If the Sox offered Derek four years and $80M, would he take it? Would the Yankees match it? What would a big offer from the Sox do to the negotiations, would an offer be a simple mechanism for the Sox to get the Yankees to outlay more money than they prefer?
It would be, quite obviously, a horrid move for the Sox from a personnel standpoint. So I am not advocating such an offer. But I think the fact that the Sox aren't making offers (at least not publicly leaked offers!) to Jeter indicates, quite clearly, that the idea that the Sox just bid willy-nilly on players to make the Yankees pay more for them (or vice versa) is fan and media induced fantasy. Because if there were ever a time to do it, it would be now.
7 replies on “Poker Face”
Well, except that if they did it now it would be obvious…less stealthy and geniusy. ;)
Apparently Jeter wants a 6-year, $150m deal.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2010/11/26/2010-11-26_jeters_price_is_high____it_is_far.html?r=sports
Wow. Just wow.
never thought i’d see the day when anybody [as in jeter/close] would think 3/45 was insufficient compensation for an aging shortstop, even one with jeter’s resume…maybe they could bump the money a little, or cough up an extra year, but anything more than maybe 4/70 is nuts…as for the sox getting involved, i don’t see it…it would be so obviously contrived that the sox would look foolish, and i don’t think theo has that kind of time to waste anyway…and at 4/80 the yanks might just call their bluff sf…then what?…the 6/150 sounds like a poorly engineered joke…he might need a new agent…
This is a fascinating situation for a (Yankees, and Jeter) fan like myself. Here are the questions that I roll around in my head
1: What is Jeter’s value in the lineup? Lead-off hitter with a 90 OPS+? Ouch.
2: What is Jeter’s value in the field? Gold Glove. And near the bottom of defensive metric except regarding balls that were hit directly at him. Defensively, he is an excellent wall with a good arm. Walls can’t move.
3: What is Jeter’s value in the gift shop? Tremendous. I literally CAN NOT BELIEVE how many #2 jerseys I see when I go to a Yankees game at SafeCo, or whenever I am out of town. I’ve got pictures to prove it. People love the guy.
My guess is that the Yankees will follow the money, because #1 and #2 aren’t that far off from the baseline to make #3 unattractive.
They’ll get it worked out…they have to.
thing is gerb, i think they’ve already factored in the other intangibles [marketing, being yankee captain, blah, blah] into their offer…i may be wrong but i think i saw somewhere that he would still be the highest paid shortstop and the second highest paid player over the age of 36 [ichiro’s first]…so, the question is, how much more than 15/yr is he worth in the gift shop and in being the captain?…his skills have eroded to ‘average’, so that’s the baseline from which his salary should begin…what’s an ‘average’ shortstop make these days?…don’t get me wrong, i love the guy and what he’s meant to the team, but i like the way the yankees are handling this so far…more than fair, but firm too…it kinda reminds me of the torre negotiations…he would have been overpaid and the highest paid too, but the pay cut hurt his feelings…he walked, but i don’t see jeter doing that…
good points, dc