With Contract in Hand, Rodriguez Knocks Boras

A-Rod拿著手中的合約給Bora$一記當頭棒喝

By TYLER KEPNER

Published: December 14, 2007

Alex Rodriguez’s decision to opt out of his contract partly upstaged the final game of the World Series. When Rodriguez’s 10-year, $275 million Yankees contract was finalized Thursday, it happened on another day of big news.
A-Rod當初決定跳出合約選擇成為自由球員的新聞，搶走不少世界大賽最後一戰的鋒頭。當星期四，A-Rod與洋基重新簽下了一紙10年2億7500萬的合約，注定了又是頭條大新聞的一天。

The release of the former Senator George J. Mitchell’s report on steroids coincided with the formal announcement of Rodriguez’s new deal, the richest in baseball history. Rodriguez agreed to the framework about a month ago, so his teleconference with reporters was anticlimactic.
A-Rod簽下棒球史上最昂貴合約的新聞與前參議員George J. Mitchell公佈禁藥調查報告的時間點恰好重疊。阿肉在一個月前就已經同意了合約大致的內容，所以他與記者們的電話採訪也是草草結束。

But it was illuminating. Rodriguez severely criticized his longtime agent, Scott Boras, for the handling of his opt-out, and blamed himself for nearly losing his chance to return to the Yankees.
但是令人興奮的是，阿肉為了選擇跳出合約這件事情嚴厲的批評了他長期的經紀人$cott Bora$，而且怪自己差點無法重回洋基隊的陣容當中。

“The whole thing was a mistake,” Rodriguez said. “It was a huge debacle. For me, it was very stressful. It was a very humbling experience. I knew what I wanted from Day 1. The mistake I made was I should have called Hank and Hal from the get-go, and I didn’t do that. I blame me.”
＂整件事情從一開始就是一個錯誤！＂阿肉說，＂真是個大災難。對我來說，我覺得壓力很大。這是一個冏斃了的經驗。我從第一天開始就知道我想要的是什麼。我犯的錯就是我應該在選擇跳脫合約之前就先跟Hank和Hal談談的，但我並沒有這樣做。對此我很自責。＂

Rodriguez said Boras told him before he opted out that the Yankees had no interest in re-signing him. It was a curious claim because the day Boras exercised the opt-out, several newspapers reported the basic parameters of the offer the Yankees hoped to make. Rodriguez acknowledged he was puzzled by what he said Boras had told him.
阿肉說，Bora$在他跳脫合約之前就告訴他，洋基沒有興趣再重新簽他回來。那是一個奇怪的聲明，因為Bora$執行選擇權跳脫合約那天，某些報紙正在報導洋基希望與A-Rod續約的細節。阿肉承認他被Bora$告訴他的事情給搞糊塗了。

“The whole thing didn’t feel right,” Rodriguez said, adding that several Yankees executives had told him they wanted him back. “I felt all along there was mutual interest and great respect from both ends. I always thought the negotiation was going to be simple and wasn’t going to take a lot of time. So when I was getting that information, it was very surprising and upsetting and hurtful.”
＂整件情事讓人感到很不對勁。＂阿肉說，一些洋基的高層曾經告訴他，他們希望他能夠回來。＂我始終認為這是雙方都感興趣以及兩方都互相尊重的事情（指的是，洋基希望阿肉回來而阿肉也希望能夠繼續待在洋基）。我一直以為談判的過程會很簡單，而且不用花很長的時間就可以搞定。所以，當我得知這些消息時，我很驚訝、很沮喪也覺得受到了傷害。＂

Reached by telephone yesterday, Boras offered no comment, saying that his conversations with Rodriguez would remain private. But Boras has not disputed the idea that Rodriguez reached out to Hank and Hal Steinbrenner without him, an action that was instrumental in making a deal.
昨天打了電話聯絡了Bora$，他對這件事情沒有任何的評論，而且說，他與阿肉的談話內容是個不能說的秘密。但是Bora$沒有質疑阿肉直接跳過他去找小老闆們進行談話這件事，這樣的舉動是能夠達成合約的重要推手。

Boras did help negotiate the bonus package that will push Rodriguez’s compensation to $314 million — including deferred money from his last contract — if he passes Barry Bonds’s career home run record. Rodriguez said he would retain Boras as his agent, but he said he had told Boras he was angry with him and did not offer him a strong endorsement.
Bora$的確也幫助阿肉得到了額外的補償獎金，將合約金額增加到3億1400萬，包括了他上個合約所損失的金額。假如他能夠超越棒子爺的生涯全壘打紀錄的話。阿肉說他會讓Bora$繼續擔任他的經紀人，但他說他已經告訴Bora$，他對Bora$感到很怒，而且不贊同他的作法。

“At the end of my deal, I’m going to be 42 years old; I don’t think there’s going to be any more baseball for me,” Rodriguez said. “At this point, it’s all academic.”
＂當我合約結束時，我也將要42歲了，我不認為到那時候我還能夠再繼續打下去。＂阿肉說，＂在此刻，那都只是理論上的推測罷了。＂

Rodriguez, 32, pointed out that he has known Boras half his life and said he appreciated what Boras had done for him. He said their policy had always been for Rodriguez to play and for Boras to negotiate, and neither interfered much with the other’s area of expertise.
32歲的阿肉說，他認識Bora$已經大半輩子了，也感謝Bora$曾經為他所做的。他說他們的作法總是：阿肉負責打球，Bora$負責談判，從來不對彼此的專業領域做太多的干涉。

This time, though, Rodriguez said he wished he had taken more control of the negotiation by speaking with the Steinbrenners before opting out, instead of after.
雖然這一次，阿肉說，他希望能夠擁有比跳脫合約之前更多的談判主導權來與小老闆們進行對話。

“I made mistakes,” Rodriguez said. “I mean, Scott works for me. So at the end of the day, when it comes to the World Series, when it comes to opting out, when it comes to all the big mistakes, I’ve got to look in the mirror and take that bullet. If I had to do it again, I would have called Hank from Day 1 and negotiated the contract myself.”
＂我犯了錯。＂阿肉說。＂我意思是，$cott替我工作。當世界大賽將要結束的那一天，選擇跳出合約的那一天，犯下大錯的那一天，我看著鏡子，決定解雇Bora$。假如事情還可以再重來，我會在第一天就打電話給Hank，而且自己進行合約的談判。＂

Rodriguez called Hank Steinbrenner, the Yankees’ senior vice president, a day or so after opting out, and their conversation was brief. Through an intermediary at Goldman Sachs, Rodriguez re-established a connection with Steinbrenner and soon returned to a team he said he never wanted to leave.
選擇跳出合約的幾天之後，阿肉打了通電話給洋基的資深副總裁Hank Steinbrenner，然而他們的談話很簡短。透過金融界大老的牽線之下，阿肉重新聯繫上了Steinbrenner家族，很快的重新回到了他從沒想要離開過的球隊當中。

“I’m as proud of that phone call as I am of my M.V.P. season,” Rodriguez said.
＂打了那通電話讓我跟成為M.V.P一樣感到驕傲。＂阿肉說。

News source：http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/sports/baseball/14arod.html?_r=3&ref=baseball&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin