Boras, Dodgers don’t trust each other
Posted: Friday, February 27, 2009 5:12 PM
Each time I began this blog, new information leaked on the Manny Ramirez situation. Analysis from talking heads overnight, and early this morning, is already dated.
The latest from the Scott Boras Circus: Boras leaked through his mouthpiece that Ramirez would accept the Dodgers' offer but without any of the money being deferred. The agent even sent a letter of agreement to the Dodgers, accepting the offer presented by the team to the media, with no mention of deferred money.
Once upon a time, we had the Bronx Zoo. In today's baseball, the Yankees are a model of stability. When they target a player, a signing usually follows quickly.
Now the three-ring circus is conducted by Boras as he tries to hold Los Angeles hostage. Is Jack Bauer in sight?
If today's announcement is to be believed, then Boras knows he is losing this end game. Ramirez’s stunt to get out of Boston, and we don't yet know the full extent of Boras' role in that, has hurt. There still are no visible suitors beyond the Dodgers for Ramirez’s services.
The Giants won't make a formal offer, knowing it would immediately be presented to the Dodgers. Today, though, after the latest "impasse," Giants’ ownership left the door open, a door Boras will hold for them indefinitely.
The Dodgers don't trust Boras either, and can you blame them after the J.D. Drew debacle?
And Boras doesn't trust the Dodgers. He knows the Dodgers got Ramirez for free last year, cashed in big time, and still offered deferred money in their latest proposal. Boras has to wonder if the whispers about the Dodgers' cash flow, vehemently denied by the team, are true.
Makes for a perfect marriage, don't you think? No one trusts anyone, and $45 million is at stake. Welcome to the asylum.
Last night, it was easy to think Boras was going to squeeze the Dodgers. Hold Ramirez out of spring training, even beyond Opening Day. Wait for an injury that might ramp up some other team’s interest. Hope the Mets would proceed through the spring and learn that the Ryan Church-Daniel Murphy-Fernando Tatis combination is not a corner outfield trio with which the team can contend for the playoffs.
But then, this afternoon, Boras called the Dodgers' bluff. Pay now and you have Ramirez. No three-year deal. No long-term commitment. And every reason to believe Ramirez would be motivated, as he can walk back on the market next winter.
Boras looks to make his last play in the court of public opinion. Can the Dodgers explain to their fans deferring substantial amounts of money to a player when season-ticket holders receive no such option?
Do the Dodgers believe they can retain their passionate audience without Ramirez?
Does Ramirez pay for himself? (I asked a friend and longtime baseball business executive that question last week. The answer, to my surprise, was no. The numbers have been run, and the player can't generate enough extra income for the team). What, though, do the Dodgers believe is the answer?
They can't believe that answer is paying Ramirez $10 million this year, $10 million next year, and $25 million in 2011-2013. I learned this with Barry Bonds. There is no chance a great player can accept looking across the clubhouse and seeing a lesser player with a bigger paycheck. In this case, does anyone truly believe Ramirez could spend one day in a clubhouse on a $10 million deal, and look at, let's say, Jason Schmidt, earning $12 million or Juan Pierre at $10 million. No chance.
On this point, Boras is right. You can't get all of Ramirez without paying the freight. It appears that no long-term deal is out there. For clubs, it is usually about the years, not the dollars. Well, the Dodgers appear to have won that fight. But they, or another team, must be willing to pay for the short term.
An aside to remember is that whatever deal Ramirez accepts, he loses. He walked from two-years, and $40 million, and goodwill in Boston. If he accepts the Dodgers offer, is an extra $5 million worth the damage to his reputation? And the winner is Boras. He received no commission on the Boston deal (a Jeff Moorad production). The Dodgers’ deal would get $2.25 million to Boras, well worth his effort.
I heard the romantics this morning. After winter hibernation, the baseball lovers began their annual spring warbling on how the game survives all this blight, and on how fans flock to the sport regardless of its missteps. It's all true, if not tedious.
Except in Los Angeles, where the circus has yet to pack up its tents. And the ringmaster appears to have fired his last serious shot at the Dodgers, hoping to salvage some face saving at the last minute.
