Me, Her, the Boy and a Dog

Usually having the No. 1 pick in any professional sports draft is a good thing, but that might not be the case for the Washington Nationals. The team selected San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg with the top pick in the Major League Baseball draft this week and already, reports are stirring that Strasburg’s agent, Scott Boras, has stated that it will take $50 million in guaranteed money to sign the hard-throwing prospect.

Salaries in professional sports are out of control and that’s for players who have proven they can play. But when Scott Boras, who is by all accounts a greedy money grabbing low life, is telling teams that his client is worth $50 million in guaranteed money, we’ve gone far beyond insanity. No, we’ve crossed into a whole other dimension. Of course, we are in the government bailout era where billions of dollars are being throw around like chump change, so maybe Boras (pronounced Bore-ASS by my favorite sports radio show host Steve Czaban), thinks no one will notice another $50 million.

This kid has been a good pitcher for all of two seasons. A large percentage of MLB players are drafted out of high school, but every MLB team passed over Strasburg because he was a trouble maker, according to an ESPN.com article back in February.

“I saw a game where there were quite a few scouts there and he blew up, just absolutely lost it on the mound,” said an American League scout. “He was a kid that would challenge his infielders when they would make mistakes. He would challenge his coach. He would challenge the umpires. … When you put that into the professional equation, it doesn’t work.

“I think 30 teams got it right with Stephen Strasburg. I don’t think we missed it. Everyone did their job. And it seemed like we all came to the same consensus: not quite ready.”

During his freshman year of college baseball, the strength and conditioning coach flat out told him he should quit. To his credit, hearing that only ticked him off and he set out to prove everyone wrong. He dropped 30 pounds, added 8 mph to his fastball and was throwing 101 mph by his sophomore year. That’s pretty impressive, but two very good seasons does not equate to $50 million, sorry.

He pitched in the Mountain West Conference, not the ACC or the SEC, the Mountain West. His numbers are astronomical, but if I’m a MLB GM, there’s no way I am paying this kid that kind of money when he hasn’t even throw a single pitch against MLB-caliber hitters.

Also, keep in mind that the current record for largest contract handed out to a No. 1 pick is about $10 million, which went to Mark Prior of the Cubs several years ago. Mark had potential, but like a lot of hard throwing pitchers, he was plagued by injuries and is currently out of baseball. But Boras expects the Nationals to pay this unproven kid FIVE times the previous signing record? In guaranteed money? What a farce.

If the Nationals pay it, they get everything they deserve. I don’t want to see the kid fail, but anything less than 20 wins a season and a record-setting pace of Cy Young Awards will be a disappointment.

That Nationals need to make a stand and tell this kid that he’s getting $10-15 million, take it or leave it. I hate that he’ll get that much, but I’m going with the times here. If the Nationals can’t sign him, he sits out a year and waits for next year’s draft, but I doubt he’d sit out a year - he’s probably pitch somewhere in an independent league. Of course, then he risks getting hurt and losing out on any chance of a big payday. It’s a game of chicken, really, but I’m afraid that the Nationals, like most teams, will cave in and give this kid a ridiculous contract.

And this is one of the reasons that I don’t follow MLB any more. These guys get paid way too much money and I refuse to pay $40-$80 for a ticket so these guys can get their millions every year for playing a kids game. I’d much rather go watch a minor league game, college game or even a local high school game where they still play for the love of the game.