The A-Rod saga ends, for now

By Esther Oh Sports Central Columnist

Alex Rodriguez can boast to having what his good pal Derek Jeter has at last. No, he does not have a gaudy piece of jewelry to adorn his finger (yet). Like Jeter, Rodriguez now wears the symbolic "C" on his jersey after being named team captain of the Texas Rangers and subsequently extinguishing all trade talks.

Finally.

Possible trade rumors surrounding this seven-time all-star began shortly after the Rangers finished, once again, in the basement of their division. It was clear that the Rangers were eager to move Rodriguez. Or, more precisely, they were eager to rid themselves of the $179 million burden remaining on his record-setting contract.

Due to the hefty price tag on 28-year-old Rodriguez and the no-trade clause outlined in his contract, the list of prospective buyers was short: New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

Fans in New York salivated at the thought of having A-Rod shift to third to play alongside their beloved Jeter. Despite the fact that Rodriguez is arguably the best player in the game today, let alone the best shortstop, it is unfathomable for diehard fans in the Bronx to see Jeter play anywhere but at short.

A-Rod might have two Gold Gloves and impressive power numbers (he led the AL in homers the past three seasons), but he doesn't have Jeter's 1,000-watt smile that makes girls swoon and peanut butter fly off the grocery shelves.

On second thought, the list of possibilities was very short: Boston Red Sox.

An Aaron Boone homerun short of reaching the World Series, the BoSox were desperate to find the missing piece. Talks heated up and it looked like one of the biggest trades in recent history was about to go down. The deal would send Rodriguez to the Red Sox and in return, the Rangers would get outfielder Manny Ramirez, pitching prospect Jon Lester, and cash. Boston was then prepared to ship off their shortstop Nomar Garciaparra to the White Sox for outfielder Magglio Ordonez.

A trade involving hundreds of millions of dollars and an all-star cast of players was nothing short of monumental.

Or catastrophic.

But, of course, money stood in the way. $15 million dollars, to be exact. Rangers owner Tom Hicks wanted $15 million to cover Ramirez's extravagant paycheck, while a $15 million gap stood between what Boston was willing to pay and what the players' union deemed acceptable.

Then, to add even more pressure, deadlines were set. Commissioner Bug Selig placed the first on December 18, which forced talks to cease between Rodriguez and Boston. This did not prevent the Red Sox from continuing to talk with the Rangers, until five days later when Hicks set a deadline of his own.

After the second deadline came and passed, Hicks referred to the trade as "totally, totally dead." Skeptics were not convinced by Hick's valley girl words of assurance and still believed that a blockbuster trade would occur, but those hopes were dashed with Sunday's announcement.

It's odd that after months of showcasing their recently-named AL MVP shortstop on the trading block, the Rangers decide to make him captain. Not to mention, it took five long hours of deliberation in a New York hotel suite to come up with this solution ... err, announcement.

Rangers manager Buck Showalter claims that naming A-Rod captain had been on his mind for the past year. (Insert shocked intake of breath here.) And to think we all thought his and Rodriguez's relationship was not all sunshine and orange blossoms.

It almost seems like this move by management was done in order to smooth over any bitter wrinkles that might have developed between them and their superstar. (Kind of like Kobe Bryant buying Vanessa expensive jewelry.) Or perhaps season ticket sales were floundering in the uncertainty of the team's future and this was their way of assuring their fans that Rodriguez would in deed return to carry his team -- for the fourth time -- to a last place finish. Or maybe Showalter was telling the truth.

Whatever the case, Captain A-Rod seems satisfied.

"I feel good about with who I am bed with and who I am married to with the Rangers," he said. "I don't feel betrayed at all."

If only the same could be said about the other all-star shortstop involved in all this drama. Right now, Garciaparra must feel like the jilted lover. After an eight-year union with the Sox, the organization had a quick romp between the sheets with the younger guy who had a shinier ride and a bigger bat.

Unfortunately, like any cheating husband, the Red Sox will feel the ill-effects of its actions after this season when Garciaparra looks at free agency. Even though he has strong ties to the city of Boston, the recently-wed Garciaparra now has wife Mia Hamm to make decisions with (or is it for?) him. Maybe the Red Sox should name him captain, too.

So in 2004, it will be A-Rod who must lead his troops onto the field toward victory. Lucky for Rangers fans, the outlook is nearly somewhat bright.

"I'm probably pretty sure it will work out for the best," Rodriguez said of his new captaincy.

Can you hear the confidence exuding from his words? He might as well have said, "I'd rather be playing in Boston where I have a chance to win, but I guess seven more years in Texas won't suck too bad." I have a feeling Rodriguez won't be making many Knute Rockne-esque speeches in the dressing room inspiring the Rangers to "win one for the Gipper."

Who knows? Rodriguez might have been the catalyst to break Boston's curse and silence the infamous "1918" chant. But for now, he will have to be content on being the MVP on a team with an outside chance of postseason glory.

No worries, though. A-Rod's $252 million contract gives him more than enough cash to buy some pretty serious bling-bling for his finger.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.