THE A-ROD SOAP OPERA SAGA

Are there many level-headed Yankees’ fans out there that are not relieved that A-Rod will not be playing in 2014 (barring a very unlikely Federal Court decision, based on the official MLB/Players Association's Collective Bargaining Arbitration Hearing)?  I, for one, am soooooo tired of all of this!!! 

For years, I have tried to respect his past abilities.  He, like Barry Bonds, was a superstar that never needed to cheat to achieve a great career.  Players like Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa apparently chose to cheat to become undeserving superstars during their final years, while A-Rod, and Bonds apparently chose to cheat to remain superstars during their final years.

Here are the numbers surrounding today’s outcome:

162 games (full 2014 season) suspension (reduced from 211 games originally suspended)

$22,131,148 salary suspension for A-Rod / savings for Yankees during the 2014 season

$6,000,000 additional savings for the Yankees during the 2014 season (assuming A-Rod would have hit 6 homers to attain a career total of 660 homers) activating a contracted bonus

Although, in this country, everyone is innocent until proven guilty, it is evident (for those who have paid attention to the MLB’s Players Association since their existence) that the union has persistently fought and stood by all of their accused players...until they saw the evidence against A-Rod!  That, in itself, is beyond the obvious.  Hence, there's enough for me to believe since I am not privy to the supposed confidential evidence.

 
Now, once again, we have another major step taken towards helping us evaluate the Yankees’ spending and possible attainment of the avoidance of the 2014 luxury tax penalty for exceeding $189 million.  Our next analysis will have to wait until the Tanaka outcome.  Will he sign with the Yankees or one of the many other MLB teams that have bid for his services?  If he does sign with the Yankees, will the Yankees have any leftover money?  If he doesn’t sign, will the Yankees try to contract one or more of the remaining free agents?

There are so many questions that I can’t wait to see answered during the upcoming week/months for this crazy offseason!  I believe that the failed television soap opera writers and the Soap Network should have followed the Yankees’ scripts over the years.  Perhaps, then, they'd both still be in business.  At least we know ratings and bottom-line dollars are drawn to the unscripted Yankees and, for the last decade, A-Rod.  Stay tuned for more episodes!