Quite simply, screw over the universally respected John Schuerholz with shifty and sneaky dealings:
John Schuerholz, the Braves’ president and former general manager, Thursday called the dealings of Furcal’s agents “despicable” and “disgusting” and said the franchise would no longer entertain signing players represented by them — ever.
“Having been in this business for 40-some years, I’ve never seen anybody treated like that,” Schuerholz said. “The Atlanta Braves will no longer do business with that company — ever. I told [agent] Arn Tellem that we can’t trust them to be honest and forthright. I told him that in all my years, I’ve never seen any [agency] act in such a despicable manner.
“It was disgusting and unprofessional. We’re a proud organization, and we won’t allow ourselves to be treated that way. I advised Arn Tellem that whatever players he represents, just scratch us off the list. Take the name of the Atlanta Braves off their speed dial. They can deal with the other 29 clubs, and we’ll deal with the other hundred agents.”
Agent Paul Kinzer, the lead agent in the Furcal deal, works directly for Tellem. Tellem reported heaved Kinzer under the bus in trying to explain away Kinzer's actions to Wren and Scheurholz. Kinzer's reputation is in shambles after this one. In listening to Joel Sherman on XM yesterday, he had his great line: "I'm writing about this tomorrow. Would you like me to call you an idiot or a liar?"
I'm digging a bit more on this and have a call into an agent for their views on the ethics and conditions behind these sorts of actions. If I can get some additional color, you'll know!
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7 comments:
Hey, John, way to handicap your organization by letting personal feelings get in the way of business. Am I supposed to believe that the Braves have never engaged in suspect negotiations? Please. And please end the sanctimonious BS...it's business, and if you want to remove an agency that represents players that may be beneficial to your club, well, that doesn;t seem to be the smartest thing to do.
Tad: the WhiteSox have an organization-wide "NO BORAS CLIENTS" mantra and they seem to be doing just fine.
is it a bit of "cutting off your nose to spite your face"? Sure, but you can still be players in the FA pool without the Wasserman Group clients.
The result of the Braves' decision is to actively give your team a competitive disadvantage. The White Sox are competitive, but do they seem like they are so good that they can handicap themselves too, especially considering that their farm system is nothing special? No matter how you frame it, it's a poor business decision that only makes it tougher, albeit only slightly, to field a winning team.
Why do you think they traded Texiera off?
If more organizations would stop letting the agents hold them hostage, things would be a lot better.
What goes on isn't good for the players, and it isn't good for the teams. Its only good for the agents.
If a player really bases his decisions on whether he gets $8 or 9 million a year, he's only concerned about the money and I wouldn't want him on the team.
The BRaves traded Teixeira because they didn't want to deal with Boras? Then foolish them. I thought it was to gain prospects wherein their potential to make the playoffs was diminishing by the day.
Look, I don't support shady negotiation tactics or any of the other baloney. But if your team's management takes it as personal as Schuerholtz has, and that affects your team's ability to sign FAs in the future, then how is that a good decision? What you guys are trying to tell me is that limiting the number of FAs you will pursue, due to some personality clash, is rationale. It is not, and Schuerholtz should get over it.
I think it's okay for a player to base where he's going to play on if he get 8 million or 9 million. If I had offeres for two different jobs I would most likely go with the one that offered more money.
I get it that the Braves have hurt feelings about the way the Furcal situation worked out, but I'm with Tad, don't put your team at a disadvantage. Running a winning baseball team is hard enough, why make it that much harder?
"In listening to Joel Sherman????"
Say it ain't so!
How many times did he pat himself on the back for wanting to make the Santana for Hughes, Kennedy and Trenton Thunder deal?
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