Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - January 16, 2013

Who is calling the shots in Washington?
GM Mike Rizzo? Or superagent Scott Boras?

In the latest podcast, I make the case that it could very well be Boras.

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast - January 16, 2013

 

I warned the Nationals

I did! Last March I said to pass on Stephen Strasburg and spend that $50 million more wisely... like spreading it around a farm system that needs depth!

OK, so chances are it will be more like $22 million (man this recession is hitting EVERYONE) but still, spending all of that on one guy is insane.

Yeah I know Stephen Strasburg is going to be the biggest pitcher in baseball history (like we heard about Brien Taylor, Jon Peters, Todd Van Poppel and Mark Prior) but the Nats are more than one pitcher away.

AND everyone, and I mean EVERYONE knew that this was going to turn into a Scott Boras circus. 

Everyone knew the signing would be dragged on to the last possibly nanosecond with the Nats possibly sitting with bupkes and another compensation pick.

So now the clock is ticking and Boras has the independent leagues on speed dial.

And even if they DO sign him, the pressure on him will be mind numbing, and the handling of him will probably defy logic.

Remember how the Yankees couldn't decide what the hell Joba Chamberlain was until they yanked him back and forth illogically all during the 2008 season?

That will be clear headed thinking compared to the inevitable madness that will be the Nats pitch counts. 

Remember this guy is now their franchise!

Forget pitch count. He probably won't be allowed to tie his shoes without a trainer present.

Heck they'll have to have him more protected than John Travolta in the Boy in the Plastic Bubble.

All of this would be worth it for someone proven...

Roy Halladay, Johan Santana, Justin Verlander... heck even Tim Lincecum.

But dragging this out for someone who could be an ace or could be Todd Van Poppel is nuts.

I mean couldn't the Nats have drafted Dustin Ackley, Grant Green or some other highly touted amateur and moved on?

This guy had better be good...

No pressure.

Spend that $50 Million Wisely, Nationals!!!!

So Scott Boras claims that Stephen Strasburg is a once in a decade talent worth $50 million.

I'm not one of those people who thinks Scott Boras is evil. He's an agent. And it is the job of an agent to get their client as much money as possible. So why not hype Strasburg as the greatest thing since sliced bread.

He compared him to Sidd Finch. Of course Sidd Finch was a fictitious character, so why not compare him to Zeus?

But fine... he's Sidd Finch. He's the greatest pitching prospect in recent memory.

I would warn the Nationals against drafting him.

Yeah, I know the Nationals need a stud ace.

They need a LOT of things.

And if they aren't swimming in dough, then let me warn against spending 50 million tomatoes on this guy.

In my Braves Home Grown vs. Acquired post I told the story of Todd Van Poppel being the best talent in the draft and how the Braves were stuck with Chipper Jones.

In my White Sox post I recounted how neither Frank Thomas nor Robin Ventura were as coveted as Earl Cunningham nor Ty Griffin. Who? Exactly.

Plus the #1 over all pick is not a slam dunk.

Remember how awesome Kris Benson was supposed to be?

Remember Matt Anderson? Me neither.

Remember how Paul Wilson was supposed to be the next great ace?

Remember Brien Taylor's hold out?

Remember Bryan Bullington?

Even some players that did have talent could flame out to injuries like #2 pick Mark Prior.

You can find talent further down in the draft without blowing $50 mil. Tim Lincecum was the 10th overall pick. C.C. Sabathia was the 20th pick.

Randy Johnson was a second round pick. So was Greg Maddux.

If I were in charge of the Nationals, I'd take that $50 million and tell my scouts to sign 50 good players to a $1 million bonus. They need volume in that system.

Besides, Strasberg will opt out the first chance he gets!

How could Alex Rodriguez's Spring Training Get Worse?

Usually spring training is a time to shake off the cob webs and have a fresh start for the new season.
For Alex Rodriguez, Spring Training 2009 has been as optimistic and stress free as Griffin Dunne's night in After Hours.

Remember when the controversies around A-Rod were things like "Hanging out with strippers", "shacking up with Madonna", "bombing in the playoffs", "opting out during the World Series" and "a jaw droppingly awkward divorce"? Do you know what A-Rod calls that period?

The Good Old Days.

Since leading the Yankees to a third place finish last September A-Rod has...

- Been the subject of Joe Torre's book, and not in a good way.
- Said a fib or two to Katie Couric
- Said a fib or three to Peter Gammons
- Said a few more fibs to every reporter in the tri state area
- Threw his cousin under the bus in the steroid scandal
- Became the new face of steroid abusers
- Continued hanging around the most notorious steroid supplying trainers AFTER he claimed he was clean
- Got flack for picking The Domincan Republic instead of the United States for the meaningless WBC
- Got flack for complimenting Jose Reyes in said meaningless WBC.

And now it looks like he could be out until JULY with a hip injury that probably could have been treated in the off season.

It's only early March folks. NINE MORE YEARS IN NEW YORK!!!!

But cheer up A-Rod.

The following things haven't happened to you:

- You have not been named one of the Worst Dressed Celebrities from Esquire.

- Nadya Suleman hasn't claimed you are the father of the Octuplets.

- No DNA connects you to both Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman.

- You haven't been blamed for the housing crisis.

- Chris Brown hasn't said publicly "A-Rod told me to do it!"

- The former Reverend Ted Haggard hasn't claimed a long term relationship with you.

- The New York Post hasn't issued a statement saying "That chimp cartoon was suggested to us by A-Rod."

- A new role of film hasn't been discovered in the Zapruder home, clearly putting a very young you on the Grassy Knoll.

- The Bachelor hasn't claimed that his switcheroo was A-Rod's idea.

- You haven't been attacked by a werewolf, turning you into a flesh eating beast at each full moon.


But then again, it's early.

At least three of these could happen by St. Patrick's Day.

So let me get this straight…

Manny Ramirez had a $20 million option for 2009 and for 2010 with the Red Sox.

He wanted out so badly he destroyed all of his good will in Boston, went to LA and spent the whole off season sulking about his $45 million Dodger offer during the worst economy in generations…

And he signed for $45 million.

So this whole stink was over $5 million?

$5 million? That’s not even enough to build a Bionic Man with 1974 prices!

White Smoke! Manny must have been resigned

Manny Ramirez finally thinks that $45 million is worth playing for. OK, so it's not that much more than he would have got from the Red Sox had they picked up the two options... but at least the circus is over (and I am still glad that this wasn't the big issue in Red Sox camp!)

Well this changes everything doesn't it?

I mean how can anyone pick a team other than the Dodgers this year?

This puts them heads and crazy shoulders above everyone else in the NL West.

Yes I know the Giants have lots of pitching... they can't hit.

Yes I know the Diamondbacks have lots of young dynamic talent... they have no centerpiece to their line up.

Yes I know the Rockies were the NL Champs just two seasons ago... that's looking more and more like a fluke.

I love love LOVE how this Dodgers team is set up.

Pitching wise they are LOADED with young talent.
Chad Billingsley is only 23 and is already a legit #2 with playoff experience in '06 and '08.
Young studs Clayton Kershaw and James McDonald are also in their early 20s and have tasted the post season too.

Jonathan Broxton looks like their young stud in the pen. He's only 24 and has pitched in the playoffs two different seasons and became the first Dodger pitcher since Orel Hershiser to close out a playoff series.

Hong-Chih Kuo is also a veteran of two playoff teams in his twenties and gives Broxton a good set up man and Cory Wade looks like he'll fit in nicely to the pen as well.

If they can get anything out of Hiroki Kuroda, Jason Schmidt and Claudio Vargas, it will only make them deeper.

And now the line up, filled with home grown potential stars like Russell Martin, James Loney, Matt Kemp and Andre Either* and veterans like Rafael Furcal and Casey Blake have the centerpiece. The pressure will be on Manny, and he can hack it because he doesn't care... and I mean that as a compliment.

And the craziness of Manny will also deflect any attention that Joe Torre might have from that book.

Now of course this all assumes that Manny will be "Happy Manny."
"Unhappy Manny" can be a pain, but guess what? "Unhappy Manny" hits as well.

And the Mets are going into the season with a huge hole in their line up... and fans can curse Bernie Madoff for keeping the Mets from being players in the Manny sweepstakes.

And the Giants missed out on a chance to have the second biggest distracting superstar in left field of the decade.

I would say this pushes the Dodgers into the World Series...
But remember one fact:

No team that has Don Mattingly in uniform can play in the World Series.

If Manny can beat the Curse of Don Mattingly, then he is a powerful prescience indeed!!!



*Yes I know that Andre Ethier isn't technically homegrown, but cut me some slack

Man... I'm glad the Red Sox aren't dealing with this Manny mess

I've had a bunch of people write to me asking why I don't write more about the Manny Ramirez contract two step.

What is there to write about?
Manny is a free agent and nobody is offering him a long term contract.
Scott Boras thought there was going to be a huge market... maybe play the Angels inferiority complex with the Dodgers into a multiyear deal.
Maybe play the Mets need to give their devastated fan base a new shiny toy to play with for a big contract.
Maybe get the Giants interested because it's been a whole year since they've had an enigmatic superstar left fielder.
Maybe get the Rangers or Nationals thinking they owe their fans at least one reason to go to the ballpark.

But like Lloyd Bridges in Airplane!, it looks like he picked the wrong season to be a free agent.

Manny would have been better off taking the options on the Red Sox contract... or taking the Dodgers 2 year deal that Boras didn't think was a series offer.

So who knows what will happen?
Manny might have to take a 1 year deal.

My dad thinks he will sit out the first few months and wait for a team to get desperate.

Boras might get a 4 year deal from someone. (Remember last year he got a 10 year deal for A-Rod even though nobody other than the Yankees were bidding.)

One thing I DO know... it is so much more relaxing to not be dealing with this as a Red Sox fan!

I've always been a Manny fan but man I am happy that the Dodgers are dealing with this mess.

I am happy the Red Sox have Jason Bay in the fold and not dealing with this tug of egos.

Maybe Theo did know what he was doing again!
I trust everything he does...

Good luck Manny. Thanks for the memories... Pitchers and catchers are reporting in a few weeks. Better find a home!

The Manny Ramirez situation isn't that complicated... at least not from Manny's POV

The GM Meetings are going on (General Managers, not General Motors) and while free agents can't sign with other teams yet, lots of fans are wringing their hands over which big star will go where etc.

I've already heard people wondering about Manny Ramirez...
Does he want to go back to LA because fans loved him there?
Does he want to go to the Yankees because he wants to get back at the Red Sox?
Does he want to go to Philadelphia to be reunited with Charlie Manuel?

Why are people doing that?

Manny made it very simple for all of us.
He said as he left LA following the NLCS "I want to see who is the highest bidder. Gas is up and so am I."

Actually gas is coming down. It's finally under $3 a gallon at the Arco on Mission Street in South Pasadena. But I digress.

Manny will go to the highest bidder.
It's that simple.
He has the fame, he has the legacy and he has the rings.
He wants a gignormous Scrooge McDuck pile of money and someone will do it.

It has nothing to do with reuniting with old managers or love of a fan.

Quite frankly I find it kind of refreshing that someone just said it.

"Pay me and you got me!"

It sure beats Mike Hampton claiming he went to Colorado for the school system... as if for $11 million a year he couldn't afford a decent private school.


Sure he could go to the Yankees... and what better way to show your fans you've broken your habit of signing big priced veteran sluggers and obsessing about the 2004 Red Sox while sacrificing draft picks and the pitching staff than signing Manny Ramirez?

It could be the Mets who after 2 straight face plants in September (following a face plant in October 2006) need something, anything, to placate a fan base who also had to sit through images of a Philadelphia World Series parade.

It could be the Phillies who could bring in Manny to replace Burrell. Can you imagine the pitches Ryan Howard would see with Manny behind him?

It could be the Dodgers who loved being relevant again, but most importantly loved seeing the stadium full and the merchandise flying off of the racks.

It could be the Angels, who don't really have room for him but might find some if Teixera leaves. Besides, I'm sure Arte Moreno saw the stadium full and merchandise flying off the racks in Chavez Ravine and thought "Why not in Anaheim? I'm sorry... Los Angeles of Anaheim."

It could be the Giants who might take a long look at the NL and say "We have the pitching... if we add a big bat to this line up, and take that same bat away from the Dodgers, we might actually have a shot!" Besides, they have a history of left fielders who needed kid glove treatment.

It could be the Red Sox... actually no it couldn't.

And then there are the dark horses... and frankly I think he will wind up with a dark horse.

It could be the Rangers. They have money and no reason for anyone to show up to the ballpark. Why not pay for a big attraction?

It could be the Blue Jays, who actually have pitching and might be looking at the Rays and think "Hey! Maybe we can win this division after all!"

All you need is to pay up...
And the reason I think it will be one of those two dark horse teams is that those teams are desperate to jumpstart a dead fan base. (Sorry Blue Jays and Rangers fans who read this... you are good solid fans, but let's face it... good seats tend to be available.)

Some owner will push the chips to the center of the table and offer 5 years (!!!)
Some owner will bend to every Boras whim thinking "Well, if his last 3 years stink, at least we got those first 2 years."

And it won't matter to Manny or Boras.
Hell if the independent Bridgeport Blue Fish offer the highest bid, guess what?

Manny will be a Blue Fish and busting homers at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard!