A-Rod's payday will come, but will it be worth it?
Posted: Wednesday, October 10, 2007 7:46 PM
It is a silly game that Scott Boras is playing on behalf of his client, Alex Rodriguez. Boras is “hinting” that A-Rod will opt to become a free agent, as his contract allows him to.
The only way he won’t declare free agency is if the Yankees extend his contract for another 10 years after this one expires for $350 million or more. If the Yankees agree to a new contract starting now, Boras may take pity on them and let them have 10 years for a mere $300 million.
But Boras isn’t fooling anyone with his “hints.” He’s going for the money, because that’s what he’s paid to do.
I suspect the Yankees will pay up. If A-Rod becomes a free agent, they won’t keep him, but that’s Bryan Cashman, the G.M., talking. He wants the $21 million the Rangers will pay over the next three years if A-Rod plays out this contract.
Cashman can have it, but he’ll have to pay more for A-Rod three years hence. And, since Boras says A-Rod wants to play until he’s 45 so he can break all the records worth breaking -- and maybe even win that ring he keeps getting reminded about -- they’re going to have to pay for a long time.
Anyway, George Steinbrenner said he wants A-Rod, so that settles it. Regardless what you think of him, third basemen like him are hard to come by. And if he hasn’t won a ring, at least this year, Derek Jeter was much worse in the ALDS. Plus, without A-Rod, how do the Yankees get to the postseason?
The only thing I don’t want to hear from Boras once the negotiations start is, “It’s not about the money.” And I don’t to hear A-Rod say, “I’ve got to take care of my family.”
Money is the only thing this is about. Everything else Boras says is poppycock.
But it’s not because of what he can do with $30 million that he can’t do with $25 million, because for all practical purposes -- as well as most impractical ones -- there is no difference. Rather, it’s because money is how the world keeps count of value; the person with the most money is by Boras’ definition the best person. A-Rod could tell Boras to back off, but he doesn’t. Therefore, the money is important to him, too.
The game doesn’t care how much anyone makes. A home run struck by a rookie on minimum wage counts the same as one struck by a player making more money than Croesus.
But the fans care and the media care and the other players care. If you make more money than anyone else, you are expected to be better than them. And when you fail, you will be reminded that you are paid to be better.
And so the money has been a material blessing and a psychic curse for A-Rod. The money makes him famous, but it also marks him. And if he thought he was under intense scrutiny at $25 million a year, wait until he experiences life at $30-$35 million per annum.
Don’t tell me not to bring it up if he fails to measure up to his own claims of greatness. He’s the one who is saying money is important, and I’ll just be taking him at his word. Therefore, a strikeout by a guy making $30 million is bigger than one by a guy making minimum wage.
Just be assured of this: Boras will get his client the money. He’s very, very good at that. What’s he’s not good at is understanding that money can’t buy him love. It can only buy suffocating and merciless scrutiny.
