The A-Rod thing is irrelevant - the guy decided he wanted to spend that kind of money, and the team isn't worse off financially for it. It was an investment - just like the Galaxy spending the kind of money they are for Beckscum, they feel sure that in marketing alone it'll be a worthwhile investment. Bingo - it was them saying "Look we've got A-Rod, we're serious about being a contender, who else wants to come now?" Granted it didn't work, but you can't argue the idea to begin with.