From the Department of Fairness comes the following.  After the World Series in 2000 you know that one, don’t you, the Mets had the opportunity to sign Alex Rodriguez as their short stop. Even as far back as a year before, there was a headline exclaiming “Shea-Rod”.  I think it was in the News, anyway the article talked about how much A-Rod wanted to play for the Mets.  Met fans were drooling at the potential of having Alex Rodriguez join Mike Piazza in their lineup even if it meant saying goodbye to defensive wizard Ray Ordonez who pretty much had worn out his welcome mat by then anyway.

During the winter meetings, Steve Phillips had one meeting with Scott Boras, A-Rod’s ruthless agent.  When Phillips emerged, he was waving a white towel basically saying the Mets had no interest and they were out of the A-Rod sweepstakes.  Mets fans were shocked.  Many GMs respected Phillips’s decisions because of the ridiculous demands that were made in the meeting.  The money was outrageous plus there were other incentives like an A-Rod promotional tent during spring training, a personal jet, and other really outrageous stuff.  But the main argument that Steve Phillips had made was that having A-Rod on the team would have created a one and twenty-four situation, a selfish scenario that was not conducive to a winning team. 

At the time, many assumed this was simply an excuse for Fred Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday (Mets co-owners at the time) to not have to commit to the money that Boras was demanding.  At the very least why didn’t the Mets counter offer?  If A-Rod truly wanted to play for the team he rooted for growing up as he had claimed, then why not throw the ball back in their court with a lower offer than the one Boras proposed?  That always appeared odd to me.  Because let’s face it, we never really bought the story that A-Rod was a selfish guy, that couldn’t have been the reason.  Many critics agreed with Phillips, not so much for A-Rod’s selfish aspect but for the money involved.  Most felt that kind of money would be better spent on pitching.  Eventually, the Texas Rangers swooped in and signed Alex for 250 million for 10 years, still to this day, the largest contract ever given to one player.

The fact that the Mets did not at least try to negotiate for A-Rod began to haunt them right away.  Not making significant upgrades over the off season such as not being able to re-sign Mike Hampton proved to be a bad thing.  The Mets had a poor season in 2001, a year after they made it to the World Series.  The Mets began to come on late that year but fell short at the very end when the Braves, with help from Amando Benitez and John Franco, dashed all hopes of making a return to the post season.  It was amazing that the Mets finished the season over .500.  Things got even worse in the following years.  Once again the Mets slipped below .500 and wallowed in the bottom half of the division where so much of their history had been spent.  What would those seasons have been like if the Mets had signed A-Rod?  Many Mets fans wondered but of course we would never know…or would we. 

Of course the Yankees in their never ending quest to compile every all star currently playing baseball traded a very talented Alfonso Soriano for A-Rod two years ago and Mets fans everywhere cringed. Once again, George Steinbrenner figured out a way to embarrass the Mets and at the same time dramatically improve his offense, something that was totally unnecessary.  And of course A-Rod wanted out of Texas so bad he committed to moving to third base since there was no way Jeter would ever move from short. 

A-Rod has played well in New York, the stats support that.  Last year he was the American League most valuable player.  But with all his talent and what he is supposed to exemplify, it appears that A-Rod and the Yankees are like oil and water.  The Sports Illustrated article written by Tom Verducci points out something about A-Rod which Steve Phillips, yes Steve Phillips, hinted at six years ago at the winter meetings.  The twenty-four and one scenario that Steve talked about is alive and well in the Yankees clubhouse.  Reading that article, it’s not hard to come away with the thought that most of the Yankee players don’t like A-Rod.  Even Joe Torre is frustrated by him.  He is aloof, quiet, and apparently obsessed by what people think of him.  Now if you’re excited about the prospect of the Yankees in turmoil, forget about it.  With Joe Torre’s calming presence and the amount of talent on that team, it’s not going to happen.  And it’s not like A-Rod is Alberto Alomar.  He’s a great player who simply cannot figure out how to fit in.  He has yet to show consistent clutch play and that is what has been frustrating the Yankee players as well as their hierarchy.  He simply has not been the leader that the Yankees thought they were getting.

The Yankees, like the Mets, are in the playoffs.  Obviously A-Rod has not upset the applecart.  Had Phillips signed him long ago, who’s really to say what would have happened?  What kind of pressure would he have had to cope with on the Mets?  Mets fans would have been just as merciless if not more so than Yankee fans if he did not live up to the billing a huge contract would have predicated.  If he sulks now on a team that always makes the playoffs, what would he have been like on the cellar dwelling Mets.  In the past, I protected against criticizing Steve Phillips when it came to A-Rod.  I simply assumed that Doubleday and Wilpon were too scared of the money they would have had to shell out.  I’m sure that’s still somewhat true but maybe it’s also fair to say that Steve Phillips had done his homework and figured out that at that price, A-Rod on the Mets was simply too risky.

We now have the benefit of hindsight. Who would you rather have at shortstop now, A-Rod or Jose Reyes, a fan favorite who never seems to lose that smile and has the potential to be one of the best players in the game.  Sometimes it just takes times for things to work out for the best.  I for one am glad that A-Rod is the Yankees problem. 

Extra innings:  Here’s one for the water cooler.  Now that the Yankees have backed into the playoffs, the Yankee fans will, I’m sure, pontificate the virtues of the great Yankees vs. the lucky Mets.  Here are some interesting facts to counter with.  Look at the standings below. These are the records of the AL and NL Eastern division teams since the All Star break.  Look how the Mets had to compete with three out of five teams over .500 including a Phillies team that is now tied for the wild card.  Then look at the AL East.  Except for the Yankees, the others have been below .500 including a Red Sox team that simply imploded.  

Let’s face it, the AL East, except for the Yankees, is pretty dreadful.