Small sample size...sure, but today he was 3 for 4 with a homer and 2 doubles. The only time he was at the plate with a man on he ended up striking out. Crazy.

Um, because the players have some rights as well?

I'm no big fan of Boras by any stretch, but let's be clear here - he's just the agent. Strasburg is his boss. If Strasburg doesn't like the way Boras is negotiating on his behalf, he can fire him and hire someone else. Ultimate responsibility for anything Boras does rests with the players that employ him.

And if you were an amateur baseball prospect, you'd sure as hell appreciate the way Boras would fight to get you as much as you were worth.

LMAO

WTF? Do players have rights, or are they supposed to kiss their stars for having employment? This kind of "OMG ITS A GAME" thing really bothers me; this may be the only contract he ever gets, and he should do everything he can to maximize it/

How many innings has Strasburg pitched in the MLB so far? How many wins or Cy Youngs does he have already? And he's going to command how many millions before doing any of the above? That doesn't seem a little backwards to you?

Not if there's a team willing to give it to him for his potential future production.

The only thing that matters is how things end up for him.

If this ruins his career, then it's backwards.

If this allows him to eventually make more money somewhere else than he would with the Nationals, then it was clearly a good move.

I think you're making a broader point about the MLB draft rules, but Boras/Strasburg are not and should not be sympathetic to things like that. Boras' job is making the right deal for Strasburg, that's it, not to make Nationals fans happy, and not to work a "fair" deal for the other side considering Strasburg' lack of experience.

The only check on Boras' aggresiveness is that teams may not want to deal with him, and his guys may drop in the draft. There's always some grumbling about that, but is doesn't seem to be the case yet.

I think the issue is more MLB than Boras. He's operating within the framework he's given. I have a similar issue with the NFL where guys coming out of college are making more (at least the top picks) than perennial stars at their positions. At least with football you can defend it a bit given how violent the sport is and how predominant injuries are compared to other sports, but still, it doesn't seem right that guys who have never played an inning/quarter are making more than guys who are on second/third contracts (especially given how the MLB draft setup is) and have proven themselves as top tier players in the league.

So while I may not be a Boras fan, hard to fault him for pushing the limits given to him by the league. Hopefully this spurs some changes to the format that'll result in a better (for the sport) system, whatever that may be (as I'm sure we all have our own opinions on that front).

Actually, it seems quite forwards to me. It's the restriction of their ability to work for wages that reflect their skills that seems backwards to me.

No. It's "a game we'd all love to play for free as our job", but it's also his profession, and if he can ensure his future financial stability based off this contract, he needs to do so.

I know actual law might be/is different, but drafts violate antitrust rulings in the first place imo. I don't think a union should be able to negotiate constraints on a future group of players it doesn't represent at the time.

So as much as I bash on Inge, he is winning me over. Apparently he is playing with what they're saying is 75% of a tendon torn and he won't go on the DL. It's been like this since before the ASB and he hasn't complained, just kept playing. He might consider surgery but anything that might end his season he is saying he won't bother with. Obviously right now it hasn't been a detriment on his play but once it gets there, if it does anyway, it could obviously become a problem.

Still, the dude is a warrior.

Inge has left patella tendon tear

It amounts to 75 percent of one of the three strands that make up the patella (knee cap) tendon - so he can play on it, but that's why you see him favoring his left knee.

Inge said he would agree to go on the 15-day disabled list if he could be told his absence would last no more than 15 days and that he would be pain-free the rest of the year when he returns.

The medical staff can't make those guarantees, however, so it's Inge's belief he will play with pain the rest of the year. He also said it's excruciating pain at times.

Hey the Red Sox got something for Julio Lugo!

Chris Duncan actually has a lower OPS+ this year than Lugo does (84 to 85), LOL!

I repeat: The Sox got something for Julio Lugo!

One wonders if Cards fans are saying: The Cards got something for Chris Duncan! :D

After all, the Sox are still on the hook for the huge salary they offered to Lugo.

The point you are missing, I'd say, is that they were going to release him, and pay his full salary. That they got something, now matter how shitty you may think that something is, surprised me.

;) :D

Not in the least. If there were no draft and he were a free agent, how much would he command?

Consider the fact that in baseball, most players reach peak performance while still under club control and are thus vastly underpaid compared to what they'd command on the open market. If Strasburg is close to as good as his hype (and is healthy for the duration of the time he's under club control to the Nats) he'll be vastly underpaid compared to what he'd command on the open market, even considering the possibility that he signs for something massive like $30M.

Once again, think about this from the perspective of the player in question - why shouldn't they try to maximize their value at this one point in time when they hold some leverage, considering that once they sign they will lose most leverage for several years and have a very good chance of being severely underpaid for their performance?

I hate to do this since it'll probably jinx Jair for the rest of the night.

Lincecum's line for the night: 5 IP, 7H, 4ER, 2BB, 9K, 1HR

Braves lead 4-0 after 5 1/2, Jurrjens has allowed only an early single to Benji Molina.

edit to add: FWIW, on Braves radio, Don Sutton was talking about his location just being off by enough tonight to create a couple of opportunities for hitters which they took full advantage of.

that's 2 big IF's

From a poster on a different board who played with Bernazard's son on a Legion team.He would also show up to his son's little league games wearing his full Cleveland Indians uniform.

The Mets are the worst team in baseball.

Sure, but the point is to illustrate the fact that players earn far less in their club-controlled years than they would on the open market. Because of the way the system currently works, players sacrifice a great deal of their real worth, presumably for the benefit of the sport as a whole (the suppressed salary structure for young players allows small-revenue teams to have a chance at succeeding).

Damn you, Bobby Seay.

Yes.

this is fun

If I'm the player in question I would be thinking about passing up whatever deal is on the table now and then what could happen when I throw my arm out pitching for some independent league team who doesn't give two shits about what happens to me so long as I'm on the mound as often as possible so tickets get sold.

I might be thinking about what might happen if I don't pitch as well as I have been lately and after re-entering the draft I could slide a few spots...or rounds. Whoops.

I'm also thinking about the fact that I'm going to hit free agency one year later because I'm holding out for a extra mil or two (no idea what Stras has been offered/is expecting) now meanwhile I could be giving up 10's of millions of dollars for what would've been my first year of free agency.

Chisox within 1 of the tigers!

I'm really not convinced that Boras is capable of negotiating in good faith.

The whole Alvarez thing last year really pissed me off. I think there's really a difference between doing right for your client, and flat out being a sleazebag.

And anyways, the whole draft process is whacked. The fact that the Nats(or any other team in the draft with their slot) can't flip him like an asset is fundamentally broken.

The Alvarez thing, where the Pirates unilaterally got an exception and leverage that the guy wasn't aware of? Man, Bud Selig is the fucking sleazebag there; its completely unfair to tell the player this is the deadline, but tell the team, actually, you can extend it 5 min and no worries. It takes remarkable chuptzah to blame that on the kid.

Let's not leave San Diego out of this

The problem there was Alvarez and Hosmer both agreed to deals after the deadline because they got extensions from MLB, but the one Boras had a problem with was Alvarez's. He got a grievance filed on the Alvarez deal, but kept quiet about Hosmer's because he was happy with the money.

At least they won't toy with your emotions and break your heart at the end of the year again.

Nope, waiting for that last win which will move us from the #3 pick to #4 and miss out on Strasburg.

Looking at the boxscore, it seems something kind of cool is in progress at US Cellular field.

Through 6 innings.

Now all we need is a guy to come out and say it while still playing...

Jim Parque's confession that he used HGH draws ambivalence and admiration among the Chicago White Sox - ESPN Chicago

Looks like Mark Buerhle is throwing a No Hitter. Perhaps a Perfect Game. Can he keep up his No Hit - Perfect Game bid? I surely hope he can keep up his No Hit bid.

Time to lay down a bunt!

I'm all for this, given that the Cubs are my team. It is a perfect game through seven.

why aren't you supposed to talk about a no hitter?

I guess if you say something about a no-hitter, then somebody gets a hit.
No-hitter, no-hitter, no-hitter:funkychickendance:

Holy crap that was close.

Zito is going to be the guy to stop the losing streak...Who would have thunk it.

I predict a 2-out HR by Bartlett.

Here we go...going into the 9th.

I'm a Rays fan but this would be pretty special to see.

LOL, sick catch. Just 1 out away now.

OH MY GOD

Did anyone just fucking see that!!!

Officially a perfect game?

yeah-

What was the big play?

Wait a sec...gamecenter said Kaplar doubled at first. Was it actually close to a double or were they just making that up?

CF Wise robbed a home run, running into the wall and juggling it to the ground. At least that is how Jon Miller described it on the Giants radio broadcast.

It was a long drive deep to CF and Wise leaped up at the wall and made the catch. If he didn't, the ball was going out of the park.

Was that the final out?

holy shit, that was the craziest catch ever.

edit) first out of the inning. Basically robbed a homer, and then almost dropped it on the way back in, and then more or less barehanded it to control. Insane.

Impressive.

Yeah, his glove was at least a foot over the top of the fence and then he juggled it on the way down before securing it with his non-gloved hand. Pretty awesome.

Didn't Wise just come in as a defensive replacement too?

MARK BUEHRLE I LOVE YOU

The play was the first out of the inning.

Seriously one of the best plays I've ever seen. On the way down he bobbled it and basically had to catch it with his bare hand.

That was a great play by Wise, ah well, tip of the hat to Buehrle. Hopefully that's the highlight of the rest of the week for the White Sox. :D

I didn't post here earlier, didn't want to jinx it. but an AMAZING PLAY, and some amazing pitching today. oh yea

NICE TRY DETOX

Reminds me of the Otis Nixon play against the Pirates, except that one preserved a victory.

I'm very happy for Mark Buehrle, Dewayne Wise and the White Sox. What an impressive feat.

This play apparently happened 15 minutes ago, and I'm increasingly annoyed that I haven't seen the video anywhere.

I love the internet age.

Almost sounds like Endy Chavez in the 2006 NLCS against the Cardinals, at least the dead run part (as opposed to having a chance to plant and time the leap).

Enough talk...there's gotta be a link to share.

Hahaha me too. Where the hell is a video already!

Seriously. What am I, amish? Let's go!

espn people.

its amazing, but even more amazing that it was to preserve a perfect game in the 9th inning.

also video is on front page of mlb.com

Bunch of people won't be able to tell their boss that they saw a perfect game.

Thanks, finally!

Good catch.

I couldn't be having a better day! OMG

Just watched it on the iphone mlb app.

Unreal play, especially given that that would have been the first play Wise was in for I'm assuming? Nice move by the skipper and Buerhle is probably buying them both an awfully nice dinner.

I can't believe Ramon Castro caught the fuckin thing.

It's my girlfriends birthday, and she woke up to me screaming and yelling some nonsense about how I'll love dewayne wise for the rest of my life.

dola damn these people are quick! from Wise' wikipedia page

Awesome.

So you take the first offer the team pushes your way? You don't try to negotiate at all? That's your right, and as the client it's ultimately your call. But are you really telling me you wouldn't want someone to help you negotiate to see if you can do better than what you'd get on your own?

As for specific points you bring up, in particular this one stands out:

The difference between what Strasburg appears to be asking for right now and what the Nats are probably offering is far more than a mil or two. And with the fragile nature of pitchers and the frequency that they blow their arms out, it's hardly a sure thing that he'll hit his free agency years as a guy in demand. Strasburg knows he's in heavy demand now - there's a decent chance he won't be in demand by the time he'd hit free agency. For pitchers, there's a big incentive to maximize your payday now, because you may not ever see another big one.

There's negotiating and then there is demanding...Bora$ uses the latter.



So the team needs to take ALL the risk on whether he even makes the team at some point, is able to even play for the majority of his contract, and is worth every penny of the deal?

Every contract is a balancing act of risk vs. reward. If they don't like the balance then they don't have to sign him.

Wtf? Demanding? Tell you what, I want you to work for min wage. And if you complain, that's "demanding." This just comes across as petty jealousy; "oh my gawd, how dare a player demand big money for his services."

The team gets 6 years of cost-controlled major league service. A marginal win is worth about $4M on the open market; 6 ML years of Strasburg will far exceed the value of whatever contract he signs. If the team does not believe Strasburg is worth it, they are free to draft someone else. If he was on the open market, he would get $50M; easily. For him, this may be the only contract of his life, and he's only allowed to negotiate with one party; I'd damn well get every $ I can.

And it works for him. He's a huge success, and his players are successful because of him.

I'd love to see it all crash down upon him, have a couple of high profile failures where his aggressive tactics backfire on him - but it doesn't really happen. He's obviously not an idiot, he knows where that line is.

i think the problem is that MLB contracts are guaranteed. that seems to be somewhat of a consensus?

Crapshoot gets it. johnnyshaka doesn't.

CS, not sure why you are getting so irritated as this is the second time you've quoted me and started with "wtf"...huh? And I'm not jealous of these guys at all, in fact, if it weren't for them I couldn't enjoy the great game of baseball so I'm thankful for them.

I have no problem working for minimum wage when I have no experience and I'm the lowest guy on the totem pole...and I'm sure I'm not the only one here who's done it, and I won't be the last.


So a team that can't afford to miss on that magnitude (need players and don't have the scratch to gamble it away) is left with a pretty big decision...put all the eggs in one basket and hope to God he doesn't get hurt...is as good as advertised...and hope he doesn't get hurt. But on the other hand, some of the more well off guys can take that risk any day of the week and twice on Sundays. If he doesn't work out, that's OK, it's just money and we'll go sign the best guy on the market to take his place...oh well. That's why it bugs me...this system only works for about half a dozen teams...and that's stretching it.

Having seen the replays a few times, I'm not sure that the Wise play would have been a Home Run. It looks like it was coming down at a pretty steep angle and would've hit just below the top of the fence.

Still would've ended the bid for a perfect game, though.

And for those keeping score at home, Garrett Jones knocked in a couple of runs (so far) tonight without hitting a homer.

Definitely. I'm certainly not suggesting it wasn't a great play.

Yeah-Garrett Fuckin' Jones was 3-4 tonight.

The pirates chase Haren in 5, then proceed to give up 10 unanswered runs. Not a good day today.

The difference is that when you are hired at minimum wage you are not required to work for minimum wage for six years, have a high chance at injury/failure, and are not barred from working at any other company in your field.

Can the White Sox get that buffoon off the microphone!

Great performance is almost tainted by that horrendous radio call.

Radio call? You mean you're referencing a buffoon White Sox announcer and it's NOT Hawk Harrelson? How many can they have over there?

I'm trying to avoid watching the Wise play with the sound on for fear of having to hear the uncomfortable sounds of the explosive multiple hillbilly orgasms coming from Hawk. Poor Stoney... I hope he had already bailed out of the booth at that point...

No it was Hawk. Heard the call on the radio this morning on my way into work. Wasn't sure if he just did TV or radio for the Sox.

But he is embarassing.