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SCI think the explanation is very simple - ARod simply did not want to play in pinstripes. Let's face it - there is no way ARod was going to look good if he exercised his option, or squeezed anything out of the Yankees. Would he look better:
1) Opting out by saying he didn't want to play in NYC...which begs the reason why? Pressure? Teammates? Ownership? There isn't a good answer that doesn't involve giving the team and fans in general the bird.
2) Opting out by saying the money wasn't there to tie him up without exploring his options. I'm sure Boras knew there was no chance the Yankees were going to cough up $350M. But it gave the Yankees the chance to say no, instead of ARod walking without a talk.
By the way - while $350M is "rediculous"...it's not a number you couldn't talk yourself into. Consider:
2007 Highest MLB Salary - ARod $23M
1997 Highest MLB Salary - Belle $10M
1987 Highest MLB Salary - Schmidt $2.1M
What will a top 5 player cost in 2012? 2017? Going against ARod is he will no longer be playing his contract from 25-35 yo, instead from 32-42. Going for him is the record chases, especially the HR chase.
With the way revenue is growing in baseball, I would be shocked if ARod did NOT get a $300M+ contract over 10 years. Wouldn't shock me if he got the $350M either, with some creative accounting. Why not pay ARod $30M/year for the next 10 years, and then a 25 year personal services contract at $2M/year? There's lots of creative things you can do if you want to make a deal work.