In Scott I Trust

From John Harper on A-Rod:

The regret he suffered when he shunned the Mets in favor of the Rangers in 2000, and the personal conflict that surrounded his decision to break away from agent Scott Boras this past offseason.

“I went for the contract when my true desire was to go play for the Mets,” Rodriguez said with a sigh of his decision to ink his $252 million deal with Texas eight years ago.

As A-Rod described how he failed to take a stand when Boras was negotiating his record pact, he seemed haunted by the idea that in breaking free of the Yankees he could have made another decision based strictly on money and wound up as unhappy as he was in Texas for three years.

It’s amazing how much faith Alex Rodriguez had in Scott Boras. Alex was around 24 when he allowed Boras to make a decision that would ultimately effect almost 10 years of his life (he’s lucky he didn’t stay in Texas). What was he thinking? A-Rod almost reminds me of a child sometimes, as he seems like the kind of guy who is just so insecure and unsure about his own self that he needed Boras to make that decision, the biggest decision in his life, for him.

And what did Boras do? He chose the biggest and most lucrative contract on the table. That’s what he cares about, breaking economic barriers, setting financial benchmarks and amassing wealth, not just for his clients, but for himself. To be honest, it’s sort of troubling to know that A-Rod couldn’t figure this out until the opt-out debacle. He just seems like a socially naive person. Look at this quote about choosing the Yankees:

“So to make the right decision just feels really good,” Rodriguez said, “versus being taken down a road where I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, where am I? Oh, $400 million to play in some place I hate? Great, I’ll blow my — head off.’

That’s harsh. The funny thing is, he let Boras do that before and he almost let him do it again. If I was A-Rod, I would seriously consider switching agents, as they’re supposed to have your best interest in mind, and I’m not talking about financial interests alone. I’m talking about well-being, happiness, family, peace of mind, that type of stuff.

At least A-Rod made the decision on what will likely be his final contract. I guess he can be happy with that, as he has finally come out from Boras’ influential shadow.

Exhibition: Yanks VS. Phillies

Phil Hughes is on the mound. Through 2 innings, he has allowed 1 hit and struck out 3. Yanks are winning, 2-0 thanks to a Jason Giambi home run. Here’s the box score and it’s a live-update if you want to follow along.

Iggy’s Spot, Other News

Kei Igawa is fighting for a roster spot with the Yanks. He has absolutely NO chance of being in the starting rotation, however, now, I think he has the best shot at being the long man. Kat O’Brien outlines Jeff Karstens’ recent troubles (he gave up 4 ER against the Pirates in 3 innings), while Kei Igawa seems to be finishing strong. Against a minor league lineup which featured Jose Tabata, Austin Jackson, and umm… Jose Molina, Igawa completed 4 solid innings, allowing no hits, 1 walk, and striking out 8.

That’s pretty solid work. Karstens has gotten worse as ST has progressed and Igawa seems to have straightened himself out after a terrible beginning. He has a good shot at getting the job simply because he’s owed $4 million and if he’s cut down on his walks, which it looks like he has, then the Yankees will try to get some of their invest back, and if he does a serviceable job, he could be a valuable asset to the team (unbelievably).

In other news:

1) Andy Pettitte’s back is still a bit tight and his next ST start could be further delayed. At this point, you can begin to worry about Pettitte, not necessarily in terms of long-term production, but he is looking questionable for his first scheduled start of the regular season (April 2nd). Either way, I wouldn’t rush to put Joba in there, and whoever the long-man is (if there is one, which, judging from Girardi’s comments would lead you to believe that there will be), then you just stick that guy in there.

2) Next up, a final tidbit for this post, Legends Field, the Yankees’ Spring Training complex, will be renamed this Thursday, in honor of George Steinbrenner. The field will officially be called George M. Steinbrenner Field (Steinbrenner Field for short).

Yu and You

Here’s a very interesting read by Jeff Passan about Yu Darvish and what he means to Japanese culture. Really nice stuff. He’s basically their version of David Beckham, and, as Trey Hillman says in the article, he’s treated like “Fonzie and Elvis.”

And for those on Darvish watch, the 21-year old threw a 10 K shutout last week on opening day, limiting the Chiba Lotte Marines to just 4 hits.

Brett Gardner Claims CF

Jack Curry of the Times has a nice read today on Brett Gardner, the young CF prospect that’s been impressing everyone during ST. Melky has also had a very strong spring, so Gardner doesn’t have a chance over him right now, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get a shot if he lights it up in AAA at the same time Melky has an extended slump.