I love the teams that just wont draft Boras clients. The business of sports, by nature, is competitive, so it is rare to see someone in sports wave a pre-emptive white flag like that. To me, it is just an acceptance that the GM can not hold his own in a negotiation with Boras. So much so that they cant even try. Well it didnt work out so well for the 2004 Padres who refused to draft Boras clients Stephen Drew, Jered Weaver or Justin Verlander. Nope - they thought it was in their interest to draft the next best player who was not represented by Scott Boras, who was Matt Bush. Sign On San Diego provides a nice summary of how that worked out:
Bush, meantime, never advanced past Single-A Lake Elsinore as a shortstop – hitting .219 over parts of his first four seasons in the Padres system. Seven appearances after the Padres converted him into a relief pitcher in 2007, Bush blew out his elbow and had Tommy John surgery.
First-pick busts are as old as the draft.
But Bush became an embarrassment more for his off-the-field behavior than his results as a player. Two weeks after signing with the Padres, Bush was making headlines for being busted for assault and trespassing at a nightspot near the Padres training facility in Peoria, Ariz. He was 18 at the time.
The dam burst Wednesday when Bush allegedly was involved in a drunken assault at Granite Hills High. According to a witness, Bush was drunk, threw a golf club, picked up one freshman lacrosse player at the school and hit another one.
Bush also allegedly yelled: “I'm Matt (expletive) Bush!” and “(expletive) East County!” Bush then allegedly jumped into his Mercedes-Benz and drove over a curb while leaving the campus.
El Cajon police contacted the Padres the next morning trying to locate Bush, but he had failed to appear at Petco Park for a scheduled workout. Later that day, Bush was designated for assignment.
“Matt Bush's days with the Padres are essentially over,” Padres General Manager Kevin Towers said.
Oops.
Ok, that brings us to Stephen Strasburgh. Strasburg is the consensus top player available in the 2009 amateur draft. The Washington Nationals have the top pick and Strasburg is being advised by Scott Boras.
And Strasburg's legend is growing. Check out this article from the Washington Post:
"We've seen him as high as 101 miles per hour," said one of the Nationals' top scouts, Kris Kline.
"I've even heard 103," Strasburg's pitching coach, Rusty Filter, said. "I don't want to be quoted on that, but others have told me."
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