Actually, word on the street is that A-Rod has been talking to the Yankees without Boras present, which #1) makes this 100x more fascinating to me and #2) is apparently against the CBA, meaning A-Rod may have to fire Boras. Which would be awesome.

Some are calling it a stroke of genius on Cashman's part. There was interest in A-Rod from the Angels early on. Cashman then called the Marlins, asked about Cabrera, leaked to the media that Cabrera may be available, other teams got interested, Cashman backed off, and now the Angels are interested in Cabrera.

Ten years, $275 million says Peter Abraham.

http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2007/11/14/a-rod-slips-leash-and-returns-to-yanks/

Not only do they lose the $21M a year from the Rangers but when they resign him they will have to pay some premium (30-40%) in luxury tax.  Great move for all of us Yankee haters out there.

This is a brilliant move from A-Rod's perspective. He's worth more on the open market and now it seems like he came back to the Yankees on his own accord because he wants to be in pinstripes and told Boras where to shove it. The New York fans will eat this up, I think. It's so brilliant I wouldn't doubt Boras is behind it.

Also- the Rangers weren't paying $21 million a year in A-Rod money; I think they owed $21 million total over the remainder of the contract. $21 million is chump change to the Yanks. And the luxury tax? Please, they were paying that anyways.

Bucs Dugout: expand your vocabulary while enjoying good analysis of bad baseball!

As for A-Rod: what whygavs said.  I'm cynical enough to believe that Boras told A-Rod to do exactly what he's doing to create a groundswell of support in NY (by publicly dissing Boras), which will force the Yankees back into the bidding process.  Having the team with the biggest pockets and biggest impetus to sign him back in the bidding will drive the price way up.  Great PR work.

for what A-Rod and Boras thought he would get. Organizations have gotten a lot smarter since Hicks gave A-Rod his big payday. Nobody wants a $250+million albatross around their nexts breaking personal records while their positions in the division standings continue to drop.

Sure, the Dodgers and Angels have the cash but could they really afford what baggage A-Rod brought to them? The Met's could have had him, but would you want to break up the left side of that infield (Reyes & Wright) for him? The Cubbies blew their budget last year and the White Sox won't move the fences in to make him happy. San Francisco benefitted from Bonds chase to oblivion but do they really want to go through that continual recurring media circus again?

The Yankees need A-Rod just as much as he needed them. He tested the market and it was not to his liking. Better to run back to NY with your tail between your legs than go elsewhere and have another fan base despise you as much as those in NY, Seattle, and Dallas-Fort Worth. Blame it on your mega-agent and let the NY media and Steinbrenners spank you publically until April 1st.  Boras looks just as bad as his client and their "approval ratings" are now at an all time low.

If he'd play third for the Pirates for about half what he's asking the Yankees. I don't get this "A-Rod is trouble" nonsense.

For some reason this reminds me of an old joke. Guy sees a hot girl in a bar and asks her, "Would you screw me for a million dollars?" Girl thinks it over and says, "Sure, why not?" Guy says, "Would you screw me for a dollar?" She says, "What kind of girl do you think I am?" He says, "We've already established that, we're just haggling over the price."

Well, it made sense in an A-Rod context at the time ...