Talking to MLB.com during the weekend, Rodriguez said the negotiations are “in the bottom of the fifth inning.”

Two innings from now, I expect there to be a several-month-long break in the negotiations, during which Hank Steinbrenner will sing a patriotic song.

Or... the Red Sox step on the A-Rod negotiation to announce that they indeed won the World Series.

Sadly, without further information on whether the home team is leading, we don't even know if it's an official game yet.

Instead of "pact" the resulting agreement should be called a "Treaty". More reflective of the nature of the negotiation.

Now we need the correct accompanying words to go with Treaty.

Suggestions?

Primey for #2

Now we need the correct accompanying words to go with Treaty.

For the Yanks it might be the Treaty of Hiroshima. For Boras it might be the Treaty of Munich. For Gambling Rent it might be the Molotov-Von Ribbentrop Treaty. It all depends on your point of view.

Well, to me it's the Treaty of Utrecht

You're all missing the obvious choice: The Diet of Worms

You're all missing the obvious choice: The Diet of Worms

Sounds like something Miguel Cabrera should go on.

Two innings from now, I expect there to be a several-month-long break in the negotiations, during which Hank Steinbrenner will sing a patriotic song.

And 3.5 innings from now ARod will slap a Red Sox contract offer out of Boras's hand.

Then a half inning later, ARod won't show up to sign the final contract.

My MVP formula (using only year-end stats and team standing/wins, which obvoiusly misses the "stroies" that go into a season) says, duh, ARod in a landslide. Big jumble after that, going something like
Vlad - Ordonez - Papi - VMartinez - Jeter - Lowell - Posada.

The guy who will likley finish lower thna the fomrula says is Victor M - I have heard very little press about him, which seems odd to me, given how much past love the BBWAA has given catchers who play for winners and hit >=.300 with 100+ RBI.

Pitchers not included.

The NL is more insteresting; formula says
Holliday - Rollins - Jones - Howard - Fielder - Pujols - Utley - Wright - Ramirez, but it's all fairly close.

The big item is, if the Mets had won the division, Jose Reyes might have been awarded the MVP; as it is, he'll be left completely off many ballots. BBWAA guys luv speedy shortstops who play on winners. Speedy shortstops who play on non-winners can go pound sand.

when was the last unanimous MVP?

Bonds in 2002. The last in the AL was Griffey in '97.

when was the last unanimous MVP?

in the NL, Bonds in 02; in the AL, Griffey in 97

EDIT: you win, DCW3

The big item is, if the Mets had won the division, Jose Reyes might have been awarded the MVP...

No, he wouldn't have. The Mets didn't lose the division until the last day of the season, and down the stretch there was absolutely nobody in the media who was talking about Reyes as an MVP candidate.

The guy who will likley finish lower thna the fomrula says is Victor M - I have heard very little press about him, which seems odd to me, given how much past love the BBWAA has given catchers who play for winners and hit >=.300 with 100+ RBI.

That's because the "Great Hitting Catcher Who Plays For A Winner" role is already filled by Posada. The BBWAA doesn't need two guys in that same place.

(That's silly, obviously, but I'm pretty sure that's why.)

I don't understand how Bobby Abreu got an MVP vote...

Maybe it came from the same two savants in Michigan who somehow thought Mags deserved it over A-rod

Mags had a case, though not a good one. Abreu didn't.

The big item is, if the Mets had won the division, Jose Reyes might have been awarded the MVP...

David Wright, maybe. Reyes, no.

Who the #### voted for Mags?

Who the #### voted for Mags?

same guy who voted for Cesar Tovar in 67

I don't understand how Bobby Abreu got an MVP vote...

One 7th place vote . . . certainly hope Abreu doesn't have a bonus tied to receiving even a single MVP vote. Given how idiosyncratic some of the down ballot votes are most years, the MVP vote is even more ripe for abuse than the Cy Young vote since you vote for the top 10 rather than top 3.

Who the #### voted for Mags?

The Associated Press writes: "The only two first-place votes that didn't go to Rodriguez were from Tom Gage of The Detroit News and Jim Hawkins of The Oakland Press in Pontiac, Mich."

Here's the MVP Voting top 10 with points totals:


Alex Rodriguez, NYY 328
Maglio Ordonez, DET 258
Vladimir Guerrero, LAA 203
David Ortiz, BOS 177
Mike Lowell, BOS 126
Jorge Posada, NYY 112
Victor Martinez, CLE 103
Ichiro Suzuki, SEA 89
Carlos Pena, TB 64
Curtis Granderson, DET 51
Derek Jeter, NYY 17

Personally, I would have Lowell down around 8th or 9th, and Ichiro out of the top 10, but I don't think this is a terrible top 10.

The Associated Press writes: "The only two first-place votes that didn't go to Rodriguez were from Tom Gage of The Detroit News and Jim Hawkins of The Oakland Press in Pontiac, Mich."

Have they no shame? How is this less worse than someone giving a 3rd place vote to Schilling?

The Associated Press writes: "The only two first-place votes that didn't go to Rodriguez were from Tom Gage of The Detroit News and Jim Hawkins of The Oakland Press in Pontiac, Mich."

love that home-cookin for Thanksgiving

Given how idiosyncratic some of the down ballot votes are most years, the MVP vote is even more ripe for abuse than the Cy Young vote since you vote for the top 10 rather than top 3.

scouring the bottom of the MVP voting has always been amusing; in the last 10 years, the following players have received MVP votes:

Jorge Cantu
Corey Koskie
Antonio Alfonseca
John Jaha
Deivi Cruz
Tony Womack

Does Boras get paid twice for a few years of ARod's contract? I assume he got a % of the $250 mil initial deal, and a % of the new deal, so a few years overlapped. I doubt he returned some money when ARod opted out of his contract, but perhaps he did. I am just curious, but maybe Boras figured out a way to get more than the upper limit afforded to agents.