Here’s a rhetorical question for everyone:
If you felt betrayed by Alex signing with Texas after his statements about wanting to stay in Seattle, do you feel better or worse knowing that there’s another fan base that feels weirdly betrayed in the same way?
I had a friend once who brutally betrayed me to impress a girl, and that was it — I never trusted or really hung out with him much again, though he remained friends with our mutual friends (if that makes sense) so I did see him, and he was always congenial when we had to be in the same room. And if he’d moved on down the line and stuck a knife in the next guy, as I always expected would happen, I don’ t know if I’d have felt sympathy for them, or as if they’d deserved it because they should have known what was coming, or even if I’d felt some combination of both.
Cost to get Alex: 16m/year + 2-years of a super-prospect at below-market prices
Now.. hmmm… did the Mariners blow $16m this off-season? Um, yup. Do they have the prospects to make a trade like this happen? Yup.
The real problem, of course, is that Alex would never, ever return here, for a couple of reasons:
First, he wants to be on the national stage. He thought that would happen in Texas and it didn’t, so he wants to go to New York where all the media is, et cetera. Seattle is bad for exposure.
Second, the booing. We’ve commented on this idiocy a number of times, but the constant bad conduct towards Alex means that it would be unlikely he’d be willing to waive the no-trade, let alone restructure his deal.
Since we’re late to the party, and you’re probably sick of reading stories about Alex Rodriguez, I’ll make my points brief:
What the Rangers get:
1. Approximately a $16-18 million dollar savings, per year, from 2005-2010.
2. A good second baseman, in his prime, not eligible for free agency for two years.
3. Worse, probably by three to four wins.
What the Yankees get:
1. The best player in the American League for the bargain of 112 million over 7 years.
2. A Rodriguez-Sheffield-Giambi-Williams-Posada middle of the line-up. Good Lord.
3. A monstrous luxary tax bill.
What the Mariners get:
1. A weaker opponent for the 19 games scheduled against Texas.
2. The reality that they have almost no chance at the wild card.
3. Another reason to hate the Yankees.
Could this deal help both teams? Sure. If Texas spends their money well and Soriano continues to perform at a high level, they should be able to replace the difference between the two players with the money saved from Rodriguez’s contract. However, that will require them to make shrewd acquisitions while hoping that the market doesn’t change, and neither of those things are guaranteed. New York simply improves their roster at the cost of an even greater financial burden, but one that they can still make a profit on.