High and Tight.

Friday, February 06, 2009

Boras is Delusional

First he had Jason Varitek turn down arbitration and then had him re-sign for a much lower amount.

Now he's having Andruw Jones decline spring training invites in order to look for a guaranteed major league contract.

The Yankees are a marquee team where Jones would have a chance to enter into the spotlight of New York if he performed well and could earn himself a huge payday.

Jones had an OPS+ of 88 in 2007, and 34 - thirty-four - in 2008. 34 is so colossally bad that Jones should be happy anyone has even called him.

Oh, also the Dodgers are still cutting him checks for $3.7M per year until 2014.

I think Boras is once again sacrificing what's best for his client in exchange for what's best for the agent's image (my clients don't accept invites, my clients don't accept arbitration, you have to negotiate with me, and so on).

Labels: andruw jones, scott boras

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 10:41 AM 0 comments

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Did Boras Lie to A-Rod?

According to Alex Rodriguez's conference call, A-Rod says that he opted out of his contract because Scott Boras told him that the Yankees had "no interest" in retaining him.

Did A-Rod even believe this? Like, for one second? Despite the fact that Cashman had said repeatedly they wanted to talk about an extension?

I do enjoy Alex throwing Boras under the bus, no matter what really happened. He's only retaining Boras still because he'll be "42 years old" and not looking for any future contracts.

Labels: a-rod, scott boras

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 10:12 AM 0 comments

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Sometimes, Sportswriters are NOT Morons

I swear, this is not turning into the All-Alex-All-The-Time Blog, although I do appreciate when people consider it a good source of information.

Often I slam sportwriters (seriously, it has happened before) in regards to their idiotic ideas and biased or outdated attitudes that they continually perpetrate upon a generally wide-eyed and gullible public.

However, sometimes kudos are also in order. John Harper gets it. If you want to see a very good take on the A-Rod/Steinbrenner/Boras/Cashman relationship, it's a really good read.

Labels: a-rod, brian cashman, good sportwriters, john harper, little stein, scott boras

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 2:33 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

A-Rod to Be a Yankee Again. For Now. I Mean, We'll See.

Mark Feisand may be better at predicting the future than Tyler Kepner.

After all the back and forth we've listened to in recent weeks, it looks like Alex Rodriguez is headed back to New York after all.

As first reported on the Daily News Web site this morning, A-Rod and the Yankees have been talking behind the scenes about a deal to bring him back to the Bronx, and it looks like it will happen in the very near future.

This is the right move for the Yankees. They bring back the best hitter in the game, at the price they wanted to pay him to begin with. The deal should be in the range of 10 years and $275 million, which gives them back the $21 million they lost from Texas when A-Rod opted out.

For Rodriguez, it's the first step for him to restore his image, which has taken a beating since the opt out was announced during the World Series. Rodriguez comes back to New York on a lower contract, and he'll now finish his career in pinstripes.
I think Feisand's math is a bit off as far as giving back the Texas discount. While it's true that contract would have been less than Rodriguez would have made had he accepted the initial offer, it seems to be a little bit more for the Yankees to pay.

It seems John Sterling also confirmed through a "source" that the deal is "100% done."

I really don't know how to think or feel about this yet, but if nothing else this is a HUGE slap in the face to Scott Boras, because if Alex did this on his own it's practically admitting that Boras ignores the will of his high profile clients. I also believe it means he won't get a cut of the contract, which would be extra sweet.

UPDATE: Hank Steinbrenner says A-Rod "wants to be a Yankee."

It appears at this point that he wants to be a Yankee.” Steinbrenner said in a cell phone conversation.

Despite so vigorously stating they would not negotiate with A-Rod after he opted out, the Yankees are entertaining this surprising new development because Rodriguez is willing to take sacrifices.

“The reason we didn’t entertain it in the first place is because of the opt out and the loss of the Rangers money and so forth,” Steinbrenner said. “But at this point it appears he’s willing to make sacrifices to be a Yankee. Basically that’s it in a nutshell.”

In his statement, Rodriguez referenced potential sacrifices -- which would include taking less money to account for the $21 million subsidary from the Rangers he cost them by opting out.

If Hank is making such statements... well, a dealis probably close.

Labels: a-rod, little stein, scott boras

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 2:17 PM 3 comments

Tyler Kepner Lives in the Future

And it's a strange and confusing future, as this article from tomorrow details:

Rodriguez May Talk to Yankees Without Agent

Article Tools Sponsored By
By TYLER KEPNER
Published: November 15, 2007
Alex Rodriguez said all season that he wanted to stay with the Yankees, and now he seems prepared to finally back up those statements.

A person close to the Yankees said this morning that Rodriguez, through an intermediary, told the Yankees that he wants to talk with the team about a new contract agreement without the involvement of his agent, Scott Boras. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no deal has been reached.

When Rodriguez opted out of his contract during Game 4 of the World Series, on Oct. 28, the Yankees insisted they would not chase him as a free agent. Club officials were bothered that Rodriguez did not return their calls and refused to meet with them in person.

On Nov. 4, the Times reported that Rodriguez was dismayed at the public fallout from his decision to opt out and was considering returning to the Yankees at a lower salary. That feeling has grown stronger since then, and Rodriguez seems to understand that his only way to stay a Yankee is to make up for the $21.3 million subsidy from the Texas Rangers that the Yankees lost when he opted out.

The Yankees are wary that Rodriguez’s new stance might be a trap to lure them into negotiations and thus drive up his price in the marketplace. But they seem to believe he is sincere in his desire to return.

Rodriguez is free to negotiate with other teams, but no team – except, perhaps, the Los Angeles Angels -- has seemed willing to give Rodriguez a raise over the $32 million he could have made in 2009 and 2010 under his original Rangers deal.

The Yankees are also now free to negotiate with the free-agent third baseman Mike Lowell of the Boston Red Sox, the Most Valuable Player of the World Series, who could replace Rodriguez at third in the Bronx. Rodriguez has struggled in the postseason, but he is a far better player than Lowell in the regular season.

“There’s a shot they could get Lowell, but there’s a shot they could still get A-Rod,” a person close to Rodriguez said on Tuesday night, speaking on condition of anonymity because Rodriguez had not authorized him to speak publicly. “I think Alex is so scared, he might still come back. It would have to be on a discount, and he knows that.”

I don't even know what to think or feel anymore. But if Rodriguez is willing to sit down without Boras and discuss taking the Yankees initial offer minus the $21M from Texas, they'd be fools not to listen.

Rodriguez was owed $91 mil for three seasons on his old contract, and the supposed Yankee offer was five years at $140 mil. With the Texas discount, if Alex is willing to accept 8 years and $210M, sign him and be done with it.

Labels: a-rod, scott boras

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 10:14 AM 1 comments

Monday, October 29, 2007

Yankees Cancel New Stadium Plans; YES Revenue down 92% in 24 Hours

Per Scott Boras. More to come on this.

Labels: a-rod, scott boras

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 4:31 PM 1 comments

Even Boras Can't Possibly Believe His Own Crap

"Alex made the decision today," Boras told Sports Illustrated's Web site. "I thought we should notify the club."

Boras claimed that Rodriguez made his decision based on the uncertain status of teammates Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte. Posada and Rivera are free agents, and Pettitte has a player option for next season.

"Alex's decision was one based on not knowing what his closer, his catcher and one of his statured pitchers was going to do," Boras said. "He really didn't want to make any decisions until he knew what they were doing." (Source)

A-Rod had 10 days after the World Series in order to "not make a decision." Opting out of the contract? That's a fucking decision.

At least just admit you didn't want to be a Yankee any longer.. but really, after all he'd said previously, are we to expect an honest answer from Rodriguez on this?

At first I was thinking this must have beeen a ploy by Boras to threaten the opt-out but never file it, but it doesn't appear to be so.

Why would Boras remove the one team that would have the best financial offer on the table before the bidding begins? Who can afford Rodriguez now? The Mets could, but are set at SS and 3B for years. The Red Sox? Could anyone see Red Sox fans embracing him, or Alex being comfortable with the media pressure there, ESPECIALLY if he starts a year after a World Series win and they don't win during his tenure? Los Angeles is a possibility. So is Los Angeles of Anaheim.

My guess is Boras made a backroom illegal deal for Rodriguez long before the World Series, and essentially gave him the option of the secret handshake deal or the Yankee extension, and they chose the new team.

This tactic wouldn't be anything new with Boras (see Drew, JD).

If the Yankees were smart they'd stop negotiating with Boras clients all together, and stop being used as fools who drive up market value.

It's a brave new world in the Bronx. By all reports, Joe Girardi is the new manager. No more Donnie Baseball in pinstripes. Torre is gone. A-Rod is gone. Pettitte, Posada and Rivera might be gone (although I would expect the catcher and pitcher to return). The youth movement is officially on.

It's 1996 all over again.

Labels: a-rod, roster moves, scott boras

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 9:44 AM 2 comments