<i>Jonathan Papelbon reacts to the news of A-Rod\’s free agency.</i>” title=”<i>Jonathan Papelbon reacts to the news of A-Rod\’s free agency.</i>” class=”alignright size-full wp-image-41″ /> <p>OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD Alex Rodriguez has <a href=opted out of his Yankees contract!!!!  He's a free agent now!!  What's going to happen???  This calls for speculation, people!  SPECULATE, goddammit!! Will he go to the Cubs?  Will he go back to the Yankees for more money?

"It's clear he didn't want to be a Yankee," [George] Steinbrenner told the New York Daily News. "He doesn't understand the privilege of being a Yankee on a team where the owners are willing to pay $200 million to put a winning product on the field. "I don't want anybody on my team that doesn't want to be a Yankee… We're not going to back down. It's goodbye. :(" [note: editor's frowny face]

But hey, A-Rod's just doing this because the Yankees don't have team stability.  For cereal, guys.

[Agent Scott] Boras said during a telephone interview that Rodriguez made his choice because he was uncertain whether Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte would return to the Yankees… "Alex's decision was one based on not knowing what his closer, his catcher and one of his statured pitchers was going to do," Boras said. "He really didn't want to make any decisions until he knew what they were doing."

And if Scott Boras says it's not about money, well, goldarnit, that's good enough for me.  Now tell me more about this "pyramid scheme" that sounds so promising.

Oh yeah, and the Red Sox won the World Series or something.

(Getty Images photo)