Thursday, February 19, 2009

Editor's Note: Boras Takes a Serious Hit

Alex Rodriguez's (below) admission that he took performance enhancing drugs shocked the baseball world. What's even more shocking is why he took it. According to A-Rod, he was under enormous pressure to play well in Texas after signing a monstrous 10-year, $252 million contract on a team known for its exuberant home run totals. Scott Boras (above) put Rodriguez in that hole, squeezing every penny he could out of owner Tom Hicks. The contract forced the prices of everything from food to merchandise to rise, which put even more pressure on A-Rod. Fans who attended wanted to see the reason why they were paying higher prices for a sub-par team. Boras has put many of his players in similar situations, most notably Kevin Brown and Andruw Jones, both of whom came at the expense of the Dodgers. Brown signed the first $100 million deal, but only showed for it with injury-plagued seasons with LA and the Yankees. The infamous Mitchell Report later named Brown as a suspect of steroid use, including his last season with the Dodgers. Next came Jones. Andruw Jones signed with LA last year for a 2-year, $36.2 million contract, the most lucrative contract in franchise history. All Jones could muster though was a .158 batting average, 3 home runs, and 14 RBI's. He was later released, and cited the poor support from fans as to why he did not wish to return to the club. It can't be easy to get the fan's support when Jones strikes out 5 times in one game for the princely sum of $36 million. All three players signed enormous contracts and each cracked under the pressure, two turning to PED's and one falling into a career-ending slump. Boras's fingerprints are all over these train-wrecks, making him vulnerable to attacks. Whose to say his next big player won't crack under pressure as well? Any team associated with Boras's failures has taken harsh criticism. That's something the Dodgers need to think about the next time they're negotiating the contract for Manny Ramirez.

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