Pinstriped peace accord? Yankees, A-Rod acrimony appears far from over
By Wallace Matthews | ESPNNewYork.com
NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez and his bosses with the New York Yankees have done what they had to do.
They took a meeting together at which the designated villain (A-Rod) presented his humble mea culpa, the aggrieved executives (Randy Levine and Brian Cashman) sternly promised to let bygones be bygones, and they all joined arms and sang a chorus or two of "Kumbaya" under the benevolent gaze of Hal Steinbrenner.
But don’t for a minute believe all is well between Rodriguez and the organization that owes him another $61 million -- and possibly as much as $91 million -- but doesn’t want to have to pay a penny of it.
According to sources who were in the room at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, and others who were thousands of miles away but are still hooked into what went on, the chances of long-term peace between the Yankees and A-Rod are about as good as the chances of Brian Williams being awarded the Silver Star.
For one thing, although Cashman and Levine -- famously, or infamously, called "the devil" by protestors outside A-Rod's grievance hearing last winter -- accepted A-Rod's apology, at least one of them told Rodriguez in no uncertain terms that there were some actions taken by Rodriguez and his supporters during the hearing that simply would not go away.
(In addition to the "Randy Levine is the Devil" signs, A-Rod also alleged the Yankees pressured him to play with an injured hip and sued team doctor Christopher Ahmad for malpractice.)
For another, the Yankees informed Rodriguez they have no intention of paying the $6 million bonuses in the ancillary contract the two parties agreed to in 2007 when they renegotiated the 10-year, $275 million deal in effect through the 2017 season.
The bonuses are based on A-Rod reaching five home-run milestones: Willie Mays' 660, from which he is just six home runs removed, Babe Ruth’s 714, Hank Aaron's 755, Barry Bonds' 762, and the eventual all-time record, 763, if Rodriguez manages to reach it.
The Yankees' contention will be that they reserve the right to determine what a “milestone" actually is, and will argue that due to A-Rod's 162-game suspension by Major League Baseball in connection with the Biogenesis investigation, his now-tainted home run totals no longer constitute milestones. That would leave it up to A-Rod to grieve the Yankees' decision before an arbitrator, a process that has not served him very well lately.
But a source with knowledge of the language in the ancillary deal -- written to cash in on an expected merchandising and attendance bonanza as A-Rod chased his “milestones" -- told ESPNNewYork.com there was no such provision for the Yankees to wriggle out of paying Rodriguez his dough.
"The numbers themselves constitute the milestones," the source said. "The Yankees can't determine suddenly that in their opinion, 660 or 714 are no longer milestones. That would never stand up in court."
And although it has been reported elsewhere that Rodriguez already agreed not to contest the Yankees' decision, it seems highly unlikely that he would allow the Yankees not to live up to a contract both parties agreed to, nor would the MLBPA be likely to stand down and allow it to happen.
In fact, if A-Rod were smart, he would contest any attempt on the part of the Yankees to not pay him his bonuses by announcing he intends to donate all or part of the money to charity. (The Yankees, of course, could counter by suggesting A-Rod donate all or part of his 2015 salary, $21 million, to charity. See? This could still get deliciously nasty.)
The truth is, it was an awfully curious meeting that took place in Hal Steinbrenner’s office, hastily convened about a week after A-Rod met with new commissioner Rob Manfred for the third time since the end of the World Series, when his suspension ended. Meanwhile, the Yankees had shown no indication of planning to meet with Rodriguez, pointedly saying publicly that he “would be treated like any other player."
Might it have been Steinbrenner himself who called all the warring parties together in his office, to at least create the illusion that all was sweetness and light again between the Yankees and their troubled, and troublesome, third baseman?
Strange also is that, according to one person in the room, the subject of where and when A-Rod would find himself in the lineup this season never came up, despite the signing of Chase Headley to play third base in 2015 and frequent public statements by the Yankees this winter that Rodriguez's best chance to play at all would come as a right-handed DH.
You’d think at some point that subject might have come up for discussion. But no.
Instead, we are told that A-Rod came in, $61 million hat in hand, apologized to everyone in the room, and docilely agreed as the Yankees told him they would not be paying him bonuses that were contractually stipulated.
You can believe that if you like.
But I am telling you we are not even close to a peaceful resolution in this matter of New York Yankees v. Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez, and in fact, the fun may only be beginning.
If I had known then what I know now...
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
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St. Paul 14, Denver 14
Should petite have his number retired?? Not even a Hall of Famer is he??
Huge reason for a few of our championships and the most wins in post season history. Doesn't have the stat totals for the hall but meant a lot to the Yanks. Definitely deserves his number retired.
Then good for him. It won't be long before the active Yankee roster will be using numbers 49 and higher.
When you have been that good for that long...
A few retired numbers I don't agree with, especially Maris and Reggie but I am fine with pettitte
Wally Matthews has an extremely weird obsession and hatred for arod and is the absolute worst
I think I'd like Wally. Here's Buster's take:
A-Rod's words will now ring hollow February, 15, 2015 By Buster Olney | ESPN Insider
Alex Rodriguez will make himself available to a roomful of reporters sometime in the coming days, in what will amount to his first give-and-take session with the media since he agreed to his one-year suspension.
What will actually be given and what will be taken is not clear, though. After it's over, reporters can say they asked the questions they are expected to ask, and Rodriguez will be able to say he answered the questions asked of him. This is standard operating procedure when a public figure returns from suspension or scandal.
But a lot of the questions asked of Rodriguez will bear little to no meaning, because a lot of what he says -- almost all of it, in fact -- won't be believed. The reason why is that we were all here before, in 2009, at Rodriguez's first post-scandal confessionals.
Back then, there was a chance his apologies carried some weight. His explanations about his steroid use were picked apart, yes, but at least they were built on credibility that hadn't yet been fully squandered.
Now, however, it's hard to imagine what rationale Rodriguez could muster that would provide some palpable context for his mountains of deceit since that 2009 news conference.
Maybe he'll say he restarted down the PED path because of the pressure he felt to do well to justify his salary, as his performance started to decline. Maybe he sought a way to deal with nagging injuries.
Well, thousands of other baseball players feel pressure to live up to expectations, heal injuries and cope with the grind of the long season -- and they don't break the rules to do it.
Maybe his explanation for his combativeness in 2013 is that his strategy of deny, deny, deny was rooted in anger about Major League Baseball's unprecedented Biogenesis investigation, and that he was being unfairly targeted because of his prominence.
But that would be an excuse. Did he cheat? Unquestionably.
Maybe Rodriguez will talk, again, about growing up without a father, and how that absence damaged him.
There is no doubt that is a tough circumstance, but Rodriguez has had so many daily opportunities to reset since then, to make things right. Growing up without a mom or a dad does not destine you for an adulthood of constant lying, as Rodriguez did throughout the summer of 2013.
Rodriguez might try to tell us how frantic he was in the summer of 2013 to protect himself, to protect his family from the truth. But that wouldn't come close to explaining why he chose to use the Yankees' medical staff as foils, or why he blamed others rather than take responsibility. Deceit is one thing; hurting others in protecting that deceit is something very different, and it separates a Lance Armstrong from an Andy Pettitte.
Rodriguez will try to explain how he made many appearances on behalf of the Taylor Hooton Foundation, created by the parents of a young man who killed himself after months of steroid abuse. Rodriguez spoke to groups of kids about the pitfalls of PED use, while simultaneously bolstering his image through his association with an earnest and grieving mother and father -- but at the same time, he was using PEDs.
Rodriguez's words, whatever they are, are bound to seem empty because we've heard them before this latest round of cheating. Even if Rodriguez decided to let his play on the field speak for him at this stage, there's no real chance of being rescued in this way, either. If he plays well in 2015, the year in which he turns 40, there will be the assumption in a lot of corners that he's cheating. And why wouldn't there be skepticism, given his history?
Some of Rodriguez's former teammates say privately that they were struck by two contradictory elements of his personality. On one hand, he cared very deeply about how he was perceived -- too deeply, they thought -- and on the other hand, he had a knack for saying or doing the wrong thing.
Maybe it's finally time for Rodriguez to stop worrying about how he is viewed and just end the campaigning. It's over; he's lost in the court of public opinion in a landslide, and nothing he says in a news conference and nothing he does on a ballfield can change that. In the days ahead, his best chances for success -- for doing the right thing -- are away from the spotlight he craves.
If I had known then what I know now...
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
3 private workouts for moncada. 2 in the last 2 days. His last 2. Gotta figure the yanks are all in. Say they don't want to pay the price but they wouldn't be putting this time in
3 private workouts for moncada. 2 in the last 2 days. His last 2. Gotta figure the yanks are all in. Say they don't want to pay the price but they wouldn't be putting this time in
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EV LA1 08
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EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
3 private workouts for moncada. 2 in the last 2 days. His last 2. Gotta figure the yanks are all in. Say they don't want to pay the price but they wouldn't be putting this time in
Assuming his knee can handle it, I figure it's a good thing. Always thought the sudden weight loss could have to do with the drop in velocity and it sounds like he thinks so too. If not, he's just toast
Oh man, does this piss me off. Moncada is a guy the Yanks had to have. Young, perfect fit can hit a ton. Fuck Hank and Hal.
Now Boston has one more piece and can much more easily part with prospects to get an ace they don't have in Hamels. And Boston doesn't even fucking need Moncada. Infield is full for the foreseeable future. Yet the Yanks did need him and Boston fucking signs him. Happy fucking Monday.
God fucking dammit. Boston signing Moncada. Around $30 mil.
I do not like Hal
at least he didn't go to the d**gers!
If I had known then what I know now...
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
Comments
Pinstriped peace accord? Yankees, A-Rod acrimony appears far from over
By Wallace Matthews | ESPNNewYork.com
NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez and his bosses with the New York Yankees have done what they had to do.
They took a meeting together at which the designated villain (A-Rod) presented his humble mea culpa, the aggrieved executives (Randy Levine and Brian Cashman) sternly promised to let bygones be bygones, and they all joined arms and sang a chorus or two of "Kumbaya" under the benevolent gaze of Hal Steinbrenner.
But don’t for a minute believe all is well between Rodriguez and the organization that owes him another $61 million -- and possibly as much as $91 million -- but doesn’t want to have to pay a penny of it.
According to sources who were in the room at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, and others who were thousands of miles away but are still hooked into what went on, the chances of long-term peace between the Yankees and A-Rod are about as good as the chances of Brian Williams being awarded the Silver Star.
For one thing, although Cashman and Levine -- famously, or infamously, called "the devil" by protestors outside A-Rod's grievance hearing last winter -- accepted A-Rod's apology, at least one of them told Rodriguez in no uncertain terms that there were some actions taken by Rodriguez and his supporters during the hearing that simply would not go away.
(In addition to the "Randy Levine is the Devil" signs, A-Rod also alleged the Yankees pressured him to play with an injured hip and sued team doctor Christopher Ahmad for malpractice.)
For another, the Yankees informed Rodriguez they have no intention of paying the $6 million bonuses in the ancillary contract the two parties agreed to in 2007 when they renegotiated the 10-year, $275 million deal in effect through the 2017 season.
The bonuses are based on A-Rod reaching five home-run milestones: Willie Mays' 660, from which he is just six home runs removed, Babe Ruth’s 714, Hank Aaron's 755, Barry Bonds' 762, and the eventual all-time record, 763, if Rodriguez manages to reach it.
The Yankees' contention will be that they reserve the right to determine what a “milestone" actually is, and will argue that due to A-Rod's 162-game suspension by Major League Baseball in connection with the Biogenesis investigation, his now-tainted home run totals no longer constitute milestones. That would leave it up to A-Rod to grieve the Yankees' decision before an arbitrator, a process that has not served him very well lately.
But a source with knowledge of the language in the ancillary deal -- written to cash in on an expected merchandising and attendance bonanza as A-Rod chased his “milestones" -- told ESPNNewYork.com there was no such provision for the Yankees to wriggle out of paying Rodriguez his dough.
"The numbers themselves constitute the milestones," the source said. "The Yankees can't determine suddenly that in their opinion, 660 or 714 are no longer milestones. That would never stand up in court."
And although it has been reported elsewhere that Rodriguez already agreed not to contest the Yankees' decision, it seems highly unlikely that he would allow the Yankees not to live up to a contract both parties agreed to, nor would the MLBPA be likely to stand down and allow it to happen.
In fact, if A-Rod were smart, he would contest any attempt on the part of the Yankees to not pay him his bonuses by announcing he intends to donate all or part of the money to charity. (The Yankees, of course, could counter by suggesting A-Rod donate all or part of his 2015 salary, $21 million, to charity. See? This could still get deliciously nasty.)
The truth is, it was an awfully curious meeting that took place in Hal Steinbrenner’s office, hastily convened about a week after A-Rod met with new commissioner Rob Manfred for the third time since the end of the World Series, when his suspension ended. Meanwhile, the Yankees had shown no indication of planning to meet with Rodriguez, pointedly saying publicly that he “would be treated like any other player."
Might it have been Steinbrenner himself who called all the warring parties together in his office, to at least create the illusion that all was sweetness and light again between the Yankees and their troubled, and troublesome, third baseman?
Strange also is that, according to one person in the room, the subject of where and when A-Rod would find himself in the lineup this season never came up, despite the signing of Chase Headley to play third base in 2015 and frequent public statements by the Yankees this winter that Rodriguez's best chance to play at all would come as a right-handed DH.
You’d think at some point that subject might have come up for discussion. But no.
Instead, we are told that A-Rod came in, $61 million hat in hand, apologized to everyone in the room, and docilely agreed as the Yankees told him they would not be paying him bonuses that were contractually stipulated.
You can believe that if you like.
But I am telling you we are not even close to a peaceful resolution in this matter of New York Yankees v. Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez, and in fact, the fun may only be beginning.
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
A few retired numbers I don't agree with, especially Maris and Reggie but I am fine with pettitte
A-Rod's words will now ring hollow
February, 15, 2015
By Buster Olney | ESPN Insider
Alex Rodriguez will make himself available to a roomful of reporters sometime in the coming days, in what will amount to his first give-and-take session with the media since he agreed to his one-year suspension.
What will actually be given and what will be taken is not clear, though. After it's over, reporters can say they asked the questions they are expected to ask, and Rodriguez will be able to say he answered the questions asked of him. This is standard operating procedure when a public figure returns from suspension or scandal.
But a lot of the questions asked of Rodriguez will bear little to no meaning, because a lot of what he says -- almost all of it, in fact -- won't be believed. The reason why is that we were all here before, in 2009, at Rodriguez's first post-scandal confessionals.
Back then, there was a chance his apologies carried some weight. His explanations about his steroid use were picked apart, yes, but at least they were built on credibility that hadn't yet been fully squandered.
Now, however, it's hard to imagine what rationale Rodriguez could muster that would provide some palpable context for his mountains of deceit since that 2009 news conference.
Maybe he'll say he restarted down the PED path because of the pressure he felt to do well to justify his salary, as his performance started to decline. Maybe he sought a way to deal with nagging injuries.
Well, thousands of other baseball players feel pressure to live up to expectations, heal injuries and cope with the grind of the long season -- and they don't break the rules to do it.
Maybe his explanation for his combativeness in 2013 is that his strategy of deny, deny, deny was rooted in anger about Major League Baseball's unprecedented Biogenesis investigation, and that he was being unfairly targeted because of his prominence.
But that would be an excuse. Did he cheat? Unquestionably.
Maybe Rodriguez will talk, again, about growing up without a father, and how that absence damaged him.
There is no doubt that is a tough circumstance, but Rodriguez has had so many daily opportunities to reset since then, to make things right. Growing up without a mom or a dad does not destine you for an adulthood of constant lying, as Rodriguez did throughout the summer of 2013.
Rodriguez might try to tell us how frantic he was in the summer of 2013 to protect himself, to protect his family from the truth. But that wouldn't come close to explaining why he chose to use the Yankees' medical staff as foils, or why he blamed others rather than take responsibility. Deceit is one thing; hurting others in protecting that deceit is something very different, and it separates a Lance Armstrong from an Andy Pettitte.
Rodriguez will try to explain how he made many appearances on behalf of the Taylor Hooton Foundation, created by the parents of a young man who killed himself after months of steroid abuse. Rodriguez spoke to groups of kids about the pitfalls of PED use, while simultaneously bolstering his image through his association with an earnest and grieving mother and father -- but at the same time, he was using PEDs.
Rodriguez's words, whatever they are, are bound to seem empty because we've heard them before this latest round of cheating. Even if Rodriguez decided to let his play on the field speak for him at this stage, there's no real chance of being rescued in this way, either. If he plays well in 2015, the year in which he turns 40, there will be the assumption in a lot of corners that he's cheating. And why wouldn't there be skepticism, given his history?
Some of Rodriguez's former teammates say privately that they were struck by two contradictory elements of his personality. On one hand, he cared very deeply about how he was perceived -- too deeply, they thought -- and on the other hand, he had a knack for saying or doing the wrong thing.
Maybe it's finally time for Rodriguez to stop worrying about how he is viewed and just end the campaigning. It's over; he's lost in the court of public opinion in a landslide, and nothing he says in a news conference and nothing he does on a ballfield can change that. In the days ahead, his best chances for success -- for doing the right thing -- are away from the spotlight he craves.
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
http://riveraveblues.com/2015/02/reports-yankees-likely-retire-nos-51-20-soon-114442/
I am comfortable with this. I do agree there are too many, but these guys deserve it more than Reggie and Maris.
who knew?
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Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
I do not like Hal
Now Boston has one more piece and can much more easily part with prospects to get an ace they don't have in Hamels. And Boston doesn't even fucking need Moncada. Infield is full for the foreseeable future. Yet the Yanks did need him and Boston fucking signs him. Happy fucking Monday.
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
Yes, Andrew, Arod is walking. What's the point?