A New York sportswriter who has never heard of Jason Bay.

"When he got here, after the big trade in February of 2004, before we found out about the steroid use in Texas, before all the injuries, he was supposed to be on his way to hitting 800 home runs, on his way to eventually being called the best baseball player of all time."

"Alex Rodriguez is the best baseball player of all time."

There.

Now he has been called the best baseball player of all time.

So he has fulfilled his contract.


"The Yankees were putting him on a team that had just been upset by the Marlins in the World Series but had won four World Series in the seven years before that, and it was going to be the start of the kind of dynasty the Yankees had produced from 1996 through 2000."

Only a fool would have thought that the Yankees were going to continue winning championships four out of every five seasons.

Other teams play baseball and, with all deference to Yogi, modern-day baseball now has three playoff rounds instead of one.


"Alex Rodriguez had New York now, and so he had the chance to be the biggest star around, not just in baseball, but in all of sports."

I guess.

I mean, who's the biggest star in all of sports? It's probably a football player, since football is the most popular sport. In fact, right now, it's probably the Jets' backup QB.

ARod is still incredibly well-known and popular and his contract is worth $250+ million and you can't stop writing about him ...


"Only despite gaudy numbers, and despite more MVP awards, and an even bigger contract that he came here with from Texas, it has not worked out that way. In Rodriguez’s eight seasons so far with the Yankees, they have won one World Series helped mightily by him, of course and played in just one."

Yawn.

MVPs. Gaudy numbers. Playoffs and World Series. New stadium. Franchise worth $2.5 billion.

He's a regular Von Hayes.


"It is the season when Rodriguez will look like one of the most dangerous hitters in the game again, the kind of hitter who hit 54 home runs and knocked in 156 five years ago, or will just continue to look like the worst contract in the history of the Yankees, in all of baseball, at least until Albert Pujols starts to break down in Anaheim."

This is tiring. ARod is not going to hit 50 HRs and drive in 150 runs. That happens rarely.


The worst contract in baseball history?

Joey Votto just signed a $250 million contract. He probably will not hit 50 HRs or drive in 150 runs.

Matt Cain just signed the biggest contract in pitching history.

Barry Zito; Mike Hampton; Darren Dreifort; the guy from KC that who refunded the last season of his contract; Pedro Martinez with the Mets; Denny Neagle; Joe Mauer; Vernon Wells; Carl Crawford; Jayson Werth; John Lackey; Albert Belle; Chan Ho Park; Richie Sexson; Kevin Millwood ... like I said, this is tiring.


Even if the analysis is limited to Yankee contracts, ARod's contract is nowhere near the worst.

Lupica knows A.J. Burnett's contract is worse (present tense, since the Yankees are still paying most of it).

He knows the Yankees paid Jorge Posada $13 million last season to drive in 44 runs.

He knows who Kei Igawa is.

He knows that the Yankees pay Teixeira $20 million per year to bat .250 and bat fifth in the lineup.

He remembers Dave Collins, Steve Kemp, Jim Abbott, Pascual Perez, Mike Witt, Hideki Irabu, Danny Tartabull, Carl Pavano ...

No New York sportswriter can be that ignorant of New York sports.


So when Lupica states that ARod is the worst contract in Yankee history -- the worst contract in baseball history -- Lupica is not truly displaying his own ignorance. Lupica is not merely and incompetent fool.

He's worse.

He's a god damned liar.