Yesterday, during the Boston Red Sox' sweep of the upstart and exciting Colorado Rockies, crybaby extraordinaire Alex Rodriguez decided it was "the time" to announce he was opting out of his contract with the New York Yankees and filing for free agency. He had to make a decision within 10 days after the World Series ended, not within 10 minutes of the start of Game 4.

What a selfish, self-centered you-know-what. This guy is a total and complete goofball. Sure his stats are fearsome, but he has never won at any level a championship. He had great numbers on flailing Seattle Mariner and Texas Ranger teams, but both rarely played .500 ball. After four seasons with the Yankees, Mr. No-October has taken the chicken's way out. The attempt to upstage the Red Sox and Rockies should not be forgiven nor forgotten by the baseball brethren.

This guy comes to New York and played next to Derek Jeter -- a real ball player. Jeter will never hit the home runs that A-Rod does -- Jeter has 195 career home runs in 12 seasons, compared to Rodriguez's 500 and some. But Jeter has won more games than A-Rod ever will. Derek Jeter may be one of the most clutch players and hitters to ever play the game. Jeter may go 0-4 in a game but make a diving stop at shortstop to kill an opponent's rally. Jeter may get the stolen base at the right time to start a rally: Jeter will sacrifice himself and hit the ball to the right side to move a teammate. Bottom line, Jeter is the complete player. With him, it's all about team.

With A-Rod -- it's all about him. In the playoffs, Rodriguez has been a total and miserable failure. Jeter is clutch. In the playoffs, year-in and year-out, Derek Jeter is the toughest out. Rodriguez is 0-18 in the playoffs with runners in scoring position: the ultimate barometer.

The Boston Red Sox won the World Series last night, so what is the baseball world buzzing about today? In the same way that the antics of train wrecks like Britney Spears steal headlines away from others with worthy accomplishments, we are writing about the Yankees and their messy divorce from future Hall-of-Famer Alex Rodriguez. Yesterday, A-Rod's agent, Scott Boras, announced that the third-sacker would take his option to terminate his 10-year, $252 million contract early and put himself up for auction.

In the typical classy Yankee way, Steinbrenner the Lesser, Hank, took the opportunity to blast the player, telling 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."

After years of being crucified by the New York press, fans and front office for failing to hit enough to overcome a minor-league starting rotation and a gaggle of overpaid, over-aged teammates, who wouldn't want out?

The question now is who will step forward to pay A-Rod more than his previous contract? No other team enjoys the Yankees' attendance or media income. Fortunately, we're not talking Wall Street, but baseball, and business economics are not its forte. Remember that A-Rod signed his huge contract with Texas, who, when they came back to their senses and realized they couldn't cover that salary, were forced to deal him to New York while agreeing still to cover part of his salary.

Boras, known as the superagent, is too shrewd to make such a move without confidence that a least a couple of teams will contend to sign the best player in baseball. The Chicago Cubs could use his talents, although last year's signing of Alfonso Soriano tied up a lot of Chicago's cash. The Cubs could also go on the block soon, as well, and a lot of debt might not help that.

To those of you sitting at home who often think you can manage your favorite baseball team better than those actually in charge -- a position just came open.

On the heels of the New York Yankees bowing out in the first round of post-season play -- again -- Joe Torre has parted ways with the legendary club, but on his terms. Instead of being dismissed, as many fans and sports analysts were anticipating, Torre was actually given the option of a one-year contract carrying a price tag of $8 million (including incentives).

But the former Yankees skipper -- who held the title for 12 years and ranks second in the club's history for number of wins (at 1,173, trailing only Joe McCarthy) -- met Thursday afternoon with Yankee general manager Brian Cashman and owner George Steinbrenner to turn down the offer.

News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch is probably too busy plotting world domination to spend much time worrying about something trivial like baseball -- until now.

America's pastime is about to start post-season play, most of which will be televised on the company's Fox television network. Already, there was one huge surprise as the Philadelphia Phillies overtook the New York Mets to win the National League East. But this isn't the type of surprise that the media mogul probably likes because a team from a smaller media market beat one from a larger one.

Remember that last year's series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Detroit Tigers had record-low television ratings. Advertisers pay a premium price for television spots on the World Series because of the huge audience it attracts. Fox probably has guaranteed that the commercials will be seen by a set amount of viewers and must refund money to advertisers if these targets aren't hit.

This post is part of our Money Face-Offs feature. Let us know who you think comes out ahead in this head-to-head match-up, and check out our other Money Face-Off posts.

Celebrities -- they're more than superior human beings, they're money-making machines. If these celebrities were stocks, which would be the shrewd buy?

The shrewd, cantankerous veteran vs. the trash-talking but talented kid -- who would you put your money on?

The veteran would be George Steinbrenner, head of the New York Yankees since 1973. Steinbrenner made his nut in the family shipbuilding business when he bought out the American Ship Building Co. He was always an avid sports fan, even serving as a football coach at Northwestern and Purdue before returning to the business world. His first acquisition, however, the Cleveland Pipers of the American Basketball Association, left him broke. But his taste for the big leagues remained.

Walt Disney Corp. (NYSE: DIS), Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) may be tempted to pick up the Yankee Entertainment & Sports Network, the cable TV channel that broadcasts the baseball team's games which Bloomberg News said could be worth as much as $2 billion.

The channel, whose owners include Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) and former New Jersey Nets owner Raymond Chambers, is "running a limited check" and would only consider selling if it got a price "reflecting its real value," spokesman Peter Rose told Bloomberg. Funny guy to be quoted in a baseball story. I guess anything is for sale at the right price. What an original concept.

It will be an interesting test of wills between Disney's ESPN and Comcast. ESPN remains a juggernaut for the house that Mickey built. Comcast is trying to challenge ESPN with its Comcast SportsNet channels including the one I watch in Philadelphia that broadcasts Phillies games.

Remember, we're talking about the Yankees here, one of the most recognized though not necessarily loved franchises in baseball. New Yorkers, though, continue to love their Bronx Bombers even though they have struggled this year.

But the time the YES network is sold, however, slugger Alex Rodriguez will have left the Big Apple for parts unknown. With $2 billion in the bank, I'm sure the team could afford to replace him.

What lessons can investors learn from the return of Roger Clemens to the Yankees next week, possibly against the Boston Red Sox? Plenty.

Like great investors, great baseball executives know where to find value. On the face of it, spending lots of money on a 44-year-old pitcher seems like a poor investment. But this isn't just any player. Clemens has already won 348 games, along with seven Cy Young Awards, making him one of the best to ever play the game.

The Yankees are going to pay him an astounding $4.5 million per month for four months work. That works out to about $9,000 per pitch regardless whether they are balls or strikes. Sure is nice work if you can get it, but is Yankee owner George Steinbrenner going to get his money's worth from Clemens? They have to reach the postseason, period.

The Bronx Bombers faced a double-digit deficit to the Red Sox last weekend, before rebounding slightly. They've been forced to start a record seven rookies in the team's first 42 games, so adding Clemens surely will be a welcome injection for the decimated starting staff.

He is turning 45 years of age in August, and yet Roger Clemens is returning to the New York Yankees pitching rotation. But is his 94-mile-per-hour fastball still intact? Can he still spot the location of his pitches? Is there some mileage left in those nearly 45-year-old-legs and Hall-of-Fame right arm? Watching a younger Clemens win seven Cy Young awards over his sterling 23 year Major League career reminds me of a great growth story that Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) once was.

Well, is Cisco in the midst of a rebound? Maybe Cisco cannot post 40% to 50% year-over-year growth anymore, like Roger Clemens cannot win 20 games anymore, but don't count them out either. Clemens is in superb physical condition and will probably win 10 to 12 games before the October post-season begins (if the Yankees make the playoffs!). Cisco will probably beat its numbers when it reports after the close on Tuesday. Street consensus calls for revenues of $8.7 billion and earnings per share of $0.33. The whisper circuit has Cisco beating those numbers and probably guiding higher for the almighty fiscal 4th quarter. The 4th quarter ends July 31, 2007, and consensus calls for revenues of $9.2 billion and earnings per share of $0.35.

If Cisco beats the number for its 3rd quarter, the raising the bar -- beating the bar -- game will be resurrected for this once mega-growth company. Cisco is hitting on all cylinders and its distribution system is world-class as well as worldwide. A weak dollar will help Cisco as it prices its products in local currency. Cisco is benefiting from a technology spending rebound. Cisco has put up sequentially higher revenue numbers the past five quarters and, as a result, the stock has acted well these past five quarters.