Sweet Calamity, a Crazy Week

To my loyal readers: my apologies. Lately I have not been a good blogger. I can't even remember the last time I posted, though if I pressed the back button I would probably find out. Nevertheless, I have had some other things going on: mainly school and ridiculously hard essays. Unfortunately all of this has happened at a time when a huge amount of baseball related activity has gone on. I think I should address it chronologically.

Ok, well, the free agent period began on Monday and one player that has been discussed on this blog as being an integral cog in the Yankee future was catcher Jorge Posada. Out of the Yankees two big free agents: Posada and Mariano Rivera, it was assumed that Rivera would take the deal the Yankees offered before becoming a free agent, and Posada, though he claimed he wanted to return to New York would test the market. Well...the opposite of that happened. Right before midnight, as in, right before Posada could talk to other teams, he accepted the Yankees 4 year/$52.4 million deal. Now, Posada is 36. That means the Yankees will be paying him upwards of $13 million when he is 40. Do I have a problem with that? A little, but in the big scheme of things, the way the offseason was going for the Yankees, to lose Posada, arguably the second most valuable player on the team in '07 besides that A-Rod guy would be crippling. That would mean they would either have Jose Molina as their catcher, or some other person, and while that would be cute, I don't want cute. I want powerful and imposing, and that's exactly what Jorge Posada is. Yes, he is getting older, but Posada played so well this year, it was totally worth it to overpay him. Plus, the Yankees can afford to overpay him. In looking to the future, Posada, who came up through the system as a third baseman probably has a couple more years at catcher in his future, followed by a final two years either at first base or DH. In looking ahead for the next two years: Jason Giambi's contract is up after this year (finally) and in two years, Hideki Matsui's contract and Johnny Damon's contract will both be up. That will free up some space at DH and first base for Posada to finish up his career. I like it. I liked the signing. Sure, the money was a lot, but like I already said, the Yankees can afford it, and they could not afford losing Posada to free agency, and probably to the Mets. That would've been not only disastrous to the team, but disastrous in the realm of PR.

Ok, Mariano Rivera. The Yankees offered the soon-to-be 38-year-old closer a 3 year/$45 million deal. I have NO idea why he hasn't signed it yet. He is currently at home in the DR and has yet to tell the Yankees what he is going. Rivera is arguably the most important player in the Yankees dynasty. He is the best closer EVER (screw you Trevor Hoffman) and has been so important to this team, that again, losing him would be crippling. He had an off year this year, but last year he didn't, and he still has the capabilities to be a dominating closer. Right now, Billy Wagner is the highest paid relief pitcher. He earns $10.75 million per year. The Yankee deal that was submitted to Rivera would pay him $15 MILLION A YEAR! I know Rivera is loyal to Joe Torre, and that's very cute. But he knows he belongs with the Yankees. I think the money matters to him. Yes, again, the Yankees are overpaying but you know what, again, they can afford to. I'm sick of hearing the crap, especially from Red Sox fans about the money thing: the Red Sox are just as "bad" as the Yankees in the money department. They are viewed by everyone else in baseball as the same as the Yankees (sorry to break it to you Red Sock fans). Anyway, the Yankees can afford to overpay for Rivera's services, and I will be really surprised and quite devastated if Rivera declines this offer. Though he shouldn't. It would be ludicrous to do so. I know he has a soft spot for Joe Torre but I think he knows he belongs with the Yankees and in the end, he'll sign.

Mike Lowell: Mike Lowell is probably (besides A-Rod, and oh man, I'll get to that later) the biggest name on the market. I know there's Torii Hunter and Andruw Jones, but really, if you're smart, you know Lowell is better than them. The Red Sox had announced that resigning Lowell was a top priority. I believe them. Lowell was very important to the Red Sox this year. He really was their offensive MVP and carried that time while Ortiz and Manny had down years. Plus, he was great in the postseason, helping carry them to that World Series victory thing. Of course, he is 33 and will be 34 in February, so his next contract could conceivably be his last big one. Apparently the Red Sox are looking at this new way of doing things, when they don't sign guys to long-term deals at that age. The deal Epstein submitted to Lowell was apparently for 3 years and somewhere between $36 and $40 million. But that's not what Lowell wants. Lowell is represented by the same two guys (the Levinson's) that represent Jorge Posada and it's would be no surprise if Lowell asks for about the same thing Posada was asking for. So, the Red Sox didn't meat that price, and Mike became a free agent. This is a big deal, because I really don't think the Red Sox are going to budge from their offer, which is ridiculous to me. I know Lowell had a career year, and at his age, usually skills diminish, but he was so important for their team. Epstein thought it necessary to waste about $14 million per on JD Drew, and about $8 million per for Julio Lugo and they both underacheived. Lowell was a steal and the way he performed should mean he gets more money. That's usually how it works. There is a direct relationship between how good one is at baseball and how much they get paid. As a Yankee fan, right when I found out Lowell was a free agent, I thought that the Yankees should think about going after him. Now, I know that his splits this year were ridiculously slanted towards Fenway (he hit .373 at Fenway and .276 on the road) but he is a solid player. I mentioned that I thought the Yankees should try and go after Miguel Cabrera and I realize that the price would obviously be way too high. Plus, if the Yankees solidified their third base (and solidified meant replacing Wilson Bettermint gum) they could use some of those prospects to maybe go after Johan Santana, who may be on the market and would decidedly shift the balance of power in the AL East. I mean, imagine if the Yankees "took" Lowell from the Sox and then got Santana. Whoa. Another idea would be for Lowell to man first base for the Yankees. Why do I mention that...no reason. But that would I think be a perfect fit. I have a feeling that Lowell wants to play for a contender and the Yankees are definitely a contender, especially if they get Lowell. Plus, I don't feel as though Lowell would feel slighted by being asked to play first, that wouldn't be a big deal for him. He's a savvy veteran. Plus, he would be an upgrade over anyone else the Yankees could put out there. Of coures, the Yankees are not the only other team going after Lowell, apparently the Angels, Braves, and Cardinals are all interested. Interesting choice for the Braves, who have Chipper Jones, and the Cardinals who have oft-injured Scott Rolen. The Angels could use Lowell and would probably love to steal him from the East. I would be pretty surprised if Lowell went West to Anaheim. Of course, the way this offseason has started...nothing surprises me.

And you know why? Because it looks as though barring complete disaster, Alex Rodriguez, yes, THE Alex Rodriguez, the one who I have so affectionately called Douche Bag Prime on this website is coming back to my beloved Yankees. Unbelievable turn of events. He opted out. I hated him. The Yankees hated him. He was looking for a quintillion dollars on the open market and I was 100% sure he would end up in Anaheim or with the Dodgers, or something like that. But how about that folks, it looks as though A-Rod and the Yankees have agreed in principle on a 10 year/$275 million deal. Yes, he would remain the highest paid player, but he would take a cut from what was he was originally looking for. Now, I know many out there are calling the Yankees hypocrites for going back on their word, but to be honest, I don't think they did. I mean, yes, Cashman reiterated multiple times that if A-Rod opted out, which he did, his time in Pinstripes would be done. But what has supposedly happened was that A-Rod was bothered by the way he was being lambasted by everyone in sports almost as being an attention-seeking whore who was just out for the money. I mean, I don't fault him for being out for money, everyone is, and you are naive to think otherwise, if in fact you do. What did bother me was the way in which he opted out: announcing it during the World Series and not responding to any of the calls from his then "former" Yankees teammates. He was just a colossal douche who, I thought, was making a huge mistake. I said several times on this website that I thought A-Rod's best bet for absolute stardom, a World Series and lots of money was with the Yankees. They are really the only team who could've paid him what he really wanted, they have a legit World Series Contending team, and it is the #1 stage for sports arguably in the World (sorry London, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome and Milan, it's true). Yet, apparently he thought otherwise. Well, after spending like a little less than a month on the market, I guess A-Rod found out that although he was wanted elsewhere (I mean, I know there are A-Rod haters out there, but you are stupid to not want him on your team. That cancer crap is stupid, as well as the fact that he's a loser, i will defend to my grave that it was not A-Rod's fault the Yankees have not won since he's been there. If you don't want A-Rod on your team, you are naive my good friend, naive. And I say that with all due respect, which, if you have seen Talladega Nights means I can say anything I want, and it's ok), he wasn't going to get the money. Plus, like I said, A-Rod, a very image conscious guy, was hurt that everyone was lampooning him about the way he had acted. So, according to multiple sources including A-Rod's own website, he went back and contacted the Yankees through a third party, apparently without the advice of his agent, super agent a-hole Scott Boras, and made a pitch to them about coming back and according to most everyone, it looks like he will. I am ecstatic. Yes, he is still a douche, but he's back to being that lovable douche manning the hot corner for the Yankees, unless this falls through. This is perfect for everyone. The Yankees keep a very good team, and A-Rod gets his money. With the signing of A-Rod, it completely levels the playing field, because it brings back that explosive, devastating offense of last season. The Red Sox have the pitching, and the Yankees have the offense (and maybe the pitching if they get Santana). I am happy because this is what the Yankees need. There was no way they were going to upgrade from A-Rod at third, it was just going to be disappointing and they were going ot have to give up a lot for sure. Now, they had to give up a lot, but of something they could give up: money. It's perfect. Now, this eliminates the possibility of the Red Sox making a splash and seizing A-Rod, completely turning them into an unbeatable juggernaut. Imagine if the Yankees add Mike Lowell and go after Johan Santana? That would be mind-boggling. I think the Red Sox will also be in the Santana race, and if they land him, wow, I would flip out, cause they would be unstoppable, even without Mike Lowell. A-Rod going back to the Yankees is good for both parties, it works out. The Yankees can now focus on some relief help, and getting Andy Pettitte back, and I know Andy wants to play for a contender, and with A-Rod coming back, that's exactly what the Yankees have.

I could not go on without at least mentioning Barry Bonds' indictment for perjury and obstruction of justice charges. I'll be honest, it's a little surprising to me that he was actually indicted after the four-year investigation. What I do know, is that his playing career is probably over. What team is going to sign an old, oft-injured, hot topic, surly superstar, who will be suffering from the stress of dealing with a federal indictment? I really don't think anybody will. I mean, and Bonds can still hit, he could help some teams out there as a DH. Teams with bad offense, like the A's or someone along those lines. But with this, well, I doubt that will happen. Plus, this pretty much contributes to the further tarnishing of his image. I'm not exactly sure how the indictment process works, but I assume they wouldn't indict him, if they didn't have real, hard evidence that he was lying, and if this comes out that he really was taking steroids, it would be disastrous for Barry Bonds. I don't know if it would be disastrous for baseball like many are thinking. The reason I say that is because there have been these steroid rumors for the last four years, and for every season over the last four years, baseball has been setting attendance after attendance record. Fans are not shying away. This will definitely hurt Bonds, but most didn't like him anyway. It could severly dent his accomplishments, I think it should anyway but the real tragedy is that Barry Bonds was a hall of famer before he allegedly started taking steroids. He was one of the best hitters of all time, but this whole thing is ruining that. It's unfortunate. We will see where this goes. I don't expect the trial for at least a couple months but if he is found guilty, he could serve up to 30 years in prison. I know that won't happen, cause he's Barry Bonds, but some jail time is definitely possible. It's too bad he had to be such a jackass. Oh well.

So that's all. I am done with school for a week starting at 3:30 this afternoon so I'll be able to come back and post some stuff on the events that transpire over the next week. It's already been quite the whirlwind this week with the A-Rod stuff, Lowell, Posada, Bonds, Hunter, Jones, the beginning of Free Agency, etc. The Hot Stove will only keep the heat on as the General Manger's meet in Tennessee or some place like that. We'll see what happens won't we. And y'all can check back in here for brilliant analysis and breaking news of course...or something like that.