Battling Boras

• deadbeat17

  +1

  great article, way to put Boras in his place.

  i still believe a-rod will get close to 300 mil from someone, but it will be a team who regrets the decision maybe less than 5 years down the road.

  hopefully no one will offer anything near what he wants.

  Posted 11/2/2007 [reply] [flag]

• SwishMyNish33

  +1

  Wow, very convincing arguement. We all know he isn't worth 300 million dollars, but as an A's fan, I still would not want the Angels swooping him up, despite how much more I could make fun of their payroll.

  Posted 11/2/2007 [reply] [flag]

• 87and91

  +1

  this would have been MUCH more convincing had john used actual free agent comparables than ortiz and chipper...neither used free agency for their salaries...

  Posted 11/6/2007 [reply] [flag]

• PatHajovsky

  +1

  Couldn't agree more with this article and the comments.  I think this is going to be Boras' Waterloo.  With the Dice-K almost-debacle for him last year, Boras is playing with fire for his client.

   Here's a prediction - ARod will not make the $25mil he was due to make with the Yankees for '08.  If any team gives him more than that, they will find out almost immediately that they were bidding against themselves - a la Tom Hicks.  The way to beat Boras is to wait him out, and ARod is going to regret leaving that much money on the table.

  Posted 11/6/2007 [reply] [flag]

• sls67

  +1

  This analysis and counter-argument is spectacularly good, but as a prediction of what A-Rod will get in his next contract it isn't so impressive.  Boras's indisputable talent as a snake oil salesman combined with the average club owner's incompetence in matters outside the source of his money makes it likely that somebody will bite.  Look at JD Drew - Theo Epstein had all the facts he needed to say "No" but wishful thinking - the superiority of hope over experience - led him to give Boras' client a ridiculous contract.  Somebody will do it for A-Rod

  Posted 11/6/2007 [reply] [flag]

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Links (9)

When stream-of-consciousness meets momentum...
Published 11/2/2007 by John Brattain at The Progenitor of Severe Gluteal Discomfort
... Other than Jason and myself, I don’t think too many people are aware of its existence. It does give me some time at any rate to add some meat to its bones before it becomes noticed. As mentioned, my weekly columns are both live; the Hardball Times article--“Battling Boras” discusses how a potential team may deal with the agent’s outrageous predictions used to justify yet another record contract for Alex Rodriguez. I’m really getting the impression that this is more about Boras than A-Rod. ...

Brattain: How to Battle Boras
Published 11/2/2007 by PostmanE at FanHouse
Filed under: MLB Gossip, MLB Biz, MLB TransactionsIt's generally accepted that somebody -- anybody -- is going to give Alex Rodriguez his gajillions this offseason. After all, Scott Boras is no dummy, and if he didn't think he had a deal already out there, would he have left the Yankees in such a hurry? A-Rod's going to get his, even if he's really not worth that much money. So The Hardball Times' John Brattain writes a little go-to memo for general managers considering an A-Rod signing. Among the talking points: A-Rod isn't likable, he isn't marketable, he's slowing down with age, and his ...

Alex on Alex
Published 11/2/2007 by Mr. Faded Glory at High and Tight.
Found this neat little collection over at the Hardball Times.Whenever he opens his mouth, people cringe. While he has been a model of decorum (save his episode in Toronto) he is viewed as insincere if not outright deceptive: "I’ve always said to everybody that Seattle is my first choice." "I wanted to be a Met. I’ve always wanted to be a Met, I’ve been a Met fan since I was a kid. And I would’ve played there for less money and less years and they know that." "I want to be remembered as a Texas ...

Sunday Morning Webtopia
Published 11/4/2007 at The View From The Bleachers
... John Brattain takes a look at how interested teams can counter Scott Boras and his statements this off-season in regards to A-Rod and his monstrous contract demands. (Source) ...

Random post-World Series stuff on a Sunday afternoon
Published 11/4/2007 by Sarah Green at umpbump.com
... that Boras and A-Rod considered the Yankees’ lucrative $230 million contract to be about $100 million short. The Hardball Times has a full breakdown on the challenges Boras and Rodriguez face en route to securing that massive contract. ...

THT: Brattain: Battling Boras
Published 11/5/2007 at BBTF's Baseball Primer Newsblog
THT: Brattain: Battling Boras Or, as he’d fast being known as, Boras Badinoff Scott Boras is on the prowl. We know what he is peddling and can assume his minimum target is $30 million a year with an overall package value north of $300 million. He lives for this. He likes being the man known for getting top dollar for his clients. He is the agent who brokered the first $100 million deal and baseball’s first $200 million contract. It would be naïve to think that he doesn’t wish to be the first to negotiate a $300 million deal. How does a team wanting to acquire Alex Rodriguez ...

Your Daily A-Rod Update (Sorry) [Alex Rodriguez]
Published 11/7/2007 by Leitch at Deadspin
... signing A-Rod for the supposed $300 million over 12 years he's looking for might even be a bargain. While the overall sum of money ($300 million) seems like a lot and it is, but it's not all guaranteed and it's not all up-front. It's going to be a bigger than God number only because of the nature of the player and the length of the contract. Twelve years!? Who else can even float the idea of a 12-year contract at the age of 32? In the other, more convincing corner, the now-famous Hardball Times article: "He will decline offensively, he will ...

The Tigers aren’t interested in A-Rod unless they are
Published 11/8/2007 by billfer at The Detroit Tiger Weblog
... Tigers as a potential destination for Rodriguez. Maybe the latter group of GM’s read the Business Week article about Ilitch from September when Ilitch said the Tigers weren’t ready to make the $30 million a year leap. And 3 more A-Rod/Boras-y articles I couldn’t work into the above narrative: SportingNews.com - Appraising A-Rod The Sporting Scene: The Extortionist: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker Battling Boras — The Hardball Times Tigers lose 2 It looked like ...

Alex Rodriguez voted for staying on the Yankees before he voted against it
Published 11/14/2007 by PostmanR at The Postmen // A Sports Blog // Chicago, IL.
... for A-Rod’s services despite Scott Boras’ declaration during Game 4 of the World Series. Let’s think about it: any team other than the Yankees, save for maybe Boston and a few others, are going to absolutely cripple their payroll to sign the guy. Why would you want him on your team, when in all likelihood, his salary is going to dictate any moves you make in the foreseeable future?  After all, he’s not quite as valuable as Boras would lead you to believe. (See here and ...