Friday, November 17, 2017

Scott Boras, STFU!


When Scott Boras talks it seems that a lot of people around Major League Baseball, both the fans and the people directly associated with the game, tend to listen which has proven to be a great power for the super-agent over the years. The problem with some people is when they learn that they let that power and their ego go to their head and it ruins them. Now I’m not saying this has happened yet with Boras or that it will happen at all but I will say one thing, his comments on Derek Jeter and the purchase of the Miami Marlins really kind of rubbed me the wrong way. It made me want to scream, it made me want to head down to the GM Meetings and tell Boras to simply “STFU!” 

Boras was very critical of Jeter and his group of investors that purchased the Miami Marlins and their decision to slash payroll by subsequently trading away Giancarlo Stanton. Boras was quoted as saying the following in a USA Today interview from the GM meetings: 

“When you’re looking at building a market and you have an All-Star outfield with all he dynamics,’’ Boras said, “and you have a club being purchased at $1.2 billion, what happens is that you got a marketplace saying the new owners are coming in here and saying they’re making the franchise better. We’re excited. And then where we are now creating a plan where we are not going to win five or six years.

“We’re going to basically reduce our payroll. We’re going to rid our team of our substantial stars. We’re going to set up this five-, six-year plan. We basically have a system in baseball where we have sales of franchises, and we have a reduction.

“Basically the idea is to reduce the debt service to pay for the franchise by reducing all major league payroll, not being competitive, basically using the argument that we’re going to build a successful team through development.

“That has nothing to do with the fans. It has nothing to do with winning. It has nothing to do with anything other than a financial plan that suits ownership without consideration of the impact it has on Major League Baseball.’’ 


So let’s discuss this. Is Boras more worried about the fans of Miami and the fans of Major League Baseball, or is he more worried about himself and how a trade of the likes of Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich or whoever else the Marlins decide to trade could affect his clients on the free agent market this season, and how that could affect his wallet? Call me pessimistic but I am leaning towards the latter. I am leaning towards Boras knowing that he has that platform and the power to say and change things around the league during this time of the year and I think that Boras is taking full advantage of that. Who could blame him? I don’t, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I have to agree with his actions either. 

IBWAA SELECTS ALTUVE, STANTON IN MVP VOTE

IBWAA SELECTS ALTUVE, STANTON IN MVP VOTE
 
Los Angeles – The Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) announced the winners in its Most Valuable Player category Thursday, with the Houston Astros’ Jose Altuve winning the group’s American League award, and Giancarlo Stanton, of the Miami Marlins, being selected in the National League.
 
Altuve received 107 first-place votes (72.79%) and 1838 points while being named on 146 of 147 ballots (99.32%). Others receiving first-place votes include Aaron Judge (28), Mike Trout (7) and Francisco Lindor (2).
 
Stanton received 58 first-place votes (40%) and 1492 points while being named on 144 of 145 (97.96%) ballots. Others receiving first-place votes include Paul Goldschmidt (25), Nolan Arenado (20), Joey Votto (16), Charlie Blackmon (15) and Anthony Rendon (7).
 
Election results are as follows:
 
AL MVP
 
1st Place:                  Jose Altuve, Houston Astros – 1838 points
2nd Place:                 Aaron Judge , New York Yankees – 1341
3rd Place :                 
 Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – 1067
4th Place:                 Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Indians – 997
5th Place:                  Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians – 562
6th Place:                  Corey Kluber, Cleveland Indians – 389
7th Place:                  Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox – 376 
8th Place:                  Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox – 280
9th Place:                 George Springer, Houston Astros – 207
10th Place:                Andrelton Simmons, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – 202
 
NL MVP
 
1st Place:                  Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins – 1492 points
2nd Place:                 
Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks – 1115 
3rd Place
:                  Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds – 1025
4th Place:                  Charlie Blackmon , Colorado Rockies – 1003
5th Place:                  Nolan Arenado , Colorado Rockies – 959
6th Place:                  Anthony Rendon , Washington Nationals – 577
7th Place:                  Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs – 512
8th Place:                  Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers – 253
9th Place:                  Justin Turner, Los Angeles Dodgers – 243
10th Place:                Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals – 185
 
Ballot tabulations by Brian Wittig & Associates, using the Borda Method.
 
The IBWAA was established July 4, 2009 to organize and promote the growing online baseball media, and to serve as a digital alternative to the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA). Voting for full season awards takes place in September of each year, with selections being announced in November. The IBWAA also holds a Hall of Fame election in December of each year, with results being announced the following January.
 
Among others, IBWAA members include Tim Brown, Yahoo! Sports; Craig Calcaterra, NBC Sports Hardball Talk; Bill Chuck, Billy-Ball.com; Derrick Goold, St. Louis Post-Dispatch; Jon Heyman and Jesse Spector, Today’s Knuckleball; Danny Knobler, Bleacher Report; Kevin Kennedy; Kostya Kennedy, Sports Illustrated; Brian Kenny, MLBN; Will Leitch, Sports on Earth; Bruce Markusen, Hardball Times; Ross Newhan; Dayn Perry and Matt Snyder, CBSSports.com; Tom Hoffarth and J.P. Hoornstra Los Angeles Daily News; Pedro Moura, Los Angeles Times; Tracy Ringolsby, MLB.com; Ken Rosenthal, TheAthletic.com; Eno Sarris, FanGraphs; David Schoenfield of ESPN.com; Jim Bowden and Bill Arnold.
 
Association membership is open to any and all Internet baseball writers, with a $75 lifetime fee. Discounts for groups and scholarships are available. Members must be 18 years of age to apply.

For more information please visit 
www.ibwaa.com.

Contact:
 
Howard Cole
Founding Director, IBWAA
baseballsavvy@aol.com