Scott Boras and Frank McCourt Get In A Pissing Contest

I am sure everyone has heard about the Manny Ramirez soap opera that is currently being carried on. I feel like Judge Judy in that I need to reprimand both sides. Overall, I have no idea in hell why a player would hire Scott Boras. As I have said many times he gets his clients good money, but many of his clients are the best players in the league, so they deserve the big money anyway. Not only that, only five teams are going to sign his players, signing as a client with him limits your own options as a player. I am also not sure if the Dodgers are actually attempting to win the NL West or not this year. If so, they need to sign the vastly underrated Manny Ramirez (cough, cough) and quit dicking around trying to win a public relations battle.

Bill Plaschke and I are going to cover this story for everyone . I will highlight in bold his sentences that are boring and in regular type will be my hilarious and incredibly insightful responses.

The biggest obstacles to Manny Ramirez's being a Dodger are the two guys trying to make him a Dodger.

The biggest obstacle to Manny Ramirez being a Dodger is his need for over $20 million per year in salary. Not to get technical, but if Manny was asking for $10 million per year, there would be no problem.

It is physically impossible for Frank McCourt and Scott Boras to draw up a contract with their hands on each other's necks.

I am not sure whether to be happy that Frank Wren is not the worst GM in the National League or to be embarrassed that Frank Wren was duped by Frank McCourt in the Rafael Furcal signing debacle. As far as Scott Boras goes, I am not going to say the market has dried up for his players but if you notice out of his last several major free agents (other than Tex, who got teams bidding for him), A-Rod, Manny, Varitek, and Derek Lowe, teams were pretty much bidding against themselves.

McCourt had asked Boras for a final "yes" or "no" answer to a two-year, $45-million deal that was about $45 million above any other real offer elsewhere . . . and Boras responded with a $55-million proposal.

It worked against the Braves, so you never know.

(Frank Wren) "We are willing to offer Derek Lowe 3 years at $39 million. We know the Mets don't really want to give him a fourth year and are not willing to go any higher in salary. They are our only competition."

(Scott Boras) "Derek and I want 4 years at $60 million."

(Frank Wren) "Deal."

Seriously, Scott Boras is a genius. Somehow he gets teams bidding against themselves to get his clients a buttload of money.

After spending three months with zero leverage, is it really that productive to counter your opponent's most fair and generous offer with something $10 million higher?

In 2001 he got the Rangers to nearly double the next highest offer. If this were the 1600's and Scott Boras had longer hair, he would accused and later drowned for being a witch.

When $45 million is spread over five years with no interest, it's not really $45 million, is it?

Well yes and no, it is still $45 million dollars, but the $45 million dollars is not worth quite as much because they have lost the time value of money. I learned about this in the one class I took in college.

Not disclosing the exact nature of a deferred contract, particularly in these tough economic times that the Dodgers discuss so much, smacks of being a bit of a public scam.

I know. Poor Manny Ramirez, he would ONLY be getting $10 million per year after that, until he gets $5 million his last year. That's no good.

Seriously though, I can understand why the deferred money is turned down by Boras, I thought that was kind of a bitch move by the Dodgers, but maybe because of the tough economic times the Dodgers can't pay that now. I guess you could look at it that way. Either way, I am sure they can work this out sooner rather than later.

And the only truth that matters is that Ramirez needs to play at least one more season for the Dodgers, as nobody else wants him and the Dodgers desperately need him.

Truer words have never been spoken. There are no other bidders for Ramirez at the contract price that he wants and the Dodgers have no one that is capable of hitting the ball like Ramirez can hit the ball. If I am the Dodgers, I would quit negotiating because they are bidding against themselves here, and if I am Scott Boras, I am not negotiating until the Dodgers get rid of the deferred money because the Dodgers need a power hitter very badly. They have Juan Pierre in left field right now...and it is not 2003, and even then he would need to be replaced so he doesn't start every day.

I think Plaschke is a little incorrect here thinking both guys are acting childish. The Dodgers gave a bullshit offer and Boras is asking for bullshit amounts of money for a player who has no other suitors. Both are just doing what they should be doing in this situation. I think this is riveting. Who will bend? I think the Dodgers will.

So Boras made an absurd counteroffer Thursday night? So what? That's his job. McCourt needs to shrug it off.

But yet Plaschke is saying McCourt is acting childish. I guess it is his job to be childish.

"It seems like we have been negotiating against ourselves, and I'm not going to do that anymore," McCourt said.

Seems like? You are negotiating against yourself. Here is how you know McCourt is partially incompetent as a General Manager. He has allowed the numbers and the demands of Manny to become public information. Now a team like (just an example) the Giants can say, "he wants 2 years and no deferred money, we may be able to do that." Boras is using the public negotiations to let other teams know exactly what he will accept.

I don't know if McCourt has thought about this, but he is negotiating for every team in baseball. Part of the fear of signing a Boras client is that you never know exactly what he will want in terms of contract numbers...well now teams know. I don't think another team will jump in, but I would not rule it out.

C'mon fellas. Break it up. Figure it out. It's easy.

Apparently not. I say 2 years $42 million and no deferred money. Try that.

Give Ramirez a one-year deal worth $22.5 million with no deferred payments.

I always thought Manny wanted a two year deal and if the Dodgers can pay $22.5 million this year, why can't they do that next year as well? It will also prevent them from being in the exact same situation 9 months from now. I just think if the Dodgers can pay $22.5 million this year, they could do the same next year. I don't know their payroll situation but I would imagine it could be done.

I still say offer 2 years $42 million or even $43 million, it is a kind of meet in the middle scenario. I would not give Manny a one year contract because you will be going through the same thing one year from now.

Best of all, it will allow weary, aggravated Dodgers fans to put both of them in a six-month timeout.

We all know Boras is going to win this. He always does, I don't know how he has teams bid against themselves so successfully, but he does. I think the secret is to represent the best players in baseball and then those player's statistics present a good case in themselves and all you have to do is call the 5 teams still willing to deal with you and see if they are interested. If I wasn't so dedicated to knowing absolutely nothing about anything, I would try to be a sports agent.