Baseballhead:
That's Rich

Michael Cox

So the Dodgers used the corporate resources of the mighty News Corp. to secure the services of Kevin Brown at $15M per, plus a no-trade contract (always negotiable, for an added charge) and use of a private jet.

For seven years.

And Brown will be 34 at the start of the 1999 season.

The loser here isn't the small-market team. It isn't the GM trying to trade for Roger Clemens, who now wants Brown-type money in addition to the farm (literally) that this GM will have to give up.

It's the Dodgers.

The odds of Brown maintaining his skills -- or more likely, his health -- for seven years are so high that it's almost certain that the Boys O' Blue will be paying $15M for nothing by the end of the contract term. Mind you, that was what agent Scott Boras intended. He didn't want, nay, demand, a seven-year deal for his client because he knew Brown would be at the top of his game for all that time. He demanded the deal because:

- He wanted to raise the salary bar so that he, Scott Boras, could make more money off his other clients (and he's already revealed his next project: free agency for Alex Rodriguez);

- He wanted to provide Brown with the biggest MLB pension in history so that he, Scott Boras, would attract more top clients.

It's no secret that several teams won't draft Boras clients in the June draft, and the J.D. Drew escapade likely didn't do much for Boras' standing with top picks-to-be (sure, Drew got the money in the end, but at the cost of a year of career earning potential and a large number of fans who would just as soon throw overripe tomatoes at him as look at him, not to mention that his price didn't affect that of the other draftees). Long known as the agent of amateur draftees (even before the NCAA would allow such draftees to retain college eligibility), Boras was losing his cachet.

He needed to turn to his top veteran clients to bail him out of this little career valley (if you can call it that), and the Brown deal was just what the doctor ordered. In fact, it was more: Boras got the Dodgers to bid against mystery teams, running up the price even more than what a high bid would require. Having the plane thrown in was a genius -- anybody who could trick a team (even one as desperate as the Dodgers) into giving away that much can be my agent anytime.

Item: The Blue Jays, whose GM Gord Ash was declaring that he had received an "acceptable offer" for Clemens before the winter meetings, emerges from those meetings in worse shape than when he went in.

The sole reason is Clemens' demands for a renegotiated contract. Mind you, the Rocket does deserve it, but it's kinda funny that in the light of the Brown deal the Jays will end up having to take less for Clemens. Ash should've taken the best deal and run as soon as he found out Boras made a reservation at the Opryland Hotel.

Another thing that became clear during the meetings was that the "acceptable offer" had been made by the Astros. However, like the smart GM he's been for years, Gerry Hunsicker heard Clemens (or rather, Clemens' agents, the Hendricks') demands, chortled mightily, and ran from the room before coffee began shooting out his nose.

One problem: 'Stros owner Drayton McLane can't shake the memory of the throngs that packed the Astrodome when Randy Johnson pitched last year. He thinks about the prospect of Clemens, who is every bit as good as Johnson -- better on his best days -- and a hometown boy to boot, drawing fifty thousand riotous fans each start. He thinks about the continued revenue from again winning an even weaker NL Central next season.

A small stream of drool escapes his lower lip.

At press time, McLane was still trying to make a deal with the Hendricks, who reportedly want something close to Brown's yearly wage, plus a couple more years and a luxury box at the Dome. I guess a jet doesn't really make sense when Clemens lives in the area, but maybe his own rapid-transit train...?

Item: Bud "Look at Me! I Run Baseball!" Selig wants the umpires, who have been segregated by leagues for about a century, to fall under his purview. Does this mean umpiring will get better? Absolutely, positively not even a little bit. The umps' union will now be ignoring Selig and Beeston instead of Budig and Coleman.

What this means to me is that we'll get to see Eric Gregg in the AL.

Crap.

Item: The Mets keep channeling the 1997 Marlins, acquiring Rickey Henderson to complete their outfield. Sure, the guy's past his prime and being paid based on his past achievements, but he's a damn sight better than Butch Huskey.

By the way, Huskey was just pawned off on Woody "Please Stop Calling Me an Idiot" Woodward and the Mariners for a promising AA pitcher. Why? How? Because Woodward was once again desperate to make a deal. How utterly predictable and transparent must Woodward be in his ineptitude before a clue is gotten in Seattle? Getting sucked into deals like that is the GM equivalent of getting pantsed.

Item: This just in -- Edgar Renteria, one of the last Marlins remaining from the 1997 champs, was sent to St. Louis for three minor-leaguers. Again, a real disappointment for the Florida fans right now, but one that seems reasonable for the future. Fish backup SS Alex Gonzalez has shown a lot of improvement in winter ball, and the team has some depth at that position, and they get three more decent-looking youngsters to put on the stockpile.

It's not like they're trading Kevin Brown or anything.

about the author

Michael Cox has done no Christmas shopping this year, and is thinking of celebrating Festivus instead. Let the Airing of the Grievances begin at mc@strikethree.com.