Why do the Carlos Correa rumors always come out late at night? What kind of hours does Scott Boras keep? I guess when you’re him you probably sleep pretty late. Or is he like Rob Lowe’s character in “Thank You For Smoking,” where he only sleeps on Sundays?
It’s eyebrow-raising that in the midst of everyone agog at Georgia’s fustigation of TCU in the national championship game that reports appeared to tell us that the Minnesota Twins and Correa have talks that are accelerating. This would make it the first thing about the entire Correa saga that has ever accelerated. Last night it was Ken Rosenthal, which came a few days after Jon Heyman emerged from the whack-a-mole where he resides to do the same.
This is while there’s been no statement from Correa or the New York Mets or anyone close to them that the deal between those two parties is officially off. Smells a little like someone, maybe that guy who apparently never sleeps, trying to push the Mets into something, doesn’t it? Not that Boras has ever used Heyman like a pill-cutter before or anything.
This would be the only leverage that Boras and Correa would have over the Mets in whatever dispute/argument/difference of opinion/fish-slapping game they’re playing over Correa’s physical. After this much time, it’s clear the Mets would like to alter the deal, much like the Giants would have if given the chance before the Mets swung in on a chandelier to give him more money.
But what now? Are the Twins offering the same long-term deal? Are they not even going to do a physical, using the highly technical medical procedure of covering up the bad spot of the X-rays or MRIs with their thumb and thus seeing a perfectly healthy limb? Or perhaps they think the frigid Minneapolis Aprils and Mays will preserve it longer.
It’s hard to think that the Twins’ medical team wouldn’t find the same things that the Giants and Mets have. But if Correa were resigning himself to a shorter-term deal that teams are more comfortable betting his leg won’t turn to wet cardboard during, shouldn’t there be more teams than the Twins involved? While the rest of the shortstop market has settled, it’s not like Boras couldn’t find more teams to connect Correa too. The Dodgers are still claiming they’ll start Gavin Lux all year. The Mariners could find the cash, and will also have a vacancy at third in a couple of seasons when Correa might have to shift off of short, leg attached or not. So why just the Twins? What have they cooked up?
Or maybe, if you’re the type that sees fishiness in everything, it’s the idea that Minnesota — seen as the smallest of the small and the Midwest-iest of the Midwest by guys like Heyman and Mets fans — stepping in where the Mets won’t, should be like swallowing strychnine to Steve Cohen. It’s just believable enough because Correa played there last year. Try and start the Royals as a rumor and you’ll get laughed out of the room. But the Twins? Boras, it could be argued, is trying to touch a nerve through Heyman. Y’know, if you see the world that way.
But someone like Boras knows all the angles, doesn’t he?
NWSL shoot some fish in a barrel
The NSWL announced that they were taking punitive action on the individuals and clubs that were prominent in both the Yates Report and the NWSLPA version. Rory Dames, Paul Riley, Christy Holly, and Richie Burke have been banned for life from the league.
While that sounds good, and is certainly necessary, it’s not like any of these individuals would have gotten jobs again in the league. If any club were to take leave of their senses and try to hire any of these yutzes, the pushback from their fans and players would have been gargantuan. This is merely putting an underline on it, though being thorough isn’t out of order.
More interesting is that the Chicago Red Stars were fined $1.5 million and the Portland Thorns $1 million for their inaction in some cases, or their continued dismissal of their coaches’ offenses, or their active covering it up. That may not sound like a ton, but keep in mind the salary cap (with exceptions) for the 2022 season was $1.1 million. Imagine if MLB or the NFL fined one of its teams some $230 million for some offense. That might be money they would actually notice. You can be sure the Thorns and Red Stars do.
Finally, let’s go to Scotland
“Jeezy creeps, man” pretty much sums up anyone’s and everyone’s emotion, and watching some jerkass waste a freekick your team needs to make the most of. You don’t always need swear words, kids. Like they say, the best pitch in the game is a good fastball.