Will Steinbrenners strategy backfire? He is playing hardball, banking on Jeter's loyalty to the franchise.....?He honestly believes that Jeter will not walk. Now Mariano Rivera has been thrown into the mix. He wants two years and Hank only wants to give him one. It is really starting to get ugly. Will Hank's ego cost him the face of the Yankees as well as the greatest closer in baseball history? | |
I have to say that I am very disappointed. You'd think after they shabby way they treated Bernie Williams that the Steinbrenner boobs would take stock of what they have. Jeter is the most recognizable Yankee since the Mick. Can you even IMAGINE that the pre-Steinbrenner owners would let Mantle go to the Diamondbacks? Loyalty BOTH WAYS should count for something. If they are so mercenary as to let him go (and or Mo) then the venom spewed at the organization is probably true to a great extent.
I hate passionately anything Steinbrenner.
Guess maybe Hank's trying to firmly seat himself as the" guy" who runs the Yankees...Not merely "the guy who (partly) inherited " the Yankees.It's hard to get a handle on this guy's personality sometimes-he strikes me as being a bit wreckless.While his father was outspoken at times -occasionally brutally honest-he never spewed some of the drivel that Hank comes out with-with makes me wonder if the guy's firing on all cylinders-maybe he can't make the connection between a career Yankee and team leader and ...say...some other player who wants a big contract-probably based on one good year.So Hank's waving Jeter's mediocre numbers from last year around and saying "well he's not worth IT and not getting IT from me".
Perhaps he saw the handling of the Bernie Williams deal as the best way to go about it...It's still a sour point with some Yankee fans I know that they didn't do much more than offer him an invite to spring training as a non-roster player back in 2007.That may have been a bit of retribution for him almost signing with the Red Sox the year before.The thing is the Yankees (management)know he's not "worth" as much(with all the tangibles factored in-career Yankee-etc.) to another team-so they hold the cards-the prospect of him leaving are low right now-but as time passes there's a chance Jeter could -perhaps- actually go somewhere else;it's not unheard of for guys (in all pro sports)who played their whole career in one city to leave late in their career-for various reasons.Consider also the fact that a guy like AJ Burnett will collect 16.5 million from the Yankees at age 36.
Rivera on the other hand hasn't shown any slight of hand that would indicate age is catching up with him.If he chose to make it known he'd go elsewhere the bidders would line up.
No. What team in baseball is going to pay Jeter and Rivera the money that they want? Both aren't getting any younger. It is either the Yankees or retirement. I hope they stay as Yankees, but if they decide to walk, they will likely walk into retirement.
Jeter and Rivera won't walk. And Steinbrenner won't let them.
Of course they have to talk tough. When you're negotiating a contract worth tens of millions of dollars, you have to use every tactic you can. And that includes acting tough for the press.
But it is absolutely inconceivable that Jeter or Rivera would join any team other than the Yankees next year.
It may, but Yankees are the only team willing to overpay for Jeter. Rivera should be given what he wants because he has shown no sign of slowing.
There is very little market for Jeter, and no other team is going to give him anything close to the contract that the Yankees will inevitably overpay him with.
Don't fret Yankee fans, Jeter will be there next year.
No other team is interested in Jeter. The Yankees brass know this.
Jeter will resign with the Yankees.
One reason being that this is getting too dramatic and realistically, both sides WILL agree.
Also, not many other teams want to pay Jeter all he is asking for.
Yankees will resign both.
This has the makings of becoming a nightmare for the franchise, but this is what he wants and it could be his undoing.
This guy, Hankenstein, will eventually help the Mets take the city back, just wait 3 more years.
I really don't think so.
In the end, both Mariano and Dj will get their money and an option year or two. This drama thats being played in the media circus will end soon and we all can get back to saying how all sports figures get paid way too much and yada yada yada ........does is keep you from watching?
