My Morning in Exile

by
August 18, 2009

Sorry I’m late with this today. I don’t what has gotten into the people in my office, what with their demands and everything. I mean, don’t they know I’m a government employee?

  • Before you die there is something you should know about us, Lone Star . . . I am your father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate. OK, that had almost nothing to do with the linked post, but it stuck in my head anyway.
  • The fact that Strasburg isn’t going to pitch in the majors in 2009 is probably a good thing. The fact that Boras thinks he has any control over when Strasburg pitches in the majors, however, is a pretty hilarious thing.
  • Some random, somewhat provocative and premature MVP chatter.
  • Kenny Williams thinks the White Sox are underachieving. The White Sox are performing at exactly their Pythagorean expectation. When Williams hears about this, he’s gonna rip that Pythagoras guy a new one.
  • Is Johnny Damon gonna stay in New York? I mean with the Yankees. I don’t think you can actually bar a citizen from being in New York.
  • Win-win? Nats win? Personally, I kind of feel like Boras won the Strasburg thing.


    • 11 Comments
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    APBA Guy
    14 years ago

    I think Keith Law’s take on the Strasburg signing capture’s most of the salient points:

    – it’s a record deal
    – the Nats get their man, big (and needed) PR boost
    – Strasburg will still be arbitration eligible for potentially huge numbers

    All the other noise, when he’ll pitch, etc., is just that: noise.

    AT this point it wouldn’t surprise me if he pitched a few September innings in DC or not. I’d be shocked if he weren’t up in June of next year at the latest.

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    John Willumsen
    14 years ago

    Completely agree, Boras may have screwed up the Varitek market and overestimated the value of some of his other commodities last off-season, but the Strasburg negotions are definitely a big feather in his cap. He managed to shape perception so perfectly that a reward of $15 million for pitching well in college is seen as a small figure. And there was no one bidding against the Nats! Sometimes I wish Boras would come out and take credit for some of his sneakier moves. Honestly, wouldn’t it be great if Strasburg opened his mouth and said something like “Yeah Scotty (I bet he calls him Scotty) told me that realistically we were looking at a range of 12-17 million but we had to get this 50 million number out there to set the whole thing up.” In my more conspiracy-seeking moments I wonder if Nationals management sat down with Boras early on and decided on a number that was palatable for both sides, and then allowed Boras to use the next couple of months creating a situation where the Nats can come out looking like winners while shelling out a boatload of cash for a guy who may never even pitch in the majors.

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    ditmars1929
    14 years ago

    I see your schwartz is as big as mine.  Let’s see if you can handle it as well!

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    MooseinOhio
    14 years ago

    Which year starts the clock on when Strasburg becomes arbitration/FA eligible – the year he signs his contract (i.e. this year) or the year he first pitches in the bigs (i.e. next year)? I ask primarily because baseball has so many ‘interesting/confusing’ rules pertaining to when folks become eligible for what and how contracts are written (e.g. major league v. minor league) that affect how much control the team has over a players future.

    I assume that Strasburg got a major league contract and wonder if it makes a difference as to when his clock starts ticking toward complete FA status.  If it started yesterday then I suspect we see him pitch some this year so the Nats can get even the smallest amount of revenue out of the year with him.  If his clock starts ticking next year I think the Nats hold him off till next year so they can get maximum value for the time they have him under their control.

    I guess what I am asking is when do they Nats try to start generating some revenue off Strasburg as his presence in the majors will be partly dictated by his ability to generate maximum revenue for team (i.e. It’s about the Money).

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    Jorge Says No!
    14 years ago

    The fact that the Nationals actually got Strasburg and did not come out of this empty handed is an accomplishment in my eyes.

    The Strasburg-Harper dream lives on.

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    ecp
    14 years ago

    When Strasburg becomes arb-eligible or FA-eligible is dictated by his major league service time.  The clock doesn’t start until he hits the big league 25-man roster.  (The 40-man doesn’t count.)

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    MJ
    14 years ago

    @ John

    Sometimes I wish Boras would come out and take credit for some of his sneakier moves. Honestly, wouldn’t it be great if Strasburg opened his mouth and said something like “Yeah Scotty (I bet he calls him Scotty) told me that realistically we were looking at a range of 12-17 million but we had to get this 50 million number out there to set the whole thing up.”

    We talked about this here a few months back, did the $50M number even become public?  It’s more likely someone like Lord Hee Haw floated that number, and next thing you know the MSM is running wild with that figure all the while Boras is sitting back laughing his ass off.

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    Craig Calcaterra
    14 years ago

    It’s after the fact and thus may be self-serving, but this morning Boras told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale that his most optimistic thinking was that he’d get an offer in the low $20s from the Nats.

    I wonder how much Bryce Harper has to do with this. You think it’s possible that Boras leaves a little on the table in the Strasburg negotiation in order to pump some goodwill for what looks like the Nats’ drafting of his next big client?  That’s the kind of insidious yet unproveable stuff people should be worrying about when they worry about Scott Boras.

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    Wooden U. Lykteneau
    14 years ago

    Craig – After what happened last year with Pedro Alvarez, Boras was under the gun to a certain extent to seal the deal without controversy. Nobody but Pirate fans (both of them) seems to remember that.

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    Melody
    14 years ago

    “Before you die there is something you should know about us, Lone Star . . . I am your father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate.”

    What does that make us?

    Nothing.  Which is what you are about to become.

    Heheheheheheh.

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    Will
    14 years ago

    I suspect Boras lives by Dark Helmet’s saying: “Evil will always triumph, because good is dumb.”

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