A bad guy is about to run amok in Major League Baseball, and so ownership has a right -- no, an obligation -- to put this bad guy in his place.
Actually there are two bad guys, but they are working in unison, two men sharing one despicable brain: Greedy Alex Rodriguez and his evil agent, Scott Boras. Boras and A-Rod.
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| Scott Boras gets teams to meet his demands, then jacks up the price even more. (Getty Images) |
Bor-Rod already killed baseball's salary structure once, teaming up in 2001 to outsmart Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks -- like that was hard -- into giving Rodriguez a 10-year deal worth $252 million. But that wasn't enough for men of Rodriguez's vast talent and Boras' bottomless greed, and so Bor-Rod is back for more. That $252 million contract has been dissolved, an evil little out clause that Bor-Rod has decided to invoke, and now Bor-Rod is on the market again. Bor-Rod is a free agent.
For Bor-Rod, this would appear to be the perfect storm. Rodriguez is coming off one of the greatest offensive seasons in baseball history: a .314 average, 54 home runs, 156 RBI. With 518 career home runs, Rodriguez is about to take aim on some of the biggest numbers in baseball: 600, then 700, and then whatever number retires with Barry Bonds. Rodriguez is only 32 years old. If it takes him seven or eight years to catch Bonds, he looks strong enough to do it. The team that signs him will reap all sorts of rewards from the chase.
Boras has more leverage than any agent at any time in the history baseball. If an owner wants one of Boras' free agents in the future, he'd better get involved -- or give the appearance of being involved -- with his biggest free agent right now. That's how Boras builds his market: Play ball now, or you can't play later.
Alex Rodriguez is the right free agent at the right time. He could break the bank.
Oh, wait. He already did that.
So it's time for the bank to break him.
It's time for baseball owners to do something in the best interest of themselves, and as an added bonus, it would be in the best interests of baseball as well. This isn't collusion, an illegal negotiating tool in which the owners act as one. This is self-preservation on an individual basis. Whichever teams are tempted into giving Bor-Rod what Bor-Rod wants, don't do it. Down the road, the trickle-down effect will be crushing.
The owner who gives Bor-Rod the $30 million or $40 million annual salary he seeks has doomed himself -- and every other owner -- to drown in a sea of $25 million All-Stars, $18 million mediocre starting pitchers, $10 million middle relievers.
Bor-Rod is one of the biggest reasons the average American family of four can't afford a night at the ballpark. It takes a mountain of revenue in the form of tickets and lousy parking and crappy hot dogs and watery beer to pay for the average major league payroll. Bor-Rod is also one of the biggest reasons baseball is on television everywhere, true, but cable rates are soaring and pay-per-view packages are multiplying.
What I'm trying to say is, every time Bor-Rod gets paid, he's reaching into your wallet -- and mine. And I'm tired of it.
