Be thankful you root for a team whose front office won’t take this scumbag’s bait.

I am going to take a look at Scott Boras’ quotes from Bob Hohler’s article in today’s Boston Globe.

“Being a Red Sox all his life, he obviously thinks he’s deserving of what every other team in the division does for their organizational players…”

Like the Yankees? Ask Andy Pettitte how that worked out for him. Like the Orioles or D-Rays? Now there are a couple of exemplary franchises. And isn’t Toronto about to let the greatest Blue Jay of all time walk? What the hell is an “organizational player” anyway?

“And with the evidence of his leadership, we obviously expect him to be compensated with the premium catchers in the game.”

Look. I am sure Jason is a super guy and all, but there is only so much monetary value a prudent ballclub ought to place on being a good guy. Still, Boras’ larger point here, that Varitek should be paid with the best catchers in the game, is not off-base. He should. Just not for the next five years.

“We looked at what John Henry did for Charles Johnson with five years and a no-trade clause…”

Um, yeah Scott, and how did that one work out?

“I can’t fathom why, if they move to a city, that would make any difference about how they conducted business…”

Then please. Allow me to help you fathom. BECAUSE IT HASN’T WORKED OUT IN THE PAST!!! THEY LEARNED FOR CRISSAKES!!!

Hohler writes, “Boras said he also found it hard to believe that the Sox owners would allow ‘their competitors to draw talent away from their city because there’s not a team that has talked with us that has in any way had any hesitancy about a no-trade clause.’”

Is that a threat? I am sorry but who does this guy think he is? I can just see Henry, Lucchino and Theo, sitting around the World Series trophy, laughing their asses off at this clown trying to bully them into offering their 33 year old catcher 5 years and a no-trade.

“I don’t think you’re going to find a more conditioned athlete in the major leagues…”

I don’t know. Reggie Sanders looks pretty jacked to me. What about Gabe Kapler? The fact that he is fit is not a differentiator. Sorry.

“Much like a Carlton Fisk or a Bob Boone, there are only a few catchers who play well in their early 30s, and when they do, the data says they go on to play well in their early 40s. I think Jason Varitek is going to be around quite some time.”

Jason Varitek has 4 seasons with an OPS+ over 100. Carlton Fisk had 9 when he was at Tek’s stage of his career. Hate to give Varitek the Lloyd Bentsen treatment but Jason, I knew Carlton Fisk, Carlton Fisk was a friend of mine. You, Jason, are no Carlton Fisk.

Although Tek’s abilities are a bit more in line with Bob Boone’s, Scott may have wanted to steer clear of this data point. There is a distinct difference between playing and playing well and just because California and Kansas City decided to prop Bob up behind the plate 125 times a year or so well into his late 30′s and early 40′s, does not mean it was advisable. Consider Boone’s OPS+ numbers from age 33 on:

33: 61
34: 78
35: 77
36: 41 (Holy Shit! I don’t know what’s more remarkable, that he batted .202/.242/.262, or the fact that the Angels ran him out there for 486 plate appearances.)
37: 72
38: 63
39: 66
40: 110
41: 92
42: 72

So yeah, maybe Boone wasn’t such a good guy to bring up.

“I think our game is very healthy and I think fans should expect their teams to aggressively pursue the top players.”

Scott, there is middle ground between aggressively pursuing and offering $50MM over five years sans no-trade.

“We wanted to put that to rest because he really wants to be placed among his peers. It’s certainly our opinion that with the kind of year he had and the kind of year he had the year before that he has put himself in a place that few catchers have reached offensively and defensively. You’re not going to find a guy on a club that I can think of in recent memory who had the kind of influence he had on a major league pitching staff, particularly on veteran pitchers.”

Again, no argument here. But why that means a prudent team would offer him the contract you are seeking, Scott, is entirely beyond me. He’s 33!!!

Scott Boras is smart and I imagine his rhetoric may sway some teams. But trust me, the Sox will set a fair-and-then-some market value for Varitek, regardless of what Boras has to say.

Be thankful for this.


On an entirely unrelated note, Brian Gunn of Redbird Nation is hangin’ em up. He was one of the blogosphere’s most thoughtful and thorough scribes. Check out his final post and the comments section as well to get a sense for not only his warm and articulate style, but also just how popular he was.

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