How the Yankees Outplayed Scott Boras
by Brandon C. on Jan 28, 2010 8:00 AM EST
in New York Yankees Analysis
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PrintThe title tells it all. Scott Boras tried to trap the Yankees into signing Johnny Damon and they wouldn't budge. Boras had Xavier Nady sign with the Chicago Cubs, thinking that the Yankees wouldn't go with Randy Winn, Reed Johnson, or any other 4th outfielder type as another outfielder. Well, Scott, you were completely wrong.
The Yankees signed Randy Winn yesterday to a one year $2 Million deal. Later on the Mike Francesca show, Joe Girardi confirmed the signing and wished Johnny Damon luck. He is going to need it. The options right now seem to be the newly interested Rays and Reds, the Oakland A's, and a few other teams. Will any of those teams truly pay Johnny? Probably not. The most Damon can get now is probably $5 million in a one year contract, unless some mystery team comes in and pays him.
We can't say for certain if Boras messed up yet, but he was certainly outplayed by the Yankees. He played the waiting game, as did the Yankees, and the Yankees won.
Few other notes:
-My opinion on the Randy Winn signing will change over time, as I need to talk to sources and people who understand complex stats more, but as of now it is an iffy move. Winn has declined horribly over the last year, but if 2009 was a fluke year, the Yankees got one hell of a 4th outfielder.
-Although Winn was horrible against lefties last season (.158) I wouldn't be too worried. His career # (.280) is much better.
-Winn very well could be nothing more than a 4th outfielder that plays one out of every 4-5 games in left. If Gardner struggles he could take over the left-field job.
-Like I predicted from the beginning, Johnny Damon will not be a Yankee in 2010. My current prediction? Oakland A's. Stay tuned.
-Winn will likely need a number change, as he wears the #2. For some reason I do not think he will get that # from Derek Jeter.
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I saw that picture, too. But since you can see the ball on the ground under the H in Chevy, it seemed less cool.
"Have faith in the Yankees, my son. Think of the great DiMaggio."
Abreu
In my head I keep comparing Damon’s downfall to Abreu’s salary drop last year, but Abreu never got the chance to sign at anything. Damon/Boras on the other hand, really did get outplayed. They were in a position to get a good deal and just held out far too long. Since Damon really did want to come back to the Yankees, this negotiation is a win for the Yankees in the long run. While Damon might have provided a slightly better LF than Gardner/Winn, I think there’s benefit in Boras knowing that he can’t simply gouge the Yankees for extra Millions. In the future, if a Boras client wants to play for us, there’s less of a chance of being screwed over.
I say that as if Boras is going to change, but I guess there really isn’t any indication that this is true. I mean, you think that the Alex Rodriguez dealings where Boras had to drop out would have taught him something similar.
Why not blame Johnny Damon himself?
He hired Boras. For someone who has earned and will make so much money, it’d be silly for Damon to not hire outside independent advisors to help assess the free agent market rather than relying solely on his agent Boras to determine his fate.
I'm torn...
On the one hand it seems like the Yankees signed Winn just to teach Boras in particular that they are no longer drinking his Kool-Aid. However it would have made more sense to sign Hariston Jr. in that spot if that were the case. On the other hand it seems like 2 kids going back and forth with Boras saying, “you need my client,” and the Yankees saying, “oh yeah, well, we just signed Winn to the deal we wanted to, yeah, he’s not quite the talent your guy is but see we don’t need him.” and then the Yankees stick their tongue out at Boras and Damon and go on their merry way. If the idea is to platoon Gardner with someone else in Left Field then why didn’t they sign Hariston Jr, unless the idea is to have Gardner as the starter with Winn just giving him a day off every now and then. Hence I’m torn on the deal, on the one hand I’m happy that the Yankees are no longer drinking the Boras’ Kool-Aid, on the other there has to be a better target, younger, bigger upside, etc. for the Yankees to have been able to sign for the money they gave Winn.
In today’s New York Times:
"The Yankees never even made an offer to me regarding Johnny Damon during the entire process, and the reason for that is they had budgetary constraints," Damon’s agent, Scott Boras, said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "They communicated that to me throughout the process. They knew Johnny Damon’s performance was worth a lot more than the $2 million they had."
"On Dec. 17, Scott’s exact words were that he would not take a penny less than $13 million a year for two years," Cashman said. "We believed him."
Wait so Randy Winn isnt the white guy with "Rowand" on the back of his Jersey?
Thanks for the caption Brandon, lol.
Strikeouts are boring- Besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls - it's more democratic.
re: the photo
It would be even cooler if the ball wasn’t on the ground at the bottom of the pitcure!! LOL..
by NumberSeven on Jan 28, 2010 11:56 AM EST up reply actions
Dude, he’s up on the wall to prevent the bouncing ball from turning into a ground-rule double. [Insert slow NL runner here] hit that ball.
by Scooby Snacks on Jan 28, 2010 12:09 PM EST up reply actions
All true...
but Winn is not nearly as good as Damon. I live in the bay area, and giants fans had nothing but bad things to say about this guy. He underperformed and never came through in the clutch.
Luck you guys have enough fire power already!
"We can't stop here... This is bat country."
Well Winn isn't Damon's replacement.
Johnson and Granderson are replacing him in their own way. Recall that when the A’s had to replace Giambi in 2002, they couldn’t find another 1st baseman with his skill set so they found a few players that replaced his production—Jeremy Giambi, David Justice and Scott Hatteberg.
by Random_Task on Jan 28, 2010 12:20 PM EST up reply actions
The correct poll answer is "Damon."
Just because you have an agent doesn’t mean you have take all of his advice as divinely inspired. I don’t believe for a minute that Damon couldn’t have gotten $14 million over 2 years if he had taken it in mid- December while the Yanks still had unspent money.
Is l’affaire Damon a bitch slap at Boras? I guess so. But it’s also a shot at Damon himself. I think the Yankees public statements about his contract negotiation since November have consistent, and the way things played out, accurate as well.
On the “Randy Winn Edition” post, I have just put in my 2 cents regarding Winn, which is that his signing is probably a huge mistake. I asked there, and now here, for someone to tell me why I’m wrong. I think this guy will make the gritty gutty one look like Mickey Mickey Mantle.
by designatedquitter on Jan 28, 2010 10:42 AM EST reply actions
+1
It is ultimately up to the player to decide where he wants to end up. Correct me if I’m wrong but Greg Maddux was a Boras client and he always instructed Scott to look around but he wanted to stay with the Braves no matter what.
If Johnny Damon tells Scott, “Get me as much as you can, as long as it’s with the Yankees,” then we wouldn’t be having this problem right now. It seems—and this is pure speculation—that Johnny wanted to be a Yankee really badly, but prioritizes top dollar. Now he won’t get both, as a result.
by Random_Task on Jan 28, 2010 12:25 PM EST up reply actions
Players need to think hard about Boras
He is not what he used to be and his tactics are not appreciated by GMs across MLB. Hire Boras and you immediately are at odds with some.
Damon and Boras share equally for this fiasco with some criticism of Cash being legitimate. But both sides lose.
And Damon loses more.
I voted Boras, but no question it's Johnny's fault, completely
Boras was doing his job, Cash was doing his, overpaying for Damon would not be good for us.
All on Johnny, I won’t insult him too much as he was key last year but it’s his fault.
"We're only going to score 17 points?"
I don't get the use of the term "outplayed."
The Yankees decided that Damon wasn’t worth the money and they signed a far inferior player instead. That’s not outplaying, thats just deciding not to sign someone. “Outplaying” would have been if they had brought Damon back on an inexpensive one-year contract.
This saga’s really not over until Damon actually signs somewhere. Did Boras make a mistake turning down the 2/14 offer from the Yankees? Probably but there’s some debate as to whether that offer actually existed. Some sources say it was only on the table if Nick Johnson signed with San Francisco. Anyway, if Damon gets 2 years somewhere then Cashman can say he stood his ground and did the right thing, but if he winds up signing for 1 year and 5 mil, then Cashman looks foolish for letting him go over what is pocket change to the Yankees.
by Let's Talk About Tex Baby on Jan 28, 2010 9:41 PM EST reply actions
i respectfully disagree
because the same thing happened with Matsui (signing Johnson for only $.5 M less than what Matsui got from the Angels). And we heard the same argument here: “how could he let Matsui, the 2009 WS MVP, go to the Angels for that little more than we signed Johnson for?”
Also, I don’t get any connection between Johnson and Damon. Johnson isn’t an outfielder or even a potential outfielder. I’d like to see a link to those sources you’re quoting there, if you don’t mind.
In my mind, “out-playing” in this situation was getting Boras to overstate the value of his client and then saying “this is what we can pay, if you can’t take that then we don’t have any business to do with you.” The Yankees did and do not need Damon as much as Damon/Boras thought they did. And everything Cashman has done has proven that.
C-Money isn’t going to look foolish. He had his own agenda and followed through on it. With the Yankees out of the picture, Boras carries less leverage against other interested teams. Had the Yankees expressed genuine interest, Damon gets more money. Now he’ll ultimately receive less from another team and could very well end up being a bargain for them.
by Scooby Snacks on Jan 29, 2010 1:33 AM EST up reply actions
Yeah getting Damon now for like 1/5.5
would be a great move for a lot of teams.
This sticker is dangerous and inconvenient, but I do love Fig Newtons.
Damon's stats
will drop by HALF and the reason is that he both won’t have the short porch and he won’t get pitch’s to hit..as the lineup of, let’s use the A’s, won’t be strong enough to protect him or better yet..put Damon in game situations to drive in runs or hit a homer.
Who knows about Winn…Cashman did pretty damn good with Swish!
....and Granderson
By the end of next season once people are more familiar with him, I guarantee you that Grandy will be a bigger hit with the fans than Swisher is. You’ll see.
by Scooby Snacks on Jan 29, 2010 1:42 AM EST up reply actions
Funny
Last yr when Boras brought Texeira to Cashman in the eleventh hour and snubbed Boston he was praised.Now all of a sudden his clients should dump him because he’s lost it?Now next yr when he brings one of his clients to Cash for last opportunity to match or best whatever offer is on the table he’s a genius again.I love him,he knows damn good and well to go to the Yankees before signing anything.This is often refered to as being in bed with them.
I feel like a clown without my funny nose
by cashman bashman on Jan 29, 2010 1:47 AM EST reply actions
Nobody played anybody
Damon’s price was too high for our budget. We had 2 million, and the only way we outplay Scott Boras is if he accepts it. He didn’t accept and will get a similar deal elsewhere, it’s that simple.
I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.
Vince Lombardi
Yeah
I think this post is pretty childish. This is business and Boras’ job is to get his client the best he possibly can of everything. I don’t blame anybody for this, the Yankees just went with a cheaper option.
Boras failed, plain and simple !
Every agent knows better than to sign without going to the Yankees. If Boras’ “job is to get his clients the best he possibly can of everything” then what do you call costing Damon at least one year and roughly 9 million ? I call that a big time screw up. Damon didn’t help himself by sitting there and doing nothing.
Everyone knows the Yankees hate dealing with Boras. He is too arrogant and he truly believes his mission is to screw MLB Teams because he never got out of the Minor Leagues himself. What he is good at is creating a market for a player when one doesn’t exist.
What Boras should do is get Damon signed by the Yankees and make up the difference himself, provided the Yankees pay Damon a fair price. All of a sudden the Yankees have only 2 million ? Every Yankee fan knows that is a joke ! Give him 5M and be done with this already.
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