Why the Boston Red Sox Should Say No to Alex Rodriguez

As the tension mounts between Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees, it's becoming increasingly clear that Number 13 will opt out of his contract at the end of the season.

The drama has set off a firestorm of speculation about possible suitors. Naturally, the contestants in the A-Rod Sweepstakes will be big market clubs with deep-pocketed owners—including, reportedly, the Boston Red Sox.

Red Sox Nation should hope the rumors never come to fruition.

Don't get me wrong: Rodriguez is a great player, and the Sox have a huge hole at short, where Julio Lugo is struggling to stay above the Mendoza Line. But if A-Rod couldn t handle the pressure in New York, he s not going to make it in Boston.

Rodriguez would have to deliver multiple World Series rings before Boston fans even considered accepting him as bona fide member of the Sox.  There's simply no other way to overcome so much historical bad blood.  

Say hell freezes over and Rodriguez takes the reins at shortstop for the Red Sox in 2008. If he does anything less than what he's doing for the Yankees this year, he can expect the boos to be far louder than they ever were in New York.

Speaking of A-Rod's 2007 production: his stellar season feels more like a push for money in a walk year than anything else. We saw it with Adrian Beltre in 2004 and Alfonso Soriano last year: There's no motivation like the promise of a new contract.

A-Rod's loyalty, like that of many other players, is to the highest bidder. There's nothing wrong with that, but remember that the Sox were built on chemistry when they won it all in 2004.

Sure the '04 Sox had marquee players making millions of dollars, but you could sense that they genuinely liked playing together.

Rodriguez, on the other hand, has never endeared himself to his teammates or his fanbase. And seriously: Can you really see A-Rod getting along with Red Sox icons like David Ortiz or Manny Ramirez when he's hearing the boo birds every time he comes to bat?

To sum up: Stay away, Theo Epstein and Larry Lucchino. Go after a different shortstop this offseason, and let A-Rod crush the hopes of some other group of fans.

As for Scott Boras—we Red Sox fans aren't suckers. You already got us with J.D Drew, and we're not falling for that again.

And to A-Rod?

Well, I hear the strippers really dig Giants uniforms.