A Boras hole?...

Those of you that have subjected yourselves to my drivel over the years (some would call you readers, others would classify you as masochists) it would not be unfair to characterize Scott Boras as a guy of whom I am not particularly fond.

Yes, I generally am supportive of the players' side of most issues and feel they’re entitled to every blessed dollar they can get for their talents (I mean--are we any different? Do we not want the most money somebody is willing to pay for our abilities?) but I do think there are a right way and a wrong way to go about it.

Despite pushing 44, I have not lost my naïveté that the end does not justify the means and I feel there is value in turning the other cheek; just because somebody is a skunk of a human being doesn’t mean that it gives me license to do likewise. If somebody treats me like dirt, I do not think it gives me free rein to act in the same manner. It’s a variation of the saying about never arguing with an idiot since they’ll drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.

But I digress--it’s what I’m best at.

It should be noted though that not cheering for Scott Boras should not be equated with cheering for the men that wear argyle and not stirrup socks with their pinstripes.

Yeah, yeah, there is a point to this stream-of-consciousness monologue.

Tim Brown reports on Yahoo Sports that the market for Manny Ramirez is light according to a lot of executives.

Obviously, I take everything coming from the Winter Meetings with a major grain of salt. Among the 12 labours of Hercules was the cleaning of the Augean Stables in one day. Well, only a day in the Winter Meetings would require an equitable amount of male bovine manure handling and any information emanating from there should be viewed through that messy, stinky prism.

Bottom line, the market for Ramirez may be red hot but everybody is playing their hands close to the vest. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if some agents and executives spread misinformation just for the fun of it just to see the mileage it receives. It is said that a lie can get halfway around the world before the truth even gets its shoes tied and we see evidence of this on an hourly basis.

However, there is a part of me that wants to see Ramirez get either less than $20 million a year on a contract or--if he gets more than that--a deal of only two years. Let’s be serious; Manny would hardly be harmed by having to deal with someone giving him eight figures after finishing a contract that paid him $160 million but it would look awfully good on Boras.

I do think that Boras had a hand in Ramirez’s behaviour in his exit from Boston. I chronicled my feelings in a two part feature for SMSN Sports here and here. I don’t think Boras told Ramirez to go into the tank but I do think he might have planted in his client’s ear to give the Red Sox the full “Manny being Manny experience” to get out of the Boston and get the option years dropped to get him into free agency.

At the time (before the economy tanked), it appeared that a lucrative offseason was waiting--especially with the Yankees and Mets opening new stadiums and as mentioned in the articles, the only way Boras could make any money off representing Ramirez was to get him into free agency. The only way to get the slugger into free agency was to get the option years dropped, the only way to get the option years dropped was to either make him undesirable to the Red Sox or get himself traded and have the dropping of the option years a condition of accepting a trade as a player with 10-5 rights.

I just think it would be nice if the gambit backfired.

Power corrupts and it’s good to remember that players and agents are homo sapiens no different than the owners and every bit as capable of avarice and dirty dealings. While the MLBPA’s clout has lessened in recent years it’s still considerable and superstar players are the ones the union serves. It’s also common knowledge that Boras is the most powerful agent in the game and history teaches us that given enough leeway, the most powerful start making their own rules.

I think this is what occurred with Ramirez and Boras; elite talent means big dollars to the teams employing them and they’re often given a lot more slack than those of lesser abilities. Don't forget that MLB had to wring every last dollar out of the home run chase and make sure that no team owed Barry Bonds a nickel for services rendered before they found their "conscience" on the issue of employing a particular 'steroid cheat'.

Boras is devious too in achieving his ends--for instance, when J.D. Drew was drafted, he had Drew stay at a different address than the one they provided to the Phillies. They sent the necessary paperwork to the location given but since Drew wasn’t there, Boras tried to claim that they didn’t receive it in the time frame the rules stipulated and made a claim for free agency because of it.

I’m sorry but that’s dishonourable--but that’s Boras.

I’ll be upfront, I want him out of baseball and sooner or later he’ll slip up due to his arrogance and give the owners all the leverage they’ll need to get him de-certified as an agent. Let’s face it, Boras may be brilliant, but some of that is perception because he was dealing with people not as savvy--or patient--as he; I doubt he is a more brilliant tactician than Napoleon Bonaparte but eventually hubris humbles all. Barring untimely death, Boras’ Waterloo is coming--it’s just a question as to when.

I hope it's soon.

If the union does its job and keeps the player marketplace open and honest, keep a salary cap at bay and the sport's revenues continue to grow the young men who play the game can rest assured that market forces and competitive bidding for their services will ensure that they will continue to get their fair share of the pie without the dishonest machinations of a raging, self-serving egomaniac.

Best Regards

John