Comments on: The “the Yankees want to void A-Rod’s contract” stories are nothing more than red meat for angry fans

By: Jeremy T

Jeremy T — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:58:16 +0000

I doubt the union would allow any clause like that, though

By: Jeremy T

Jeremy T — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:40:31 +0000

Oh definitely, I’m of the opinion that it’s not even possible to buy a championship, and even if it was, the Yankees haven’t done it. I was willing to allow ’09 because they had just signed 3 huge contracts that offseason, and because I was arguing against “they have bought so many rings” as opposed to the tired old “they only win because of money” claim.

By: jolink653

jolink653 — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:39:53 +0000

They built the late 90s dynasty on prospects and under-the-radar free agent pickups…How is that buying rings? And the other Yankees dynasty teams were built on prospects and trades before free agency even existed

By: captainwisdom8888

captainwisdom8888 — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 03:31:04 +0000

Im with you man, no arguing from me. Just PURE JOY that steinbrenner is rolling in his grave like a dollar dog

suck it ny

By: raysfan1

raysfan1 — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 02:53:10 +0000

Perhaps. It would also create a clear financial incentive for the player to not use them. I realize there is no perfect solution.

By: autmorsautlibertas

autmorsautlibertas — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 02:48:08 +0000

You don’t have to void A-Rod’s contract to get rid of him. Bench the bum until he asks for his release. He cannot sit the bench for long. He is aging rapidly and his reliance on performance enhancing drugs indicates a self awareness of decllining power. At this point, 714, 755, and 762 might be out of his reach without a significant number of at-bats.

By: thedunnedeal24

thedunnedeal24 — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 02:25:06 +0000

Giving a team the option to void anyone who fails a PED test would actually incentivize signing a suspected PED user. Under the current rule, a team must take it as part of the calculation of how a player might age/decline. But if a team knew there was a chance they’d have an out if a steroid user was falling off and got caught? That externalizes a lot of the risk on that end.

By: churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged

churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 01:44:24 +0000

If he gets suspended, he’d serve it while he was on the DL so he’d miss zero time.

By: churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged

churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 01:43:47 +0000

Outside of 2009

Fielders – 3/9 FA
Starting Pitching – 2/5 FA

So 5/25 players were big name free agents (Sabathia, Burnett, Teixeira, Matsui and Damon). The rest were either acquired via trade or from the farm system. [note I include Arod in the trade category b/c that's how he was acquired, and no one was going to come close to that absurd contract the Yanks gave him for round 2]

Why do people still act like the Yanks never develop anyone and just buy 9/9 fielders and 5/5 starting pitchers?

By: raysfan1

raysfan1 — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 00:57:27 +0000

Only if it can be proven (like a written statement) that they, the Yankees, were offer inning him his contract based upon his being PED-free and Rodriguez in turn asserting in those negotiations that he was. He and his agent (Boras at the time) would be idiots to sign such a statement. It’s pretty certain there’s no PED clause in the contract itself either, or the Yankees would not have to look for an out from the contract. Anything he said in his interview with Bob Costas or any other interview is not relevant to the contract.

That said, I really think every professional athlete’s contract should include a PED clause, allowing recoup meant of signing and performance bonuses, and the option of voiding remaining years.

By: yankeepunk3000

yankeepunk3000 — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 00:42:05 +0000

yes but with a 50 game band he won’t get paid. The Yankees would save about 8 million dollars this year, which is A-OK buy me and the fans

By: randygnyc

randygnyc — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 00:21:03 +0000

Can it be voided under the premise that the Yankees entered into a contract in which Arod misrepresented himself (essentially defrauding the Yankees) with the intention of deceiving?

By: DJ MC

DJ MC — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 23:47:48 +0000

I just have to say that Red Meat For Angry Fans would be an excellent title if Mike Lupica ever put out a collection of columns.

By: Jeremy T

Jeremy T — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 23:36:43 +0000

Hey, if they do give him a suspension, when does it start? He was going to miss the first half (at least) of the season regardless.

By: thebadguyswon

thebadguyswon — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 23:30:14 +0000

What a mess the Yankees are.

By: yousuxxors

yousuxxors — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 23:01:57 +0000

they have really only bought one

By: Jeremy T

Jeremy T — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 23:01:43 +0000

I’d argue that they bought playoff appearances way more than rings. Outside of 2009 and maybe the two in the 70′s, they haven’t won the WS with all that many free agents. I don’t really feel like rehashing this same argument again, though, so I’ll stop now.

By: captainwisdom8888

captainwisdom8888 — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 22:51:50 +0000

hahahaha i love seeing the yankees have to deal with this. They have bought so many rings. Buy your way outta this

By: Jeremy T

Jeremy T — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 22:48:48 +0000

As much as I would love to see his salary off the books, it's simply not gonna happen. I mean, really, I'm pretty sure that the most likely way for it to happen would be for someone to frame A-Rod for a few failed tests and get him banned for life. Now that would be a scandal.