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| Tuesday, December 12 | |||||
| Mariners' fans bitter? Just a little | |||||
| Here are a selection of your thoughts on Alex Rodriguez's departure from Seattle for a 10-year, $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers:
Spoken like a true optimist A-Rod signing with Texas is the best thing that could happen to Seattle. With this huge salary obligation, Texas is bound to flounder in mediocrity; the fewer competitors in the AL West, the better. Without A-Rod, the Mariners now have the financial leeway to build a team that is platooned deeply with very good players versus a team with a few excellent players backed up by mediocrity. Plus, with a very young and deep pitching staff, the Mariners will be able to re-sign the youngsters when their contracts come up. As a result, Seattle will be very good for a very long time. Kudos to Pat Gillick. Kenik Hassel Seattle What some owners lack: Fiscal responsibility I for one will not forget A-Rod. I was hoping that he was going to re-sign with us but at $252 million? No way! No one is worth that much money and I am happy the Mariners showed fiscal responsibilty by not matching the offer. The Mariners have the money, and more importantly the pitching to be competitve for many more years. Jim Daleske Renton, Wash. I believe that it is absurd to pay one player more than an entire team. The Mariners did the right thing by not going that high. They have plenty of young talent to contend each year without spending so much that they couldn't go out and get a big name. Alex is great but what happened to loyalty to friends and players in the clubhouse who want to win for a team and city who have backed baseball in Seattle and want a winner. I'm positive that A-Rod could still pay the bills, be loyal, and win a World Series in Seattle. He could of had it all! Jeff Gillespie Coeur d' Alene, Idaho Is A-Rod the best all-around ballplayer in the game? Probably. But the question is return on investment. Could Seattle get more for their money elsewhere in the free-agent market? Definitely! J. Heckeroth Austin, Texas All is well, no reason to panic In the end it was all about the money. With Safeco Field and all the good pitchers the M's have, they won't miss A-Rod too much. They just need a couple more bats (that will cost much less than $21M) and all will be fine. Erik Tacoma, Wash. 'Sit home and count your money' I am both saddened and sickened by Alex Rodriguez's departure from the Seattle Mariners. After all the comments about wanting to play for a winner, he signs with a team that has never even come close to winning a championship, and never will, because they are not smart enough to develop the pitching necessary to accomplish this. Obviously, he snowed everybody with this so called desire to play for a winner. Seattle did everything necessary to win, actually won and had an excellent chance of winning the World Series. Then, this offseason, they upgrade their outfield and their bullpen, further strengthening their chances of bringing a championship to Safeco Field. They have showed their commitment to him and to putting a winner on the field, and he turned his back on the team, the city, and the fans by signing this ridiculous contract with a losing organization. So goodbye Alex, you could have been this generation's Cal Ripken; now you are just another selfish athlete who is just in the game for the money. By the way, have fun watching the Mariners in the playoffs next year while you sit home and count your money. Brady Martin Spokane, Wash. Does this locker come with a vault? What else could the M's do?! Change the dimensions of the field? Offer the salaries of all the other players? HE DID NOT WANT TO STAY IN SEATTLE! Despite what he said about winning, he wanted the money. Have the Rangers ever won jack? No. Will they now? No. The Rangers now have the same team the M's have had up until last year. All offense, no pitching. Now the M's can afford an average to slightly better than average shortstop, some more good pitching, and a couple bats. It's called a team, and I like it! Chris Fabel Seattle How do you mend a broken heart? The management obviously did all they could to re-sign Alex, but apparently the stakes were just too high. I wonder what it is about this city that has inspired loyalty in only one true superstar (Gary Payton)? I know the Mariners will be highly competitive next season, with of course some major deals still on the way for the team, but is there any way that this team or this city can not feel heartbroken? Without a doubt, this deal symbolizes the cancer that a free-spending, free-agent market has become for baseball. The gap between the rich and the poor is insurmountable. What are the Twins, Royals, and other poor teams supposed to do with their stars in the future. The M's have rich owners, but who can expect them to pay an infielder bascially $25 million per year at this time? Is A-Rod really worth more than twice of Derek Jeter? No way. I can't blame him for taking that kind of money. Any one who would argue that he should have passed up $50 million to be loyal to his first team is nuts. Think about what you would do with that money, and then you would come up with $50 million reasons why he was doing the right thing for himself to go to Texas. Somebody, please save baseball from itself! Thad Mallory Seattle A-Rod's deal makes Hampton's look sane This is one of the worst contracts an owner could agree on. Sure I would have loved to keep Alex on the Mariners. But at $252 mill. and a $8 to 1 mill. clause that makes him the highest paid player no matter what? Texas must be crazy. Their is no way a person should be paid that much. I thought the Mike Hampton deal was nuts. Lets just say I hope baseball and the Texas Rangers are happy. Because I see a very near future when none of them will be around. Nicholas Melnyk Bellingham, Wash. In A-Rod we trust Once Again the Almighty dollar wins. I think it is sad that not only did Alex Rodriguez sign with a different team, but he signed with a team from our own division. I believe this deal shows no respect for the Seattle Mariners on the part of Alex Rodriguez. We also see that the number one priority of Alex Rodriguez was money. The Mariners have become a great baseball orgainization and I believe they have done what's best for baseball in Seattle and they have not done what's best for just one player. One player does not win championships. Ian Kalispell, Mont. A-FRAUD. Nice to know Alex is all about the money, I dont know why he had to punk Seattle with his 'I want to play for a winner' talk. I hope he was aware that he would be pitching for the Rangers too, since no one else can. I laugh, but the fans are going to be the ones hurt the most. westsydemariner Beverly Hills, Calif. I guess it was all about the money, after all. Griffey went to Cincinnati after asking to be close to his home in Florida. A-Rod went to a 71-91 team (2 games out of the AL cellar) after wanting to sign with a 'winning team'. How does a team with the highest ERA in it's entire league and an infield that is all (w/ exception to A-Rod) within five years of retirement qualify as 'winning'? Seattle fans should have hope, though. We lost Griffey last year and went to the ALCS. We lose A-Rod this year, and though we didn't get anything but two draft picks (thanks, Texas) for him, we've still got the same pitching core that we did last year. The acquisition of a few bats should be all we need to succeed next year. Pat Putnam Seattle Mark April 16 on your calendar There comes a point when the marginal value of a player is outweighed by pride and greediness. I think A-Rod is a great player, however, his value to the team is overestimated. I don't think he is worth what they are paying him. Furthermore, the Rangers are stupid to think that he will be the best player for the next ten years. But, in the meantime, let the Rangers get their PR coup and sell more tickets (they have to to pay the salary) and let A-Rod get his fat check, the M's will continue to improve. I look forward to booing him off the field when he comes back to town. (A-Rod returns to Safeco Field on April 16) Jon Eskelsen Standwood, Wash. I would just like to thank him for hanging around last season, and not being traded so the Mariners wouldn't get anything for him. I anxiously await his return to Safeco, where he will get the reception he deserves. Bill Pickard Yakima, Wash. Following in Junior's footsteps The joke, like upon Griffey, Jr. last year, will be on A-Rod next year. A man who said he wanted to play for a consistent contender has proven his true intents through his action: sheer money. Neither of these "superstars" will make a dent in the postseason, because they do not approach the game as champions (see D. Jeter, B. Williams, et al). A-Rod got his first taste of the bigs on a team that depended too much on offense and not enough on pitching. Now that the Mariners have turned their face toward solid pitching, A-Rod has turned his back on the Mariners. I have been a constant fan of the Mariners since their inception, and I say the Mariners did too much in even making an offer to A-Rod. I am not scorned, and I do not wish him ill, but if his interests are in making money and not being a champion, then I believe he is better suited elsewhere. Pat Gillick helped us fans forget Griffey's absence. He will do the same in regard to A-Rod. Jay Bates Puyallup, Wash. | ALSO SEE A-Rod to join Rangers with 10-year, $252 deal  | ||||