On the Yankees beat

I hope he does stay - We'll see what happens in November.

The best news I've read all day!

thank god!!!!!

Just out of curiosity - did you expect him to say, "I can't wait to get the f&$* out of New York?"

He finally has fans cheering for him, of course he is going to say he wants to stay in NY - to say anything else would be insane. Once again it comes down to, if he uses the clause he is a free agent - will Cashman get in a bidding war for him? Don't know. Also don't know how many of the fans who are looking at this and saying "WOOHOO" will be the same fans who can't wait to get him out of town if the Yanks get bounced in the first round again.

can we get a link when its available?

it's very simple. if he opts out than the yankees don't enjoy the rangers covering a huge amount of his salary, even they sign him.
the only financial and professional solution that cashman has to follow vigorously is an extension wherein the first 3 years stay unchanged (covered by rangers + yankees) and then add whatever (TONS of whatever...)
this should the first order of business, together with posada, before mariano.

Gil L:
Definitely agree 1st order of business !

Chip -

He will stay , I told you awhile back that he said this without cameras in his face. Associates of mine was in his company at several places in NYC, he does move in the Hip Hop circle in some capcity especially the 40 / 40 club.

Plus his wife is playing a big part of this remember he has a young family.

His wife is actually a Boston girl.

be that as it may....I'm not surprised...Arod, imo, should stay with the Yanks.

Ruse, you are one of the intelligent, articulate posters for whom I've tuned in to this blog for several months. This troll does not have either quality in sufficient quantity to convince anyone that it is ruse,ca. People who have been around longer must find it even more obvious than I. You need not waste much energy defending your name here.

When asked this question he could easily say, "i'm not discussing this until the end of the season" Frankly i think he's finally learned to enjoy himself, and if this continues and the Yankees win games [as they should] he will be happy here. There is a distinct possibility he will ask for an extension, which may very well be given, but in the end he will stay without voiding the contract [which the Rangers are paying half of for the time being].

Having been a supporter of Arod. my question is with the NY market can the Yankees afford not to sign him. Besides the attraction of Arod and the HofF player ending his career in NY. The Yankees still want to win but make no mistake. There is a compromise for ending his career in NY. This is to extend from the end of the original contract which would mean 33+ a year for about another 3. Well worth it if Frank Thomas can still hit them over the fence. Arod is a no brainer.

well put larry!

she may well be but the NY life delights her just as it did our mayor who is a Boston man

Here's my take on the Arod contract.

If NY does not extend him, and he does opt out, I think he ends u0p in Boston.

I'm a Sox fan, and Arod is unquestionably the best individual position player in MLB today. He is going to knock down alot of records before he is done. So, would I want him in Boston?...well I wouldnt cry about it....but it doesnt "feel right". He belongs in NY and he needs to be a huge part of the next 6-8 years of the classic battles between the two teams.

Call me a romantic.

I'm sure the NYC nightlife does indeed delight them both....why wouldnt it. It aint called "The big Apple" for nothing.

Cynthia is a Boston girl? I didn't know that. It doesn't matter because we know where her allegiance lies. I'm a former Queens girl and presently a Long Island girl. Yet, I'm a Yankees fan and Rangers fan. I admit to becoming a Rangers fan, though, when I fell in love with Ron Duguay (who is still hot and still married to Kim Alexis), but I'm a Yankees fan via tradition and my heart presently belongs to Mariano -- not because of his looks, but because of his talent & integrity.

Lucy,

I dont think there is any question of her loyalty to the Yanks.

She was born and raised near Boston, but I cant remember the name of the town...it was not Boston, but a suburb, I believe.

Gil,

Dont you think Texas has a battery of lawyers to ponce on that.

Once he signs a new contract, their obligation is done. You cant say this contract includes someone elses option on another contract. Additionally the league cannot register a contract today that doesnt kick in for three years so there are no ways for Texas to pay beyond this year. Next year after he opts out, no doubt on that, The money starts free and clear of Texas.

Texas is now doing the happy dance that the opt out clause was put there. They probably didnt like it when it was asked for but now it clears their obligation. I am sure they figured that when they made the trade. I bet Cashman missed that angle though.

hitch:
what about a extension to the current contract?does that stiil let texas of the hook?

Agree with Larry M. Plus, ARod might become the single season HR king, and likely will become the all time HR king. Imagine him chasing both records in pinstripes, I'm sure the Steinbrenner family understands the revenue stream that will come with that. They have to find a way to extend him without giving up that $10M from TX.

For ARod, how about a reserved spot in the new Monument Park? Being remembered as one of the greatest Yankees ever, possibly the greatest if he gets several rings in pinstripes, has to have some draw to ARod too.

hitch,

an extension is not a re-worked contract and has absolutely no bearing on the current contract. the rules of the yankees-rangers trade are very clear - they cover i think around 10M each year, and will continue doing so unless he opts out.

Observer, after the way Boston - both its fans and uniformed members - have blasted A-rod in the time since the original trade fell through, I do not see him heading up there.

Gil hit the nail on the head - currently he is one of the biggest bargins on the Yankee roster as Texas is paying nearly half his salary - if the Yankees were willing to pick up the option years that are on the back end of the contract (3 of them) maybe, MAYBE, he doesn't opt out. That said if he does opt out, he will command at least 200 mil (based on Soriano's contract) over 7 years. That would take him to 39 years old - Cashman has said time and again that the team does not want to spend that kind of money on players in their mid to late 30's - I do not know if they will stick to that in this case or not - it is too early to tell.

Then again, as I said before (and I've been an A-Rod supporter from the start) I am forced to wonder how many of the fans not just here that are talking about how he must be kept are the same ones who cursed Cashman for not trading him this winter and would be drumming him out of town if the Yankees get bounced again.

Either way, it is all speculation between now and November. I personally hope he stays, unfortunately I think he's gone (and it would suit those fans I reference above right), but there's a lot of time between now and November and no matter how automatic something seems, there is many a slip between the cup and the lip.

Well Chip,

Once again I respectfully disagree with you.

Arod would go to Boston in a heartbeat if he left the Yanks...he's as much as said so...or at least implied it.

We've got to watch what we discuss here.

Jeter hbp, hard, in the leg, down on the ground much longer than usual and limping badly to first.

And Chip,

"Uninformed" is a word that applies as quickly in NY as it does in Boston, my friend.

Jeter was hbp???..cant be...they aint playing the Sox.

Hbp, and out of the game. Cairo at short.

Thanks Diane,I think Newsday has eliminated the troll for the time being . Let's hope so !

He said "UNIFORMED" you blind faget

what's a "faget"?

I wouldn't read too much into ARod's comments, especially at this point.

When things spiral down and become unbearable, I'm sure he wouldn't feel so sure about staying.

If this was 1987, A-Rod would be on the first plane out of New York to a press conference with the Angels at the end of the season, where he'd finish out his career.

But really, where else besides the Bronx will he get $25 million annually, the chance to play on a WS contender every year, and local cops who can rough up Baumbach at the snap of a finger?

A 'faget' is someone who has just been disrespected by an impertinent illiterate.

Thank you Diane for the clarification.

I'm gonna call and cancel that session I made with my shrink.