Sumthin' Diff'rent

So a healthy blog makes for a more interesting world, so here's my attempt at contributing. I don't have anything earth-shattering, but I saw something that I thought was interesting and wanted to share with the group. Maybe this will be a regular column for the blog. Or maybe it's just filler space. Who knows.

Anyway, I had the #31 pick in the amateur draft this season. Obviously you don't expect a star at that spot, so I was perfectly content to land this pitcher:

Gabe Fraser Monterrey Cervezas Age: 21 B/T: R/R Born: Coamo, PR Position(s): P (SP4) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

My scouting report indicated that Gabe, "May sign if the deal is right. If not, he'll head back to college for his senior season."



After offering slot money, I received this standard response: "Your offer has my client's attention, but Gabe is considering returning to college for another season. We'll contact you if things change. Until then, we'll consider the offer on the table."

I figured he'd come back with a slightly higher demand, then sign. I was surprised when the next message was this: "Bad news, gentlemen. Gabe has decided to forego baseball this season and is exploring other options. Keep him in mind in the future, though; you never know what might happen."

So, I figured I'd missed out on my first round pick. Oh well, I met the requirements for Type D compensation, so it wasn't a big deal. But I know I've read somewhere in the forums to try submitting an offer again. Plus, he said you never know. It couldn't hurt, right?

At this point, I wish I'd documented the negotiation process. I submitted another offer to Gabe, but I can't remember if I raised my offer. I got the standard "Your offer has my client's attention, but Gabe is considering returning to college blah, blah, blah.."

To my surprise, this is the response I got a couple days later: "Gabe has decided he may be interested in signing a baseball contract afterall. However, he's raised his demands a small fraction. If you're truly interested in adding him to your organization, we're sure you can find the additional money."

At this point I got really stupid. I don't even remember what his demands were, but I figured that I only have $4 mil left, so I might as well just dump it all on the guy and see what happens. That's what I did and finally received this message: "My client has agreed to your offer. Gabe is excited to begin his career as a Cervezas."

Now, let's face it, I landed a back of the rotation pitcher for $4 mil. I'm certainly not bragging. However, I feel like Gabe is better than any player my $4 mil would have probably landed in the IFA market, so it's still money well spent. More than anything, I just thought it was odd. I figured after having my offer rejected it was a lost cause.

So, let it be a lesson learned or just a boring story: Don't believe a thing these lying agents tell you. Especially that jerk Rex Brantley.