A-Rod can write own ticket

By Wallace Matthews
Newsday
September 6, 2007

Just give him his money, OK?

The negotiations for the services of Alex Rodriguez ended last night at about 9 p.m, when he hit Jarrod Washburn's 3-and-2 fastball out of the park leading off the seventh to tie the Yankees-Mariners game at 2.

The price went up exponentially about a half-hour later when, batting for the second time in the inning, Rodriguez lined Brandon Morrow's first pitch into the lower leftfield seats to cap an eight-run explosion. His final line: One MRI, two home runs, two curtain calls in the same inning, a Yankee Stadium record that truly will never be broken - anyone care to try for three? - and one general manager at the mercy of a tenacious ballplayer with an even more tenacious agent.

And how much should we make the check out for, Mr. Boras?

In one of the most dramatic performances by a New York athlete since Reggie hit three homers on three pitches, A-Rod melded elements of Willis Reed, Kirk Gibson and Mr. October to create a September night to remember at Yankee Stadium.

Three hours before the game, he was limping on an ankle rendered swollen and sore by the bulk of Adrian Beltre, who had rolled over onto it Tuesday night. Soon afterward, he was being hustled, against his will, across the river to Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital, and at 5:15 p.m. was surrounded not by fans or teammates but by the inside of an MRI cylinder.

At 6 p.m., he was back at the Stadium jogging gingerly in the outfield, and at 6:05 p.m. he was skipping past a group of reporters gathered outside the door of the Yankees clubhouse, saying, "I got to go talk to the manager."



Rodriguez homers to lead off the seventh inning.

He was in the lineup, out of it, then back in it again, only this time as the DH, not the third baseman. And before his night was over, the guy who could barely walk was able to bound up the dugout steps twice to acknowledge the chants of "MVP!" from the crowd.

"I can't even relate to it," said Derek Jeter, who was reduced to open-mouthed fanhood, flapping his hands like a seal waiting for lunch as Rodriguez crossed the plate following the second home run. "It's unbelievable. I haven't seen anything like that in all my years of playing."

With the two homers, numbers 47 and 48, Rodriguez passed Mel Ott, another guy who hit off one foot, on the all-time home run list. More importantly for the Yankees, he established that for one of the few times in their history, the player will be in control when it comes time to hash out a deal.

A-Rod opted in yesterday and he will certainly opt-out at the end of this season, in which his third MVP seems assured and 60 home runs in reach.

Then it will be up to Brian Cashman and the Yankees, who have already declared they will not negotiate with A-Rod and Boras if they do, in fact, exercise the escape hatch in their contract, to swallow hard and produce the cash.

If Alex Rodriguez was worth a quarter of a billion dollars seven years ago, what will he be worth now?

The Yankees can only hope it will be a sum they can live with, because they no longer can afford not to pay it.

I know, I wrote that the Yankees would be better off letting Rodriguez walk and using the savings to shore up the pitching staff, but, like Cashman soon will, I reserve the right to change my mind.

To sell A-Rod the first time around, Boras wrote a 60-plus page prospectus detailing his assets. This time around, he may have to write the Encyclopedia Brittanica.

And Steve Phillips thought Boras had a lot of demands the last time? Wait till this time. He wanted a merchandising tent? How about an A-Rod store on Fifth Avenue. Private jet last time, Air Force One this time. An office on the stadium grounds last time? How about his name on the new stadium?

This time, Rodriguez and Boras are in the driver's seat, and they are about to drive right over the Yankees' front office. They've gotten away with murder for the first four years of Rodriguez's deal, relieved of $10 million of A-Rod's salary by the Rangers. That means they got the use of the best player in baseball for a little more than 60 cents on the dollar. All that will change.

To think there was a time when it was believed the Yankees could never win a championship with A-Rod. Now, it is obvious they aren't winning anything without him.

For that alone, the Yankees better give him what he wants, when he wants it.