Madson's Greedy Agent Can Find Him Work Elsewhere, We Got Papelbon!!!

Ryan Madson had one good year as a closer.  That's right, just one!  Yet he shows up with his scumbag pig of an agent Scott Boras thinking he's some kind of superstar looking for a mega-contract.  I'm sure Boras will get the String Bean his big money, but he's not gonna get it in Philly.  Frankly, I'm ok with that!

Ryan Madson must think highly of himself.  He wants to be a prick and get way more money than he's worth.  Why else do you hire Scott Boras?  Agents like Boras and Drew Rosenhaus are pigs.  They get their clients big contracts, contracts that far exceed the value of the talent.  A Prime example is Jayson Werth, also a Boras client.  Boras got Werth all the money, way more than he's imaginably worth.  Boras secured Werth a 7-year/$126-million contract.  That's $18-million/year until he's 38-years old.  Boras got Werth a mammoth contract, the Nationals got a .232 hitter, and Werth gets to play for a team that draws less fans than double-A teams.  

The Phillies rarely deal with players represented by Boras or Rosenhaus.  There is good reason for this.  We are all well aware of the Werth situation.  Remember the catastrophe Rosenhaus caused with Terrell Owens, convincing him to hold out mid-season?  Remember J.D. Drew?  It was Scott Boras that had Drew hold out unless the Phils paid the unproven rookie $10-million.  

It is true that these agents will secure their clients lucrative deals.  It is certainly understandable that a player wants to get paid top dollar.  The bottom line, however, is that you don't want guys represented like that in the organization.  They are generally overpaid and tend to cause headaches.  They're just not worth it.  I would much rather have "team" players than "me" players!    

Enter Papelbon:  Instead of paying Ryan Madson $11 million a year, they will get Papelbon for $12.5 million.  Boras almost sold the Phillies on Madson.  He almost convinced them that Madson's one season as a successful closer was worthy of a $44 million contract.  I'm not going to say he will not perform, he very well may.  He could be worth every penny of it.  But we're really not sure of that.  Madson has struggled in the closer role in the past, and finally had a breakout season.  Does that mean he's the real deal, or did he just have a good year?  Only time will tell, but a $44 million contract is a huge risk under those circumstances.

Papelbon on the other hand is worth the money.  He has proven he is worth the money.  He didn't hit the free agency market this post-season with a Drew Rosenhaus or Scott Boras looking to land him a ginormous contract because he had a good year last season.  He ended up getting a solid deal because he's a 6-year proven closer!