http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/b ... ml?eref=T1


This is an interesting turn of events. I wonder why they are in such a big hurry to get something done....

The two sides are currently working toward a 10-year, $275 million contract, a source with knowledge of the talks told FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal. The deal also would include incentives that could push the total value higher.

Rodriguez's longtime agent, Scott Boras, wasn't involved in the talks, though he spent time with A-Rod in Miami the past four or five days. Boras said he's trying to work out a deal with the Yankees. New York officials sounded confident the negotiations could lead to an agreement.

"The past is the past. I don't know what brought about him approaching us," Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner said in a telephone interview. "I guess you could say things didn't go the way before that he intended on and weren't handled properly or whatever.

"But the bottom line, the only thing that really matters, is he wants to stay a Yankee. And it could be very well that he's always wanted to stay a Yankee and we just didn't know it."


****

Am I the only one thinking that the Yankees are still drastically overpaying for him if they do sign him to a 10 year, $275 million contract ?

For starters, I don't think there is another team that would go 10 years. Secondly, I have my doubts that another team would go for $27 million a season. Then again, the Yanks do have money to burn.

Too bad he didn't "retire" and get a free car before coming back to the Yanks.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

He has signed. Announcement may come next week, but most likely after Thanksgiving, due to some medical stuff needing to be done.

Report: A-Rod plan to go around Boras came from Buffett

Warren Buffett advised Alex Rodriguez to approach the New York Yankees and go around agent Scott Boras, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

The newspaper cited a person familiar with the matter, whom it did not identify.

"A-Rod really loves being a Yankee," Buffett was quoted as saying. He wouldn't comment on the substance of any discussions with the player.

The two became friends several years ago.

Rodriguez, on Boras' advise, opted out of the final three seasons of his record $252 million, 10-year contract on Oct. 28. The Yankees had said many times that if he opted out, they wouldn't negotiate because they would lose $21.3 million from Texas for the final three seasons that was agreed to at the time of the 2004 trade, money to offset the $72 million New York owed from 2008-10.

Upset with developments after he opted out, Rodriguez contacted Buffett, and the investor told him to approach the Yankees without his agent, the Journal said.

After speaking with the investor, Rodriguez contacted a managing director at Goldman Sachs that he knew, John Mallory, who then got in touch with Gerald Cardinale, a Goldman Sachs managing director who has worked with the Yankees and their YES Network.

With the assistance of the two Goldman executives, Rodriguez and the Yankees negotiated a $275 million, 10-year contract that is in the process of being finalized.

So I read the story on ESPN.com about A-Rod's deal being finalized, and I guess my question is did he essentially fire Boras? Or shouldn't he if he hasn't?

Just seems like he got pretty much what he wanted from the get-go, in spite of Boras.

I'm surely being naive and perhaps negotiating isn't something particularly suited to a baseball player, but why should Boras get a percentage of an insanely large contract (or any contract for that matter) if he really isn't doing shit, in fact getting in the way according to all the stories about this negotiation. Why would you retain a high profile agent if you're just going to go around him anyway and negotiate yourself?

Jose Canseco claims that he knows that Alex Rodriguez is a user. Can we say that Jose is not a credible witness here since he is the one who brought all of this to light in the first place, and is also was accurate on pretty much everyone named in his book? I think its fair to say that since he's batting 1.000, he probably isn't striking out on the A-Rod call either. Or every major hitter and half the major pitchers in the major leagues.

Everything from superstars using, to the widespread usage (even Peter Gammons suggested today that only 1/3 of 1% of those who used have been identified in this report), to the problems with the testing due to HGH being undetectable, to the limitations to the current drug policy and how athletes would simply move to more advanced drugs.

Just because he isn't named in this report doesn't mean he didn't use steroids. Actually, I believe there is a very high probability he did and is and that he was just smart enough to not write a friggen check for the stuff like 2/3 of the idiots in this report who are making claims like their $15K check was for pizza. My logic is this. At this point, even though it pains me to say this, you have to take everything Jose Canseco says as a "likely to be true" argument, don't you? After all, everything he said that everyone else insisted was all lies ("the baseball's are juiced, not the players", right Peter Gammons?) all turned out to be accurate. His book was not a phallacy and the guy really knew what he was talking about. That being said, Canseco says that he is 100% positive that A-Rod is a user.

Second, the Mitchell report itself says that the players listed in this report are barely the tip of the iceberg. Mitchell claims that the players refusal to be interviewed prevented him from being able to truly reach down and determine the true extent of this problem. Clearly, the 83 players named in this probe are only the very tip ofthe iceberg. Even Peter "The Ball is Juiced" Gammons is now saying that his connections inside the baseball community believe now that this report only covers 1/3 of 1% of the players that have used steroids during this era and that after reading the report, you would not be wrong to call any achievement during this time into question.

And finally, let's look at the argument for A-Rod and see if we can put common sense together here for a minute. Babe Ruth was one of the largest, fattest, most powerful baseball players for nearly 60 years. He was 6'2", and bymost accounts weighed in at a hefty 220-230 lbs. A-Rod is considered a next generation ballplayer. He is the largest shortstop to ever live (is anyone seeing the red flags already?). A-Rod is 6'3" and weighs in at a pinch under230 lbs. A-Rod is on pace to crush every power hitting statistical record set by these incredibly large steroid laden freaks of nature (many of which were outstanding baseball players before 'roids, like Barry Bonds and Mark McGuire).

A-Rod is on pace to crush these records a full 6 years earlier than Barry Bonds, meaning that if he plays as long as Bonds, and you assume his numbers taper off, he's on pace for close to 950 career home runs. To put that into perspective, only three players have ever hit 700 home runs, six players have ever hit 600 home runs, and only 23 players have ever hit 500 home runs out of the tens of thousands that have played the game.

Assembling the facts here, you have to view this from a common sense approach. Baseball's biggest steroid report has called this era onedominated by performance enhancing substances. It has reached to the games most elite players. Alex Rodriguez is the largest non first baseman infielders in history, has a body fat below 10%, and is crushing every power hitting statistic known in a 125 year old sport with ease. His weight has also ballooned by nearly 40 pounds since entering the major leagues (he was a much more natural 190 lb., 6'3"player at that time) and a simple Google search of "Alex Rodriguez's muscles" brings up a pretty jacked player. Common sense indicates this guy is using steroids.

Good points, Nas.

BD, the problem with abiding by suspicion, or taking an accuser at their word, is that you suspend the foundation of American justice. If it were that easy, well we would need is Jose Canseco's word to expunge Barry Bonds's record. Perfect world for some, but the further you expand that kind of hard and fast rule outside of baseball and into the real world, it gets dangerous.

I also have a hard time believing the people who are that upset about the best baseball player in the modern era not getting his due. Do you have the same problem with blowhard movie actors or anyone else in the entertainment business making the kind of money they do? As long as sport is held in such a high regard by Americans, we'll keep throwing money at the venture, and the players on the field deserve their share every bit as much as the executives and the administrators. It may seem like a lot of money, but it's certainly in line with 1. inflation, 2. proportion (vs. the total sum within the industry) and 3. life-long devotion to craft. The best player should get the most money, and this is one rare case where the player is paid commensurate with his ability; for a bad example, one in which the system has failed and a player is paid well above his ability, just look at the recent signing of 2006 WORLD SERIES MVP OMGWTF David Eckstein by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Alex Rodriguez said during an interview with 60 Minutes that he and agent Scott Boras are not speaking to each other.

Rodriguez indicated that he's upset over the way Boras handled negotiations with the Yankees. "The whole situation saddens me a little bit," Rodriguez said. "There hasn't been much back-and-forth talking. When I realized things were going haywire, at that point I said wait a minute I've got to be accountable for my own life. This is not going the way I wanted it to go, so I got behind the wheel."


I don't believe a word that comes out of this piece of shits mouth. I think Boras is taking a bullet so A-Pud can improve his image.

I heard that Scott Boras is no longer in A-Rod's Fave 5.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Let's look at his power hitting numbers. A-Rod was in the league for7 years before he ever hit 45+ home runs in a season. Over the next 7years, he would eclipse that figure 5 out of 7 years and break 50+half the time. His home run per at bat frequency increased by nearly30% in the 2nd 7 years.

well, to be fair, Canseco was the first to have a 40/40 season in 1988

Better late than never. This should surprise no one. A-Pud is a fucking piece of shit and he deserves everything he's going to get from this 'revelation'. This is going to be fuckin great!!!


A number of sources have told Sports Illustrated that Alex Rodriguez tested postive for two types of anabolic steriods in 2003 while playing for the Texas Rangers.

A-Rod was approached with the news in a Miami gym Thursday. "You'll have to talk to the union," he responded when asked to discuss the report. "I'm not saying anything." MLB had no set penalties for a positive test in 2003, but steroids have been expressly prohibited in baseball since 1991.

Shocking.

Why will this be "fuckin great!!!"?

It just seems to be more of a reason to be pissed with "MLB"-the corporation and the MLBPA) A Rod may not be charismatic, but he's never seemingly been malicious nor the general asswipe most root against. (Madonna dalliance aside)

He's a kid with unquestioned talent that may have bought into the BS that the MLB promoted/encouraged for a decade and a half. At least he's never held himself up as a paragon of virtue, nor beyond reproach, unlike some(who have seemingly been forgiven...Mr. Giambi). He was simply a city kid who loved baseball...and followed "the path".

Boers was/is right in his absolute disgust for Commish Selig. (And he, Don Fehr and Gene Orza should be strung up in the most painful, public way)

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

leaded.

...the attention/disdain for ARod the MLB Network has paid this story has me pissed...surprisingly pissed.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

hehe, you were really attached to that 9-0 caribbean world series game huh?

the leaded comment was just a subtle slight to the "unleaded" "leaded" thing bb players joke about. don't worry it went over my own head too.

While I did check in from time to time on the CaribSerie...I actually was looking forward to the 'special' on Roberto Clemente.

I'm a cheap date tonight...when will the wife get back here?

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

can i serenade you with "when the saints go marching in"?

No, but if you can find one of my Rebirth Brass Band CDs I'll owe you

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

It's 'fuckin great' because he's a world class douchebag that is about to get the treatment he so richly deserves. He was NOT 'simply a city kid who loves baseball...and followed the path.' He knew exactly what he was doing and now he's going to pay the consequences. Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Clemens, Sheffield and A-Pud (Pujols is next) are all ass-bags who thought they could do whatever they wanted because they were bigger than the game. Hopefully now people will get their heads out of their asses and see what's really going on but like you said with Selig at the helm he will do anything and everything to cover up what is/was happening.

KS, both ARod and Pujols came up in the "steroids" era where everyone was suspect, because everyone was assumed to want to have the same "edge"(or were not really trying if they didn't). These "kids" I give a pass to.

For $10-20-27MM a season, I know I'd likely take advantage of "enhancements"...given that the official league policy was relatively non-existent. The others you mentioned, well....F them.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

Why would anyone believe Rodriguez's claim that he's only used for three years after he blatantly lied about this all along? When asked what drugs he was taking, he said he couldn't say until he saw what he tested positive for. What? Why can't you say? Are we looking at another claim of a professional athlete trying to claim he didn't know what he put in his body?

The other thing that pisses me off about all of this is the reporters who keep saying, "well it wasn't against the rules in baseball."

Hello!!! Its "against the rules" of the country. Its called ILLEGAL. If A-Rod cut someone's throat and left them in an alley, would it not be that big a deal because baseball doesn't specifically have a rule against it? I know that's extreme, but the point is made. Simply not being in baseball's rule book shouldn't supersede the laws of the United States in terms of what is right and what is wrong. I'm getting sick of the apologists like Mike Golic. That fat scumbag actually told his kids that these kind of things happen in competitive sports, so its not that big a deal. Does that sound like someone who used his fair share and is just cushioning the blow to his children? Does that sound like something you would tell your child if you didn't want them using steroids as competitive athletes? Its not that big a deal?

Please...

Body Type has once again been proven to not be an indicator of steroid abuse. A-Rod has been juicing for at least 3 years and won't admit what drugs he was taking. He still hasn't really come clean. Just clean enough to get some of the dogs called off. Either way, he is proof positive that simply looking at body mass is not necessarily the method of determining abuse. The same can be said for the host of Tour De France guys that were juicing, even though not a one of them weighs more than 160 lbs.

A-Rod proves only that you have to look at all elite athletes with some skepticism. LeBron is pretty big for his size. So is Howard from Orlando. Would they be outside the realm of realistic suspicion? No. I don't think so. I think we have reached a day and age where the reality is this:

1. Elite level professional athletes make enormous amounts of money. Even compared to other professional athletes who are just above average. Being elite means fame and fortune to a ridiculous level.

2. The vast majority of athletes will probably do just about whatever it takes to allow themselves to make a living at their sport, which means crossing lines (not just steroids, by maybe pain killers, etc.) to give themselves an edge over their competition.

3. Simple body mass is no longer realistic in determining usage. While Barry Bonds fails the "eyeball test", A-Rod and every Tour De France guy fails it. Yet look whose juicing. Rafael Palmero didn't look like a 'roid head either.

4. And finally, drug testing at any professional athletic level, is incapable of testing for any designer drug that is out there, including drugs like the Cream and the Clear, and performance enhancers like HGH without a blood test. And no league has attempted to add a blood test to their repertoire of tests, meaning every one of these league drug tests has gaping holes that can be easily exploited by players.

5. The only way most of these players will get caught is by paper trails, etc. Such as doctors who get pinched and rat on them or offices that are raided with drug schedules and what not.

This is the reality. We have buried our heads in the sand time and time again and at some point, we all have to wake up and face reality. This is what professional athletes do. They stand little chance of getting caught barring some freak occurrence and there are tens of millions of dollars at stake. A-Rod is still worth nearly a half a billion dollars. His reputation took a hit and he may not get in the Hall of Fame, but he's filthy rich and do whatever he wants for the rest of his life. He can practically buy and island if he wants to.

As for Bud Selig, he is a scumbag. He wants to pretend like he had nothing to do with this, but MLB didn't get a drug testing policy until 18 years after the NFL. That's nearly two decades. It helped his sport and his job and so he kept his mouth shut when everyone knew what was going on.

That's reality...

How can you blame Selig for this whole ordeal? While I understand that he is the first person everyone will start pointing fingers at, but what do people expect him to do? He has a union to compete with.

Bud Selig is absolutely to blame for the steroid problem in baseball. He knew there was a problem but turned a blind eye because he was more interested in padding the owners bottom line. He rode this out as long as he could and now he's pleading dumb. Selig could have used his commissioner 'for the betterment of the game' clause to end this years ago but obviously decided not to. Yes, the players union is also to blame because they were more interested in soaring salaries than they were about protecting the players. Bud needs to be fired and replaced with a true commissioner and not an 'owners representative'.

all Bud had to do was 15 years ago call a press conference and say there is a steroid problem in baseball. but he didn't even do that simple act.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

gAy-ROD caught takin gAy-ROIDS. Young stupid and gay.
Count on intimate cousin Yuri Suckert to help shoot up boli in the rear twice a month. They grew up together. Every guy has a cousin like that, right?
Why so anxious to divorce hot Cindy? Then not do anything with Madonna? Can someone say burrito?

When was boli Over- the -counter ? Did they stock up at Costco in the early 90s ?