The Yankees have already crumbled in offering to negotiate with Alex Rodriguez during the season, despite not doing so with longtime greats Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada (and Posada's wife).
Right now, with Texas paying part of A-Rod's salary, the Yanks have a great deal, but $30M, the possible ceiling, may be too much to pay.
I think with the way things are right now, the Yanks are forced to overpay. They'd just better hope everyone else is forced by finances to bid low enough to not have to spend some outrageous amount.
By the way, how weird was it to see Posada catching Frankie Rodriguez to close out the All-Star Game? One wishes J.J. Putz was left in to blow the save just for the newspaper headlines the next day. To address Bum's other comment recently, sorry, no first-half awards. It's as clear cut as ever, both on the Yanks and across baseball, actually, making my picks redundant. A-Rod and Magglio dominate at the plate, and Haren, Peavy and Penny rule the mound (with Sabbathia and others near). The second half will bring some back-to-earth feelings with a bunch of them, though.
