| The hottest rumor here in Boston.........and its a hot one is that Alex Rodriguez for Manny Ramirez is all but a done deal.
After that, Nomar Garciaparra will be traded to Anahiem for Garrett "the most underrated player in MLB" Anderson.
Why this works for both sides you ask? (I know Freak will ask).
[b:post_uid0]advantage for Texas[/b:post_uid0] Tom Hicks, the owner of the Rangers is dying to lower his payroll. His Dallas Stars are killing him financially and saving money on his baseball team translates to easier to take a loss on his Stars.
By trading A-Rod straight up for Manny, Hicks right there will save over 85 million dollars over the life of the contract. That is money that can be turned around and spent on pitching and other positional needs. Or he can just not spend it at all and absorb the hockey loss completely.
It also doesn't help Hicks situation that A-Rod is at complete odds with Buck Showalter, the Rangers manager. He also has a no-trade clause in his contract. A-Rod has been quoted as saying that he will only like to be traded to Boston, The Yankees or the Orioles. He will only play for NY is Jeter moves to another position, Jeter has already said "Yeah Riiiiiiight". Baltimore has also expressed that they are not interested.
That only leaves Boston, who he has said is his number 1 choice altogether.
[b:post_uid0]advantage for Boston[/b:post_uid0] Nomar is a free agent at the end of '04 and is more than likely looking for Jeter money (17 million) Boston simply can't afford to pay Nomar that much money and still have Manny, Pedro, Schilling etc....on their team. They are also facing impending free agency from the likes of Jason Varitek, Derek Lowe, Trot Nixon and many other key players on their team.
By trading for A-Rod they actually will save 10 million bucks. Manny and Nomar make a combined 31 million next year. They get A-Rod and in turn have additional cash to spend on the players that they need despritely need to retain. Most likely Garrett Anderson would move on somewhere else after '04.
I personally would be happier than a pig in poop if these deals went down.
I don't know what I will do with my Manny Ramirez offical jersey though. :p
SO let me know what's the hot topic on your favorite team. I love baseball talk
Wooooooooooooooo!!! |