May 23, 2013

Boras: Indians ownership has to show intentions to win

November 12, 2012 by 32 Comments

Shin-Soo Choo has let it be known that he has a desire to win. I think the ownership in Cleveland, foundationally, they’re going to have to illustrate some dynamics with new revenues and where they stand about what they are going do to show their fan base and their players who they are in competing. That’s a new calling that they are going to have to bring forth to give players, and everybody involved, [an idea] about what their intentions are in their ownership.

– MLB player representative Scott Boras, who represents Cleveland Indians outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, in very damning statements regarding one of the 30 teams with whom he would have to negotiate as his players enter free agency. Choo, one of several players potentially on the Indians’ trading block,  hit .283 (169-for-598) in 2012, adding 43 doubles, two triples, 16 homers and 67 RBI. He scored 88 runs, stole 21 bases and was a finalist for the Gold Glove award.

[Related: Indians trades need to look like more than cost cutting]

(Source: Paul Hoynes, Cleveland Plain Dealer)

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  • thepaledragon

    SMALL MARKET TEAMS WOULD SHOW MORE “DESIRE TO WIN” IF THEY WERE NOT FORCED TO PAY WAY ABOVE VALUE FOR YOUR PLAYERS, YOU CANCEROUS SHYSTER

  • http://www.facebook.com/michael.cotleurtakeuchi Michael Cotleur-Takeuchi

    As much as I like the substance of Boras’ comment…I’d rather anyone else in the world had said it. Scott Boras is a plague on MLB!

  • JHop

    Say what you want about Scott Boras and his role in tainting certain teams’ financials, but he still has a point. Regardless of whether they are his clients or not, free agents will not want to come to a team that seems stagnant. The Indians need to not necessarily spend oodles of cash this offseason, but they at least need to show some dedication to crawling out of the cellar, or else free agents will stay away and the talent we do have will want to leave.

  • Steve

    Boras is just doing exactly what his clients ask of him – get them the most money possible. Choo knew exactly what he was getting into when he signed Boras.

    An I’m not sure how much above value those guys are getting. Sure, to small market teams, they are overpaid, but in NY and LA, those guys bring that kind of revenue back to the team.

  • Steve

    Free agents have always stayed away from Cleveland in general, not just the Indians, and not just in the recent circumstances.

  • maxfnmloans

    trade him while you can get something for him. No way we could afford to keep him, even if Boras was not his agent. Hope your return is better than Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson, and an 18 year old pitcher with shoulder issues

  • Harv 21

    Yep. Much easier to imagine that baseball’s ills are caused by “shysters” like Boras, who apparently control everything and hold magical powers of greedy persuasion that neither the innocent, stupid players nor the rich but witless owners can overcome. Let’s pray Boras doesn’t turn his black art to the NFL and ruin what’s pure and good in sports.

  • Dee P

    To be fair though, Boras isn’t the first one to say this…..I’m not sure what number he is….but take the population of Cleveland….add 1….and that’s the number he is to have said this.

  • Dee P

    For the most part yes….but when we were emerging our 1990′s core of Belle, Lofton, Thome and Manny we sure did attract some big ones.

  • stryker1121

    But..but..isn’t the club scene robust enough? There’s loads of carousing douchebags on W. 6th St.That’s not good enough? Chris Webber once said he Sac-to didn’t have enough soul food restaurants. Is that the problem here?

    If you build a winner, FAs will come to town. Green Bay is not NYC, OKC ain’t LA. Yeah OKC got priced out of Harden but you get the point.

  • stryker1121

    ^sarcasm. We really need a sarcasm font. Call it ‘Sarcasta’ and it would make someone tons of $$$.

  • NoVA Buckeye

    I thought he already was an NFL agent?

  • woofersus

    Just use comic sans

  • Harv 21

    maybe you’re thinking of Drew Rosenhaus, another of those “shysters.” Inexplicably, the lessening of Rosenhaus’s powers has coincided with such developments as the hard cap, franchise tag and rookie pay scale. But whatever, no doubt he’s quietly scheming his takeover.

  • Steve

    Actually, even then we really didn’t. Murray was a 38 year old DH, Martinez was 39 and Hershiser was 36. It would be the equivalent of getting Colon and Thome now. Sure, they used to be stars, but their ages were the only reasons that Cleveland had a chance.

    Alomar, on the other hand, was an unusual get for this market. But, as we all know, that had a lot to do with his brother. Maybe the Indians can work on acquiring the lesser talented brother of a superstar again.

  • Steve

    Green Bay and OKC don’t really work the FA market either though, and those two operate in leagues that give smaller markets much better chances on the FA market.

  • cmm13

    We designated all capitol letters as the officialy WFNY sarcasm font awhile back.
    FEEL FREE TO USE IT, IT’S REALLY FUN!

  • cmm13

    Mark Shapiro: “We intend to win baseball games”
    /problemsolv’d
    #whatsthebigdeal

  • nj0

    Translation: Choo, like 99.99% of all baseball players, professional athletes, and people everywhere, wants to get paid as much as he possibly can.

  • mgbode

    Roberto was the lesser talented brother?

  • cmm13

    Andre Rison disapproves of this comment by Steve. ;)

  • Steve

    That was poorly worded. Obviously Roberto was more talented

  • mgbode

    he was just trying to go to a place where he could hide in virtual “witness protection” from Left Eye.

  • Steve

    Right, there’s a few exceptions. But Rison was made the highest paid receiver in the league, and we immediately found out why no one was willing to get near that offer we made. I don’t think giving out one of the worst contracts in the history of the sport is going to do any good for us down the road.

  • Dee P

    I think you are being too harsh on the comparisons of Murray, Hershiser and Martinez. Murray came in, played everyday, hit .300 and over 20 homers….I don’t see Thome being able to do that now. Hershiser averaged about 180 innings and 15 wins, and I don’t see Colon being able to do that….and Martinez did the same thing with ERAs under 3.50….these guys may have been in their 30′s….but they were not done being “stars”. Those three guys added to the rising core of the team….if a team adds Colon and Thome now, they will be complementary pieces – not core pieces. Thome now was like Winfield in 1995, and Colon now would be like Jack Morris in 1994…..not Murray, Hershiser and Martinez.

  • Dee P

    Lesser talented brother….

    B.J. Upton?

  • cmm13

    it was a joke Steve. A joke.

  • Steve

    You’re using 20-20 hindsight here. Yes, those moves worked, and some older guys this team could pick up now could work like that too.

    Murray and Martinez came here in 94, nothing we had done prior to that point was attractive to big name FAs. Murray proceeded to put up an 87 OPS+ as a 38 year old. Anyone who says they predicted what happened in 95 is only fooling themselves.

    Martinez was far from our first choice in 94. Mark Portugal and Sid Fernandez turned us down. Martinez was a leftover on the market because of his age.

    The five seasons prior to joining the Indians, Hershiser was a whatever type of guy. Three of them were cut short by injury, and his ERA was league average.

    The Indians got all three of these guys because the rest of the market was down on them. They all looked like they still had something in the tank (unlike Winfield and Morris) and they clearly worked out very well, but they sure weren’t considered big time FAs.

  • mgbode

    have to always add into the discussion that players in the mid-to-late 90s seemed to age alot more gracefully than in any other time in MLB history.

  • Dee P

    I 110% disagree with you on the classification of Murray, Martinez and Hershiser in 1994-95 as non big time FAs.

  • Steve

    They were big time successes, like Millwood was during his brief time here, but they weren’t in high demand, which is how we were able to get them.

  • REEPJP

    ….and some of his high profile, media friendly clients getting old/bad.