Boras Blog

Must Read: Boras clients’ PED links raise concerns

Eric Dorval of NESN raises the question of why so many of Boras' clients have appeared on the Mitchell Report, and in PED testing.  I think it is a bit of a stretch to think that Boras has anything to do with supplying his clients with PEDs, or as quoted in the aritcle:

To get a different opinion, I contacted Phil Bak, author of www.borasblog.com, to get his perspective on Boras and steroids.  Here is what Phil had to say:

“Scott Boras has consistently attracted a certain type of client — those who have an incredible amount of competitiveness. Whether or not Boras himself stokes those fires, we don’t know. What we do know is that Boras provides services to his clients that go far beyond contract negotiation… all with the good intention of making his clients better at what they do. While it is possible that a bad apple has been able to access Boras’ clients through his facility, it would be *highly* unlikely that it was done with the approval of Boras.  The risks of such an endeavor far outweigh the gains. PED users and Scott Boras clients are both likely motivated by the prospect of a big payday — more than most. So it isn’t a surprise to see some sort of convergence.”

Manny Being Barry

I have gotten a couple of emails alerting me to the Manny PED suspension and looking forward to my subsequent post.  I have to say, I have a hard time relating this back to the purpose of this blog, which is to analyze how Scott Boras is able to clean the clocks of GMs on a regular basis.  Frankly, I dont feel much of anything about this.  I dont even understand the rules of the game anymore... if a player commits himself to dedication of perfecting his craft by spending countless hours in the gym, doing drills and reviewing game tape, he is a hero, right?  If that dedication extends to PEDs, he is a villain, right?  If a player has Tommy John surgery to improve his natural body's elbow, thats fine.  If he has lasik surgery to improve his eyesight, thats fine too.  If he goes on a  diet of vitamins and protein shakes, no problemo.  If he ignores his personal, family and social obligations in pursuit of getting better at his sport, that is admirable.  If he injects a substance that, along with continued hard work, will improve his on-field performance - even at the cost his long term health - well, grab your pitchforks, townfolk, we got some lynchin' to do.

It just seems like such sharp, distinct line between right and wrong, yet placed in a completely arbitrary spot.  So what is my reaction to Manny testing positive on steroids?  Yawn.

Oh Manny Dont You Weep No More

LA Daily News is reporting that Manny to the dodgers at 2/45 is a done deal.

It has been a long negotiation, that is for sure.  At the start of the off-season, it was widely reported that the dodgers had offered 1/25 and 2/45 contracts.  Boras took a lot of heat when those offers were rejected, but at the end of the day he cost himself and his client nothing, while buying himself plenty of time to try to create a market or entice a new buyer to enter the market.

Evaluating this deal on its own merit, considering the market environment, Boras did a fine job for his client.  The number of years was a critical factor given Ramirez' age, but I believe it was Ramirez behavior in Boston that prevented teams from committing long term.  $22.5m per season is top dollar, and Boras should be commended for his patience and diligence.

Side note:  As you may imagine, this blog is a lot more fun to write during the off season, when teams are weeling and dealing, than I expect it to be during the season.  I plan to keep up with events as they unfold, but posting should be a bit more sporadic until the amateur draft and trade deadline. Manny closes the book on a very exciting off-season - thanks to all who have been following from our point of view.

And Then There Was One

The LA Dodgers gather for spring training on Saturday, 48 hours from now, with Juan Pierre set to take Manny's spot in the lineup.  According to Baseball Prospectus' latest PECOTA projections, that is an OPS difference of .930 to .671.  It is a VORP difference of 49 to 5.4.  It is a 62 point EQA difference.  It is a 2.6 WARP difference.  It is a 23.3 SuperVorp difference.  According to the WOPR, that is the difference between a game of tic tac toe and a nuclear war with Russia.  According to the Whopper, it is a defrosted veggie burger patty, left out overnight.  According to the Doppler, this is a snow storm on Maui.  According to the spork, this is eating with chopsticks.

There hasnt been much movement on the Manny talks, just that Colletti is "still interested", but seemingly not budging, and the Giants remain on the periphery.  Boras meanwhile has Ankiel's arbitration case today, and has been preoccupied with the A-rod nonsense.  So why I am convinced that the signing will happen today or tomorrow?

Because all this time Colletti had plenty of options.  There was Pat Burrell.  There was Raul Ibanez.  There was Bobby Abreu.  There was Adam Dunn.  There was no hurry.

With Abreu and Dunn signing over the last two days, the Dodgers have to accept the fact that if they dont sign Manny, the downgrade will be to Juan Pierre, which is very, very steep.  The Dodgers have their backs against the wall - against a built in deadline and with no options to get them out of this mess.  I believe that they will capitulate, and it will happen soon.

Sunday's Quick Thoughts

• I cant understand why everyone can classify the late nineties and early aughts (Is that right?  "oh-oh"s?  "two-thousands"?) as the Steroid Era and there can be so much chatter the EVERYONE was on steroids, yet whenever news comes out that ANYONE was on steroids we are supposed to be outraged.
• Took a long time, but it looks like the market is heating up for Joe Crede.  Reports are out there that both the Giants as  well as the Twins have either made, or will be making offers.
• Seattle Pi reports that  Boras is pitching Garrett Anderson to the Mariners, which seems like a good match.  If it doesnt happen, Anderson might be looking at a graceless Mike Piazza-like retirement.
• The Seattle Post Intelligencer report also checks in on Josh Fields and reports no progress.  Amazing considering that the two sides are apart by less than an Elmer Dessens contract.
• The Giants appear to be getting more serious about Manny Ramirez.  Of course nothing is certain until there is a signature above the dotted line.

You Better Watch Out When You’re Playing Chicken

Everyone is writing about Manny today.   I mean, EVERYONE is writing about Manny.  Here are a couple of the lowlights and highlights:

Mike Celizik at NBC Sports.  Warning: this may cost you brain cells:

Manny should have taken the $25 million. And then he should have kissed everybody in the Dodgers’ front office for being willing to pay him so much money for one year of play.

As soon as the ink is dry on his new contract, he should give agent Scott Boras his commission and then tell him to go screw up somebody else’s career. At the press conference to talk about the signing, he should swallow his pride (It’ll take a lot of swallows to get that much ego down, but if he sticks to it, he’ll get it down.) and apologize to Los Angeles, to Boston and to baseball for being such a jerk.

This guy set me up so well for a funny comment, but he is so far off base, I dont even know how to respond.

Chad Finn at the Globe:

Ramirez and Boras didn't respond to the Dodgers' two-year, $45 million contract offer earlier in free agency and declined an offer of salary arbitration. Various reports have indicated that Ramirez is looking for at least a four-year deal for approximately $25 million per season. Despite the slumping economy, Boras still expects that Ramirez, by far the best free agent without a job, can still land a multi-year deal.

“Manny is doing fine,” Boras told Yahoo! Sports.com's Tim Brown Tuesday night. Asked if he still believed Ramirez would have a contract by the start of spring training, Boras said, “I don’t really think about a timetable. Anything can be done any day. You just don’t know.”

Then, apparently referring to the Dodgers' 48-hour deadline to accept or reject the one-year offer, Boras said, “What I do know, you better watch out when you’re playing chicken,” Boras reportedly rejected the offer within minutes.

According to the MLB.com report, Boras noted that free agents CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira received lucrative contracts for seven and eight years, respectively. He said that supports Ramirez's desire for a longer deal from the Dodgers. Of course, Ramirez comes with baggage -- he turns 37 in May, and his tumultuous exit from Boston may be a concern to some potential suitors.

"We still have interest in signing Manny," Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti told ESPN.com yesterday after the one-year offer was rejected. "Right now we don't have a deadline, but that doesn't mean we're not going to have a deadline. These situations can change in an instant, and anybody can change them in an instant."

The direction this is going in, it just wont end well for Colletti.  You dont want to be the guy playing chicken against Scott Boras.  Not when you are the guy who was taken to the cleaners by the likes of Juan Pierre.

Eric Dorval, as usual, has a funny take at the Examiner:

After this latest offer was declined, Dodgers GM Ned Colletti told ESPN.com, “We still have interest in signing Manny.”  Wow, Ned, you truly are a shrewd negotiator.  Mr. Colletti probably plays poker with his cards face up.  He has now made two contact offers while no one else has shown anything more than the slightest interest in actually signing Manny.

On the flip side, agent Scott Boras is putting on a seminar on how to manipulate management and artificially inflate your clients worth.  This is Scott Boras’s real genius: getting teams to bid against themselves.  If you want to know why baseball salaries are so high, look no further than Scott Boras and Ned Colletti.

As I told Eric in an email exchange, I love that line about how Colletti is playing poker with his cards facing up.  Anyone remember that scene in Dazed and Confused when the nerdy guy has a few beers and decides to take on the tough guy, and then get beaten up really badly at the party?  No?  Anyone?  Well Colletti is that guy.

May As Well All Be Monopoly Money

In the title of his blog post at Pro Sports, Jim Alexander asks "does anyone really get it?".  The answer is certainly not Jim Alexander.  Alexander is all in a tizzy because Scott Boras and Manny Ramirez turned down a 1/25 offer. 

The Dodgers, at least, are trying to do something, recognizing not only what Ramirez (right) did for them at the end of last season but also the hit that they would take from their fan base if he gets away

Aww.  What a wonderful, selfless organization, them Dodgers.

But in Scott Boras' world, it may as well all be Monopoly money. Sensitivity, evidently, is for losers.

Right, what evil bastards for not taking a contract the better serves the LA Dodgers Corporation.

I am amazed by how many people buy the company line.  Value and salary compensation are relative.  Premium players bring in an incredibly high revenue to their teams.  When people hear of players and agents turning down large offers, the knee jerk reaction is to be shocked! insulted! appalled! and on and on.  The fact that these players bring in more money than they were offered to their teams, are often worth more on the open market and thus are being low balled or underpaid is a concept that takes time getting used to when the relative salaries get so high.  But I would think professional sports writers would get that by now.