Hey, everyone else is doing it...

Bullet points on the Arod situation:

• Remembering the money the Rangers contributed towards the now-terminated contract, I figured the most likely outcome would be an extension, probably announced right before the opt-out deadline. That Arod decided to end his contract, and specially when he did it (with the World Series still being played, and with at least 10 more days to negotiate an extension) shocked me. This tells me that he simply doesn't want to be a Yankee anymore. Either this, or Scott Boras is getting too confident on what he can get for him in the open market.
• A lot has been made of how he disrespected the World Series by announcing the opt-out when he did. Would it be too naive to suggest that this was expected to remain private at least until Monday? Still, I think (and I know I'm probably the only one) that this is being taken too far. I don't think the Red Sox and their fans were bothered too much by this (in fact, it may have even enhanced their enjoyment of the situation).
• How much does he get, and from whom? I had guesstimated 30 million per year for 8 years, and I still think this is a good place to start. As for the team, I would put the LA (LA-Anaheim?) teams as frontrunners, with a slight nod to the Angels. Philly would be an interesting dark horse; he fits in their lineup like a glove (replacing .234/.318/.282 Abraham Nunez with Arod makes the Phillies the best team in the NL by some margin), but how would the fanbase react to him. The Mets are a non-starter to me; his Yankee problem probably is a New York problem, and the incumbents at 3B and SS make him less valuable to them. In San Francisco, he would be entering a situation similar to what he encountered in Texas, and we know how that went. The Cubs' sale process and significant outlays a year ago probably take them out of the bidding. The Tigers would have been a nice bet with their willingness to deal with Boras, but the recent trade for Edgar Renteria probably settles their infield.