Rest of baseball thread

[PhillyGirl]

Short column on Scott Boras from ESPN Insider:

Boras clients earn more but lose time
With minutes to spare, two of Scott Boras's clients signed Monday night: Jered Weaver, with the Angels, and Stephen Drew, with the Arizona Diamondbacks -- after almost a year of holding out. If Weaver and Drew hadn't signed, they would have been thrown back into the pool for next week's draft – and given the history of Boras's clients, that probably would have meant more months holding out.

Some players I covered, as well as one friend in the broadcasting industry, related the sales pitch Boras gave them before each determined to sign with other agents. Each said that he was very convincing, that he made them feel as if they had special talents, and that he explained if he represented them, he effectively would control the negotiations.

I've got to be honest: Whether I had a special talent for baking bagels (and I do, based on record-setting performances in two bagel shops two decades ago) or playing baseball, I couldn't imagine ceding control over my own future to anyone. I put myself in the place of Drew or Weaver, and I don't get it.

Imagine you're coming out of college and you have a chance to make an unbelievable amount of money playing baseball. OK, maybe, with a less aggressive agent, you don't get the maximum contract right away. Maybe, if you handled the negotiations through an agent less aggressive than Boras, you get $3 million instead of $4 million for your first deal. My thinking would be: Hey, I'll take $3 million, which is a pretty hefty sum, and then I'll immediately go about the business of making myself a great baseball player. The chances of more money rolling in will improve, inevitably, if I just focus on getting better at playing the game.

Instead, Drew and Weaver sat around for a year, not playing as much baseball as they could have, not getting the best possible chance to improve themselves. In the end, they got more money (minus Boras's cut), but you wonder if they lost. An aggressive agent like Boras might argue that you need to cash in when you have the opportunity, to maximize the money when possible. I'd argue that your playing career is relatively short and that you should do what you really want to do when possible – play baseball. If you're good at that, you're going to make plenty of money.

It would be interesting to hear from the readers what approach they would take if they had a chance to have a Scott Boras represent them.

[SD_Eagle5]

Sooo...ummmm....yeah. I'm at Mahloney's tonight, and start talking to this dude. I know he looks familiar but I can't place him. Anyways, girls are coming up to him asking him to sign their boobs. Here, it's freaking Nomar Garciaparria. I knew it was somebody famous but was too drunk to realize who. He was super nice and not the least bit cocky even though he was surrounded by a bunch of hot chicks.  What a strange night.

[BigEd76]

Did he sign them with "NGP" like he does with everything else? 

[SD_Eagle5]

Did he sign them with "NGP" like he does with everything else? 

I was more focused on the boobs then I was his signature.  There was so much ass around him it was absurd 

[BigEd76]

Marlon Byrd was bad 

[Geowhizzer]

Marlon Byrd was bad 

He'll be done for awhile.  Pete Rose got what, 30 games for poking an umpire in the face when he was a manager?  I would suppose this would get around that.

[BigEd76]

They showed the replay from a home plate camera and you see him bowl the ump over.  When it cuts in close, that ump got laid out on his back.... 

[Geowhizzer]

Here's Cristian Guzman and Jose Guillen helping Brinkman up:



By the way, was Brinkman the one who Roberto Alomar spit on a few years ago?

[BigEd76]

Rumor:  Danny Graves will sign with the Mets

[BigEd76]

NL ROY candidate Clint Barmes broke his collarbone after he fell down stairs while carrying groceries.......out 3 months.... 

[Geowhizzer]

NL ROY candidate Clint Barmes broke his collarbone after he fell down stairs while carrying groceries.......out 3 months.... 

And such goes my nice little find for my fantasy team... 

[Dillen]

Willy Taveras for ROY

[Mad-Lad]

Willy Taveras for ROY

riiiiiiiiiiiiight.

No one on the Lastros deserves any awards (not including starting pitching)

[PhillyPhreak54]

Did you guys see Darin Erstad knock Johnny Estrada the farg out?!?

It was a stone cold knock out.

[henchmanUK]

Willy Taveras for ROY

riiiiiiiiiiiiight.

No one on the Lastros deserves any awards (not including starting pitching)

Iguchi for the AL award though.