I mean, I know how hard it is sometimes to put a story together and we’re always grateful to our sources that help us fill out columns with something resembling substance. I imagine that a lot in the press have a love-hate type relationship with the man in that they hate what he does and they must realize at some level they’re being used but at the same time he’s always willing to talk and provide information (*cough* bold-faced lies *cough*).
I’m guessing it’s a lot like a farmer’s relationship with manure--they know what it is and it stinks and they feel dirty after dealing with it and crave a long hot shower afterward but they know it helps crops grow tall. In the same manner speaking with Boras creates more or less the same sensations and sentiment but he does help the column inches grow.
Make no mistake though; Boras plays the media like an impresario to enrich his stable of players. I mean, how many of the following headlines this month is the result of a conversation with the agent or a team sending a message to him? We’ll limit ourselves to one player: Mark Teixeira…
Hard to imagine Teixeira in D.C., no matter the price (Boras: “You guys want Teixeira? Think A-Rod money!”)
Red Sox a finalist for Teixeira (Boras: “Hey, Mr. Steinbrenner--look what your main rivals are gonna do; shouldn't you do something to stop them?”)
Orioles not planning to increase offer to Teixeira (Message to Boras: “Have you lost your mind? We have 24 other guys that are gonna want to be paid too!”)
YANKS TO GO AFTER MANNY, TEIXEIRA (Boras: “Memo to the teams I've been discussing these two with; your offers are too low and it's time to get stupid!”)
Mark Teixeira, the One That Got Away From the Red Sox (Boras: “Hello Misters Henry and Epstein, Mark thinks he'd look just dashing in pinstripes, what do you think?”)
For Sox, Mark Teixeira deal would be 2nd to none (Boras: “Yes, that's a generous offer, even an ridiculously obscene one considering my client's talents but it's still way too low. Try digging a little deeper. You wouldn't want me to say that Teixeira is now ready to hear 'serious offers' now would you?”)
Sources: Teixeira to Orioles unlikely (Boras: “Look losers, if you want Teixeira to play in the purgatory of the AL East, we demand 50% of the payroll.”)
Other baseball advocate are encouraging the Red Sox to go nuclear (Boras: “Big Papi is slowing down and you don't have to pay Manny his $20 million so why not use that as a starting point in negotiations?”)
Sources: BoSox close to getting Teixeira (Boras: “Uh, Mr. Steinbrenner, you need a first baseman, I need an obscene commission--do I have to draw you a map?”)
Teixeira will get his payday, but is he really worth it? (Message to Boras: “The real world: spend a week there some time.”)
For Red Sox and Teixeira, Sound and Fury Signify Bluffing (Message to Boras: “We may print money here in Boston but you can't have all of it.”)
Sources: Sox still in Teixeira hunt (Boras: “Well, I'm off to talk to Brian Cashman and Hank Steinbrenner.”)
Teixeira back in talks with Yankees, Angels (Boras: “I know you print money in Boston and we only want 95% of it.”)
…and so it goes.
In one story it states that Teixeira’s ‘imminent’ deal with the Red Sox was about eight years averaging $23 million per. I can almost guarantee that Boras was the origin of that. Heck, I’m willing to bet that any story mentioning a specific dollar figure is from Boras--it’s his way of creating, or hoping to create, a sense of urgency and frantic bidding where the baseline is already set high. Even before teams could offer money to other clubs’ free agents, Boras informed the press that the market for Teixeira was “aggressive” in effect telling the big spenders that, while it’s against the rules to talk money before a certain date, a lot of teams have given ol’ Scotty boy the nudge-nudge, wink-wink that they’re willing to give their souls, their firstborn, their daughter’s virtue and close to a half billion dollars as an opening bid for the greatest first baseman to hit the market since Will Clark (OPS+ for his age 26-28 seasons: 125, 154, 150; Teixeira: 126, 150, 151 although Clark didn‘t become a free agent until he was 29 but was ever bit as slick a defender).
I’m guessing one of two things is occurring: one, Boras has a first class pigeon that he’s slowly reeling in a la Tom Hicks and has them bidding against himself and this is his way of “assuring” le grand surgeon that he is involved in an auction for the ages. The other possibility is that things aren’t going well in the marketplace and nobody is buying his spiel since Teixeira is no better than Will Clark and not as good an offensive player as Jim Thome, Carlos Delgado and Fred McGriff at the same age and greatly inferior to Frank Thomas as a hitter and Jeff Bagwell as an all around first sacker and are making offers accordingly. Therefore Boras is simply trying to pump up his client’s value using every trick he has at his disposal.
Regardless, it would be a lot more fun if the fourth estate simply decided not to use Boras as a source or even better, were perfectly honest about what he planted:
"Boras, frustrated because he can’t get any of the large revenue teams to commit his hoped for 8-10 year $200+ million deal has informed The Post that he has a meeting scheduled with the Yankees’ brass and that the Red Sox have implied in an earlier discussion with the agent that they’re willing to make an offer in the nine year/$207 million range even though Theo Epstein has yet to speak to John Henry about how much there is in the budget available for a deal with Teixeira.
Since teams cannot discuss contract offers with other teams, Boras is hoping that the bogus offer he has ‘leaked’ to The Post from the Red Sox will be viewed as the genuine article by GM Brian Cashman and Hank Steinbrenner and the Bronx Bombers will react accordingly. Boras hopes to be able to take time out of his busy schedule for a pilgrimage to Delphi. “I admire, the Delphians…” the disgruntled agent said “…they had the courage to kill Aesop and as well they should. Were he alive today I would do him in myself. As it is, I’ll simply have to be satisfied with urinating on [Aesop’s] grave."
That would be awesome.
Best Regards
John
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