Damned if you do, damned if you don't, so let the haters hate. The way the market is these days, this is a good deal; Yanks save a ton of money in the long run and Gardner is happy with both his deal and to remain with the Yanks.

Very interesting.
I agree, it's a good deal for the Yankees. Gritner said:

Where I come from, that money or twice that much money, I'm not going to change the way I live my life.

I always figured a whole lot more players would think that way -- I'm almost certain I would, if I were in their position. But almost nobody does. I admire Brett for his wisdom.

Yes, good. There's an inherent self-reinforcement to this: The fact he's willing to make this commitment on these terms under these circumstances only underscores my existing belief that he's the kind of person I want to see stick around in the first place.

Nice to see circular logic as a positive force for once. :)

Now, Joe, kindly give Gritner and Ellsbury a little green-light slack. Time for our guys to be the pesky ones you're afraid to walk.