Washington Post: Boras May Explore Japan for Strasburg (RR)

The Major League Rules is a sprawling, dense, little-known, 254-page document, periodically updated, that governs the business side of baseball. Among other things, it lays out, in painstaking legalese, the process and guidelines for the sport’s annual draft, and in recent years, these sections have provided a road map for a certain notorious agent bent on circumventing the draft itself.

In 1996, agent Scott Boras exploited a loophole to help gain free agency for four draftees who did not receive contract offers from the teams that selected them within 15 days of the draft, as required. A year later, he unsuccessfully attempted to make Philadelphia Phillies draftee J.D. Drew a free agent by taking him to the independent Northern League and thus changing his official status from “amateur” to “professional.”

This summer, Boras has another high-profile client, San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg, for whom he would love nothing more than to blow apart baseball’s draft system, allowing Strasburg to be compensated in line with his talent—his asking price is believed to be around $50 million—as opposed to within the parameters of the current system, in which no player has ever received more than $10.5 million.

Even before talks began with the Washington Nationals, who made Strasburg the first overall pick June 9, Boras was dropping hints privately that he is preparing to explore a new frontier in his ongoing draft-busting crusade: Japan.

Pirates make offer to Sano

Pretty much nothing of news value in the article, other than confirming that the Pirates did, in fact, make an actual offer to the young Dominican.  Go Gayo!!!

Two sources confirmed today that the Pirates have, indeed, made an offer to elite Dominican prospect Miguel Angel Sano. Neither source—one inside, one outside the team—would divulge the dollar figure or otherwise characterize the offer.

Cardinals sign Wagner Mateo

Cardinals sign Wagner Mateo - 16 year old Dominican outfielder - reportedly giving him a bonus of $3.1 million.  This would be both the largest bonus ever given to a Dominican hitter, and the largest amateur bonus ever given by the Cards - J.D. Drew signed for $3 million.

This is good news; finally the much-hyped Dominican connection is coming through.  As long as this doesn’t impede them from signing Shelby Miller, the Cards’ system is looking up.

Keith Law: Harper looking for a challenge

If Bryce wants to take this step, and all indications are that he is ready to do so, why would his father stand in his son’s way?

In fact, much of the hue and cry over Harper’s plan to leave high school two years early is rubbish. If Harper is eligible for the 2010 draft after his first year of junior college—and he should be, although Ron indicated he has yet to receive a “100 percent answer” on that question from MLB—he’ll be 17 years and almost eight months old on draft day. That would make him just two months younger than Mike Trout and Randal Grichuk were June 9, when they were selected in the first round of the 2009 draft. The Marlins’ third-round pick, Da’Shon Cooper, is one year to the day older than Harper. None of their fathers were criticized for allowing their sons to enter pro ball at such a young age.

Inevitably, there’s also a backlash in the scouting community, among the same scouts who dropped what they were doing at the 2008 Area Code Games to watch every one of Harper’s at-bats. On Tuesday, when one scout learned I was writing a piece about Harper, he said “Don’t feed the machine,” referring to the tremendous hype that already surrounds the player.

It’s perfectly natural for a talented player like Bryce Harper to want to be challenged further when he has already shown he has mastered his current level. It’s not the place for anyone, including MLB or the media, to deny him the chance to succeed or fail at a higher level of play. The smart money is on him succeeding.

Fish Tank:  Video: Marlins fan vs. Yankees fan in a brawl for the ages

Wondering about all that ruckus in the stands during Sunday’s game? We’ve got the answer. One intrepid fan shot the following video, which involves a Yankees fan and Marlins fan going at it, WWE-style, in what some are calling ‘The Citizen Kane of Fan Fight Videos.’ A title well-earned, we say:

Bleacher Report:  Hot Commodity: Los Angeles Dodgers Interested in Jarrod Washburn

Washburn’s stats are misleading (26-48 4.23 ERA), as he has something like the second lowest run support out of all AL pitchers in his tenure with the Mariners, something interested teams know.

Since the Mariners are not in a desperate situation (i.e. 30 games out and forced to sell for the future), and could either be buyers or sellers this season, it will drive the price for their players up. No matter what they decide to do, they are going to get top line young talent, or established MLB ready players.

With a confident, competent GM in Jack Zdurencik who has already shown his savvy in trades by grabbing guys like David Aardsma, Jason Vargas, Garret Olson, and Franklin Guiterrez, Mariners’ fans should feel good about what goes on at this years trade deadline. It has been a refreshing change from the Bavasi era when all of the best trade chips were given away on a silver platter. I know every trade deadline of late felt like a kick to the nuts for Mariners fans.

Name one Bavasi era trade import who is currently making any impact for the Mariners. That’s funny, because there are not any.

In regards to Washburn, a three prospect package containing two high rated prospects, and a mid to low level, is what can be expected. I would expect them to be looking for a SS with the lackadaisical Yuniesky Betancourt drawing the ire of many Mariners fans. I know I am not the only one wishing those Jack Wilson trade rumors had not fallen through.

A report from the Seattle Times had Dodgers OF Juan Pierre as a possible match for Washburn. Just what the Mariners need, another OF who cannot hit for power.

With JZ at the helm, just let this thing play itself out and the result should be positive Mariners fans.

Man, Bleacher Report is always good for a laugh.

A Day in the Life of the Red Sox Draft

Interesting behind the scenes look at the Red Sox draft, free of chair-throwing.

Before the 2005 draft, Epstein wrote a simple message on the draft board as a reminder of the team’s intentions: Impact. Dominate.

The words were meant to serve as a reminder of a shift in draft philosophy. The Sox had focused in 2003 and 2004 on quickly rebuilding the upper levels of their farm system by drafting college players who were safe bets but who might not have the ceiling of a superstar. But by 2005, the team had accomplished that mission, and so wanted to use its picks—including five first-round selections—to find players with elite potential.

This year, however, there was no need to convey a message that is now an accepted component of the organization’s thinking.

“We’ve been together as a group for so long that I think that it’s been absorbed into our culture, how we scout and pick,” said McLeod. “We don’t need to put it up there.”

Standard-Examiner: Departing Cruz likes current crop of Raptors

OGDEN—Henry Cruz’s return to Ogden didn’t turn out like he expected.

Cruz, who served as hitting coach of the Ogden Raptors two years ago, was prepared to perform the same role this season. Instead, Cruz will be heading to the Dominican Republic to become the director of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ baseball academy and scouting efforts there, where players from all over Latin America come for their shot at the big leagues—and often to escape poverty.

The Dodgers are the major league affiliate of the Raptors.

“The Dodgers have a need down in the Dominican for someone of Henry’s talents,” Ogden manager Damon Berryhill said. “He’s looking forward to doing it. He’ll be missed here, obviously. I was looking forward to working with Henry.”

Cruz’s work at the Dodgers’ Las Palmas baseball academy in the Dominican Republic can still impact the on-field product fans see at Lindquist Field. Eleven of the 29 players currently on the Raptors’ 29-man roster are from Latin American countries.

“All the Latin American players from Venezuela, Panama, all the international players, they’re all going to go through the Dominican Republic first and we’re going to be evaluating them, we’re going to be teaching them the Dodger way so when they come to the States they’ll be at the same level as the other guys,” Cruz said.

Cruz will also have scouting responsibilities as well as being the director of the complex and will consult with Dodgers assistant general manager over scouting Logan White on signings.

International players can sign with major league teams at the age of 16.

MLB.com: Bowman: Francoeur sits out series finale

Braves manager Bobby Cox decided to give Francoeur yet another chance to rest.

“It’s his decision,” Francoeur said. “I’ve been swinging the bat good lately. I had some of my best at-bats of the season [Saturday night].”

[...]

With a 2-0 count against Beckett in the eighth inning, Francoeur had thoughts about drilling a game-tying three-run homer. But after getting out in front of a changeup and drilling it to the left side of the left-field pole, Atlanta’s right fielder grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Times-Picayune: LSU will play Texas at 6 p.m. on Monday

LSU and Texas, two of college baseballs powerhouses, collide beginning Monday at 6 p.m. in the College World Series championship round.

Both teams will go with their ace pitchers. Righthander Chance Ruffin (10-2, 3.27 earned run average) will start for Texas and righthander Louis Coleman (14-2, 2.68) for LSU in the first game of a best two-of-three series. All games will begin at 6 p.m.

Texas owns six NCAA baseball championships and LSU five, second and third behind USC’s 12 titles. LSU is actually tied with Arizona State for third.

AP: Canseco claims he was ostracized

NEW YORK—Jose Canseco plans to file a class-action lawsuit against Major League Baseball and the players’ association, saying he’s been ostracized for going public with tales of steroids use in the sport.

Canseco said Wednesday that he has discussed the suit with lawyers and intends to enlist Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro to join in the suit.

Canseco said the basis of the suit would be “lost wages—in some cases, defamation of character.”

“Because I used steroids and I came out with a book, I was kicked out of the game, but I have not been inducted into the Hall of Fame,” Canseco said in a telephone interview.

“A lot of these players have not been inducted into the Hall of Fame: Mark McGwire and so forth. They’re losing salaries, because obviously when you’re inducted into the Hall of Fame, you get asked to do certain, you know, appearances and shows and so forth, which incorporates income. So there is a major income loss.

“Not even that, baseball blackballs you from their family, meaning you can’t have a future proper reference from them, a job, no managerial jobs, no coaching jobs, nothing. They completely sever you.”

Rob Neyer: AL pitchers feasting on NL?

Have you noticed something strange lately? Seems like every time a starting pitcher does something fantastic, he just happens to be pitching for an American League team against a National League team.

Just my imagination? To check, I scanned ESPN.com’s scoreboard pages, from last Friday through last night’s games, looking for headlines in which the winning starting pitcher was mentioned. I found 15. See if you notice any sort of pattern ...

No, it’s not scientific. No, the list doesn’t include fine games pitched by the likes of National Leaguers Matt Cain and Brad Thompson (or for that matter, American Leaguers Kevin Millwood, A.J. Burnett, Brad Bergesen, and Brian Bannister). But among the 15 starting pitchers who made headlines for winning, 12 made headlines for pitching brilliantly (or near-brilliantly) against National League teams. Jered Weaver threw his first shutout, Luke Hochevar needed only 80 pitches to dispatch Cincinnati, and Gil Meche threw his third shutout in 225 career starts. CLiff Lee took a no-hitter into the eighth, and Felix Rodriguez took a one-hitter into the ninth.

Sure, it’s only 15 games, and 15 games that were subject to the whims of ESPN.com’s headline writers. But I mean, c’mon. It’s obvious, isn’t it, that the American Leaguers are playing a different game? A better game?

sigh.

Bryce Harper leaves high school early, and it makes sense

A buddy of mine did this in high school...but that was only after he caved-in the vice-principal’s head with a suddenly free Master Lock.

It’s a shocking headline at first. But the most surprising part of Bryce Harper’s (or his dad’s) decision is that it makes total sense.

Harper, the Las Vegas high school catcher who was on the cover of Sports Illustrated, will forgo his final two years of high school, get his GED and play community college baseball next year at the College of Southern Nevada. His father, Ron, made the announcement Saturday at a tournament in Oklahoma City.

“Bryce is always looking for his next challenge,” Ron Harper told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “He’s going to pursue his education, too. He’s going to get pushed academically and athletically. I don’t see a problem with it. I think we’ve handled it the right way. I think it will be a great story.”

Harper will turn 17 on Oct. 16, and by finishing high school he will be eligible for the 2010 draft, where he is expected to be the No. 1 pick and command a multimillion-dollar signing bonus. (His dad says the family isn’t sure if Bryce will enter the draft in 2010 or ‘11. Take a guess which way that’ll come out.)

The Hardball Times: Colin Wyers: Abolish the minor leagues

The Fallout

But what would we lose along the way? Well, for starters, we probably lose the low minors. Right now, you can take a family of four to a game and get a meal and a few souvenirs for under $55. Minor league teams can charge so little for their product because their largest expenses are subsidized by their parent clubs. If that subsidy dwindled, so would the minor leagues.

Next to go? Training academies in Latin America. If the draft is abolished, teams would likely focus on domestic training academies instead. In other words, it’ll do to players from the Dominican, Venezuela and elsewhere what MLB did to Puerto Rico when it included them in the draft. Puerto Rican baseball has suffered for it, and so have Puerto Rican baseball players.

And Major League free agents will suffer, as they have to compete against a larger pool of players in the free agency market.

Maybe these things are desirable, but they are real consequences and cannot simply be ignored.

Seeing Seagulls by the Lakeshore*

*Alternate headline: I ran. I ran so far away. Couldn’t get away.

Joe Poz does not disappoint.

The Royals lost when a ball hit a seagull. And it just adds to the list of remarkable things I have had the chance to witness since arriving in Kansas City thirteen years ago.

Rob Neyer: Let’s do away with the draft

The real problem is that nobody really knows what would happen if the draft were abolished. One could, with a great deal of rigorous research and analysis, make some educated guesses, I think. Sounds like a pretty good project for a sharp graduate student, or for one of those platoons of eggheads the Red Sox keep in a closet and occasionally throw a pizza to. But I haven’t seen that research. Have you? Humans are conservative by nature, and baseball men are really conservative. They like the draft, in part, because it’s what they know.

And second, Pinto’s making a moral argument. He’s not alone. A lot of people think that when you essentially force someone to play for a particular team, you’re depriving him of a fundamental liberty. I suppose that if the five biggest Web sites conducted a draft and I got stuck writing for a site I didn’t like for a salary I felt unjust, I would have a pretty big beef.

Gee. When I put it like that to myself ...

Arlington coach put Little League boys up to burglary, police say

Via Deadspin...

An Arlington Little League coach is accused of showing some of his players how to steal more than second base.

Investigators allege that George Spady Jr. was with his son, a nephew and another player from his baseball team when he broke into a vacant shop and took overhead lights and bolts. The boys were encouraged to assist with the break-in, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Edirin Okoloko wrote in court documents.

Spady, 31, was charged Monday with second-degree burglary, a felony.

Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies were called to one of the players’ homes after the boy told his stepfather that his coach had taken him along to break into a shop in Arlington, Okoloko wrote.

The stepfather was angry that an adult would use the boys to commit a crime, and, even worse, “that the adult was his son’s baseball coach,” Okoloko wrote.

The boy told investigators that Spady’s son crawled through a vent on the back side of the shop and unlocked the door for his father. Spady, his son and Spady’s nephew then went inside and came out with light fixtures and some other items, according to court documents.

Soderbergh will probably make this after he’s done with Moneyball.

mlb.com: Nationals agree to terms with Drew Storen

The Nationals have agreed to terms with right-hander Drew Storen, their first-round pick of the 2009 First Year Player Draft, on Wednesday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

An official announcement is expected to be made sometime on Wednesday afternoon. 

Many believed that Storen would sign quickly because he has a chance to be in the big leagues this year. His advisor is Brodie Van Wagenen, the same person who represents Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman and left-hander Jack McGeary. The deadline for the Nationals to sign Storen was Aug. 17. 

Rob Neyer: Draft unfair … but lucrative

Look, here’s the way it works: The player (and his agent) can ask for whatever they like, and the teams can offer whatever they like. If the player doesn’t like what he’s being offered, he can delay his professional career for one, two or three years while playing high school, college, or independent baseball. Eventually, though, he’ll again be subject to the draft, and the whims of whichever team chooses to draft him.

Is that fair? No, not particularly. But the system is what it is, and the players and their agents make a great deal of money while working within that system (a system that, by the way, has been collectively bargained by the owners and the players). Scott Boras wonders what Stephen Strasburg would do, if he had been born in Tibet. Well, that’s a cute little rhetorical trick, but if Strasburg had been born in Tibet he probably wouldn’t throw 101 miles an hour and he probably wouldn’t have become a future multimillionaire while pitching for San Diego State.

I’m sorry, but I simply don’t have any tears to spare for a young man who’s soon going to be worth $15 million instead of the $50 million he so obviously deserves.

MSNBC/Boswell: Strasburg’s signing bonus won’t make history

This deal is going to get done at about $15 million, give or take less money than the Nats just ate in Daniel Cabrera’s $2.6 million contract. Chill.

...

“It’s a different type of draft (than the NFL or NBA) because the lists among the 30 baseball teams are very, very different,” said Nationals interim general manager Mike Rizzo, who had a successful relationship with Boras and his clients in his days in Arizona’s front office. “There’s very little consensus.”

What’s the hardest job in sports? It’s not hitting a baseball. It’s figuring out who can hit a baseball. Or throw one. Nobody hits .300 at the scouting game. And that is the central reason that neither Boras-Strasburg, nor any other agent-player tandem, will ever be able to make a convincing argument for awarding a vast contract to an amateur. The odds are too great that it’s wasted money. And, in the case of pitchers, the odds are even worse. Hurlers get hurt far more and return to 100-percent strength much less.

Of all the pitchers ever picked No. 1 overall since 1965, here are the best: Andy Benes, Mike Moore, Floyd Bannister and Tim Belcher, all 150-150 types.

rivals.com: Bailey hoping one pitch doesn’t derail MLB dream

Bailey soon learned he would need ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, also known as Tommy John surgery. Common among major league pitchers, in Bailey’s case it meant replacing a ligament in his right elbow with a tendon from his right wrist. (Ligaments connect bones to bones. Tendons connect muscles to bones.)

Less than a month after going under the knife, Bailey is optimistic that his arm will be better than ever. He is starting to recover his range of motion and is undergoing physical therapy as part of a nine-month healing process.

“I’m taking everything slow,” he said. “I don’t use my arm at all. I don’t eat with it. I don’t do anything with it. I’m just playing it safe with everything.”

Bailey has played catcher since he was 11 or 12 years old. According to his coach, Craig Garner, he averaged more than two pickoffs a game as an eighth-grader starting for the ninth grade and junior varsity teams. His senior season, he batted .569 with six home runs. He also has good speed,

L.A. Times: Nationals will draft Stephen Strasburg; after that, it’s anybody’s guess

Hold-out

Tanner Scheppers, who played at Dana Hills High, was Fresno State’s best pitcher last season until he was injured before the Bulldogs made their national-championship-winning run at the College World Series. After undergoing shoulder surgery, he was a second-round draft choice of the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, he failed to sign and, after choosing to make his comeback with the Independent League St. Paul (Minn.) Saints, is expected to go early in the first round.

No guarantees

Here are the last five No. 1 overall picks and where they are now:

2008: Timothy Beckham, a shortstop from Griffin, Ga., received a $6.15-million signing bonus from the Tampa Bay Rays and went on to hit .246 in rookie ball.

2007: David Price, a left-handed pitcher from Vanderbilt, is in the Rays’ starting rotation.

2006: Luke Hochevar is a starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals.

2005: Justin Upton plays right field for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

2004: Matthew Bush, a shortstop and pitcher, was chosen by the San Diego Padres out of San Diego Mission Bay High. Traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in February, he was released on April 1 after the latest in a series of off-the-field incidents.

Deadspin: Craggs: Why Scott Boras Isn’t As Evil As You Think He Is

Baseball’s draft dates back to 1965; it was designed explicitly to suppress the rising bonuses on the open market. That year, the first pick in the league’s very first draft was Rick Monday, who received a $104,000 signing bonus, or nearly half as much as Rick Reichardt pried out of the Dodgers the year before. In 1982, the first pick was Shawon Dunston, who got $135,000. This is all the more remarkable when you consider that, five years earlier, Marvin Miller delivered free agency to baseball and pulled the game out of the Pleistocene Era.

Free agency may have been a great liberalizing force on the majors, but it did little for the ballplayers riding buses in the Texas League and nothing whatsoever for the amateurs on the verge of professional baseball. Minor leaguers, lacking union representation, have always floated in a weird limbo where their fate is determined by two parties — Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association — who at best have only an oblique interest in their well-being. The result is that the job of ensuring that minor leaguers got fair value for their services fell, for better or worse, to the agents, a wingtipped fleet of César Chávezes. That someone like Scott Boras came along was an inevitable outcome of baseball’s misshapen evolution.

ESPN: Hefty pricetag on Strasburg’s talent

Major League Baseball officials rarely agree with Scott Boras on the appropriate price for his elite draft picks, but they can’t criticize him for a lack of historical perspective.

Boras was new to the business in 1982 when he hooked up with a talented college pitcher named Tim Belcher. That was the same year a promising shortstop from the Dominican Republic made his debut with the Philadelphia Phillies. The kid would eventually become known as “the ageless Julio Franco.”

So when Boras calls San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg “the best amateur pitcher I’ve seen in my 27 years in the draft,” it’s noteworthy despite the obvious self-interest factor. You don’t need a Baseball America subscription to know that Stephen Strasburg is being advised by, well, Scott Boras.

“Brien Taylor was the best high school pitcher I’ve ever seen, and Darren Dreifort was the best college pitcher as far as stuff that I’ve ever seen,” Boras said. “But Stephen Strasburg has better stuff, a better breaking ball and better command. This guy throws 101 [mph] at times, and 98 was the optimum for those [other] guys.”

Strasburg’s talent is so striking, says Boras, that franchises with no prayer of drafting him are watching him pitch just for the experience.

“Most of the scouting directors are younger than me, but the ones who have been around are saying the same thing: ‘Oh my God, this is something special,’” said the 56-year-old Boras. “They’re sending scouts to watch him pitch when they know they can’t draft him, just so they can see him and use him as the ceiling.”

ESPN: Sources: Braves eyeing Penny

Atlanta is one of the teams in conversation with the Boston Red Sox about veteran right-hander Brad Penny, according to sources, at a time when the Red Sox have been doing their own research on Braves right fielder Jeff Francoeur.

Caple: Brief history of the ceremonial first pitch

Oh, I know. It’s fun to ridicule Carl Lewis, Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory, Mariah Carey and anyone else you have seen deliver an embarrassing ceremonial first pitch. Having covered baseball for almost a quarter-century, I’ve seen a full range of first pitches. I’ve seen Homer Simpson, RoboCop, Ronald McDonald, Mr. Piggly Wiggly and Charlie Brown show off their arms, and they all were better than Lewis. I’ve seen George W. Bush (inspiring) and Barack Obama (not quite so memorable) give it a try, along with Michael Jordan (good arm) and Brandon Roy (weak enough to make you wonder whether he has ever played a sport other than basketball). While I occasionally wind up laughing at some efforts, I shouldn’t, because it isn’t easy.

Believe me, I know. I once threw out the first pitch before a Twins game. And were it not for former infielder Jeff Reboulet, I would have endured the same humiliation as did Lewis, Cincinnati’s mayor and so many others who found themselves on the field with a baseball in their hand, thousands of fans staring at them and home plate looking much farther away than it ever does from the stands.

It is at this point that many people ask themselves, “Why me?”

For that matter, why anyone? The first pitch has been a baseball tradition since President William Howard Taft first performed the honors in 1910, and dammit, someone has to do it. Kevin Martinez is vice president of marketing for the Mariners, and among his duties, he oversees the first pitch. “The person throwing the first pitch,” he says, “is basically a national celebrity or a local celebrity, or someone of note in the community who has made a difference, like a teacher of the year.”

Or, when you’re really desperate, a sportswriter.

Okay, has anyone here ever thrown out a first pitch?

ESPN: Sorry, but this slot machine is broken

Well, Stephen Strasburg will be happy to serve as a one-man sport-changing earthquake. And our prediction is, that’s exactly what he’ll become.

Once he finishes collecting whatever preposterous bonus the Washington Nationals eventually give him, the landscape will be different. And the shock waves should drive the baseball draft toward a place it should have gone years ago.

Toward a cap on draft-pick bonuses.

Toward some sort of formal slotting system that predetermines how much money top draft choices will collect.

And/or, at the very least, toward a concept too many people have long been afraid of—trading draft picks.

“It’s time for us to be like every other sport,” said an official of one club who was nervous about having his name revealed. “One, we should be able to trade picks like all the other sports do. It would create more excitement around our draft. And if you’re the Nationals and you don’t want to spend $50 million, this is a guy you could trade and get four great players back and rebuild your franchise.

SI: Baseball’s Lebron

When Matt Wieters hits a home run, its after he asks permission from Bryce Harper.

So good is Harper, and so bleak the prospect of his spending two more years with high school pitchers who can’t (and won’t) throw their sloppy 80-mph fastballs over the plate to him, that his parents—Ron, a steelworker, and Sheri, a paralegal—are looking for ways to make their son eligible for the draft next year rather than in 2011. One of their advisers is agent Scott Boras, who has a well-earned reputation for maximizing dollars and exploiting loopholes. “I heard one of the things they’re considering is taking him to the Dominican Republic to make him a free agent,” says one AL executive.

“No,” Sheri says. “We are not taking our son out of the country.”

What the Harpers are considering, however, is having Bryce earn a GED credential this summer and enroll in a junior college this fall, which would expose him to more challenging baseball competition as well as make him eligible for next June’s draft, in which he would likely be the first pick in the country. Under that scenario, assuming the Nationals keep losing games at something close to their current rate (they have the worst record in baseball, and it isn’t even close), Washington could wind up with Strasburg and Harper in the next 12 months—the baseball equivalent of the Cavaliers getting James and Dwight Howard in consecutive NBA drafts. Of course, in both cases the Nationals would have to negotiate with Boras, who represents Strasburg too. A combined outlay in the neighborhood of $100 million is entirely possible. Boras, according to league sources, will use the six-year, $52 million deal he negotiated with the Red Sox for Daisuke Matsuzaka in December 2006 as the benchmark for a Strasburg deal.

SoccerLens: The 15 Greatest Sports Cheats of All Time

There are three baseball entries in the list.  Before you look at it, see if you can name the three.  One of them is a decent surprise, when you’re talking about the biggest cheaters ever.  I wouldn’t expect his name to come up for the average person.

7. 1919 Black Sox

The 1919 Black Sox scandal is probably the most famous example of athletes throwing a contest of all time. The 1919 World Series pitted the heavily favored Chicaco White Sox against the Cincinnati Reds. Rumors of the series being fixes were rampant even before things got underway, which caused an influx of money to come in betting for the Reds. The rumors were true, and eight members of the White Sox conspired to throw the series, led by first baseman Arnold “Chick” Gandil. All eight players were eventually banned for life, which had the effect of making Shoeless Joe Jackson, one of the greatest players in baseball history, ineligible for the Hall of Fame.

Somewhat surprising fact: The players were motivated to throw the series in part because they hated White Sox owner Charles Comiskey, a legendarily cheap SOB made their players pay for their own laundry, inevitably causing dirty uniforms and the nickname of “Black Sox” which existed well before the throwing of the World Series. So the next time you feel compelled to complain about escalating athlete salaries remember that they are helping to ensure games are fair and on the level, since there’s no monetary motivation to take a fall.

That one’s the gimme.  I don’t know if that really counts as ‘cheating’, per se, I think the word has an implication that you’re trying to do better, but whatever.  That said, doesn’t that have to be higher than #7?  And off-topic, where’s the Russian Olympic basketball team?

L.A. Times: If it’s good for baseball, maybe it’s good for the budget debate

From Sacramento—Here’s an idea from out of left field for how to finally end California’s losing streak with state budgets. It is called “baseball arbitration.”

Many suggestions for reforming Sacramento’s embarrassing budget process are being batted around, but none is as wild as this one.

“Whatever you call this idea, please don’t call it ‘reform,’ “ requests the author, veteran Democratic political consultant Richie Ross, who thinks that many so-called reforms—starting with campaign finance—have mucked up Sacramento. He’s right.

Ross has been a Sacramento political player for 35 years—he was Assembly Speaker Willie Brown’s chief of staff—and is a lifelong, rabid baseball fan. He calls his idea simply “baseball arbitration.”

It’s patterned after major league baseball’s salary arbitration rule—a rule, incidentally, saved by then-U.S. District Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama’s new Supreme Court nominee, when she issued an injunction ending a long players’ strike in 1995.

Under the rule, certain players are eligible for salary arbitration if they and their team bosses cannot agree on a contract. Each side submits an offer and the arbitrator chooses the one he considers the most fair. There’s no middle ground.

Ross thinks California should adopt an arbitration rule for budgeting. Democrats and Republicans shouldn’t even try to compromise, he says. “Compromise is just another word for bartering.”