Agreed. Like I said, if they really wanted to resign him (and not trade for Miguel Cabrera), I would have signed him for the length of years and money remaining on the contract he just opted out of. NOT signed him to another 10 year deal for more money!

And subtracted the $9 million a year the Yanks had to pay, since the opt out let Texas off the hook. The front office acted as if there were 5 other teams in the running. And they weren't even dealing with an agent.

Admittedly, back then I thought Miguel Cabrera was an out of shape fat boy in the mold of David Wells. Boy, was I wrong.

You always look back and say "what if" about players but they could have gotten A-Rod for far less. As you said, he didn't have Boras anymore, he was basically representing himself. STUPID contract!

It's true and it's disgusting. Bud Selig should be ashamed of himself. He pulls out all the stops to destroy arods career but with players like Braun(who I'm guessing he went light on because he you used to own the brewers)he wasn't aggressive toward whatsoever. And Ortiz is the prime example. Claims he doesn't know what happened. What a joke. And I'm not even an arod fan.

I can't blame Selig, ARod's team is taking a scorched earth policy. ARod knows he's guilty, but he's still fighting- never once did he deny doing the drugs he's been suspended for. Braun, Nelson, Peralta, Cabrera and the rest of the guys have already put this behind them, or are nearly there. Casual fans will mostly remember that ARod was guilty of something PED related, because he's always in the news.

Yes, Ortiz would be different. He would quietly do his time without an appeal. I agreed with the article.... I find him more likable than ARod and that effects my response.

I disagree. Ortiz did steroids and he should be condemned just like arod. And he is fighting it because he is a first time offender under the new rule. Yet he is being treated like a multiple time offender. So he isn't wrong in my opinion for appealing. I never stick up for arod but let's be honest, at the end of the day both did steroids and arod has owned up to it before, Ortiz has done nothing but made excuses. But because people don't like arod his image gets destroyed. It's ridiculous. But in other good news, the Yankees are supposedly extremely interested in a number of all the big free agents this offseason. Scott boras has said that the Yankees have been very aggressive toward ellisbury and stephen drew. They are meeting with a lot of big players next week. I'm pretty excited. I just hope they don't make any stupid signings.

Here are my thoughts on this A-Rod/MLB investigation:

I'll start off by saying I'm not a fan of A-Rod. He's been nothing but a distraction to this team since he was traded for in 2004.

Now with that said, I think MLB is out of line in regards to his suspension. As stated previously, this is his first time being caught, since his initial failed test didn't have any consequences that came along with it. The collective bargaining agreement states a player is to be suspended 50 games for a first time offender. 211 games is excessive. Don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE to see his salary taken off of the Yankees books for the 2014 season, but it's not fair to Alex as an individual. How can you teat him differently than all the other players? Now Ryan Braun received a 65-game suspension. Why the extra 15 games, I don't know? Maybe it had something to do with all of the denials and how he tried to ruin other people's lives trying to protect his lie. If that's the case, giving him a little extra because he lied and tried so hard to cover it up, I'm fine with that. Same thing for A-Rod, if it's true that he tried to purchase evidence to obstruct the investigation, suspend him further. But again, 211 is excessive and it's just Bud Selig trying to say he really "cleaned" the game up before he rides off into the sunset while the whole ugly steroid era happened on his watch.

I don't think he's going to get it at age 36 who has a history of injuries.

Carlos Beltran wants three- or four-year deal

As far as Ortiz....it doesn't matter to me if he is crucified or given a pass. The fans can decide, and I believe they are split. Just like the fans are split with ARod.

Supposedly, ARod hasn't disputed any of the accusations that he was a habitual offender of the drug policies. His defense is mostly based around that he is being picked on by the commissioner's office. ARod's 211 games were not simply from being a first time offender. The games he received weren't simply from a dirty test because he never tested dirty. In fact, I don't believe Braun, Peralta, Nelson, Cabrera, etc... tested dirty, either.

Based on what I have read, MLB has very damaging evidence and the choice in front of Selig was 211 games or a lifetime suspension. I read in a NYC tabloid that ARod offered a negotiated figure of 100 games and then retiring....but he either withdrew it or it was declined.

Is an extra 161 games excessive for ARod? I can't answer that until they release the evidence that has been obtained- and I don't think anyone else can, either.

To be fair to Selig, he couldn't begin to clean up the game without a negotiated CBA with the player's union. And the former head of the union, Donald Fehr, was dead set against any form of testing as he considered it a violation of the players' privacy. Then 9/11 happened and both Fehr/Selig decided a strike at that time was not in the nation's best interests. Thus, Fehr gave in a tiny bit with a ridiculous unofficial year of testing....where if a certain percentage of players tested positive, then stronger testing would follow the next season. I'm sure Fehr believed that the players would be smart enough to test clean for one season....he was wrong, lol.

The media was petrified of lawsuits and kept quiet about players arriving in spring training with an extra 20 lbs of solid muscle. They deserve a chunk of the blame and shouldn't point fingers at Selig until they acknowledge their own role in the steroid era.

I've got a problem with it. It's like pick and choose. Some guys get a pass and others don't. It's not fair. Again, I'm not a Rodriguez fan but I'm not an Ortiz fan either.

As for A-Rod, if they want to suspend him for 162 games, I'd be ok with that (dependent upon the evidence) but again, I feel 211 games is a bit much.

Iman, like I previous posted, how can you feel that 162 games is ok but 211 games is too much without knowing the details of the evidence? Are you just arbitrarily chopping off about 25% as a compromise?

For example, if Selig went with a lifetime suspension, would you still stick with 162 games as the proper number?

Like I said, Braun received 15 extra games than the collective bargaining agreement mandates (so there is precedence for additional games). Dependent upon what the evidence shows (i.e. if Alex knowingly tried to obstruct MLB's investigation by purchasing and destroying evidence damning to his case), that I would believe would constitute an extensive suspension. But again, it'll depend on the evidence to determine if an additional 112 games is fair or not.

As for the difference, 162 games is a full season and I think it sends a message to other would be cheaters. To miss out on an entire season is a much bigger deal than 50 or so (just as cheating and purchasing then destroying evidence is much bigger than just cheating). And it's more of a compromise than a lifetime ban.

We both want ARoid's salary off the books for '14, so we have that common ground.

Remember this interview? The first words out of Tacopina's mouth is that he wished that MLB would give him a waiver to discuss Alex's drug history, but luckily for MLB, he was restricted from doing so as per the CBA. I laughed my ass off when Matt Lauer handed him a waiver, allowing both sides to share the info with the public..... obviously, Tacopina didn't sign it then, or later.

If he signed it, then we'd have the info to discuss the proper number of games for Rodriguez to be suspended.

Yeah, I remember that. I'm not sure how much is going to come out but it's well documented that A-Rod's been caught 3 different times now.

Interesting...

Report: Rockies, Cardinals to talk Troy Tulowitzki trade

With the understanding that the Biogenesis scandal didn't produce dirty tests.....isn't the policy with MLB that a lifetime suspension follows the 3rd failed steroid test?



Cards have a lot of good, young pitching for trade bait. Lynn, Martinez, Rosenthal.

Wow, the Braves announced today they are moving to Cobb County Georgia. Going South. Obviously their stadium that was built in '96 was not new enough for them anymore. Building a new stadium and hope to be in it by 17 I think.

Yes, you are correct that 3 failed tests would initiate a lifetime suspension. But his first failed test didn't "count" since these rules weren't in place at the time. The 2nd failed test in 2006 for amphetamines just recently came out and as you stated the Biogenesis scandal hasn't produced any dirty tests (but it IS the 3rd time Alex has been connected to taking illegal supplements).

As for the trade, that's what the article stated that St. Louis may let go of some young arms to try and pry Tulowitzki away from Colorado. He's only 29 and under contract for another 7 years but he's been injured some the last 2 years. That'd be a concern for me.

Wow, that came sooner than expected. He's only 30-years-old:

Joe Mauer to play first base, will no longer catch for Twins

Granderson turns down qualifying offer. Yanks get a supplemental draft pick for Cashman to waste.

Beltran becomes a legit possibility. Choo, too.

The only role the Yanks have with Ellsbury is for Boras to trick GMs into thinking the Yanks are a mystery team to drive up the price.

So Wil Myers and Jose Fernandez took home the AL and NL Rookie of the Year awards respectively. What do you think? Did the voters get it right? I thought Yasiel Puig may have gotten it. I was glad he wasn't named an All-Star this year. I've got nothing against him, it was just too small of a sample size (he was only in the league about a month at that time), but I thought he could have won the Rookie of the Year award. Fernandez had a good year though for a very terrible Marlins team: 12-6 with a 2.19 ERA and 187 SO. He's 1 of the 3 finalists for the NL Cy Young award (although I'm sure it's going to Clayton Kershaw).

Could spell trouble for the Tigers if they trade Scherzer

Report: Tigers open to trading either Max Scherzer or Rick Porcello

I get the impression they think he's this season's version of RA Dickey. Dickey, of course, went from having a career season to back to being a .500 pitcher.

Scherzer, on the other hand, has increased his wins and win percentage every season in the bigs. The Tigers give Fat Prince a ten year deal but want to trade Scherzer?

It appears the contracts of Fielder and Verlander have caught up with the Tigers. Plus, I think they're trying to save a little now for when Miguel Cabrera becomes a free agent again after the 2016 season (sure it's 3 seasons away but remember, Verlander/Fielder and if they were to sign Scherzer long term would all be under contract at that point and they'd STILL be trying to resign Cabrera).

I think this is a great idea by the Yankees to honor Mariano in his home country:

Yankees to play two spring games in Panama

Agents love that the Yanks are players in this year's free agency market. The team has been linked to nearly every single high profile free agent as agents try to increase their player's values.

I believe that only McCann, Beltran, and a closer are being considered, along with Cano. Come to think about it, that's a helluva lot. Yanks play the same game as the agents....they act as if they're interested in Choo, and that keeps Beltran's requests reasonable. Ditto with Balfour and Nathan (plus Robertson).

It's funny that you talked about a closer because apparently the Yankees aren't 100% convinced David Roberton can take over for Mariano Rivera (I've gotta say I'm a little surprised)

Yanks not ready to anoint Robertson as next closer

I'm a little surprised by this (especially since he still has 2 more years before he becomes a free agent)

Orioles reportedly willing to trade Matt Wieters

I don't think he's ready. Nathan is the best choice, and he's a local boy. But, it seems that everyone has him going to Detroit.

It's not a knock on Robertson. I believe that following Rivera and Jeter will be extremely difficult, and for reasons that go beyond performance on the field.