Years ago, I ranted about sports agent Scott Boras, who is infamous (and hated) for his haggling when it comes to his overpaid athlete clients. He has enticed clubs, backed out on deals, prepared thick reports justifying why a player deserves to be the highest-paid player in baseball. I hate him, and a lot of clubs and GMs won't even try to deal with him.
His latest coup: getting Alex Rodriguez traded to the Yankees. Fairness and fun (and the fact that A-Rod has actually been an excellent player all this time) aside, let's remember that this is the player who signed for ten years and $252 million a while back. Since that time, I've pointed out that his agent, Scott Boras, is part of baseball's problem, and I've also pointed out that huge contracts are part of the problem. If some player signs a ten-year contract and goes in front of the cameras and says how much he loves the city and the team, does anyone really believe it? Hah. No one stays with the same club anymore for the actual duration of their contract; that would show class, and class has been missing from baseball since Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn and Robin Yount retired.
Think about something: Greg Maddux, one of the greatest pitchers of all time (and also represented by Boras) is still jobless, in February, as spring training begins. Why? Because he turned down several nice offers from the Cubs and Giants (if not more clubs) because his ego and perceived worth are inflated because of his agent.
It would serve them all right if the baseball economy fixed itself and none of these over-hyped and over-paid players were able to land jobs...and then maybe fired the agent responsible for derailing Hall-of-Fame careers in the interest of a few more millions.