Exactly what I was thinking...if he doesnt make the All Star Team, he should have to give money back, IMO.
Adding fuel to the fire...... [ESPN] 'Stability' led to Beltran signing http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1964440 Associated Press NEW YORK -- In the end, timing and tenacity played key roles in Carlos Beltran signing with the wannabe New York Mets instead of the perennial champion New York Yankees. GM Omar Minaya, left, welcomed Beltran and family -- including wife Jessica, right -- to NYC. A no-trade clause in the seven-year, $119 million contract, a recruiting trip to Puerto Rico by team brass, and 31 consecutive days of phone calls didn't hurt, either. Beltran was welcomed by his new team Tuesday, ending a whirlwind courtship that began as a long-shot flirtation and evolved into the richest deal in Mets history. Already he was looking ahead, talking about a recruiting call he already placed to Carlos Delgado. For the 27-year-old center fielder, the contract was all about commitment. "When I was in Kansas City, I was always worried about being traded for five years," he said. "When I was traded to Houston, it was not a good feeling. I didn't want to go through that anymore. I would not sign without a no-trade clause. I was looking for stability. The Mets said they would give me that stability." And they said it over and over and over again. When general manager Omar Minaya decided the Mets had a shot at Beltran, the team went after him aggressively. "Starting at Thanksgiving, they called me 31 straight days," agent Scott Boras said. "They checked in every day, asking where Carlos was at [in his thinking], saying they wanted Carlos. I would tell Carlos every day, 'The Mets called again.' And again. And again." Beltran was impressed. Then came the visit. Boras suggested the two sides meet in Miami. Minaya, fresh off his successful recruiting trip to the Dominican Republic where he charmed pitcher Pedro Martinez with Thanksgiving dinner, said the Mets would travel to San Juan to see Beltran on his home turf. "If we are involved, we are involved to win," Minaya said. "I sensed when we got there we would be players, maybe underdogs. But I like being the underdog." Beltran said the Mets' signing of Martinez impressed him. And he hoped his signing would have a similar effect on first baseman Delgado, another Mets' target. Beltran was wowed by the visit, especially the sincerity of Mets owner Fred Wilpon. "He told me, 'If you're happy in Houston, stay in Houston,' " Beltran said. " 'If you want the big stage, come to New York. Sign with the Yankees or sign with us.' He gave me options. He showed me the kind of person he is." With the addition of Beltran, Mike Cameron might be shifted to right field if he isn't traded. Cameron will miss the start of the season and possibly all of April after surgery to repair damaged cartilage in his left wrist. The Yankees seemed an obvious fit for Beltran, especially with their history of usually landing the biggest free agents. They were players in the Beltran derby, but Boras said their first issue was pitching and nailing down their deal for Randy Johnson, which they announced three hours after the Mets introduced Beltran in a unique New York baseball news conference doubleheader. "The Yankees were interested," Beltran said. "But they wanted to wait to make a decision. I was not willing to wait to find a team. I wanted a commitment. The Mets were willing to do that." Part of the timing issue was a change in federal tax laws which takes effect on Wednesday. By completing his deal Tuesday, Beltran saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes on his $11 million signing bonus, according to Boras. Beltran's deal calls for $7 million of the signing bonus to be paid upon approval of the contract by the commissioner's office and $2 million in January 2006 and $2 million in January 2007. He gets a $10 million salary this year, $12 million in each of the following two seasons and $18.5 million in each of the final four years of the deal. In each of the final four seasons, $8.5 million will be deferred at 1.17 percent compounded interest. Beltran's contract, the 10th in baseball history worth $100 million or more, also calls for a $500,000 bonus if he wins the MVP award, $1 million if he wins it a second time and $1.5 million for every time he wins it after that. He is the only player in baseball history to have four straight seasons of 20 or more home runs, 100 or more runs scored, 100 or more RBI and 30 or more stolen bases. He batted .267 with 38 homers and 108 RBI with Kansas City and Houston last season, and hit .435 with eight homers and 14 RBI in the postseason with the Astros. Minaya and Boras seemed relieved after marathon talks Saturday and Sunday concluded with Beltran agreeing to join the Mets. "It's like frogs on a lily pad," Boras said. "You don't want to end up at the bottom of the lake. You want to wind up on the lily pad." And Beltran's lily pad came complete with a $119 million contract. First-round pick signs The Mets signed their first-round pick Philip Humber, the third pick in the 2004 draft. The right-handed pitcher from Rice got a $3.7 million signing bonus and will be at the Mets minicamp in Port St. Lucie, Fla., on Wednesday and Thursday. He went 13-4 with a save and a 2.27 ERA in 20 games with the Owls last season. He gave up 87 hits and 34 runs while striking out 154 in 115 innings. I thought you wanted to play for a winner chump!! And Boras said that the NY Mets were only interested a week before the deadline.... What an a-hole!!! Both sound like slimy money grubbing snakes if you ask me.
the mets called boras 31 straight days?? it seemed like we were always waiting for him to call instead
i'm not sure i believe anything beltran says anymore. all the articles i've read indicate that the yankees were not interested. i thought borass offered beltran to the yankees for 6/$100 and they said no thanks...
nj. I sure won't be thanking him. Even if he did sign the guy, I still wouldn't thank him. He "tried" to resign the fan favorite who puts people in the seats and in turn makes him more cash. That'd be like me thanking a store for keeping the worker who makes them the most cash. Also, the stuff I keep hearing about he wouldn't have signed even if we did give him a no trade clause... well frankly I don't care. We should have given him one so we could make it to the next stage to see if we had a chance. A no trade clause seems pretty reasonable to me, especially when you are offering less cash. I don't see why it was even contended.
More on Beltran on 610 this AM Justice was on with John and Lance. The basic take was that, when it really came down to it, we were never in it and were being used. The no trade clause was brought up. Then there were huge demands for performance incentives, way out of line for what is normally requested. All star appearance or MVP award is usually 50K or 100K. Boras asked for 500K. Stuff like that. I believe that Boras kept telling the mets that they needed to agree to this crap in order to sign beltran. if they didn't, the astros would get him. I'm guessing with 5 or 10 minutes left on the clock, boras finally told the mets, here is the final demand list. accept and he's yours. he used the astros deadline to drive a decision by drayton and to make the mets accept as much as possible. I have little doubt that if drayton had accepted all that, boras would then have asked for more money. Look. I wish we had beltran. It's like losing a girlfriend and watching her run around with some new rich dude. You hate Beltran but sure as hell want him back too.
The Astros were told they if they went to PR the deal was off. Boras played Drayton like a chump. Drayton gave it his best. He could have offered 10years/300 million and Beltran would have still be playing in NY next season. The Astros never had a chance. The mistake was listening to a liar who told the Astros they not only had a chance but were the favorites.
That's a crock.....and if it's not, then we should have known from day 1 to not even bother and went after other guys. Its our front office's job to figure these things out along the way.
No two ways about it. All the eggs were in the Beltran basket and now it's full of fecal matter. But every year, one or two teams that everyone expects to suck has a showing. Maybe it'll be the Astros again. We won't be Devil Rays, but we won't have all the guns loaded either. One thing for sure, Garner won't let them put in the kind of April through June that Jimy did last year. There'll be ass kicked and benches ridden till they get it right. Ask Bags.
Well, if I ahd any doubts Drayton was pulling our leg about un real demands, here you go: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1969134 NEW YORK -- The Mets signed Carlos Beltran to play center field for the next seven years. They'll be paying him for the next 14. New York will not make the final payment on Beltran's $119 million contract until July 1, 2018, according to details of the agreement that were obtained by The Associated Press. Beltran's deal contains $22 million in deferred salary that will be paid out in the seven years after the contract expires. He will be 41 by the time he receives all the money, which will be paid each July 1 starting in 2012 in yearly installments of $3,142,857 plus interest that will accrue at the rate of 1.7175 percent annually. Like Pedro Martinez, who signed with the Mets in December, Beltran will get an array of perks as part of the contract, including a hotel suite on all road trips and a 15-person luxury suite for all home games, although he must buy tickets for the suite for any postseason games. In the most unusual clause of the deal, the Mets agreed to lease for Beltran an ocular enhancer machine, a device that throws colored, numbered tennis balls to batters at 150 mph or faster. New York also agreed not to offer salary arbitration at the end of the contract, meaning the Mets must decide whether to re-sign him by Dec. 7, 2011. Offering arbitration extends the deadline for re-signing until the following Jan. 8. Beltran's contract calls for his $11 million signing bonus to be paid in four installments: $5 million upon approval and $2 million each this June 15, and on Jan. 15, 2006, and Jan. 15, 2007. He gets a $10 million salary this year, $12 million in each of the following two seasons and $18.5 million in each of the final four seasons, with $8.5 million deferred annually from 2008-11. The players' association calculated the present-day value of the contract at $115,726,946, using a 6 percent discount rate (the prime rate plus 1 percent, rounded to the nearest whole number). For purposes of baseball's luxury tax, which currently uses a 3.62 percent discount rate, the contract is valued at $116,695,898.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/editorial/outlook/2996464 Did Carlos Beltran's agent play fair with the Astros? News reports suggest Boras may have overstated bidding By MARC A. LEVIN Astros fans are understandably distraught by the departure of talented free agent Carlos Beltran after the team and city did everything conceivable to make Beltran and his family feel at home. In addition to being saddened, we should also be disturbed by the ethically and legally questionable conduct of Beltran's agent, Scott Boras. There are now at least two reported incidents of Boras' allegedly deceiving the baseball teams with whom he has negotiated. Boras apparently told the Texas Rangers in 2000 that he had obtained an offer for star shortstop Alex Rodriguez for at least $200 million, but according to Atlanta Braves General Manager John Schuerholz, the highest offer at the time was the Braves' $150 million. The Rangers evidently bid against themselves, raising the final price tag to $252 million over 10 years, a contract that prevented the Rangers from fielding a competitive team around Rodriguez and ultimately led to his being dealt to the cash-rich Yankees. In the last few weeks, Boras repeatedly told media outlets, and apparently the Astros, that he had five Beltran offers for at least $100 million. In fact, the Chronicle, ESPN and others have confirmed that only the Astros and Mets ever bid as much, and the Mets at the point of Boras' first utterance of this claim had apparently not even made their initial offer. These reports state that the Cubs topped out at $80 million and the other rumored teams — the Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles — never entered the bidding. If these reports are accurate, Boras arguably acted unethically in both instances. An attorney, Boras is subject to the ethical rules governing lawyers, even though his work involves negotiating deals, not appearing in court. The Texas Rules of Disciplinary Conduct, Rule 4.01 titled "Truthfulness to Others" states, in part, "In the course of representing a client, a lawyer shall not knowingly make a false statement of material fact to a third person." If indeed Boras misrepresented his clients' offers to other teams and the media, it is hard to imagine he did so unknowingly, since as Rodriguez and Beltran's sole agent, he would necessarily know what offers they had and had not received. Although violating this rule could be grounds for disbarment in Texas, Boras is a member of the California Bar, where no such rule exists, meaning all the Texas Bar could do is deny him admission should he seek to practice here. Beyond ethics, the legality of Boras' conduct can also be questioned. In Texas, the Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) prohibits making false or misleading statements in the course of selling a product or service, but because the Astros and Rangers have assets exceeding $25 million, they could not bring a claim. However, the Texas attorney general could initiate a DTPA claim on their behalf. The Astros or Rangers could sue Boras for fraud. In Texas, to establish fraud, a party must prove: 1) that a material representation was made; 2) the representation was false; 3) when the representation was made, the speaker knew it was false or made it recklessly without any knowledge of the truth and as a positive assertion; 4) the speaker made the representation with the intent that the other party should act upon it; 5) the party acted in reliance on the representation; and 6) the party thereby suffered injury. If the Rangers sued, they could claim injury for overpaying for Rodriguez, while the Astros' damages would be more nuanced. It is conceivable that, absent Boras' bluster about other offers, the Astros would have given Beltran an ultimatum to sign by an earlier deadline, realizing they had the only major offer on the table for some time. This would have forced Beltran's hand and, if he declined, at least have enabled the Astros to sign other quality free agents who are now unavailable. Baseball executives are particularly vulnerable to being misled about the extent of other offers because they could be charged with collusion if they attempt to contemporaneously contact their counterparts to verify them. Remarkably, Boras' credibility is so low that some teams refuse to negotiate with him. Thus, Boras' best defense to a fraud claim might be that baseball executives know they cannot rely on the veracity of his statements. To be sure, the blame goes well beyond Boras for the integrity deficit in both baseball and the corporate world. From steroids to revenue sharing, the players' union and owners have so far failed to ensure that the game is played on a level playing field. From Enron to WorldCom, millions of Americans have suffered financially as a result of deceptive statements. While Boras is unlikely to face any ethical or legal repercussions, professional athletes should choose agents who negotiate in good faith and abide by basic rules of fair play. Like their clients, baseball agents are entitled to play hardball and swing for the fences, but they should refrain from making misleading pitches. Levin, a former staff attorney for the Texas Supreme Court and law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, is a lifelong Astros fan and an attorney at Potts & Reilly, L.L.P. in Austin.
