Steff Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 Selig's OK Awaited on Rodriguez Trade 45 minutes ago By RONALD BLUM, AP Sports Writer NEW YORK - The Yankees and Texas Rangers (news) finalized the terms of their shocking Alex Rodriguez trade Sunday, and the players' association approved the deal for the American League (news) MVP. All that remained was for baseball commissioner Bud Selig to give his OK, which the teams expected Monday. "I was just as surprised as the Yankee fans and the Boston Red Sox (news) fans when I opened up my paper today," President Bush (news - web sites), the Rangers' former owner, told NBC at the Daytona 500. "It, obviously, is a big deal. ... A-Rod's a great player and the Yanks are going to be a heck of a team with him in the infield." Texas will pay $67 million of the $179 million left on Rodriguez's record $252 million, 10-year contract, the biggest transfer in a baseball deal, and will get All-Star second baseman Alfonso Soriano and a player to be named. Rodriguez will move from shortstop, a position at which he's been a seven-time All-Star, to third base, where he will replace injured Aaron Boone. The Yankees will keep their captain, Derek Jeter, at shortstop. "I don't think he ever thought about playing another position until the concept came up," said Rodriguez's agent, Scott Boras. "He decided it didn't make a difference — shortstop, third base, center field. He wanted the opportunity to play on a competitive team." The Rangers will wind up paying $140 million for three seasons with Rodriguez, an average of $46.7 million annually for three last-place finishes in the AL West. The Yankees will owe him $112 million over seven years. Baseball's biggest spenders will raise their payroll to about $190 million. "The disparity is not healthy for the sport," Arizona Diamondbacks (news) owner Jerry Colangelo said. "But everyone runs their team the way they see fit, and they did it by the rules." Boras said the possibility of a trade first came up last Monday while he was talking to the Yankees about another player. Boras then called Rodriguez. "I said, `There may be an opportunity. We have to talk about your goals, about winning,'" Boras recalled telling his client. "He called me back Tuesday and discussed it further and said, `Why don't you call (Texas owner) Tom Hicks and let him know we're ready to do that,'" Boras said. Trade talks began the following day, and the sides reached the agreement Sunday. Under the deal, the Yankees will pay Rodriguez $15 million in each of the next three seasons, $16 million each in 2007 and 2008, $17 million in 2009 and $18 million in 2010, according to contract information obtained by the AP from player and management sources. In each of the first four years, $1 million would be deferred without interest, to be paid in 2011. The trade calls for Texas to pay $43 million of Rodriguez's salary over the remaining seven years: $3 million in 2004, $6 million each in 2005, 2006 and 2010, $7 million apiece in 2007 and 2009 and $8 million in 2008. In addition, the Rangers will pay the $24 million remaining in deferred money from the original contract, with the interest rate lowered from 3 percent to 1.75 percent. All the deferred money owed by Texas — $36 million, including salaries from 2001-03 — will be converted to an assignment bonus, which makes the money guaranteed against a strike or lockout. The payout schedule will be pushed back to 2016-25 from 2011-20. In exchange for the alterations, which devalue the present-day value of the contract by $5 million, Rodriguez will receive a hotel suite on road trips, have the right to link his Web site to the Yankees' site and get a guarantee that the deferred money won't be wiped out by a work stoppage. Boras said that as part of the deal, the Rangers will buy Rodriguez's home in Texas and his luxury suites at The Ballpark in Arlington and American Airlines Arena. While the Rangers appointed Rodriguez team captain on Jan. 25, Boras said that once Texas decided to go with younger players, it became apparent a change was needed. "Because of the change in direction in payroll in Texas, we didn't think Alex was the fit there he was before," Boras said. "This trade was a situation that would benefit everybody." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 Selig doesn't have the courage to stop it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Prawn Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 Selig doesn't have the courage to stop it. I was thinking the same exact thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 I was thinking the same exact thing. I was thinking something else, but cleaned it up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aboz56 Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 I don't know what grounds he can actually stop it on if the union has agreed to it, that was the hold up with the A Rod to Boston trade. No way he steps in here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted February 16, 2004 Author Share Posted February 16, 2004 Selig doesn't have the courage to stop it. Yea, I know. :headshake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsideirish Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 Selig doesn't have the courage to stop it. Why would he stop it? I wouldn't see the reasoning behind it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Prawn Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 Why would he stop it? I wouldn't see the reasoning behind it. LOL! It screws the rest of the teams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike12345 Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 i think aboz56 is right...the players union has the biggest say so in baseball, once they approve it it is pretty much garuanteed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted February 16, 2004 Author Share Posted February 16, 2004 Alex Rodriguez belongs in pinstripes Mon Feb 16, 7:24 AM ET Add Sports - USATODAY.com to My Yahoo! Turn a deaf ear to the Pittsburghs and Kansas Citys screaming bloody murder over this union of embarrassing contract and embarrassing payroll. Alex Rodriguez-to-the-Yankees, ladies and gentlemen, is good for baseball. You can't have the Michael Jordan of your sport playing for the Los Angeles Clippers (news) forever. One way or another, Rodriguez had to escape to New York. Baseball couldn't afford to keep him locked up in the Texas wastelands, where high school football under the Friday night lights will always be bigger than the ALDS. A-Rod flirted with the Mets, and he went to the altar with the Red Sox, but George Steinbrenner's team isn't called the Evil Empire for nuttin'. Steinbrenner gets what he wants, when he wants it. Rodriguez, a shortstop, will play Graig Nettles' position, and off toward the $300 million payroll barrier King George trots. Rodriguez lugs along a chunk of his $252 million contract bigger than the courthouse behind the Stadium's right-center wall, and you can already hear the ranting and raving in baseball's cheap seats, where A-Rod's monthly wage equals half a team's operating budget. But now that he's finally divesting himself from the business of small-market dreams, Bud Selig should understand just how good this trade is for his cherished game. The feds are fixing to bring down some of Selig's superstars, names that are Martha Stewart (news - web sites) big. The commissioner didn't just need A-Rod to knock steroids and grand juries off the front and back pages. He needed A-Rod to play for a franchise that held a permanent place in America's consciousness. "The commissioner's dream one day is to get a lot closer to equal footing, so that every team has a chance to compete," said one baseball official. "But he absolutely appreciates what a trade like this means. When A-Rod almost went to Boston, Bud thought it was good to get him to a baseball hotbed and put him in the middle of an intense rivalry. Now A-Rod's going to New York. Bud knows it certainly doesn't hurt to have your best player in the top market." A-Rod was so desperate to get out of Texas that he approached Selig at Sammy Sosa's November birthday party in the Dominican Republic to let the commissioner know he was extremely unhappy with the Rangers. Selig listened closely as Rodriguez explained why he wanted out. When news broke about the possible Manny Ramirez trade, Selig figured Boston represented an ideal landing place. It didn't happen, thanks to union leaders who exist to rain on parades. But neither Donald Fehr nor Gene Orza stood in Steinbrenner's way. The Yankees didn't want to devalue A-Rod's landmark contract; They only wanted the Rangers to pay their fair share of it, and to accept Alfonso Soriano as a reward for being so kind. Truth is, this trade became inevitable the first day Rodriguez realized he'd let Scott Boras talk him into a Faustian deal. A-Rod had sold his soul to a devil too comfortable in the hell that is last place in the American League (news) West, and Tom Hicks and Buck Showalter weren't about to convince him otherwise. Like Roger Clemens before him, Rodriguez got better than he deserved in this trade to first place. After making such a big deal out of naming A-Rod their captain at the New York baseball writers' dinner, the Rangers should've just left him behind with the soiled napkins. Rodriguez and Derek Jeter, old flames who've had more breakups and makeups than Ben and J-Lo, will remain in each other's arms until someone reminds Jeter about those nasty things A-Rod said about him before they started making commercials together. For the time being, nobody's asking why A-Rod is going to third when Jeter is the second-best shortstop of the two. That question will come after the honeymoon. All in all, the left side of the Yankees' infield initially signed for a combined $441 million. If A-Rod and Jeter aren't another Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, they're another Bill Gates (news - web sites) and Warren Buffett (news - web sites). Steinbrenner is the only owner who would even entertain the notion of absorbing the two biggest individual contracts in sports history, precisely why Rodriguez isn't playing in Arlington, Queens or Fenway Park. The Mets had their chance after losing the 2000 World Series (news - web sites) to the Yankees. Rodriguez was born a Mets fan and raised on Kiner's Korner, and he wanted to go head-to-head with Jeter for prince-of-the-city rights. Instead of making him an offer, Fred Wilpon proved he doesn't have the stomach for the big-market fight. He told A-Rod where to stuff his hometown dreams, and that sure looks like a brilliant move now. The Red Sox at least gave it the ol' college try. In the end, they did beat the Yanks to Curt Schilling. If baseball's pitching-is-everything principles hold up in another ALCS, Schilling will be more important to the Red Sox than A-Rod will be to the Yanks. But there's six months of Arena Baseball to play before anyone finds out. A-Rod, Jeter, Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield. The Yankees will score, score, score, and hope they can get to Mariano Rivera without the help of Clemens, Andy Pettitte and David Wells. It should be a wildly entertaining ride. And to think, Aaron Boone started all this by jumping into the middle of a pickup basketball game. His wrecked knee gave baseball a chance to get its Jordan in the right place. They'll never believe it in Pittsburgh or Kansas City, but the sport couldn't let Alex Rodriguez rot away in Texas. Eventually, his embarrassing contract had to land in the one place where embarrassing contracts are collected like lint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsideirish Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 LOL! It screws the rest of the teams. Ok, so your saying it isn't in the best interest in baseball? That is a legitimate reason I suppose. Good point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsideirish Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 i think aboz56 is right...the players union has the biggest say so in baseball, once they approve it it is pretty much garuanteed... I believe you are correct Mike. I think we saw this exact thing when ARod couldn't be traded to the Red Sox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted February 16, 2004 Author Share Posted February 16, 2004 i think aboz56 is right...the players union has the biggest say so in baseball, once they approve it it is pretty much garuanteed... Yep. Once it gets past the union.. it's pretty much done. Bud didn't have a chance to have a say in the Boston deal.. lucky him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Prawn Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 Ok, so your saying it isn't in the best interest in baseball? That is a legitimate reason I suppose. Good point. Yeah - that's it exactly - this weekend sucked for me so I am not in the best mood and thusly not watching how I word things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted February 16, 2004 Author Share Posted February 16, 2004 Yeah - that's it exactly - this weekend sucked for me so I am not in the best mood and thusly not watching how I word things. CS Fan... no sweat. It's obvious the majority of us feel the same way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsideirish Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 Yeah - that's it exactly - this weekend sucked for me so I am not in the best mood and thusly not watching how I word things. No problem. I understood exactly where you were coming from. I am sorry to hear about your weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Critic Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 A-Rod was so desperate to get out of Texas that he approached Selig at Sammy Sosa's November birthday party in the Dominican Republic to let the commissioner know he was extremely unhappy with the Rangers. Selig listened closely as Rodriguez explained why he wanted out. When news broke about the possible Manny Ramirez trade, Selig figured Boston represented an ideal landing place. I can almost picture it now: ARod "Hey, Bud, I've been trying to talk to you all night! Willya PLEASE quit salsa dancing with Sammy's sister and TALK to me for a minute?" Bud "Okay, OKAY.....but if you're just cock-blockin' me, I'll be HELLA PISSED OFF!" ARod "Whatever dude - listen, I am SICK of living in Texas!! You GOTTA help me get out of there!!! Is there anything you-" Sosa "AYYYYYYY, Meestur Seelig, AYYYYY, Ollex, ow yoo dooeeeen'? Whatchoo talkeen abow? Ay hope yoor talkeen bow MEEEEE!!!!!!! Ay yam SO waysted rye now!!!!! HOPPEE BOORDAYEE TOO MEEEE....." Bud "That's nice, Sammy - did you like the gift I got you?" Sosa "Ohhh yessss, dot was a NICE theen to doo, geevinn mee dee corged bot back!!! Zangyoo, Bud!" ARod "So ANYWAY, Bud, back to my situation..." Bud "HEY! I TRIED to get you onto the Red Sox!! YOU f***ed it up by playing Mr. NICE GUY!!! 'I don't want to upset anybody, I'll play wherever I'm told'....what a PUSSY. Look, get your agent on it - if he can get a deal done with the Yankees - and ONLY the Yankees - we'll make it work. Otherwise, have fun in last place!!!" Okay, maybe it didn't go quite like that, but I love the idea of Bud Selig at Sammy Sosa's birthday party in the Dominican!! Maybe they had a Mark Grace pinata!!! HA!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Hudler Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 Ok, so your saying it isn't in the best interest in baseball? That is a legitimate reason I suppose. Good point. Actually, the commissioner does have the power to veto a trade or contract "in the best interest of the game of baseball". The catch, other than Selig's lack of cajones, is that clause has not been used by a commissioner in years and never has since Selig took over. I think there would be legal battles to deal with along with lots of negative publicity if he did this and I don't think Selig would feel all of that would be in the best interests of the game. I wish he would do it. I think many fans would stand up, applaud him and have a new found respect for Mr. Selig, but I just can't see any realistic chance of it happening. Hell, if he were smart, he would have negated ARod's contract in the first place under the same premise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilJester99 Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 I believe ESPN is reporting Bud as approved the deal. So it seems its a done deal now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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