Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Pedro Alvarez

Scott Boras is the fricking devil.

no, hes the super devil, kind of like the one from family guy

Man up Pedro....Man up.

Why file a grievance at all? You say, ok the Union did it, but they wouldn't have done it without someone asking them to. I believe that person is Boras and the Pirates' statement that he demanding to renegotiate for an extra $200k (to match Buster Posey's bonus) confirms that.

If it wasn't them (like it was some other team making a complaint to the union), wouldn't Boras and Alvarez both being saying that they got the deal done on time? Shouldn't they WANT the $6M contract to be valid? They agreed to it, right? But they're not.

Why risk sitting out an entire year when he could be in the system right now? It isn't as if they didn't reach an agreement. This isn't a Crow situation where the two sides were miles apart and he couldn't sign. Here, they had an agreement.

These inferences only point to Boras and/or Alvarez wanting the highest bonus from this year's draft, not getting it and now whining about it and abusing the grievance process.

I'm not a Rangers fan, but I think the characterization of Borbon was a bit unfair. As a CF, he's done his job which IS to get on base and use his speed. To that end, he's put up a cumulative line (split between High A and Double A) of .318/.359/.424 with 52 stolen bases. No, he doesn't have much power, but he wasn't drafted to hit HRs. He was drafted to be the Rangers' leadoff hitter of the future. Based on the numbers, he's well on his way. I doubt stardom is in the cards, but I also think the Bucs Dugout writer is flat-out wrong when he posits that no team would drop the kind of coin the Rangers did in '07 were he to re-enter the draft as a 23 year old next year. If a team needed a leadoff/CF prospect, Borbon has proven himself capable with wood bats and at a fairly high minor league level. That, I think, would be very attractive to a lot of teams, given how much of a crapshoot the draft can be.

I'm with the author as far as Borbon's need to change agents, but if he considers those numbers pedestrian- or worse- you have to wonder how much the guy knows about the game of baseball.

Yeah, you're right, I don't know anything. :)

The season he's having doesn't do much for me. First he was pretty bad for half a year in the Cal League, and now he's hitting .330 in the Texas League. Think he could keep up a .330 average in the big leagues? I doubt that very highly, and that's too bad, because as a hitter, he doesn't have much else to offer. There's very little else going on there. I don't think he'll post high OBPs in the majors since he swings at everything and doesn't draw walks and isn't ever likely to, since he doesn't have power to keep MLB pitchers honest. He's Juan Pierre if everything breaks right for him, but more likely he's Willy Taveras or worse. Pierre's strike zone judgment in the minors was a bunch better than Borbon's is.

You may be right that some team ponies up a major league deal for him, but consider what would happen if he lost his contract, had to return his bonus money AND had to sit out of pro baseball until next year's draft. Would he seem as impressive then? What would that do to his value and his upside? Would that concern you if you were him?

That's a very unlikely outcome, of course, but based on what's been reported, I don't see why it would be impossible, and if I were Borbon I'd be very angry about that.

By the way, the response to my comments about Borbon--and not just here--suggest that my opinion of him is a minority view, which maybe disproves my broader point about his contract. I still don't think he's going to be very good, though.

As far as the whole Alvarez situation, this is absolute insanity. Scott Boras has really lost it. It's gotten to the point of self-destructiveness which wouldn't be such a bad thing were he responsible solely for his own well being. Sadly, that's not the case. You really have to question whether his clients' best interests are being served. These kids don't know the business of baseball, they only know the game. They've entrusted this man with their financial futures; with decisions that impact every aspect of their lives...including their play. Silver-tongued though he may be (and fork tongued), he's not going to get anywhere with this nonsense and it serves only to create a rift between the team and the player.

Essentially he's using this kid as a pawn in a pissing match as he attempts to exploit a loophole NOT for the kid's well-being, but to appease his own massive ego. Best case scenario is what? He gets to re-negotiate? How do you think the Pirates would respond to that? I feel fairly confident that, with public opinion back on their side, they'd gladly tell Alvarez and Boras to piss off. Maybe Pedro could be Aaron Crow's roomate in Fort Worth. And next year, when he's back in play minus any leverage, he'd get less money and be further behind in his development. Hurray! The alternative: keep your mouth shut and enjoy 6 friggin' million dollars!!! Not the most in the draft? Get over it.

More nefariously- as WHYGAVS alludes to- this sacrifice Alvarez doesn't even realize he could be making, would, in this scenario, benefit ONLY Boras. With every game- every move- a potential career-ender, Boras would have what he wants which ostensibly would have something to do with negating the deadline, but in actuality is to say, 'I win.' After the ARod debacle of last winter, it is THIS- above all else- that seems to drive Boras in all dealings. Not a guy I want representing me.

And if I'm Hosmer...?! Holy @*$&!!! I'd be an ex-client faster than you could say, 'megalomaniacal monster!'

At this point, Boras has become a caricature representing everything that is wrong with the world of sports (which in its own way is a microcosm of the world at large). I honestly do not understand how, in good faith, any parent could allow their child to fall under this man's sway. What do you take away from this experience? That promises are meant to be broken? That your word is meaningless? That nothing...NOTHING...is sacred in a world where money is NOT the most important thing, but the ONLY thing?

Boras' corrupting influence has become intolerable and his tactics have crossed the line separating zealous representation and complete exploitation. It's virtually criminal...and maybe not so virtually. I'm sure he could rationalize his actions effectively, but there comes a time when the ends CANNOT justify the means and action needs to be taken for the greater good. Boras may not care to save his soul, but when he threatens the soul of the game and those of the young men he claims to be helping, then its time to take drastic measures... To break the rules in order to save the rules. Whether that means banning Boras a la Steinbrenner in the '80s or simply freezing him out in a bit of back-room collusion that forces his clients to dump him in order to net even a fraction of their market value, something needs to be done. It's one thing to play hard ball in a contract negotiation. But when a CONTRACT is no longer sacrosanct...well...it's time to give the devil his due...and beat him at his own shady game.

Bucs Dugout-

I'm not saying dude's gonna be a star, but a .300+ average, .350 OBP, and 32 SBs is hardly what I'd call 'pretty bad.' I guess we all have our own standards. Furthermore, he actually improved on that in Double A in a tougher league for hitters. Could he keep that up in the majors right now? Of course not, but he doesn't have to. He's a 22 year old kid in his first year as a professional! You're right about his power, of course, but CF is one of the few positions on the field that doesn't demand big-time power.

He was a first round selection by a pretty savvy organization. I'm fairly confident that they knew he wasn't going to be much of a power hitter and I think if you told them on draft-day in '07 that he'd be hitting .330 with a .375 OBP in Double A at the end of his first year, with a total of 52 bags swiped on the year, they'd have been thrilled!

I'd also point out that, were his contract voided, Borbon would only have to sit out for about half a season (though he would miss instructional league and any winter ball). I DO think a voided contract would, hypothetically, affect his status, but that's beside the point, since neither of us believe that will actually happen.

Give the kid some time and maybe he improves his plate discipline. Who knows...maybe he could even add some power (unlikely though that is). I DO think that you're selling his numbers pretty short, though I'm not sure we disagree so much on the kind of player he'll likely become. Again, I don't think we're talking about the next Ricky Henderson here. I just think his season line warrants better than the dismissive remarks you made in your column.

Otherwise, I found the piece to be thoughtful and informed.

Can we have a Boras salary cap? He can only make so much money off baseball players...