The bad news? They now have to sign him. His agent, Scott Boras, is infamous around the baseball world for squeezing out every possible penny. Considering that Strasburg is a once in a decade type talent, there’s absolutely no doubt that Boras is going to try to get the pitcher a contract that would make him by far the highest paid draft pick in baseball history.

How much will Boras ask for in the negotiations? $50 million? $75 million? The sky is the limit.

The Nationals will have to decide if they are going to spend that type of money. While they are known to be cheap when it comes to signing draft picks, they may face a fan revolt if they don’t sign Strasburg.

If I had to guess, my guess is that the Nationals will eventually crack and sign their number one overall pick. Strasburg is too good and the Nationals can’t afford to further disenfranchise their fans.

Stephen Strasburg - Washington Nationals (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: EveryJoe

Can the Nationals Sign Stephen Strasburg?

Wait, you can stop clutching your heart now. That “Man of the Year” part was hypothetical.

But what about the Detroit Tigers slugger’s feelings for his former agent? To say there’s “no love loss there” would be an understatement along the lines of “A-Rod needs to work on his delivery.” (Yes, we’re talking jokes, not throwing mechanics).

The decidely-past-expired-milk relationship concerns the 3-year, $39M contract Sheffield signed with the New York Yankees in 2003. Apparently Boras wants to get his sticky fingers on some would like a piece of the not-yet-stale pie. Sheffield says he repped himself for the deal and Boras says nuh-uh.

Sheffield said Boras is a “bad person,” and is ready to make like a canary and sing. He isn’t worried about the MLB consequences, either. Per USA Today:

“It ain’t going to be pretty . . .No fine is going to be big enough. No suspension is going to be long enough.”

Scott, you’d be advised not to take any food or drink from Mr. Sheffield, even if he throws you a Man of the Year dinner.

Post from: EveryJoe

Sheffield Not Hugging it Out With Boras

Hendricks released an 18,000-word statistical report today in response to former trainer Brian McNamee’s allegations that the would-be Hall of Famer jumped on the steroid bandwagon. Fortunately, we’ve taken the time to decode and summarize the whole shebang for you in three words: “Roger Ain’t Guilty.”

To what does Hendricks attribute Clemens’Energizer Bunny-like career? Good ol’-fashioned adjustment. (Is it too silly for us admit to thinking about jock straps upon seeing the words “baseball player” and “adjustment” in the same article?). Hendricks says the Cy Young winner tossed in a “very effective split-finger fastball to offset the decrease in the speed of his regular fastball caused by aging.”

Hey, at least Clemens is lucky enough to have Hendricks and the occasionally-less-than-above-board Scott Boras in his corner.

Will the Cy Young winner prevail or is this a case of creative statistics? Time will tell. And if it doesn’t, we can always hope our fave pitcher Curt Schilling will shake things up on his blog.

Post from: EveryJoe

Roger Clemens’ Agent Says, “Nuh-Uh”

Thanks to some solid investigative reporting by Frank & Company, new information has called into question a shady element of Scott Boras’ past. This Very Important Update, provided by Frank in the comments section of this post, is too significant to remain buried. We’re repeating the breaking news here:

Scott Boras vehemently denied a former teammate’s allegation that the knee injury which ended his minor league baseball playing career was caused by diving for a loose quarter, not for a line drive, as the agent has previously claimed.

Will others step forward to confirm the claim? Or are these the words of a former teammate later scorched by Boras at the negotiating table? Stay tuned!

And lucky for us, eTrueSports trekked up to Cooperstown, NY to get a behind-the-scenes peek at the Hall of Fame. This previously hush-hush prototype of Barry Bonds’ plaque has been leaked to satirists and snarky sports humor chicks everywhere:

Remember, you heard it from eTrueSports first and Gossip on Sports second!

P.S. If you’re in a VOTE FOR GOSSIP ON SPORTS kind of mood—and if you’re still here, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be . . . unless you’re Scott Boras or Barry Bonds—click in the purple poll box in the previous post or visit this site to do the same (and leave a comment there for a chance at a prize). Feel free to visit the other blogtestants’ entries, too. Project Blog, here we come!

Post from: EveryJoe

Boras, Bonds, and Baseball Legacies

Well, it’s true, isn’t it? What do you expect a cocky New England sports fan to do, be humble about it all? That’s like asking Barry Bonds if he took steroids and expecting the truth. Oh wait . . .

Anyway, we thought we’d share with you some fun from our satire pals over at www.etruesports.com. Check out their spoof of oft-sleazy agent to the superathletes, Scott Boras. All things Borat tickle our funnybones, and this Boras-Borat send-up is no exception.

P.S. If you’re in the mood to vote and enter to win an Ecoist bracelet, be sure to vote for Gossip on Sports in the Project Blog competition. The polls reamin open until Tuesday at noon (EST, we think). We haven’t garnered a ton of votes. Don’t worry, we’re not crying or anything. (There’s no crying in baseball–or any other sport. Right, Suzie Waldman?). But still.

Post from: EveryJoe

Boras as Borat?