Sherman: Yankees rejected K-Rod deal

Via Joel Sherman’s Twitter:

Heard #Yankees rejected similar deal for K-Rod, in part, because then either Soriano or K-Rod have pitch 7th inning and (cont) #Mets

If you haven’t heard, Francisco Rodriguez wound up with the Brewers in exchange for two players to be named later.

It certainly would have been an interesting situation with two loose cannons in the bullpen who think they should be closing when there’s a guy named Mariano Rivera still in town. I think it’s a scene the Yankees were right to avoid, even though they could use some bullpen help to make up for all of their injuries. Your thoughts?

Alex Rodriguez is the only player MLBTR lists under an unknown agency

You would think the more popular a player is, the easier it would be to find the agency that represents him. That’s not the case for Alex Rodriguez, who is the only player listed under an unknown agency in MLB Trade Rumors’ new agency database. 

To clarify, A-Rod left Scott Boras for Pittsburgh sports attorney Jay Reisinger and Washington lawyer Jim Sharp, but those two represent A-Rod in non-baseball matters, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes told me in an e-mail.

Yankees news: CC & Grandy lead Yanks to sweep, A-Rod & Boras split, Aceves setback

I wasn’t able to post yesterday after the game because I was in class from 3:30 to 9 p.m. and then I worked on a project deep into the night. If you were in a similar situation, here’s a quick recap of what you missed.

• CC Sabathia and Curtis Granderson had huge days in a 5-0 win to complete the sweep of the Athletics. See if the NY Times thinks CC will win the AL Cy Young. On a side note, Dallas Braden had to leave after five innings with cramps.
• Alex Rodriguez and Scott Boras have officially split ties. According to SI, this happened a month ago when A-Rod sent Boras a letter.
• Alfredo Aceves suffered another setback and did not rehab with the Trenton Thunder last night. He’s visiting doctors in New York. It doesn’t look like he’ll be ready for the postseason, folks.

Damon hints at wishing he were a Yankee

Although I didn’t agree with the majority of John Harper’s column in today’s Daily News, I do think he shared some information that shows Johnny Damon second-guessing his (and Scott Boras’) negotiation tactics in December. Let’s get right to it:

…when he was asked if he would like to have the chance to go back to December and do things differently in regard to negotiations, Damon seemed to be looking for a way not to answer the question.

“Do I wish things would have gone differently?” he said. “I don't know. I definitely think things happen for a reason.”

I think we’d all have a better idea of Damon’s beliefs if we had the audio for this interview, as Moshe Mandel has proved sometimes reporters can take things out of context.

But, if Harper isn’t embellishing his interview point, it sounds a lot like Damon really was looking to avoid this question. I’ve been interviewed before, and repeating the question is a basic tactic for stalling to think of a dishonest answer.

Even more evidence of a dishonest response is resorting to a cliché. They’re easy to think up. And that’s what Damon did.

Although he’s stated publicly he likes it in Detroit, I bet he wishes he could hit a few more homers in his home ballpark. Don’t you think?

Johnny Damon really is an idiot

I’m not kidding. Jon Heyman reports Johnny Damon turned down a one-year, $6 million offer from the Yankees last week. LAST WEEK! Brian Cashman said (via Marc Carig):

"We had a strong desire to have Johnny back," Cashman said. "But not at all costs."

Johnny, you will regret this decision for the rest of the year. No team is going to offer you more than $6 million at this point in the offseason, and even if they do match the offer, you won’t be as happy as you would have been in New York. If I were you, I would fire Scott Boras immediately and post this flyer:

Just so you all know, there’s a chance Damon will be staying in the AL East, as the Blue Jays and Rays have expressed interest in the aging outfielder.

Cashman, Boras disagree in Damon case

Now that the Yankees and Johnny Damon are officially divorced, Damon’s agent Scott Boras has been acting up. Boras claimed Brian Cashman never made Damon a contract offer.

"I love Johnny," Cashman said. "I don't appreciate, obviously, Scott's representation of the events because we just had a different opinion, that's all. When I saw he said we never made an offer  he knows that wasn't the case."

There’s no question who I trust more in this case. Cashman went on record saying he offered Damon a two-year, $14 million deal, but Boras wanted two years, $20 million.

Boras messed up in not accepting Cashman’s deal, and now he’s just whining about it.

It seems to me Boras is still hoping the Yankees are going to “finally” make an offer to Damon. But I doubt that’s going to happen.