Thursday, March 19, 2015

Weasel of the Week: Scott Boras

This shouldn't be a surprise, should it?

Boras, the failed minor leaguer-turned-lawyer-turned-greed merchant (read: agent), whined in the press about the Chicago Cubs' decision to keep rookie phenom Kris Bryant in the minors until mid-April, in order to preserve one year's service time before Bryant inevitably becomes a free agent, which would now be after the 2021 season, rather than 2020.

Boras, unfortunately, is letting greed get in the way of common sense. He wants Bryant, who has already clubbed six homers in pre-season play in Arizona before being sidelined with a shoulder injury, on the Cubs' roster when regular season play starts on April 6. In other words, Boras wants to exploit Bryant's skills at the highest level ASAP. Has it even occurred to him that his star client is injured at the moment? No, of course not.

Manager Joe Maddon doesn't seem to have a problem with Boras' irresponsible thinking, but the decision is in the hands of GM Theo Epstein and team ownership, not Maddon. Boras' ranting, raving, and, well, whining to Bob Nightengale of USA Today only galvanizes his detractors even more than usual. Like, don't you think folks are tired of people like Boras dictating to baseball owners in regards to his myriad of clients? Of course.

All Boras is about is over-maximizing his commissions on his clients' contracts, and has more than realized the millions he never earned as a ballplayer himself. He's got so many players snowed just because he can make them a lot of money, never mind the fact that he gets more than his fair share right along with them. Robinson Cano & Alex Rodriguez both tired of his act, but both have also made mistakes since leaving Boras. In Cano's case, it was signing on with Jay Z's group, which opted to copy the Boras playbook, hence fleecing Seattle last year. We all know Rodriguez's sordid story, of course.

If Boras actually cared about his players' health-----something that seems to be lost in the narrative in the case of Bryant----he should've done something with A-Roid long ago, but couldn't be bothered. No, he thinks he's JG Wentworth, and wants his money now. Sorry, bub, but all you're getting from this desk is another set of Weasel ears, plus the usual accessories.

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