B-O-O H-O-O for MLB, Yankees, Red Sox
Posted by: Nick the Greek in 2007 MLB Playoffs, 2008 MLB, GROUP A, Yankees
The best player in baseball has decided to opt out of his contract and test the free agent waters, despite the threat of Yankee dollars not being available to him if he did exercise that opt out (boy is it nice to see someone put the Yankees in their place – it brings a smile to my face).
That announcement came during Game 4 of the World Series, much to the Chagrin of MLB and Red Sox Nation.
The response to the timing of the announcement has been terse and directed mainly at Uber-agent, Scott Boras, also known as Darth Vader in the baseball world.
Look at the reaction of Bob DuPuy, MLB COO:
“We were very disappointed that Scott Boras would try to upstage our premier baseball event of the season with his announcement”
Boo-Frickin-Hoo, Bob.
First of all, this was one of the lamest World Series ever. It wasn’t even a contest. There was nobody outside of Denver (and Richie Rich) that even thought it was remotely possible for the Rockies to even make this a series. I was kind in predicting the series would make it 5 games. The TV ratings for this barn burner were the second lowest in history (surpassing only last year’s Tigers-Cardinals match-up). Your premiere event has produced three sweeps in the past four years and the other series, the aforementioned Tigers-Cardinals, managed one extra game.
If the series was the most important piece of baseball, nothing could have upstaged it. But the sad fact is this game is no longer about the teams, the Series or the history - its about the players, where they go, how many Home Runs they hit (and we at HRD love the Home Run) and how much they can get paid. A-Rod was the story, because A-Rod is the current state of baseball.
Red Sox Nation was equally upset, including their #1 fan, Peter Gammons (via Red Sox Monster). Read some of the comments on Red Sox blogs, and you get the usual disdain for Scott Boras, the vitrol for “upstaging” the Red Sox victory, and the regular questions of A-rod’s man-liness. Red Sox Fans, please forgive the rest of the nation if we don’t overturn cars, get drunk and spend some time in a holding cell, because the Red Sox won the world series for the second time in 4 years (and the 3rd time in 90 years). Most of us just aren’t wrapped up in the thrill of victory. That is not to say the Red Sox weren’t the best team in baseball this year, because they were. The line up, the pitching, everything about this team was just plain awesome. Hell, Richie already has them winning next year too!
Let’s be frank, it’s not Scott Boras’ fault that A-Rod is a bigger national story than the Red Sox. It’s not his job to worry about the press of the Red Sox. It’s to earn his clients the top dollar while putting them on a team they want to be.
But it seems like everyone wants to blame Scott Boras for making a faux pax on a great day in baseball, because he is such an evil agent. Oooh, the big, bad, scary Scott Boras. You know what, I just changed my costume for Halloween. No longer will I don my Green Lantern suit. I am going to be Scott Boras while I walk with my kids and trick or treat around the neighborhood. That should be worth at least two Twix bars, a pack of Twizzlers, a roll of Smarties and a toothbrush from the dentist who lives down the street.
Oh and just for the record, there is one person in Major League baseball who was over the moon with the Game 4 announcement, Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks, who just saved $21MM with the opt out.
Hicks probably issued the press release for Scott Boras.
Entries (RSS)
October 30th, 2007 at 7:26 am
Throw some blame at Fox, too. All they had to do was sit on the story if they felt it would upstage the World Series.
But they probably agreed the announcement was bigger, too.
October 30th, 2007 at 8:08 am
I did not need the mental picture of Nick in a Green lantern suit.