[新聞] Could Rodriguez Stay a Yankee? Only for Less Money

[MurphyWu (雪濤俠隱)]

不會吧？阿肉後悔了？考慮要打折？
本來已經有心理準備會在 LA 看到 SS-Rod 了……XD

http://0rz.tw/583fz

Could Rodriguez Stay a Yankee? Only for Less Money

By TYLER KEPNER

Published: November 4, 2007

The only way the Yankees would bring back Alex Rodriguez is if Rodriguez
became so desperate to stay that he would take a pay cut, something they do
not envision. But Rodriguez has not eliminated the Yankees from consideration,
and his agent, Scott Boras, said last night that he was still willing to meet
with the team.

That was a day before Rodriguez opted out of his contract and became a free
agent during Game 4 of the World Series. Boras said then that Rodriguez would
be willing to meet with Hank and Hal Steinbrenner as long as the Yankees did
not discuss money.

As a policy, Boras does not negotiate with the player he is representing
present. But the Yankees wanted to meet personally with Rodriguez, to tell
them how much they valued him and to see if he meant what he said about
wanting to stay with the team.

When reports of the Yankees’ possible offer surfaced last Sunday, Boras took
that as an indication that the team did, in fact, want to talk money with his
client. He then exercised the opt-out clause without meeting with the Yankees.

That decision triggered a firestorm of negative attention for Rodriguez,
possibly tarnishing the image of an image-conscious player. For that reason,
said a person close to Rodriguez who spoke on the condition of anonymity,
Rodriguez is dismayed with the fallout and is considering whether to give the
Yankees a discount on the front end of a new contract.

The Yankees have been firm in their plans not to chase Rodriguez as a free
agent, because his opt-out decision cost them a $30 million subsidy from the
Texas Rangers. But if Rodriguez truly wants to come back, he could rectify
that by pledging to take a pay cut over the next three seasons, essentially
returning the Texas money to the Yankees.

“I have absolutely no comment on that at this time,” Hank Steinbrenner, the
son of George Steinbrenner, the team’s principal owner, said by telephone
last night. “I think we’ve covered all that enough.”

Privately, the Yankees believe Rodriguez would never take a pay cut unless he
fired Boras, and there is no evidence he would do that. Further, said a
different confidant of Rodriguez, the Yankees angered Rodriguez with their
hard-line stance about his opt-out decision and helped push him into the
free-agent market.

The Yankees do not believe a team can offer Rodriguez the equivalent of the
extension they were prepared to give — a raise over his $25.2 million average
annual salary, through 2015 — but Boras has made a career of exceeding
industry expectations with record-setting contracts.

In any case, the Yankees are moving on to other business, and Hank
Steinbrenner had more to say on those topics. He said he was confident the
Yankees would re-sign Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera, and he wants to give
Andy Pettitte all the time he needs to decide about returning in 2008.

Pettitte has until Wednesday — 10 days after the end of the World Series —
to decide whether to exercise his $16 million option or become a free agent.

But Pettitte has already made it clear that he will play for the Yankees or
retire, and Hank Steinbrenner said he could exceed the 10 days and still be
welcomed back.

“As far as I’m concerned, he can take longer than that to decide, as far as
coming back to the Yankees,” Steinbrenner said. “He can take the time he
wants, because we really want him back.”

Steinbrenner praised Pettitte’s talent and leadership and said he understood
Pettitte’s desire to be around his family more often. Steinbrenner said he
was not suggesting the Yankees offer a Roger Clemens-style “family plan,”
in which Pettitte could leave the team on the days he does not pitch, but he
said the Yankees “can make sure that he gets plenty of family time.”

Steinbrenner said he believed Pettitte wants to retire after the 2008 season,
if he plays, and he planned to talk with him soon. But he also called the
decision a personal one for Pettitte and said he would not pressure him.

As for Posada and Rivera, who are unsigned free agents, Steinbrenner said
General Manager Brian Cashman had given him positive progress reports.

“Things are looking fine with Rivera and Posada,” Steinbrenner said, adding
that the Yankees had made a formal offer to Posada and an informal one to
Rivera, who met with ownership last week in Tampa, Fla. “Obviously, we want
both of them back. We’ve always made that clear with our offers.”

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推 bryon:會不會別隊出的$$比打洋基給的打折後還少? XDD
→ wudi:這樣事情才有趣阿 :p
推 hergan:唉 就不能打折後回洋基嗎
推 lothc:我也很希望在洋基繼續看到他.....
→ nikon:鬧成這樣了機會實在不大。
推 gerkk:這樣天使會不會更難纏阿 葛雷諾+A-rod
推 tsming:打折後還回來挨噓更難看，還是打折後去別隊吧:P
推 xblade:20m/y再討論看看
推 goran5899:樓上的價錢,買的到40歲的A-ROD
推 bross0626:洋基的球迷並不會為阿肉打折後回到洋基而不噓他......