Buyers beware of Boras’ spin

Carl, Taichung, Taiwan. — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 01:56:58 GMT

Ted,

Hit or miss is the name of the game as you well know. How you whiff an at bat defines the player as well as the agent and unfortunately, international professional baseball as a whole...

Boras: HIT !!! You're on the money with that guy. Many movies have a bad guy being defeated by the hero. Players don't have a hero, so they turn to Boras: who flips and flops like the slippery fish that he is in the cash streams of team owners who are desperately looking to buy a championship. A-Rod left him and I hope that other future Hall of Famers will too, like Varitek. Boras whiffs as much as Conseco has as an author, but still makes a good read. Difference: Boras gets more headlines and has more money.

Tazawa: HIT !!! Nippon Professional Baseball adopted a system of not allowing amateur players to enter Japanese professional baseball for a fixed period of time (6 years I think)if they refuse to be drafted and sign directly with overseas professional teams. What a terrible way to punish players for making a choice to better themselves and make baseball a better game to watch. I can understand that they're looking to prevent potential talent loss, but punishment never works especially if the players sign MLB contracts, and become nationalized in the United States. In Taiwan, it's almost the opposite. Wang is a national hero and players strive to even get scouts to attend their games. (Boston currently has 3-4 players from Taiwan in their minor-league farm system). At least the NPB isn't whiffing like Manny after a tiff with Theo: never lifting the bat off his shoulder. It's more like turning around in the box and taking a swing at the catcher... backwards.

So it's hit or miss... Boras definately needs to get a hit or be hit and the NPB needs to turn around in the box and start taking swings in the right direction.

Buyers beware of Boras’ spin

Jack, Port St. Lucie, FL — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 20:18:26 GMT

Will fans ALWAYS pay to see a winner? The answer is either maybe - particularly if the team doesn't play in Florida. Does MLB care? See the two new ballparks in NY holding less fans than their former parks. It's all about the benjamins - but what happens now?
But I think we're in unchartered waters in regard to the unprecedented run-up in MLB attendance. Fans will, IMO, react negatively and with their feet to more mega deals for mediocre players. We're already seeing more and more boo-birds popping up at parks all over the country.
The Age of Stupid is mercifully coming to an end. If MLB is able to survive and thrive, jerks like Boras and his enabler, Selig, will become as extinct as daylight WS games. Let's hope it's sooner rather than later.

Buyers beware of Boras’ spin

David Buck, Peru, ME — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 18:56:43 GMT

The Tazawa situation is only a natural extension of the globalization of baseball. As much as Japan would like to control its players through their first six years, this is the Curt Flood case of Japanese baseball. He is the first domino in a line that will keep falling until Japaneses baseball pays its young players as well as MLB does.

Buyers beware of Boras’ spin

bob lamb, san jacinto, california.... — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 01:49:01 GMT

manny will be a dodger before this is all said and done...too bad boras gets a dime out of it...manny could of done it on his own....with his talent..no agent needed..and now part of his salary will go to boras..and all he has donw is taken more of the game, the heart, and the all american sport out of baseball.....he needs to go...but that is up to all those players who forget when baseball was a game, not a busines..............kinda simple....but its about money...nothing else......damm sad too

Buyers beware of Boras’ spin

john pileggi — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:30:59 GMT

Ted- As always, highly insightful and interesting. Boras may have finally hit the point of diminishing returns. Teams will always throw stupid money at players, but the Boras spin will be less well received.

Buyers beware of Boras’ spin

john pileggi — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:31:20 GMT

Buyers beware of Boras’ spin

John Avvento Brooklyn, NY — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:55:24 GMT

Im glad somebody finally took that leach, Scott Boras, to task. He is an a cancer to the entire sport of baseball and I would stay clear of drafting any players high in the amateur draft(see mike pelfrey and the dopey mets) and try my best to avoid talking to this guy if I am running a major league club. kudos to Ted Robinson.

Buyers beware of Boras’ spin

Charles, Dallas, TX — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 21:56:33 GMT

You've never seen a group of fans that objects to owner's spending? Well I'm not a group but I object. Actually, I just don't attend games or buy MLB crap. I cheer for my teams and watch the playoffs but that's all the support they get. My money stays in my wallet, which is where the owners should put more of theirs.

Buyers beware of Boras’ spin

Fer Azcona, Mazatlan Sinaloa MEXICO — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 07:24:20 GMT

Good article, congrat.. and as far as setting rules about inappropriate comments, or wide-open agressive ones, I am listening to the same words said by MLB blog, when they started. Please do not allow the kind of comments between those full of hatred so called "baseball fans" even if they are related to the blog. Do not be fool by these "sport fans" that all they want is to use this platform to show their arrogance and stupidity