I was sitting through a lecture today when my friend highlighted something as he was doing his daily read of ESPN.com. He and I were initially shocked to read that an undisclosed Yankees source said that the Yankees have been negotiating with A-Rod about his possible return and that, “We [the Yankees] will not negotiate with Scott Boras…He cannot be in the room.” [Report: Yanks willing to talk to A-Rod, but without Boras].
And then I thought about the whole report. First of all, we are dealing with a “high ranking” undisclosed source. Big deal. People say this kind of stuff all the time. In fact, the Yankees could have planned having this “secret source” come out and say such a thing to make the team look better. Second, just because the Yankees will not negotiate with Scott Boras does not mean that they will not negotiate with Scott Boras Corp. I would have to imagine that A-Rod signed away his negotiation rights to Scott Boras Corp in a Standard Representation Agreement (SRA) and that they must be involved in any deal made on his behalf. Then again, as a principal, A-Rod could most likely fire his agent at any time and get away with it.
But dissect the statement a little bit further, and all the source is saying really is that Boras cannot be in the room. In a world full of deals brokered over the phone, internet, and videoconferencing, this probably does not worry Boras much. In fact, I bet he is laughing about all the press that this initial New York Daily News report has mustered.
He may not be laughing, however, if it is true that A-Rod is disappointed in the way that Boras’ antics have ripped apart the slugger’s image. Maybe A-Rod is going through a third-party. I would have to imagine that the third-party is somehow linked to Boras, though.
Another thing to think about. Why would a high ranking official within the Yankees ever reveal this: “The Yankees don’t have a choice. How are they going to compete without Alex? They need him back” without some alternate motive?
The soap opera continues…
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One reply on “Writers Strike. New York Yankees Sitcom Prevails.”
This was Boras’ plan all along. Opt out, publicly you seek other teams, but if the market is soft you can always play this “A-Rod” wants to talk and get the Yankees back in the game. Publicly you take a hit if you are Boras, but you still get paid at the end of the day…