Yankees GM Brian Cashman on Saturday became the "first club official to confirm, on the record, that the Yankees no longer believe they are obligated" to pay out on the $30M marketing agreement signed between the team and 3B Alex Rodriguez after he tied Willie Mays' home run mark of 660, according to Wallace Matthews of ESPN N.Y. Cashman said, "We’re going to follow the contract as we follow all contracts, so there is no dispute from our perspective. (But) how it’s been reported and what the contract actually says are two different things. We have the right, but not the obligation, to do something, and that’s it. It’s not, 'You do this, you get that.' It’s completely different. It's not like all of a sudden, we’re choosing not to do something" (ESPNNY.com, 5/3). In N.Y., Dan Martin noted the Yankees "can claim that because the bonus was tied into marketing purposes, the bonus is no longer valid, since Rodriguez has admitted using PEDs and was suspended" the entire '14 season. The Yankees have "two weeks to decide whether to declare 660 as a marketable milestone." If they "choose not to do so, Rodriguez has 30 days to formally challenge that decision, which he is expected to do." The MLBPA has "made it clear since his suspension ended that it would fight on Rodriguez’s behalf in any potential contract dispute and reiterated that stance again Saturday" (N.Y. POST, 5/3). Also in N.Y., Billy Witz noted a payment would also come with a 50% penalty since the team is "already over the luxury-tax threshold." Rodriguez on Friday "indicated that he was not likely to contest his case in the court of public opinion." He said, "I've learned my lesson. I'm doing things a different way now. I know those things will work themselves out" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/2).
HOT CORNER: Rodriguez tied Mays' mark Friday night at Fenway Park, and in Boston, Steve Buckley notes the Red Sox "did nothing to acknowledge the achievement." Buckley: "No announcement, no message on the center field flat screen. Nothing." The Red Sox "routinely reference the in-game achievements of opposing players, and in that spirit they owed it to A-Rod to do something." By "not doing so it makes it look like the Red Sox are complicit with the Yankees in sticking it to Rodriguez." Red Sox Exec VP & Senior Advisor Charles Steinberg last night indicated that Rodriguez' "late-inning pinch-hit appearance left the team playing catch-up in acknowledging the home run." Steinberg: "There was a plan to acknowledge the home run in his next at-bat. ... We could have spontaneously referenced the moment by (putting something on the scoreboard) immediately that it was his 660th home run, but we chose not to do it" (BOSTON HERALD, 5/4).
