Offseason was OK, but he was at max value last July. Yanks could have had him for the 2006 stretch run plus all of 2007. Arod was in the NY doghouse then too, so I'm sure a Z for Arod swap could have happened. Why would A-Rod have ok'd that deal? He may be getting it pretty bad in NY, but A-Rod's pretty smart in this: he knows that if he agreed to go from a first place to a last place team last year, his reputation as a "loser" might have been cemented forever. He would rather have stuck in NY and had the chance to win the WS last year and change his reputation. Now, maybe, A-Rod might agree to come to the Cubs because of 2 reasons: 1)The Cubs have a decently better roster, which gives A-Rod the hope that he could lead the team to a title, and 2) Lou. A-Rod would almost certainly have declined a trade to last year's Cubs, even if the Yankees had wanted to do it. Or if he helped the Cubs win, he would be cemented forever as a savior. I'm not sure if players think like that? If they did, why would anyone want to be a Cub.