When Schuerholz Speaks, Agents Should Listen

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When Schuerholz Speaks, Agents Should Listen

By: mbohn

Earlier this week it looked like Atlanta had signed former Brave Rafael Furcal to a three year deal. Speculation immediately turned to whether or not the Braves would trade either Yunel Escobar (the current Braves SS) or Kelly Johnson (the current Braves two bagger) for help in the rotation. Meanwhile, Furcal and his agents, Paul Kinzer and Arn Tellem of Wasserman Media Group, had other ideas. Not only did they break their verbal agreement with the Braves, but they used the term sheet the Braves faxed them as a negotiating tool with the Dodgers, whom Furcal wound up signing with.
Frank Wren was obviously not happy, and when Big John got wind of all of the dealings he picked up the phone and called Tellem. Oh what I would have given to listen in on that conversation. Basically, Schuerholz told Tellem that Wasserman Media Group should not bother contacting the Braves again, about any of their clients. Ever.
In return, Arn Tellem released a seven point statement from Wasserman. The best part is point number seven, in which he basically threatens the Braves and tries to pwn them:
7. If it serves our clients we will continue to present opportunities to theBraves, which in accordance with the rules governing Major League Baseball, the Braves must entertain. We hope that once emotions have subsided, the Braves will act in a manner consistent with not only their obligations under the Collective Bargaining Agreement and The National Labor Relations Act, but also the best interests of the franchise. In short, we would not want this incident to color their better judgment.
What Tellem is ignoring is the fact that not only are Schuerholz and Wren pissed about this, but other GMs are taking notice. Yahoo Sports’ Tim Brown said that Yahoo spoke with “several GMs and agents” who said that “the term sheet constitutes a handshake agreement, and they couldn’t recall a situation when such an agreement was broken.” ESPN’s Steve Phillips has stated that he can not recall any time when a term sheet was not seen as an agreement either. Phillips would know, as he is a former GM himself.
Bottom line is Wasserman Media Group acted unethically and now they think they can strong arm the Braves in the future. Good luck with that, Mr. Tellem, and thank you in advance for giving me an easy out on my next DBoTW. In the end, nothing will come of this, and I would think that eventually Wren will deal with Wasserman again, but not with either Tellem or Kinzer, who at this point are seen as nothing more than a waste of skin.
Also, check out Beenzie’s fan post on Talking Chop. He nails it.

Fri, Dec 19, 2008 at 2:40 PM
Categories: MLB, MLB Rumors

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