The Bronx Stop: A Yankees Blog

Many thoughts have passed through my head over the last three weeks regarding Alex Rodriguez and his contract situation. The first thought that comes to mind is his agents lack of respect for the game in regards to the announcement. I was shocked and dismayed the morning that I woke up to learn that the Red Sox had won the World Series (I couldn't bear to watch) but also to learn that Alex was no longer a Yankee.

The one piece that I could not understand was the Yankees insistence that Alex remain under contract because of the 21 million dollars that Texas owed him. A Rod and Boras built that opt out into the contract when it was signed and it really does not relate to his current situation with the Yankees. It was like many other things Scott Boras does, (love him or hate him) ingenious. It gave his client the option to opt out if he was not in a good situation or continue living the American dream and ink an even larger contract, which is what 9 out of 10 people look for when considering a job. I was upset with the opt-out, don't get me wrong, having the Rangers pay ARod's salary was great but I do not understand why you would refuse to negotiate with one of the single greatest statistical players to ever don a uniform.

So post opt-out many Yankee fans listened to Hank & Co. and immediately put the idea of 13 ever playing third base in Pinstripes again to sleep forever. If there are Yankee fans, that admit to being excited about the prospect of Adrian Beltre and Scott Rolen manning third, I think that they were only fooling themselves.

I am not sure what the argument against negotiating with Alex would be. I guess you could cite his lack of performance in the playoffs or team chemistry but it's hard to argue with the numbers. To blame 13 alone, for the Yankees lack of postseason success is extremely ignorant. An aging pitching staff, plagued by injuries and some bad contracts have far more to do with the Yankees problems than Alex's lack of production in October. Although, a big hit in the Anaheim or Cleveland series would have been nice, it doesn't begin to compare to the problems brought on by Jason Giambi and Carol Pavano. But enough about the past let's look forward.

I think under the watchful eye of Joe Girardi, energized by his youth and fire the Yankees will have a huge year if we can get Alex back in the fold. The KHC (Kennedy, Hughes, and Cabrera) Express will roll out this spring and in a big way. I have a dramatic suggestion for how this team could get better. We need to move Matsui to 1B, sign a center fielder (Aaron Rowand). That would allow you to move Melky to left and keep Abreu in right. The lineup would look something like this. DH Damon SS Jeter RF Abreu 3B Rodriguez 2B Cano CF Rowand 1B Matsui C Posada LF Cabrera. Giambi becomes a role player and Shelly Duncan is the first guy off the bench to spell Damon and Abreu.

The '08 Yankee team suggested here is not dramatically different than the '07 team knocked out by Cleveland but the difference will be the youth in the pitching staff and the growing pains that they could endure with a lineup this strong.

I will be the first one to admit that Alex has not always felt like a "True Yankee" but if this deal goes down and Alex becomes a Yankee once again, he will have forever endeared himself to me.

These are just some thoughts off the top of my head, feel free to leave comments telling me why I'm crazy.

Go Bombers!