A-Rod aint goin nowhere

It's a simple game of math really.

When Alex Rodriguez sit down at the end of this year and map out which team gives them everything they could want, everything the could leverage with an opt out, who shows up at the top of the list?

Say it loud and say it proud: The New York Yankees.

The consensus seems to be that A-Rod will be looking for a new home because of all the off field "distractions" that come with playing for the Yanks. Want to hang out at a strip club all night with a hot blonde who you are decidely NOT married to (which is probably why you are hanging with her at a strip club all night)? The NY media will catch you. Want to sun bathe on a rock in central park so everyone from a monther of four to a Russian satellite can spot your gleaming pecks? Some ass will be there with a camera to snap a few for the tabloids. Go 0-80 in the playoffs? A whole host of fat, pompous coumnists and talk show hosts will make their living ripping you in every way they can think of. So..........logic dictates to some that A-Rod is gone. The fans booed him all last year, his relationship with Derek Jeter is obviously more strained than Lindsay Lohan's knees at a bachelor party, and someone, somewhere will pay him what he wants.

Here is the question though; if you're A-Rod is number one goal really to get OUT of the limelight?

There are only a few places that would truly be interested in signing A-Rod to the type of money Boras has been talking about ($30 mill a year); the Yankees, the Red Sox, the Mets, the Cubs, the Dodgers, the Angels. Could a sleeper team pull a Texas and jump in at the last minute, say a White Sox or a Tigers? Sure, but I doubt that. So let's assume the first grouping is truly the only grouping that matters in this game of A-Rod.

The Mets are out of the running right off the bat, unless they decide that the two corner stones of the franchise for the next 15 years, Jose Reyes and David Wright, are just too popular and too cheap for their liking. Highly unlikely. The Cubs spent a fortune last year to get their team back to respectability, have dragged their feet signing Carlos Zambrano on a hometown discount contract that would be considerably cheaper than what A-Rod will get, are in the midst of being sold, and unless they could expedite the process of selling the team to Mark Cuban in a hurry (provided they pull their heads out of their ass and realize Cuban would be GOOD for baseball) it is doubtful he would be in on the A-Rod auction. So take the Cubbies out of the running.

The Red Sox? You gotta believe that, with all the slings and arrows that have been directed at A-Rod from both the stands in Boston and the dugout (and the players blogs, interviews, etc...) it would be low on A-Rod's wish list to reside for the rest of his career in Beantown. Can you imagine Rodriguez struggling in Boston? How about if he didn't live up to expectations? It would make what happened with A-Rod at the Stadium last year look like an episode of Oprah.

The Dodgers have the money and the need for a big bat (and star power), but they have a load of great young talent, a tendency to keep prices lower than the other big spenders in the game, and have not floated any real feelers out there about A-Rod. Plus, A-Rod, according to accounts, would prefer to stay in the A.L.

So, in my mind, that leaves the Yanks and the Angels as the major bidders for A-Rod.

Art Moreno has never shied away from saying how much he loves A-Rod, but you have to wonder how much the Angels would legitimately give A-Rod for a yearly contract. Are the Angels REALLY gonna give him $30 mill a year? Possibly, but what/how do you turn to your star right fielder, the face of your organization in Vlady Guerrero and say "hey, we love yah, but we are gonna give this other guy double your salary." That would almost ensure Vlady storming into Art Moreno's office and asking to "look" at his contract one more time.

Plus, the Angels seems to be looking into acquiring Troy Glaus, a 31-year old power hitting third baseman who fits PERFECTLY on that team, the team he previously played for, provides the big bat behind Vlad they have been looking for, comes locked up for another three years, and comes at significantly less than A-Rod would. Would the Angels love A-Rod? Of course, but do they NEED him?

The AL West is significantly weaker than the AL East, so the need for A-Rod is not as great. If the Angels brought back a healthy, underrated Juan Rivera, brought in a big bat in Troy Glaus, combined that with their good pitching, good defense and Mike Scosia-esque style of play (plus a few big young guns in the minors on the way) and the Angels are gonna be a big team for a long time to come.

The Yankees actually NEED A-Rod more than the Angels. The Yanks are not blessed with tremendous young position players coming up through the minors. Johnny Damon might be done. the Jason Giambi era probably can't end fast enough for most in the Yankee organization. It is doubtful whether the Yanks will pick up/look to resign Bobby Abreu after this year, Robinson Cano has not come on as the type of power hitter many expected he would become, and the free agent market seems pretty barren in terms of big name power bats. A-Rod is the major piece to the engine. He is the big cog. He is a huge draw. He is, whether you like him or not, one of the best and biggest players in the game today. The Yanks NEED that kind of bat in the lineup for many years to come.

But the Yanks are gonna offer a king's ransom to keep A-Rod here, we know that. So the question will be does A-Rod want to stay?

How could the answer really be no.

A-Rod has put up monster years in the past, but he's done it in the relative obscurity of Seattle and Texas. Since coming to the Bronx, whether it is good press or bad press, A-Rod has become a name that transcends sports. You KNOW A-Rod's name, even if you don't know baseball. Some stars are stars within the confines of the game. Anyone reading this probably knows Vernon Wells or Miguel Cabrera is. But does the average Joe sports fan know? Probably not. But ask them who Jeter is, who Bonds is, who Big Papi or Manny is, and they will probably know. Those names have become a part of our lexicon. A-Rod is in that discussion.

If he goes to The Angels, the Dodgers, that star goes down. Even if he goes to The Cubs, that star goes down. There is NO PLACE like The Bronx, and A-Rod, as astute as he is, will understand that. His star is as high and bright as it will ever be, and going somewhere else will only diminish that.

What about history?

Well, if you want to be remembered, be a Yankee. Having your number retired at Yankee Stadium actually means something outside of Yankee Stadium. Do we know who is retired at Comisky? Nope. Do they have monuments to those who have been retired in San Fran? Don't think so. But if you're A-Rod and you sign an extension that will keep you in the Bronx for a total of 10+ years, you're gonna have your number retired here, no question's asked. If you're A-Rod, you might be looking at a monument.

Plus, when you pass the all time home run record about to be set by Barry Bonds and return it, possibly for good, to the Bronx, your star will be even brighter.

But how about those pesky fans? Will they ever accept him?

Derek Jeter is the captain of the Yanks, has four rings and is one of the all time great clutch hitters. No one is gonna knock him off his horse. However, A-Rod seems to have accepted that fact and is playing looser and happier than he has in his past three years. The fans have accepted him. They chant MVP when he comes to the plate. He isn't booed for the sake of booing him. A-Rod may never eclipse Jeter, but he will be a fan favorite (provided he doesn't mess up in the playoffs again).

Plus, an extension (with all the bells and whistle that come along with it) would put A-Rod on this team for a decade. He would no longer be some free loader looking for a championship. He would be here for a long, long time. The fans would begin to appreciate what they are seeing from him.

And does Alex Rodriguez really want to go to his fourth team? Great players, historic players like A-Rod change teams once, maybe twice, but multiple times gets a little strange. A-Rod can be a Yankee for the rest of his career, be on a team that will give him a chance to win EVERY year, and be one of the biggest stars in sports year after year.

Considering no one is gonna outbid the Yanks in terms of money, does it really seem THAT logical that A-Rod would want to leave the team?

When you look up at the Yankee lineup in 2012, my guess is A-Rod will be playing third base and batting fourth. Whose batting third is a bigger, less definite issue.