|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Franchise player Rodriguez may be the man, but he's only one man
Alex Rodriguez signed a 10-year contract Monday with the Texas Rangers for the unprecedented sum of $252 million. The deal is the richest in sports history and the total dollars dwarf the eight-year, $123.8 million deal that the Colorado Rockies gave left-hander Mike Hampton only three days ago. CNNSI.com's Mark Morgan caught up with baseball insider Mike Berardino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel at the winter meetings in Dallas to get his take on the historic contract. Mark Morgan: Even long-time baseball observers are shocked at the terms of this contract, aren't they? Mike Berardino: Sure, Mark, because for more than a year you had been hearing 10 years, $200 million as kind of the outside figure for A-Rod. Now he blows that away and it's $252 million, perhaps as much as double the closest offer that any other team was willing to make. The other fact about A-Rod is that this now represents almost the entire franchise value of the Texas Rangers, which was recently estimated at $294 million. I'm surprised that [agent] Scott Boras didn't insist on the other $42 million.
Morgan: Alex Rodriguez is considered by most people to be the best all-around player in the baseball, but yet he can only have a finite impact on each individual game, can't he? Berardino: Sure, this is still baseball. You have to remember I talked to a personnel man from another team [Monday] who said this is not Allen Iverson who can take 30 shots a game in the NBA, this is not Mike Modano of [owner] Tom Hicks' Dallas Stars who can fire on goal at will. A-Rod, as great as he is, will only get five at-bats in a typical regulation game, only handle four or five or maybe six chances at short. As great as he is, he can't hit every time and every inning. He's only one player and there're serious questions elsewhere on that roster. Morgan: Specifically with the pitching, when you look at that. You can talk about hitting all you want and, obviously, you add A-Rod to that lineup and it is really impressive. But you feel the Rangers shouldn't print up World Series tickets just yet? Berardino: I wouldn't for two reasons: the age factor, when A-Rod plays in an infield with Andres Galarraga, Randy Velarde and Ken Caminiti, he'll be at least 12 years younger than the other guys. That's incredible to me. Also that projected starting rotation that [manager] Johnny Oates will take into next season posted a 5.19 ERA last year. Doug Davis, Ryan Glynn, Darren Oliver -- do those guys sound like World Series pitchers to you? Not to me. That's why I think there're still questions and I still like Oakland and Seattle better in the AL West.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
