puts more attention on A-Rod.

52 It was on purpose of course ;)

Dead on with the Sterling haha.

41 WOW, this is a big fucking deal, actual confirmation that ARod is talking to the Stienbrothers. Granted, it may all be leverage, etc, and I find it exceedingly difficult to avoid cynicism, but it's something:

Official statement from Alex Rodriguez

11/14/2007 3:27 PM ET

After spending time with Cynthia and my family over these last few weeks, it became clear to me that I needed to make an attempt to engage the Yankees regarding my future with the organization.

Prior to entering into serious negotiations with other clubs, I wanted the opportunity to share my thoughts directly with Yankees' ownership. We know there are other opportunities for us, but Cynthia and I have a foundation with the club that has brought us comfort, stability and happiness.

As a result, I reached out to the Yankees through mutual friends and conveyed that message. I also understand that I had to respond to certain Yankees concerns, and I was receptive and understanding of that situation.

Cynthia and I have since spoken directly with the Steinbrenner family. During these healthy discussions, both sides were able to share honest feelings and hopes with one another, and we expect to continue this dialogue with the Yankees over the next few days.

52 Awesome

This story has been crazy. Just nuts. So either he really wants to return to the Yanks, or, he's using them to drive up his price. He'll get bad PR for that and be even more hated, but if money has always been his concern, well, that won't bother him. I tend to believe he's being sincere here and realizes that Boras fouled it all up. This is going to leave a mark on Boras----that's too bad:)

Given the public nature of those remarks, it seems to me that he's coming back, and this was the first step in trying to smooth things over with the fans. As upset as I've been with him, I'll take him back under these circumstances, gladly.

60 I find it hard to believe that ARod does anything without Boras actually doing it for him.

55 "He didn't need to make a statement for leverage."

But it would be a great tactic. What has been the story for the last 2 weeks? "The market for A-Rod is non-existent." "Seems like he isn't going to get what the Yanks would have given him if he'd stayed." "Boras might have finally eff'd up."

Simone is right 53 - this could jump start the bidding in a huge way. "Tony/Ned, I know Mr. Moreno/Mr. McCourt is reluctant to commit so much payroll to a single player, but as you know, A-Rod is talking with the Yankees right now, against my better advice, and if you want any chance with him, I need something I can take to Alex right now, or he is going to make up his own mind."

This is totally possible. Damn.

So, does Cashman get flak for negotiating with A-Rod after saying that the door was closed? Or does he get slack because (a) he stuck it to Boras and (b) it looks like A-Rod came crawling back? I tend to think the latter.

52 Absolute genius.

60 I'd take Jack the Ripper if I thought he'd help. Doesn't mean I'd like or respect him.

61 Hm.
Let's ask Cynthia.

62 Nice.

65 Yeah, same here.
I realized this about myself when I started thinking it would be a good idea to sign Bonds.

Olney (who i now credit more after he scooped the DiceK story last winter) is reporting the talks: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3109894

I'm just blown away the News (or was it Post) article wasn't horse shit. If this doesn't work out, I'm gonna be even more pissed! I think even the even tempered among us will go from 'meh, what can ya do' to the 'he's dead to me' side.

what is the opposite of 134?

i am having mixed feelings. i really don't want to root for this guy.

69 Now, I'm a cynic here, but I don't doubt for a minute that he's spoken with the Yankees. However, is his intention to actually come crawling back, or is it to gain leverage in talks with the Angels?

68 Clemens for me.

70 Root for the production.

63 Notice that A-Rod's statement gives Cashman cover, too. "Cynthia and I have since spoken directly with the Steinbrenner family." No mention of Cashman.

And you're right - if A-Rod comes crawling back, that's hardly the Yankees negotiating with him.

65 68 Let's say A-Rod comes back. Wouldn't signing Bonds still be a great idea? Giambi at 1B, Bonds at DH, A-Rod at 3B.

63 What negotiating? So far this is just A-Rod calling and practically begging to come back. I'd say telling him to get rid of Boras and he has to make substantial sacrifices wouldn't really harm the Yankees credibility. If anything it increases it: You screw with us, then you come crawling back. Fine, but you are going to grovel, a lot.

Um, is anyone else disturbed by the fact that right now it may be possible that next year A-Rod is a Yankee and Mo is not?

70 Root for the laundry, YFiB, and the wins.

i'll take him back and forgive him if he gives us a discount. especially since it means we can hold on to all our prospects and still get the best available 3b.

52 that's really great.