Tag: scott boras

Dear Barry Bonds, The Truth is Coming

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So, if you haven’t noticed by now, I am scheduled to post on Wednesdays. Of course, I usually put off the bulk of the writing until I get home from work on Wednesday so the article doesn’t get posted until midnight. But even then I still feel I meet my self-imposed deadline. This week was no different, I started doing some research for my article after work yesterday (Wednesday). Little Barry Bonds and Big Barry BondsMy goal was to compare the 2007 Gold Glove winners to other players using different defensive metrics, to see how sometimes a great player gets screwed. It was a pain in the ass to get this data. Baseball Prospectus didn’t really have a good report for FRAA, fielding percentage, and other fun fielding stats. So, I asked my good buddy Google for some help. Lo and behold, someone else wrote my article for me. Go read that fucker’s blog.

Well, I gave up and went to bed. Hoping that I could come up with something else for today. Thankfully, the United States attorney’s office for the Northern District of California made my choice for a story easy. Mr. Barry* Bonds* has been indicted on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. Read More

Exodus 7:12

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Somehow the Yankees writing falls to me. Who’d’ve thought?

Big news yesterday – A-Rod opted out of his contract with the Yankees. He gave up $72 million in owed salary, which means the Yankees gave up $21.3 million from the Rangers. George Steinbrenner’s son Hank made clear that no effort would be made to reacquire him.

He’s .714 in guitar autography!  Can Jeter put up those numbers?There’s nothing more bizarre to me than the way New York sports fans and media treated Alex Rodriguez. They routinely savaged the best baseball player in a decade for not being a “clutch hitter” or falling flat in the postseason. They mocked or maligned him for only being “in it for the money,” as opposed to all the other mercenaries with hearts of gold that comprise the Yankees roster. First in the American League in home runs, runs and on-base percentage plus slugging? Screw him.

Scott Boras, A-Rod’s high profile agent, made this announcement midway through Game 4 of the World Series. He notified Brian Cashman by way of a voice mail. The timing of the message – during the final game of a World Series sweep by New York’s closest rival – plus the delivery suggest a cool and bitter parting. So be it.

Here’s the thing: if A-Rod’s after money, he ain’t getting it. The only two teams that can supply the salary he’s accustomed to are the Yankees and the Red Sox (who don’t want him). The Giants can’t. The Phillies can’t. The Cubs can’t. So what does the most hated man in baseball – and how does a man as talented as A-Rod get that appellation – want?

The ring, of course. The one ring to rule them all.
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[Business Day One] A Series of Moments

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Thursday, October 25th / Weymouth, MA / 10:30 p.m.

The driving rain and swarming defense prevented Matt Ryan from taking to the air.  Bud Foster gameplanned it perfectly.  The Virginia Tech defensive ends and linebackers speed-rushed the offensive line for the first 55 minutes, preventing Ryan from planting his feet and throwing.  He was hurled to the soggy carpet over and over again as one of the best defenses in college football consistently beat the Boston College blockers.  On offense, the Hokies were doing enough to win.  Sean Glennon moved the ball just enough to get 10 points on the board against the Eagles.  It was agony to watch.

With five minutes left, I said goodbye to the two friends I was watching the game with and walked across the condo complex to my car.  I was silent and so was the black night around me.  Read More

And five points for sticking the landing

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Megalomaniac Scott Boras is pushing for a new baseball stat to recognize strong defensive skills. Now while defensive skills do tend to be overlooked in judging baseball players’ worth, the attempt to quantify them through such an ill-defined metric as “exceptional play” does not really indicate anything beyond a player’s ability to show up on Baseball Tonight’s Web Gems.

The official scorer would be asked to distinguish between an exceptional play and a routine one in the same way he is asked to distinguish between a hit and error.

Now, the distinction between a hit and an error is usually clear-cut. The fielder misjudged, dropped, or bobbled the ball. Difficult to mistake one for the other. But what makes a fielding play “exceptional”? Distance? Style? Degree of difficulty? Should we have fielding judges giving out scores like in diving? If player A makes a diving catch, but player B is fast enough to already be in position to make an “ordinary” catch, don’t they deserve the same amount of praise?

Other comically stupid ideas mentioned were the nine-game world series with the first two at neutral sites. I don’t see how this would make anybody happy, and I have no idea why anyone would want to do this. Scott Boras needs to stick with inflating contracts and stay away from how the game is actually played.