Wang Joins The Club

Chien-Ming Wang lost his arbitration case yesterday and will earn a 2008 salary of $4 million, instead of the $4.6 million he was seeking.

Join the club, Wanger. That makes four. Nats infielder Felipe Lopez, Rockies pitcher Brian Fuentes and Astros pitcher Jose Valverde lost their arbitration cases this week as well.

I'm wondering if this 0-4 showing has anything to do with the Mitchell Report. Not that I'm suggesting that any of these guys cheated in any manner, but perhaps this is part of the fallout. You know, "guilt by association" or "one bad apple...."

Anyway, Wang has nothing to cry about. According to a statement from Yankee president Randy Levine, after making $489,500 last year, Wang "received the highest arbitration award ever for a first-time arbitration-eligible starting pitcher." Now let's see if he can be the ace everyone thought Job Chamberlain was going to be this year.

The Lady

Yankees Locking Up Cano?

It's being reported by various media outlets that the Yankees and Robinson Cano are discussing a long-term deal. This is unheard of-- as far as the New York Yankees are concerned.

The Yankees have long been known to string their players along, never signing them to long-term deals while they're arbitration-eligible. They've done this with all their players, including their biggest stars, i.e., Bernie Williams.

If this is all true, we may very well be seeing the true beginning of the Hank Steinbrenner Era. Then again, perhaps the're just embarrassed at once again having the highest payroll in the game last year, at $218.3 million. After all, locking up a young player means paying them less in the future.

Whatever the case may be, Cano is worth signing to a long term deal and I hope they get it done.

The Lady

Two Stars Going In Opposite Directions

Barry Bonds is going down, as fast as a juiced-up water balloon. Alex Rodriguez is going up, as fast as his private jet will allow him to. Two men whose names will be forever linked to home-run chases could not have had days more different from each other yesterday.

Bonds has been the victim of a witch hunt, but I could care less. He brought it on himself. Barry, this is what happens to you when you have the attitude you have. People don't like you and they'll do anything and everything to bring you down. You're a modern day Al Capone. They couldn't get Capone on racketeering but they got him on tax evasion. They couldn't indict you on steroids use but they did indict you on perjury and obstruction. So there.

The best thing Alex Rodriguez did this week was crawl back to the Yankees. The Yankees and their stage are the best place to break the all-time career home run record. Assuming that he'll stay healthy, he'll definitely break it in a Yankee uniform.

In other postseason news:

• The Yankees are apparently also looking to sign 2007 World Series MVP Mike Lowell. The experts are saying this is a bad move and I agree. Lowell is a Fenway Park hitter, and you have to stop and wonder why the Red Sox aren't willing to pay Lowell as much as the Yankees would pay him. What do they know that the Yankees don't? Is this Johnny Damon all over again?
• Does the Yankee Captain owe back taxes? The New York State Division of Taxation and Finance is arguing that Derek Jeter had a residence in the state during 2001-03 and, as such, should have paid taxes. He's fighting it, of course. This news comes out now, when no one is likely to notice it? Wow, what a charmed life that guy leads.

The Lady

A-Rod Reaches Out

It's official: Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees are negotiating.

Here's the statement he posted on Arod.com:

"After spending time with Cynthia and my family over these last few weeks, it became clear to me that I needed to make an attempt to engage the Yankees regarding my future with the organization.

"Prior to entering into serious negotiations with other clubs, I wanted the opportunity to share my thoughts directly with Yankees' ownership. We know there are other opportunities for us, but Cynthia and I have a foundation with the club that has brought us comfort, stability and happiness.

"As a result, I reached out to the Yankees through mutual friends and conveyed that message. I also understand that I had to respond to certain Yankees concerns, and I was receptive and understanding of that situation.

"Cynthia and I have since spoken directly with the Steinbrenner family. During these healthy discussions, both sides were able to share honest feelings and hopes with one another, and we expect to continue this dialogue with the Yankees over the next few days."

What does the italicized portion mean? It means that Scott Boras is not allowed to participate in the negotiations. However, Darren Heitner, who writes the very well-done I Want To Be a Sports Agent blog, thinks this doesn't necessarily mean Boras is out in the cold.

It'll be interesting to see what happens!

The Lady

How Does Boras Do It?

Peter Abraham has some interesting things to say today about Alex Rodriguez and Scott Boras. A-Rod, he says should get the blame for Boras' World Series opt-out announcement. A-Rod is his employer and, as such, is the one calling the shots.

That's the way it's supposed to be, of course. So, why do so many players have so much trouble giving orders to Scott Boras? Yankee announcer Michael Kay once mentioned on his radio show that he posed the following question to Scott Boras: "Suppose I hired you as my agent. What would it entail?" Boras told Kay that he'd have to be willing to give him total control of his career. Kay would have to put his absolute trust in Boras and never interfere with what he was doing.

Kay didn't elaborate, but I wondered: Does Boras get something in writing on this from the player? Is that why players seem to be led around on leashes by him?

Actually, there are a few players out there who've mustered the courage to stand up to Boras: Abraham mentions Ron Villone. Kay has talked about how Andruw Jones finally signed with the Braves after his father sat him down and said, "Forget Boras, who do you want to play for?" Finally, there's the, now famous, late night phone call Bernie Williams made to George Steinbrenner while on the verge of signing that Boras-brokered Red Sox deal.

So, it can be done! Scott Boras is human after all.

The Lady

Hey Boras, Stop Your Bluffing

The Alex Rodriguez opt-out happened sooner than most people thought it would and shocked just about everyone. Should it have? No.

The Yankees have steadfastly said they would not negotiate with A-Rod if he opts out of his contract. They've said it so many times that it has become hard not to believe them. Even Scott Boras has commented on how unprecedented the Yankees actions are. The Yankees, it seems, have the upper hand. What else was Boras supposed to do? This was the only way he could wrest control of the situation back to himself: Announcing A-Rod's opt out at the earliest possible moment, during Game 4 of a World Series in which the arch-rival Red Sox were about to sweep.

Boras claimed that not knowing the contract status of key Yankees like Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte contributed to A-Rod's decision to opt out. He also focused on the fact that Hank Steinbrenner said the team was in a "transitional" phase and referred to the Steinbrenner Brothers as "the new owners."

This is transparency to the hilt. Boras knows Hank's comments about transition were just a shot at Joe Torre. He also knows that the Yankees always put a competitive team on the field, year after year. No matter what happens to Rivera, Posada and Pettitte, the Yankees will have a contending team next year. They're always willing to do what it takes for that to happen.

So, stop your bluffing, Scott Boras, and good luck getting A-Rod the contract you want from another team.

The Lady

$6 Billion and Counting

I was just reading an article on CNNMoney.com which says that Baseball will surpass $6 billion in revenues this year. Why is this significant? Because it comes awfully close to the more than $6 billion in revenues reported by the NFL in 2006.

The NFL is the nation's top moneymaking sport and for MLB to be catching up to it in revenues is a very big deal. Now all they have to do is catch up in popularity as well and all will be right with the world.

The Lady

Spending Sprees & Ozzie Decrees

At $189.6 million, the Yankees still have the highest payroll in baseball. However, according to USA Today, other teams are giving them a "run for their money."

Several teams increased their payrolls this past offseason. The Red Sox payroll is now up to $143 million (a 19% increase) with signings that included Daisuke Matsuzaka. The Mets payroll went up by 14%, to $115.2 million. Other teams with payrolls over $100 million this year are The Angels, The Dodgers, the White Sox and, surprisingly, the Mariners. Another surprise: the Marlins payroll, though it's well below $100 million, had the biggest increase this past off-season, $14.9 million to $30.5 million, a 103% increase.

Did Ozzie Guillen read the USA Today article? Probably not. I'm sure he already knew that his team's payroll increased by 6%, to $108.7 million. But that's probably not why he told the Chicago Sun Times that, "If [chairman] Jerry Reinsdorf or [GM] Kenny Williams believes that I didn't do what I was supposed to do at the end of this year, they should fire me." Why did Ozzie say that? Your guess is as good as mine, but Kenny Williams' guess is the best: "...it's Ozzie being Ozzie."

The Lady