It won't happen. On both counts.

Off for the day.

By any measure he is one of the greatest players to ever play the game, plus he plays the position that is the third worst offensive position in basbeall, i.e., across the vast spectrum of MLB seasons the SS position is the third worst for offesnive production.  He's like having the run production of a hall of fame first baseman at SS and he is outstanding defensively.

No player can live up to a contract of the magnitude of A-Rod, but this is an economic phenomenon not a baseball production problem with A-Rod.

When teams bid for players there is an incentive for teams with resources to "over-pay" for that player who makes the difference for them.  Diminishing returns is all that it is...The Yankess have been able to afford such for a while, maybe they can't anymore?

You have to have mucho big financial resources to absorb A-Rod's salary and not have it impair the remainder of your roster.  If the Cubs are fine with this then you do it, but it would be foolish if we did it and then fielded the same AAA team as this season just to keep the budget under $95 million.

You infact do make a good point, all those deals did pay big dividens. give credit to hendry for seeing moves that payed off big. But NOBODY saw the increase in production by Lee coming, at not as least aas much as it was. And as for Nomar, Ramirez, and Lofton it made sense for those teams to trade those players, given the timing in the season, for whatever reason(rebuilding, cut payroll, etc...)

But the Cubs have never made that yankeesque type move for a sheffield or arod or damon, or Randy Johnson. That's what I meant by big deals.

Eh, the win+save rules are pretty strange.  It always irks me when a reliever blows a save then gets a win because his team comes from behind for him (something I remember Billy Koch did to the A's at least 5 times on his way to the Rolaids Reliever of the Year Award in 2002).  

It's also frustrating when a pitcher is very effective for 4+ innings but comes out early for some reason (injury, rain delay, etc), then can't get the win because he didn't go 5 so they give it to some random reliever.

16 million per is fine for a player of A-Rod's caliber.

Take away Aramis's 11 million and Jacque's 4 million and A-Rod is essentially paid for.

And with the new revenue and the money we'll save from Maddux and Wood being gone we'll have enough to get more pitching and add Carlos Lee.

Also, if this deal did happen, what do you think the possibilities are of Baker being let go in favor of someone new (e.g. Lou Pinella)?

To get to the postseason this year, the Yankees need A-Rod, they know that.

However, if the Yankees, seeing that right now they are 4.5 games back in their own division and 6.5 back in the Wild Card, fail to make the postseason, and A-Rod's end of year numbers closely mirror his 2004 performance (.286-36-106), you better believe they might look to see him moved once the offseason rolls around.

And the Yankees do need to cut their payroll. From revenue sharing to a luxury tax bill that will probably be close to 30 million this year, they are running at a loss, and they can't do that forever.

They need pitching in a bad way, and they have a ton of bad contracts they need to shed.

Getting Ramirez and Jones would be a great way to fill two positions for the price of A-Rod, not to mention the money saved from Jones replacing Sheffield.

Of course, they will look to add another bat, and my guess is it would be bringing back Alfonso Soriano to play a little of everywhere.

And with some decent free agent pitching on the market (Pettitte, Schmidt, Mulder, Zito), you better believe they will want to scoop at least one of those guys up while still lowering their payroll.

Personally, I don't think the Yankees are going to go to the postseason. I think Detroit and Chicago will duke it out for the NL Central with the loser taking the Wild Card, while the Red Sox, with their very strong overall team pull away from the Yankees, who I just don't think have enough anymore with Matsui and Sheffield on the shelf until September at the earliest.

Even if the Yankees squeak by, say, the Tigers, and get in as the WC, the White Sox or Red Sox should make short work of them. Especially with Sheffield and Matsui coming back from similar injuries to what Derrek Lee had.

And when this 200M payroll fails to make the postseason, you better believe heads will roll. Not only will the Yankees be a laughing stock, they will prove the theory that you really can't buy championships over the long haul. Every year the Yankee payroll goes up, every year they seem to get a little further away from their goal.

2003 they got to the World Series and lose.
2004 they were beat by the Red Sox in the ALCS.
2005 they didn't get out of the first round.
2006 they miss the postseason.

If and when this scenario occurs I think the Yankees will be very receptive to a Jones-Ramirez for A-Rod trade.

"His chances of getting a ring with the Yankees would seem to be greater.  But as they say in the investment world--past performance is no guarantee of future results.  And also, why did he sign with the Rangers again?  To have the best chance of winning a ring?"

The Yankees have won 26 WS since the Cubs last won a championship.  Be honest, do you REALLY think that the Cubs will win one before the Yankees get #27?  I think it's more likely that they will win another 26 before that happens.  

That said, MLB will probably have to go to some sort of cap or revenue-sharing within the next ten years.  This could have been avoided by some sort of television revenue-sharing system back during the last strike.  However, with no leadership/central authority at the helm, the large market teams continued their short-sighted strategy.  

Frankly, MLB deserves all the problems that it has, and then some.  When MLB does do something, it waits until a major crisis (or perceived major crisis) arises, then it overreacts.  Look at the All-Star game.  After 60+ years, we have a tie.  What does MLB do?  It throws the baby out with the bath water.  This may not be the best example, but it is on my mind today.  

Sorry for the rambling.  I am just disgusted today on a lot of levels.  1) Every game that I want to see today is blacked out, despite the fact that I live about four hours drive from the nearest MLB venue.  2) I am sick (and tired) of people @#$%ing about the All-Star selections already.  3) I am tired of seeing marginal players swing for the fences on every at bat.  4) I am tired of a Commissioner that is not only an owner, but the weakest owner.  5) I am tired of a system that bans Jackson and Rose for life, while trying to force-feed Bonds down my throat for passing Ruth.  6) I am tired of teams making the same bone-headed mistakes over and over again, like drafting HS pitchers.    

The Cubs are a microcosm for all that is wrong with baseball.  They are not alone; they are just the team that we follow.        

Translation: You were full of BS during your defense of Baker and his job performance this season.