The American Spectator

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Apparently George Steinbrenner won't rest until he has all members of both all-star squads under contract, even if it takes as much as a G.W. Bush budget deficit to sign them all.

I doubt any sports writer will ask Alfonso Soriano what his thoughts are the first time his Washington Generals play the pinstripes. And someone needs to elaborate on the "financial flexibility" the doormat Texas Rangers will enjoy as a result of paying George Steinbrenner $67 million (more than twice the Tampa Bay Devil Rays payroll for this year).

Your analysis of the A-Rod future is sound. Many of his 47 home runs last year for the last place Rangers were the baseball equivalent of empty calories. He'll certainly be seeing a lot fewer belt-high fastballs out over the plate this year. And let's just see how much A-Rod likes third base after a couple months of fielding lasers with his cup.

p>Play Ball ! br> -- Larry Thornberry br> Tampa, Florida /p>

I normally love your observations, but your musings on the A-Rod/Soriano trade leave me wondering a) what's your point? and b) you may be speaking out of class. The debate on the value of the trade and the projected results is endless around here (Boston), so you're not alone in that angle. However, there's a few obvious points your analysis overlooks: Soriano was beloved by Yankees fans (a young Hank Aaron, remember?) until his alarming error and strikeout totals started to take a little off the shine this year. When he broke the strikeout record during this post season (26 in 71 at-bats), and the Yanks failed in the World Series, perhaps management was thinking of taking some profits on this former high-flier.

But the heart of the matter is about Tom Hicks (Texas GM) misjudgments on how to run a franchise. After signing A-Rod for $252mm, and not vacating the cellar of the AL West in three years, Hicks realized it was time to blow it up and start over. The only logical way to do that was to get rid of the albatross of a contract. With Soriano a relatively cheap $5mm/year, it was a case of making a trade with an out-of-the-money player for an in-the-money-player.

p>Comparing Bonds with A-Rod is a stretch, and Todd Walker lost more games with his cement glove at second base than games he won with his clutch bat. Finally, the Yankees have always had more money than the other teams, so the concept of everyone against the Yankees isn't a new one. And given the last three World Series champs (D-Backs, Angels, Marlins) being relatively unsung, I don't think the Yankees take for granted a championship the way the rest of the world believes they do. br> -- William H. Stewart br> Boston, Massachusetts /p>

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