[新聞] A-Rod race not far from minds of GMs

看板A-Rod作者Ally1213 (看球賽去囉~^.^)時間18年前 (2007/11/06 12:08)推噓5(5推 0噓 3→)

留言8則, 6人參與討論串1/1

來源： http://tinyurl.com/3c52ro A-Rod race not far from minds of GMs Agent Boras on hand for annual meeting of executives 阿肉--每位GM心裡念茲在茲的那個人。 ORLANDO, Fla. -- The sign outside a board room of the Hyatt Grand Cypress Hotel suggested that MLB general managers holding their annual meetings at this resort were quickly cutting to the chase: "Subcommittee Meeting on Economic Issues." While the poster referenced a conclave totally unrelated to the baseball business, the GMs do have a couple of economic issues with which to deal. The first was addressed Monday morning, when the GMs and their assistants ironically received the annual presentation on financial guidelines for upcoming arbitration cases. Ironic, because the offseason's other chief economic issue is out of bounds, has no guidelines or limits. Maybe not even a ceiling. That would be the Alex Rodriguez situation. Rodriguez's exorbitant adventure, and the possible destinations of the erstwhile Yankees third baseman and imminent three-time American League MVP, will dominate this four-day assembly, even though it will most likely be several weeks before agent Scott Boras even enters into serious talks with well-heeled contenders. But since Rodriguez opted out of the last three years of his old contract on Oct. 28, he has been All-Day Rod. Boras and his prized client tower over this offseason, as the sport will be in a constant mode of awaiting the agent's next move. The agent's last move was north from Miami, where he had spent the weekend in strategy sessions with Rodriguez. Boras was known to be on scene at the meetings, but hadn't made a lobby appearance as of early evening. Not that anything concrete regarding A-Rod will come out of these meetings -- primarily a forum for GMs to address state-of-the-game issues -- but even the impasse got off to a slow start Monday without the presence of one of the teams perceived to have bona fide interest in him. The Los Angeles Dodgers were too busy introducing their new manager on the West Coast, who is the same as Rodriguez's old manager. Dodgers GM Ned Colletti was expected to arrive in the evening -- the reason Joe Torre's unveiling had been an early 10 a.m. PT event -- to start facing questions about prospects of rebuilding his offense around A-Rod. Besides having an obvious need for a third baseman -- the Dodgers used no fewer than eight players there last season, none for more than 53 games -- the Dodgers would also appear to satisfy one of the prerequisites for any team to consider Rodriguez: Room for revenue growth to justify a contract with a reported $350 million starting point. How to convince teams that such an investment would pay off in greater income from a myriad of sources is a key part of Boras' selling strategy. The Dodgers have led the National League in attendance four straight seasons and have drawn 3 million-plus in eight consecutive seasons, yet still have empty seats to fill. Even this season's gate of 3,857,036 represented "only" 85 percent of 55,000-seat Dodger Stadium's capacity. By contrast, the Angels, another team purportedly with Rodriguez on its radar, have filled their park to 95-plus percent capacity four straight seasons. With the exception of a select few others, of course, all the GMs here are like kids with their noses pressed against the bakery window when it comes to A-Rod. Most either haven't the need or the means to entertain the thought of making a play for him. Others, like the Mets' Omar Minaya, can't afford not to keep Rodriguez on the plate, if only to satisfy public expectations. Minaya said Monday night that the Mets continue to track Rodriguez as "one of the free agents on the market, and we're keeping an eye on all of them, to see how they fit into the club. He's like any other guy." Minaya held onto that, even while conceding that the Mets don't have a fit at either of Rodriguez's two positions. "No," Minaya said, "third base is not a position of need. Shortstop? No, not that either. We're very happy with David Wright and Jose Reyes, the best young players in the game at those positions." Yet the Mets continue to "look at Rodriguez," with Minaya mysteriously adding that they do "not need to fill third base ... today." That sounded like a general statement, not a suggestion that a possible deal could create an opening for Rodriguez. Yet, with many teams in the market for a third baseman and upgrading the pitching staff ranking as Minaya's Job No. 1 ... who knows? Interestingly, Minaya is one of the few GMs who has had the experience of vesting as much as one-fourth of his payroll in one player -- essentially the commitment Rodriguez would require. As the Mets executive recalled, a quarter of his Montreal payrolls -- Minaya served as the Expos' GM from 2002 through 2004 -- went to Vladimir Guerrero. A lot of Minaya's cohorts would have a hard time tying up that much in one player, with Andy MacPhail, the Orioles' president of baseball operations, saying that he doesn't "see one player -- no matter how good the player is -- making that much of a difference." Minaya did flatly say that Boras was not among the agents with whom he had met Monday. Those other clubs with a need at the hot corner certainly hope the Yankees will go back on their word and try to reconcile with Rodriguez, rather than drive up the price -- either in free-agent dollars or trade value -- of other third basemen. The Yankees, from the Steinbrenners to GM Brian Cashman, had said they would cut off Rodriguez if he opted out. Boras called, and the poker game continues. The New York club is confident, and there is supporting evidence, even if much of it is only theoretical, that no other club has deep enough pockets to match even the extension the Bombers were prepared, but never got, to offer A-Rod -- reportedly five years for about $140 million. The agent is just as convinced the Yankees won't be able to stay out of it, simply wanting a playing field where they can call the shots. Boras is brilliant enough to allow that illusion, while still getting his way. For now, as these meetings gain steam, Boras pledged to be clandestine. Following the Miami skull sessions with Rodriguez, he told The Associated Press, "We're going to keep the information and the dialogues with the clubs private and confidential as we go forward." That won't keep everyone from having a hunch or an opinion. Even Saturday Night Live weighed in on A-Rod, with "Weekend Update" anchor Seth Meyers proclaiming A-Rod "a great fit for teams with money to burn who don't like to win." Eventually, someone is going to "win" A-Rod, and expect him to contribute to that other kind of winning. -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 203.64.49.5