The thing is, A-rod is a very good ball player, as much as I hate him I can't because of his yankee ties I can't be blind to the fact that he probably has as much talent as anyone playing baseball right now. The issue with him lies in his head, much like a lot of players. The reason A-Rod gets criticized so much is because it is hard to imagine a player of his caliber, with talent among the best being so needy. There have been plenty of baseball pros of the past talking about just that. Its the reason he flourished in Texas, because he was "the man" of the Rangers. He was the end all be all and for A-rod to be successful he needs to be in a situation like that. Therefore, in NY, where he is surrounded by superstars and huge names he can't perform as he should.
Therefore, ultimately it would probably be in the best interest of the yankees and a-rod for him to opt out of his contract at the end of the season and return to a mid level ballclub. The yankees would save a ton of money, which they could use to solidify their pitching staff which stinks right now and a-rod could return to his record setting form and probably be a lot happier.
The downfall in all of this? A-Rod would essentially be admitting that he cannot handle pressure at all or that he is a nancy boy and needs constant love and attention. Brian Cashman would then also have to admitt that maybe the new yankee way of paying top dollar for the top names does not translate into rings.
Basically both sides need to weigh the hits they would take against the eventual sucess this would ultimately bring to both sides. I on one hand would love to see a-rod stay in NY, with that "i'm not a quitter" mentality while he continues to flounder, leading to less success than could be for both the yanks and himself, yet on the other hand am tired of constantly hearing the boos and cheers from the media and NY with the up and down rollercoaster that is A-Rod as a yankee.
