harmony

Is that a good thing or a bad thing? The U.S. legal system generally permits contingency fee arrangements in civil cases although England only recently permitted the practice. Proponents would argue the contingency fee discourages an attorney from soaking a client for fees in a meritless case.

I wish I could review the standard player's contract for the services of Scott Boras.

I am 99 percent certain that players do not hire Scott Boras as an attorney. He is hired as an agent. That column fails to make that distinction. Puffery is part of the negotiation process. The media have criticized Scott Boras for his references to a "mystery" team. Please correct me if I am wrong, but while Boras may report that another team is interested I don't think Boras has ever used the term "mystery" team. That is a term coined by the media. That is a shortcoming of the media, not the agent. If Boras has another team or teams interested in a client, it may be unethical for him to publicly identify that team or teams if the clubs have asked that their negotiations be kept confidential. The media may identify interested teams through leaks from the teams instead of through leaks from the agent. Or not. Front offices likely use similar tactics. A general manager may tell an agent that a comparable player is willing to sign a contract that offers more surplus value than the agent's proposed contract for his client. That is an ethical ploy only if the "mystery" player exists. The bottom line is that a front office can refuse to do business with any agent and each player can instruct his agent to refuse to do business with any front office. Boras continues to thrive.

The American Bar Association has promulgated ethical standards for over a century: https://www.americanbar.org/publications/youraba/2016/december-2016/a-brief-history-of-the-development-of-legal-ethics-standards-in-.html The ABA, a voluntary trade organization, cannot enforce the standards but enforcement can come from state or federal judiciaries or bar associations that adopt or amend the ABA standards (or draft their own ethical standards). I suspect Scott Boras offers a prospective client a detailed contract that outlines the respective responsibilities of the agent and the player. I am almost certain that the contract specifically states that the player hires Scott Boras as an agent, not as an attorney. I would not be surprised if the contract has a clause that advises the player to consult an attorney if he need legal advice. Boras maintains an active membership in the State Bar of California: http://members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/Member/Detail/108792 ... but many ethical standards do not extend to his work as an agent (not as an attorney, although the line can be blurred). I am reminded of my real estate agent, an active member of the state bar, who as a realtor could represent multiple clients with inconsistent interests. The Major League Baseball Players Association regulates player agents: http://www.mlbplayers.com/pdf9/4925108.pdf ... including a certification system that authorizes disciplinary action for violations. In the highly competitive field of MLB agency, reports of ethical violations might be more likely to come from a fellow agent than from an MLB front office. Because of his celebrity status, I suspect Scott Boras is the most scrutinized agent in baseball.

That was my point. With regard to Scott Boras, many posters "plant a seed of doubt without any real substance."

On the other hand, perhaps players flock to Scott Boras because he ethically keeps unethical front offices in check. Just because Pedro Martinez was the best at what he did does not mean we should assume Martinez was unethical.

Should Scott Boras grant each team that courtesy?

My point was that one fan's treasure is another fan's trash.

What if he has several offers better than five years and $125 million? Should Scott Boras play those teams off against each other? If Boras has a firm offer from the Red Sox, should Boras email that offer to all teams and ask each team to top it? I don't think negotiations are that specific. Should the Red Sox tell Boras that they'll top any offer from another team? If so, what should Boras do with that information in negotiations with other clubs?

I doubt an agent would communicate all offers to all potential suitors. If the Red Sox make a deadline offer, the agent may respond that he has better offers ... if, objectively or subjectively, he has better offers.

The deadline might be funny if J.D. Martinez already has better offers from other teams.

I recall a writer's label -- "He's a little loudmouth punk" -- in this 2008 ESPN story about Dustin Pedroia http://www.espn.com/espnmag/story?id=3512455

I would add the Padres and Royals to my earlier list of Phillies, White Sox and Brewers as teams that can afford J.D. Martinez. The Red Sox have competition.

I nominate "desperate" as the most overused word of the Hot Stove season.

If Eric Hosmer has a seven-year, $147 million offer from the Kansas City Royals, as reported: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2018/01/03/eric-hosmer-offered-seven-year-147-million-deal-return-royals/998796001/ ... I suspect J.D. Martinez will get better offers. The loser of the apparent Hosmer bidding contest between the Royals and the Padres may turn their attention to Martinez.

I would think the opt-out would be treated the same as a team option because it is essentially a player option. The AAV for luxury tax purposes should be calculated only on the guaranteed portion of the contract. When an option is exercised -- a team option or a player option -- the AAV should be recalculated only for the period of that option.

J.D. Martinez has a five-year offer from the Red Sox, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2018/01/02/mlb-hot-stove-free-agents-luxury-tax/995440001/

As Jack Flap graciously provided in a recent post to this thread: https://www.fangraphs.com/library/war/differences-fwar-rwar/

I was a hard-core Denver Broncos fan for 22 years but lost interest in the NFL altogether after the Broncos won back-to-back Super Bowls in 1997-98. The university where I attended graduate school and law school won NCAA football championships after I left. The school nearly won national football titles when I was there but I never fully embraced the team because I prefer underdogs. Such as the Seattle Mariners. I moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1994 a few weeks before the strike ended that MLB season. The following year I had Mariner radio broadcasts on as background noise for weeks as I studied for an exam. The M's stormed from 13 games back on August 2 to earn their first-ever postseason berth before toppling the Yankees in a dramatic AL Divisional Series (I was rejuvenated by the extra-inning, series-winning hit by Edgar Martinez on my 40th birthday). The Mariners advanced to the postseason in four of my first seven years as an M's fan but have not been back since. Fortunately I do not have a success void yearning to be filled by the on-field success of my favorite team. I've probably written too much.

And miss the Mariners ending the postseason drought?

I posted that to a Mariner forum today.

Jay Bruce, Jose Bautista and Carlos Gonzalez? Front office typically don't share that information.

The offers from each side typically get better as negotiations progress but market changes could result in an offer getting worse from the recipient's perspective. A front office almost never negotiates for a single player in a vacuum; the team is always busy working concurrent plans.

Good example. Robinson Cano has posted 16.4 fWAR, valued at $129.5 million, in the first four years of his 10-year, $240 million contract with Seattle. More importantly, Cano has not led the Mariners to their first postseason berth since 2001. Seattle fans can only hope that Cano ages as well as David Ortiz did. https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/mariners/like-a-big-brother-robinson-cano-sad-to-see-david-ortiz-retire/

David Price.