Nats offer to Strasburg is *roughly* $20 million

[DrungoHazewood]

Why should the money go to the owners and not the players? The Nats were the second most profitable team last season.

Because there was this magical time, back when everyone lived in a little house with a white picket fence and ate ice cream down at Bud's General Store and listened to Little Orphan Annie on the radio, when all ballplayers made $6000 a year and they were just like us and we loved them for it.

[Sports Guy]

What if the Nats offered 8 million...Would he have gone back to school or wherever and turned that down?

[ejf1025]

I think the only thing playing in Japan does is give him a high level of competition to play against until he's drafted again. I don't think that changing citizenship does anything for you once you've been drafted as a citizen of a draft-eligible country.

Maybe the next frontier for Boras is to get American amateur talent to change their citizenship pre-draft.

Interesting.

And I completely agree with the rest of your (and Mackus' assertions)...people are turning this into socio-economic debate about whether it is "right" for a player to demand that amount.

But this is about fair labor practices. A grown man should be able to go out and get the best compensation for his services...especially in an industry where you are lucky to still be able to work by your mid-30s.

The draft denies amateur players this basic labor right--bottomline.

People may find it dissatisfying that a baseball player earns more than a teacher, etc. They may find it dissatisfying that college and high schoolers earn more than seasoned professionals....but that is all besides the point. It is inarguable that Strasburg (and many other elite amateur talents) would earn far more in a fair, free market.

[Hank Scorpio]

He'll sign it.

Boras won't be able to resist turning that deal down.

[geschinger]

What if the Nats offered 8 million...Would he have gone back to school or wherever and turned that down?

No, he'd be insane to do that... $8m and hitting arbitration and FA a year early is worth significantly more than a bigger bonus the next year.

[ejf1025]

The only way he turns this down is if Boras thinks he can manipulate it so that Strasburg slips to a bigger market next year...one that will beat the Nationals money AND make generate him more money in endorsements.

Either way, it's a big risk and he will sign.

[waroriole]

No, he'd be insane to do that... $8m and hitting arbitration and FA a year early is worth significantly more than a bigger bonus the next year.

If he doesn't that's when you realize that Boras doesn't have the guy's best interests in mind. He's looking to set a precedent, not get his client the best deal.

[Sports Guy]

No, he'd be insane to do that... $8m and hitting arbitration and FA a year early is worth significantly more than a bigger bonus the next year.

I kind of feel the same way...So, the question is should the Nats have offered him 8-10 million and been done with it?

I mean, they need to sign this kid but when push came to shove, is he really going to turn down 8-10 million guaranteed dollars?

[geschinger]

I kind of feel the same way...So, the question is should the Nats have offered him 8-10 million and been done with it?

I mean, they need to sign this kid but when push came to shove, is he really going to turn down 8-10 million guaranteed dollars?

I think it is not all that different than Wieters was where there was panic that we weren't meeting his asking price but when push came to shove a reasonable number got it done. I'd of taken him and offered him Price money plus a hefty increase and made it take or leave it confident that at 11:59 it would be accepted.

[Sports Guy]

I think it is not all that different than Wieters was where there was panic that we weren't meeting his asking price but when push came to shove a reasonable number got it done. I'd of taken him and offered him Price money plus a hefty increase and made it take or leave it confident that at 11:59 it would be accepted.

Yea, it sounds absurd to say 6-10 million would get it done based off what is out there...But what is out there is based off of the 50 million dollar number Boras stated from the start.

I will tell you what..Whether you like him or hate him, Boras is GREAT at what he does.

[geschinger]

Yea, it sounds absurd to say 6-10 million would get it done based off what is out there...But what is out there is based off of the 50 million dollar number Boras stated from the start.

I will tell you what..Whether you like him or hate him, Boras is GREAT at what he does.

For some reason teams don't learn, they are content to make the same stupid mistakes year after year. The methodology for how to handle negotiations with his clients was demonstrated and proven to be effective with Stephen Drew and Jered Weaver and to a lesser extent Wieters.

[zff4]

There's a lot of truth in the There's No Such Thing As A Pitching Prospect adage (TINSTAPP). $20 mil is a chunk of change and thanks to Prior we know how fragile the human arm is.

There also may be truth in saying that Strasburg is a once in a generation talent so let's not compare apples and oranges (ordinary talent and stratospheric talent). But you'd think a club's scouting department would be able to sort out Boras' claims and the truth to this kids value.

But no, the O's aren't inclined to play that game. In the end, however, playing that game is probably what it takes to really compete in the AL East and Strasburg is a risk that I'd be willing to take with someone else's money.

[Goop]

These guys and their crazy demands are outrageous. If he dosn't sign, I wouldn't want anything to do with him if he were available. Any kids that doesn't sign for that kind of money has his priorities in the wrong order.

I gotta agree with you on that. I mean really, take the money for crying out loud.

[blueberryale77]

What if many people felt that you were in fact the very best of everybody else in your profession with your level of experience, as many people felt about Crow going into the draft last year?

I agree Crow is making a poor decision and needs to listen to different people, but your character bashing of him is ridiculous and completely over the top and uncalled for.

So saying that you have questions about someone's potential character issues because they did something you don't approve of is "ridiculous and completely over the top and uncalled for"? Whatever. Obviously I struck a nerve with you for whatever reason. Clearly we have vastly different opinions about the role of money in sports.

[alexei606]

So saying that you have questions about someone's potential character issues because they did something you don't approve of is "ridiculous and completely over the top and uncalled for"? Whatever. Obviously I struck a nerve with you for whatever reason. Clearly we have vastly different opinions about the role of money in sports.

What is the role of money in sports? I thought the players like all of us in our jobs, the role is to maximize our salaries and that the owners are just like any owner of any business, is to maximize their profit. That said, I watch the game for the players and would much rather see the players get the obscene money than the owners get the obscene money just like I would hope to see the huge disparity between workers and CEOs/owners disappear.

Now, as mentioned before, if you believe that sports has too much money, owners make too much as well as players especially as related to teachers, doctors, scientists, etc., that is a totally different issue and is societal in nature. Sure, I think that society's value systems are out of whack, but, that is how it is now and until it changes, I think the players should get the money. As Drungo stated earlier, the players have no leverage once they sign and make an very low artificial salary compared to what they are worth in the free market.

Throwing around terms such as greed and arrogance because someone wants to get what they believe they are worth is just not correct. I would do the same in Strasburg and Crowe's positions. I hope that Boras succeeds in doing something about the total inequity of undrafted FAs who are mostly only 16 yrs old, have no experience even in game situations and a host of suspicions to age and identity, but, command multi-million dollar contracts , while, Americans, Canadians and Puerto Ricans have their contracts artificially lowered because they are subject to the draft.

Once in the system, all make relatively low salaries in the MiLs and even once they get to the MLs (until arbitration or multi-year deals, which the latter favor the team). As I have stated earlier, the young players are used (not as badly as College football and basketball players) to increase profits obscenely for the owners. "Older "players (those past the six year team control and are not super stars) are now threatened with early retirement or drastic cuts in salary or both due to the "cheap" young players. This is another management and owner ploy to maximize their gains at the expense of players. You won't see ticket prices go down if salaries go down - bank on that as a given.