A-rod's greed is something to grind your teeth over

The financial news from the front — the president wants another $196 billion for wars that have already cost $600 billion — is bleak.

The financial news from the campaign trail — where candidates are going to spend $1 billion trying to become president — is depressing.

Here in Utah, the financial news from the private school voucher fight — where people on both sides have already spent $9 million (how about settling it with a coin-flip and give the money to the kids?) — is astonishing.

But if you want financial news you can really grind your teeth over you have to move into the world of Alex Rodriguez, also known as A-Rod, who just this week told the New York Yankees he doesn't want the $25 million they're offering him to play baseball for them next season. Or the $25 million for the season after that. Or the $25 million for the season after that.

He exercised a bail-out clause in his contract and announced that he is now a free agent, pardon the expression.

His agent, Scott Boras, said the bidding will begin in the 10-year, $300 million neighborhood.

That is not insignificant money. You could run for president with that kind of money. You could pay for the war in Iraq for almost a whole day.

Even by baseball standards, it is big money. The Colorado Rockies made it to the World Series this year on a payroll of $54 million — for all 27 guys on the team.

The public learned of A-Rod's free agency during the final World Series game this past Monday night. Just prior to the eighth inning at Denver's Coors Field, with the Boston Red Sox in the lead, Blackberries started vibrating all over the press box. Boras was spreading the news via e-mail to the media.

The agent who makes a nice percentage of whatever A-Rod makes feigned surprise that the news would pull attention away from the Series. He said he had no idea his alerts to the media would be so disruptive.

"I apologize ... the unfortunate result was not my intent," he said via a later heartfelt e-mail.

Apology unaccepted. What was perceived as a not-so-cheap publicity stunt riled people up. It began when thousands of Red Sox fans started chanting: "Don't Sign A-Rod" — and this was moments after their team won the World Series.

Editorials of the "A-Rod's a bum" theme soon followed.

"Bor-Rod is one of the biggest reasons the average American family of four can't afford a night at the ballgame," wrote Gregg Doyel of CBS Sports.com.

"Alex Rodriguez will be even more reviled than Barry Bonds when he becomes the next home run king," wrote the Toronto Globe and Mail.

Greg Callahan of the Boston Herald, arguing for the Sox to keep World Series MVP Mike Lowell at third base, wrote, "Lowell is the anti-A-Rod: a guy with class and character who doesn't stop hitting at the end of September."

From sea to shining sea, people really went after A-Rod's greed. They vented. They wailed like it was their own money. They got it off their chest.

Kind of makes you glad there's a sports world, doesn't it?

---

Lee Benson's column runs Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Please send e-mail to benson@desnews.com and faxes to 801-237-2527.