It could happen this year.
Given what's looming this offseason - and especially in 2008 - this is the time for the Orioles to make the unimaginable occur.
Tomorrow, they should take a Scott Boras client with the fifth pick in the amateur draft, and then watch pigs fly around Camden Yards.
It has been one of those unspoken truisms around here. The Orioles - like some other teams - do their best to avoid Boras, baseball's most formidable agent, even though the scars from the contentious Ben McDonald negotiations in 1989 have faded. Boras has had several Orioles clients since then (such as Charles Johnson, Rodrigo Lopez and Corey Patterson), but most have come from other organizations or switched to him after their initial Orioles contract.
Know this: There has never been a mandate from club owner Peter Angelos, according to several team officials. The owner has never told his baseball people, "Stay away from Boras."
Yet we all understand it's a terrible fit. A Britney Spears marriage has a better chance at perpetual bliss than a Boras-Angelos union.
Both men are supremely competitive, nail-tough negotiators who refuse to give in. And that doesn't work well in major league baseball. Angelos, who built his fortune representing Everyman against life's injustices, isn't fond of agents in general. To him, they're more carnival barkers than honorable barristers. He'd never let one bully him.
Boras, though, usually gets what he wants. And more. His clients eschew hometown discounts for the incredibly lucrative deals he fosters. Consequently, he attracts the most talented clientele each year.
This amateur class is no different. Boras advises seven of Baseball America's top 20 draft-eligible prospects in tomorrow's draft. That includes the best college bat, two of the three highest-ranked high school pitchers and the top college right-hander.
When they'll be selected, however, is anyone's guess. Boras' clients have a tendency to free-fall, yet, ultimately, get huge paydays when they land.
At No. 5, the Orioles might have their pick of the Boras litter if others pass on his clients because of signability fears. The Orioles most covet Georgia Tech catcher Matt Wieters, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound switch-hitter with perhaps the best bat in the draft. His defense and rocket arm are already ready for the major leagues, one scout said.
