"Boras starting to bore us"

[C.Rector]

Article by Bill Madden From:

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/11-05-2002/spor...4p-140504c.html

 

Boras starting to bore us

 

Continues to price his clients out of market

 

 

It's Super Bowl Sunday, Greg Maddux, do you know where you're playing yet? And how about you, Travis Lee and Ron Villone? Wouldn't you agree that, as Yogi once said, it's gotten late early here? And as for you, Pudge Rodriguez, aren't you wondering how, after a renaissance season with a world champion team in your home town, you somehow wound up signing a conditional contract with Detroit?

 

For all intents and purposes, the winter baseball market is just about closed out. We are down to the dregs now - the Shane Spencers, Jose Mesas, Tyler Houstons, et al - signing non-guaranteed minor league contracts. The two pre-eminent unsigned free agents are Maddux and Rodriguez, while Lee, a .275 deft-fielding first baseman, and Villone, a serviceable lefthanded pitcher, are probably the best of the remaining crop. Not coincidentally, all four happen to be represented by Scott (Avenging Agent) Boras.

 

Eventually, all four will find jobs, but one thing is certain - none will be with teams of their choice. Maddux, the 37-year-old four-time Cy Young winner, has already priced himself out of his three top teams of choice - Atlanta, Arizona and San Diego - and, on Boras' orders, is sitting on a two-year offer in the $14 million range from his original team, the Cubs. Maddux has said if he'd had his druthers, he would have never left Atlanta but that the Braves never made him an offer. That was because Boras let the Braves know from the get-go the price to keep Maddux was going to be for far too many dollars and years than they were willing to consider, and they weren't about to get burned again by offering him arbitration.

 

Similarly, the 32-year-old Rodriguez, who lives in Miami, wanted to stay with the world champion Florida Marlins where he'd resurrected his career last year. But, alas, they insulted him by offering him a three-year, $24 million contract that represented a pay cut from the $10 million he earned in '03. So he severed relations with them and then proceeded to price himself out of his next two choices, the Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles. With all his options dried up, I-Rod was left to deal with the desperate Detroit Tigers who are admittedly over-paying to get free agents to come to a 119-loss team this winter. But while the Tigers were willing to meet Boras' $10 million-per-year asking price, they weren't quite so desperate as they seemed, tossing in one significant condition that essentially made their four-year, $40 million offer guaranteed for only two years. By including an "out clause" that allows them to void the contract after the 2005 season if Rodriguez goes on the disabled list for a lumbar spine injury for 35 days or more in either '04 or '05, they covered themselves in case he suffers the injury that sidelined him for five weeks in 2002. None of the offers Rodriguez turned down had such a clause.

 

This "voidable contract" is unprecedented in baseball and, in the words of one baseball person, goes to the very integrity of the game. "Is Pudge going to take a hit at the plate if might void his contract," the person asked. But with Boras it's always been only about the money, and he vowed to I-Rod he'd get him that $10 million per. Just like he vowed to Alex Rodriguez he'd get him $20 mil per. Who cares if his clients are doomed to playing out their careers with hopeless last-place teams? How long do you think it's going to take I-Rod (after hitting in spacious Comerica Park on an everyday basis) to follow A-Rod's lead in begging to be traded? What's amazing is that these guys never ask themselves: "Will my lifestyle be altered on $8 million per year instead of $10 million?" Instead of promising to get them the biggest contracts, Boras ought to be asking them where they want to play and then try to make that happen rather than scaring off teams like the Mets (for A-Rod), the Braves (for Maddux) and the Marlins (for I-Rod) with his bluster.

 

Meanwhile, for all his self-acclaimed negotiating brilliance, Boras has about the worst record of any agent in the game over the past couple of years. Earlier this winter, he turned down a reported three-year, $35 million offer from the Phillies for Kevin Millwood, claiming he had "numerous five-year offers." Then, a month later, confirming that was all bull, he accepted arbitration from the Phillies. I would love to know how he was able to convince Millwood that a non-guaranteed $12 million (through arbitration) is really better than a guaranteed $35 million. It was the same thing - just on a lesser scale - with Kenny Rogers last year.

 

Rogers made it known he wanted to stay in Texas, but Boras turned down the Rangers' two-year, $11 million offer, claiming he had other four-year, $40 million offers. They, of course, never materialized and when Texas didn't offer Rogers arbitration, the best he could get was one-year, $2 million from Minnesota. This winter, he re-signed with the Rangers for two years, $6 million, but he's still $3 million short of their original offer.

 

You have to wonder, too, if Rey Sanchez has bothered to do the math on all the money Boras has cost him. In 2001, the Royals offered Sanchez a two-year, $7.5 million deal and when Boras turned it down, they traded him to the Braves. That winter, the best Boras could get him was a one-year, $700,000 deal plus $150,000 in incentives with the Red Sox. In 2003, Sanchez signed for one-year, $1.3 million plus $100,000 in incentives from the Mets, and, finally, this winter he signed a $1.4 million, one-year deal with Tampa Bay. All told, that's $3.25 million over three years, or an approximate $4.3 million shortfall from the offer Boras turned down from Kansas City.

 

Oh yes, one more thing: Over the last five years Boras has lost nine out of 10 arbitration cases, including Charles Johnson twice. Some avenging.

 

It's A Madd, Madd World…

 

# Proving once more baseball is truly the "last chance saloon" of professional sport, the Padres announced they're inviting their former NL MVP Ken Caminiti to spring training as an instructor. This is the same Ken Caminiti who admitted to Sports Illustrated he used and abused steroids, was busted for cocaine in 2001, placed on three years probation and tested positive again last January.

 

# Now you can visit your favorite Hall of Famers in cyberspace. Whitey Ford (Whiteyford.com) and Tom Seaver (Tomterrificseaver.com) have their own Web sites. We remember when you could visit Whitey in Astoria.

 

# If you're wondering why New York investment mogul Stuart Sternberg would be willing to buy 77% of the Devil Rays without a controlling interest in the team or an option to buy out general partner Vince Naimoli, here's one theory: The Devil Rays get approximately $50 million in combined revenue sharing and their share of the national TV contract. Their payroll is $20 million and all their other organization expenses are approximately $10 million. That's a $20 million profit before they sell one ticket or one hot dog.

 

Say It Ain't So

 

"If we knew in October we had that much room in our payroll we'd be a lot different team today."

 

— A high-ranking Mariners official lamenting the fact that closer Kazuhiro Sasaki waited until two weeks ago to inform them he was walking away from the remaining $7.5 million due him and staying in Japan. The official cited Vladimir Guerrero and Miguel Tejada as two players the M's would have pursued harder.

 

Originally published on February 1, 2004

[Jordan4life_2007]

LOL...I couldn't read all that. But yeah. He acts like Maddux is 28 or somethin. At his age and the fact he's no longer capable of 200 innings he's seriously askin for too much money...As long as he doesn't go to the Cubs it's all good :fthecubs

[NUKE_CLEVELAND]

Its very simple. He is out to pad his own pocket. He knows damn well that he is asking for exorbitant sums of money for those he represents but he doesn't care because its all about his cut. Guys like this are whats wrong with pro sports today.

[DBAHO]

Hopefully players are smart enough to realise that this guy is joke of a agent thinkin his clients are gonna get lots of bling bling.

[southsider2k5]

That was a great article, and it shows that Borass hasn't adjusted his style to the change in the marketplace. In the 90's it was a players market, now it is all about the owners, and he still is trying the same stunts that obviously aren't working anymore.

[UofIChiSox]

I just wish that every college and high school player could read this so that they would realize that Scott Boras:

 

A. Makes his clients rich and unhappy, or

B. Makes his clients less rich than they could be and happy.

 

Boras is undoubtedly all about money. Too bad so many players are too, at least it is starting to come back and bite them in the ass a little bit.

[The Critic]

Hopefully players are smart enough to realise that this guy is joke of a agent thinkin his clients are gonna get lots of bling bling.

They haven't figured it out yet.

He must give an IQ test for prospective clients, and if they score too high, he doesn't take them on.

Or maybe he's a hypnotist....

[JoshPR]

Great article. I still think Borass is got it out for teams after he fell on his face in his baseball carrer as a minor leaguer with the Cards.

 

Another thing how can these players be so dam stupid, he's cost them money s fire his ass. I think a player sould go where ever he wants to play and no agent sould tell him no. If Maddux wanted to stay in atlanta or go to San Diego for less that sould be it m it's the players wish no the agent.