A-Rod Goes To Bat For Himself In Order To Stay In Pinstripes

The Yankees have made it clear that they do not want to deal with good old Scott Boras, the "Hitler" of all agents, who plays his his clients like puppets.

The Yanks said they had closed the door but A-Rod stuck his foot back in before it was to late. He left a statement on his official web-site, arod.com (11/14/2007 3:27 PM ET ), which read as follows:

"After spending time with Cynthia and my family over these last few weeks, it became clear to me that I needed to make an attempt to engage the Yankees regarding my future with the organization.

Prior to entering into serious negotiations with other clubs, I wanted the opportunity to share my thoughts directly with Yankees' ownership. We know there are other opportunities for us, but Cynthia and I have a foundation with the club that has brought us comfort, stability and happiness.

As a result, I reached out to the Yankees through mutual friends and conveyed that message. I also understand that I had to respond to certain Yankees concerns, and I was receptive and understanding of that situation.

Cynthia and I have since spoken directly with the Steinbrenner family. During these healthy discussions, both sides were able to share honest feelings and hopes with one another, and we expect to continue this dialogue with the Yankees over the next few days."

The question is, "If he wanted to return, why was it going to cost the Yankees a minimum of 350 million dollars for a face to face negotation and now he is contacting the Yankees himself?"

Did Boras tell his key client that they could make more money out on the market and noone took a bite at arguably the best player in the game today?

Did A-Rod think that teams would flock to him and the Yanks would just give in and he was wrong?

Or, maybe, just maybe, did Boras force his client to bite off more than he could chew and now he regrets it?

If the Yanks don't want to deal with Boras, will A-Rod free himself off Boras' shackles and fire him? What does this mean for his future in New York? Is he again a New York Yankee? And if so, do the fans now want him back?

It will certaintly be interesting to see how this plays out over the next days, weeks and months.

A-Rod and the Yankees do seem like a perfect fit. The Yankees have mney to spend and don't want to trade their big prospects for Miguel Cabrera. Mike Lowell seems to only be the All-Star he is at home at Fenway. Miguel Tejada will not cost the Yankees too much prospect wise but would have to deal with a position switch and is rumored to be declining as an overall player. A-Rod on the other hand is in the prime of his career and while everyone hates to agree with Boras, A-Rod with his work ethic could probably play until 44 years old which is where a 12 year contract that Boras was looking for would take A-Rod.

A-Rod is a brand name. He and Derek Jeter can be the faces of the new Yankee Stadium while they groom even newer faces such as Philip Hughes, Joba Chamberlin, Melky Cabrera, and Robinson Cano.

A-Rod this year seemed to just be able to block out the critics this season and have fun, as cameras often saw him in a sandwhich between Cabrera and Cano celebrating in the dugout.

It was as if he cleared the air, saying that he and Jeter are still friends but are just not the super close friends they used to be. He had a great end of Spring Training and carried that momentum into and through the regular season.

Now, he will have to be able to clear the air again if he does return as he will certaintly hear some boo-birds in the seats for opting out and having Boras uncerimoniously "accidentaly" leak the information in the 4th game of the World Series.

But the yankees now have to determine if he is worth the investment once again.

Fact of the matter is, the Yankees don't even make the playoffs without A-Rod's dramatics during the season. He was clutch, will be the obvious MVP after putting up monster numbers, batting .314, with 54 homers, 156 RBI's, providing over a .400 OBP, while playing a gold glove caliber third base, was possibly their best overall baserunner when you combine his natural instincts and his speed, and hightened the level of play of players like Cabrerea and Cano as they followed in A-Rod's shadow with his work-out routines.

A-Rod wants to be a Yankee, the Yankees want him back, so it is time to do what the Yankees do and that is throw money at one of the best players in the game and lock him up until he retires so there isn't another "Boras Circus" with A-Rod, unless A-Rod fires Boras and forces the "Boras Circus" leave town.

One way or another, A-Rod should and probably will once again be donning the number 13 on the back of his pinstriped uniform come Spring Training.