ESPNEWS: A-Rod has torn labrum

I found this report while searching on Twitter.

As posted on KFFL:

ESPNews reports New York Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez (hip) has a torn labrum in his hip, according to his agent, Scott Boras.

And here's a read-up of the acetabular labrum from Wikipedia:

The acetabular labrum (glenoidal labrum of the hip joint or cotyloid ligament in older texts) is a ring of cartilage that surrounds the acetabulum (the socket of the hip joint).

Its function is to deepen the acetabulum, making it more difficult for the head of the femur to slip out of place (sublux).

Brian Cashman will address the media soon, so I will post any updates if necessary.

Manny is nuts (but we knew that already)

Last night, there was word that the Dodgers "suggested" a one-year, $25 million offer to Manny Ramirez. Any sane person most likely would have jumped at seeing such an offer.

Not Ramirez.

Ramirez, who already turned down a two-year, $45 million offer, immediately said no. As a result, he is about 10 days away from being unemployed when pitchers and catchers have to report.

What on earth is he looking for? Is he just getting bad advice from Scott Boras, or is he truly insane? I doubt any team will play him close to $25 million annually this late in the game.

And no, I'm not advocating for his signing here. That ship has sailed. But I'll post his hat picture anyway. I missed having fun with these pictures.

Lowe focus of Boras meeting

In keeping up with the "Brian Cashman met with/to meet with..." theme, Cashman met with super agent Scott Boras on Thursday. According to the Daily News' Mark Feinsand, a source said Derek Lowe was the focus of the meeting, but other Boras clients, Oliver Perez and Mark Teixeira were also discussed.

Some red flags with Lowe: He will turn 36 in June, before last season, his ERA was pretty high in the light-hitting, weak NL West and his 2003 and 2004 numbers with the Red Sox in the powerful AL East were mediocre at best.

However, he eats up innings and doesn't miss starts. I wouldn't mind him, but I'd just be watchful of giving him a lot of money over a long period of time.

Update - 12:05 p.m.: According to Tyler Kepner, Cashman met with Teixeira in Washington last night.

What Mets fans are "just sayin'" about A-Rod

My good friend Andrew over at The 'Ropolitans has this take on the Alex Rodriguez situation.

He makes a valid argument. Scott Boras knows what he's doing by trying to get the Mets involved. In the long run, however, the Mets will realize that they don't need him.

Rodriguez wants the door to remain open

From Mark Feinsand:

Alex Rodriguez's career in pinstripes came to an end when he opted out of his contract on Sunday night. Or did it?

The Yankees have made it clear that they have no plans to bid on Rodriguez when free agency gets underway, but a source with knowledge of the situation said Rodriguez is hoping that the Bombers reconsider their stance.

"Alex wants the Yankees to be a part of this, because the opt-out was not done with the intention of saying goodbye to the Yankees," said the source. "Alex wants to see what his market value is, but that doesn't mean he necessarily wants to leave the Yankees." (New York Daily News)

If this were true, Scott Boras wouldn't have given Brian Cashman 10 minutes between voicemails and text messages. If this were true, Rodriguez would control Boras and tell him not to make any moves during Game 4 of the World Series. If this were true, Rodriguez would have negotiated an extension on his own.

I'm not buying this one bit. Rodriguez knew opting out of his contract would result in cutting ties with the Yankees.

Alex Rodriguez is done as a New York Yankee.

Cashman stands his ground

Brian Cashman said, with the backing of ownership, that the Yankees would not pursue Alex Rodriguez as a free agent if he opts out of his contract.

Cashman has been saying that for eight months. But now it’s with the support of the Steinbrenner family. (LoHud Yankees Blog)

Scott Boras will soon notice that he won't be able to get what he's asking for from any team. It's good to see that the Yankees won't be fooled by the games Boras and Rodriguez will try to play this offseason.

The Rodriguez situation

The news has been littered with talk of Alex Rodriguez's possible impending free agency. For a team teetering at .500 in the middle of July, this is the last thing this team needs. Whatever the Yankees decide to do with Rodriguez in November will work itself out then.

If the Yankees are serious about making a run at the Wild Card, I don't want to hear reports from the Yankees' camp that they are willing to negotiate during the season with Rodriguez and Scott Boras. Boras has since said that they are not interested in talking during the season.

In an interesting twist, Peter Abraham has reported that the idea that the Yankees would negotiate in-season was overblown.

I was told there is no chance the Yankees would negotiate with Rodriguez and not Posada and Rivera. It sounds like the Yankees just wanted it known they were interested in an extension. From both a team and personal standpoint, Alex is doing the right thing by waiting (source).

To increase the distractions, The Daily News reported today that the Yankees have told Rodriguez that if he opts out, he will not be able to re-sign with them.

A source told the Daily News that the Bombers have made it clear to A-Rod and his agent, Scott Boras, that they have no intention in taking part in a free-agent bidding war for the two-time American League MVP, and that if he chooses to opt out of his current contract and open the bidding to the rest of baseball, his days in pinstripes will be over.

Rodriguez has until 10 days after the World Series - Nov.10 at the latest - to opt out of the contract.

With the Texas Rangers, A-Rod's former team, set to contribute more than $30million to the $81 million that Rodriguez will make on the final three years of his current deal, the Yankees would be on the hook for that money if they were to sign him to a brand-new pact, as Texas would no longer be responsible for it should the contract be dissolved.

Rodriguez reiterated yesterday that he has no plans to negotiate a new deal during the season, setting up a potential showdown this fall between the Bombers and the third baseman (source).

I don't really know how true this could be, especially considering Abraham's report last night. This whole "story" is ridiculous and I just want the Yankees to concentrate on trying to win and catch the Cleveland Indians.

The last thing this struggling team needs is to be bogged-down in an ugly battle between the front office and Rodriguez in the middle of the season. Also, even though the preliminary report that the Yankees would consider negotiating in-season was "way overblown," it could still send a strong message to free agents-to-be Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada. Both were told that their contracts would not be negotiated during Spring Training.

Overall, I find this whole news blitz to be a non-story.