A-Rod

Sportscenter has been running a short series about where A-Rod might end up next season. As you all know, with Scott Boras as his agent, he is going to demand something around 10 years/$300 million for his services. He might not be quite worth all that money, but the fact remains that he is a difference maker in any lineup. He also might be a good centerpiece for The Giants starting 9 at May Field, where left handed hitter come to die. There only seem to be a few contenders for A-Rod (not really surprising seeing that he is demanding .3 billion), The Yankees, The Red Sox (oh my!), The Angels, The Cubs, and The Giants. It seems very unlikely that A-Rod will stay in New York. After being the goat of the town, and being taunted like he was, A-Rod wants to stick it to the fans who gave him so much stress. At times, it didn't seem like he was well adapted for the New York media. The Red Sox are very much contenders in this race. They will be looking for a 3rd baseman because Mike Lowell is likely to depart, and A-Rod is as good as they come. However, with their payroll already stretched to the limit with recent signings of J.D. Drew, and Dice-K, I'm not too sure that The Red Sox can afford such a slugger. If they did sign him, they would easily have the most scary offense in all of baseball, but I really don't see it happening. The Angels seem like the most likely candidate for A-Rod. They certainly have the money, and their current third baseman Chone Figgins, can easily be moved to the outfield where he has lots of experience. They could then move Vlad permanently to DH and have a FIERCE lineup. The Cubs to me seem impossible. Their organization is in the process of being sold, so I don't think the Wrigley Company (their current owners) are going to really have much interest in making the team better this offseason.

And last but definately not least..The Giants. They definately will have a hole at 3rd base with Pedro Feliz and his sub .300 OBP. And they really are in need of some power, and generally offensive production. Besides Barry Bonds who will obviously be elsewhere, their leader in Slugging Percentage was Randy Winn! Randy Winn!!! When your best power hitter had 14 bombs you know you are bound for a lot of 1-0 losses. A-Rod's Slugging Percentage on the other hand is .645, and he has average 47 home runs over the past 7 seasons. In fact, he has 14 home runs before the calender turned to May. He seems like a perfect fit for The Giants expect for the whole .3 billion thing. We are talking about a team where half its payroll goes to 2 players (A-Rod and Zito). I don't think a team has ever won a championship that way, but in a year or two with the 1-2-3-4 punch of Cain, Lincecum, Lowry, Zito and an offense carried by A-Rod, I think they would have a chance.