Darek Braunecker has left the building
ByVia Jerry Crasnick, Cliff Lee’s agent Darek Braunecker has left the winter meetings, meaning there will be no deal made here. It’s unclear if the Yankees were even able to make their reported six-year offer today. I have to say, this Braunecker character is really starting to get on my nerves, and I’m not even doing business with him. What’s so hard about soliciting offers worth hundreds of millions of dollars on your client’s behalf and not playing hard to get? He’s going to end up costing Lee money with his crap.
Update (3:35 p.m.): Braunecker’s hold-up is also going to leave the Yanks in flux for now. Ken Davidoff says that the Yanks are “unlikely to commit more payroll” to other roster areas until the Lee situation is resolved, and he notes that Andy Pettitte will “probably stay undecided” about pitching in 2011 until Lee signs. The waiting is the hardest part.
Update (4:45 p.m.): Joel Sherman confirms that the Yankees did not make an official offer while Braunecker was here. Jack Curry says that Lee’s agent is aware of what the Yanks are willing to spend.
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Amateur hour. There’s only one Scott Boras.
yea seriously this b.s
Also supposedly said one team that is not the rangers was eliminated (ESPN Dallas)? Sounds like he’s trying really hard to get the Yanks to up their bid with no other bids that are higher.
up what bid?
This guy is a real douche.
uberdouche
Fuck this guy.
I thought Scott Boras was an asshole but this guy just passed him
I can’t believe I’m starting to appreciate Boras.
Make this tool a final offer.
Can we rule out that he is on his way to meet with Lee to present the offers and make a decision?
Nope, its much easier to overreact. Rabble rabble rabble…..
harrumph harrumph harrumph…
I know violence isn’t the answer for everything, but can someone out there throw a smelly burlap sack over his head and beat him with sacks of rotten oranges soaked in pee?
Not saying this because I’m impatient with the courtship of Lee, but this Braunecker dude is coming off as a total ass.
Maybe…..just maybe he is taking the offers to Cliff Lee???? Come on, people. Think about it. Why would he leave the winter meetings??? You really think he just folded his arms, and said I’m leaving???
Um, yes.
Whatever he’s doing is atypical obviously, or else the media wouldn’t take note.
Not at all true. It’s the middle of the offseason, there’s not a lot going on, and Lee is the biggest name on the market. If Braunecker farts in an elevator, there will be a story talking about how its a sign that Lee is trying to get more money.
In hindsight, you’re totally right.
…Can’t he just call Lee about the offers? Does he really need to physically take a piece of paper with numbers written on them to Lee?
Isn’t Lee out hunting? So now dude has to put on Mossy Oak and drive out to a camp somewhere in the middle of nowhere, and they’ll probably make him put deer urine on his boots and go hit the stand with them tomorrow morning.
phone? text? email? fax? letter? messenger pigeons?
would seem like there are other options that physically leaving…
Don’t forget telegraphs and smoke signals!
not if he believes there is an offer that is worth accepting and want to get the whole family involved to make the final decision, besides face-to-face meetings are more productive and quicker
yeah seriously chill already. he’s trying to make a megadeal happen, saying yes to the yankees immediately is not in his best interest
I kind of agree but remember this IS the guy who at one point actually claimed “he had no reason to attend the winter meetings” so he flat out wasn’t going to.
Why cant he just make a phone call to Lee?
lol exactly every other report other than this one says the yankees made their offer before he left and it sounds like he left right after the yankees gave their offer meaning he is taking it to Lee and his family, a little common sense here goes a long way lol
I hope Lee falls on his left arm this afternoon and
…is perfectly fine?
And…? The suspense is killing me!
then the Yankees will either be inferior to the competition or have to gut the farm for a frontline starter?
and what?
We need closure to this anecdote!
What kman posted is actually an incomplete version of the little known final stanza to Emily Dickinson’s “I felt a funeral in my brain.” There is no conclusion to the final “and -” because it is meant to signify the unknown fear that lurks underneath every Yankee fan’s rational mind. Here’s the complete version:
Dude…I literally felt that. You moved me.
If I may, though, one *slight* criticism…it didn’t rhyme. just sayin…
IETC
Please stop making comments that the real “K-Man” would find idiotic.
Dear Cliff Lee,
If this was the strategy you and your agent agreed to prior to the Winter Meetings, please be aware that you are pissing everybody off and creating no good will the the fans of your new team. If this is a strategy you agent has decided upon without your consent, Fire him!!
Sincerely,
Baseball fans everywhere
You will have forgotten about all of this come New Years. What was that about Jeter again?
I can’t remember …
I think he has the Yankees offer and is going back to Lee for a final decision.
i hope so
That’s what I’m thinking. Makes the most sense outside of some sort of family emergency.
Either that or he just went to the nearest Ponderosa for the early bird special.
This is most likely, seeing as all this guy does is eat on the job in a casual fashion.
The Sizzler on I-Drive has a steak + buffet for $9.99!
the best news we can get now is that the CASHman is going with him…ona deer hunting trip to meet cliff lee. But I agree I am starting to appreciate Boras
If cashman goes on a hunting trip with this dipshit I bet he pulls a cheney on him just for making him wait like hes the GM of the freakin royals.
If Pettitte really is waiting to announce his decision after Lee signs that would lead me to belive he is retiring, because if he is going to announcing his return he should do it before Lee’s decision as that would help the Yankees.
it is best for yankee negotiations if Andy keeps quiet
Not if he’s coming back. If Andy returns they become less desperate for Lee and his agent knows that. It’s only best to keep quiet if Andy is retiring.
I don’t know how much that really helps the Yankees in negotiations. The Yankees need Cliff Lee with or without Andy Pettitte. The last thing the Yanks need to do is try and get cute.
of course, we all know that, so surely Lee knows Pettitte is retiring.
Knowing that SURELY I can’t drink from the cup that is front of YOU!
Don’t call me Shirley.
You fell prey to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is: never get in a land war in Asia.
Or because if the Yankees miss out on Lee Cashman is going to get on his knees, throw him millions and BEG Pettitte to come back.
or maybe he just left to drop a duece
*deuce
A curveball?
A knuckler.
HAHAHAHA
This makes no sense but for some reason I laughed uncontrollably.
A knuckle-curve… Mussina-style.
The next piece in this process is for BCASH to get on a flight headed to Arkansas, with contract in hand, and seal the deal. I give it 24 hrs. The negotiations are over…Cliff Lee has a new team. That’s why his agent high-tailed it out of there. Lee is on some deer hunting expedition. Not for too much longer though.
Since we have absolutely NO IDEA what is going on behind the scenes, let me draw up a scenario for us because it’s fun to think about. Lets say the Yankees know Andy is retiring, and they know they can afford Cliff and Crawford…
The Yanks should move on to Crawford and lock him up for 18×8. Then, pretend they’re out of the Lee sweepstakes and start spreading trade rumors about ZG so hinder the market for Lee. This way his price may drop, and they can swoop in at the last second and nab him with the money they have budgeted anyways.
THEN, Andy gets to excited, he re-upps for the same 5.5M he did in ’09 because he KNOWS he’s getting a ring if he does so.
/inmydreams’d
18×8 for Carl Crawford? Why in god’s name would you pay a left fielder who hits for moderate to little power more than Matt Holliday (the much better player) got? I hope the Yanks aren’t serious about little cc.
John Kruk ripped him on ESPN earlier. The Kruker said that if he was Cliff Lee he’d fire his agent and hire someone who would actually start taking offers.
Even though I usually disagree with everything he says, I agree with Kruk 100% on this one.
Kruk said that? Wow.
So is he taking offers or only taking imaginary offers he made up that involve 10 year/ 1.6 billion dollar contracts.
Are you sure it was John Kruk and not some other dude wearing a fat suit?
There is no mistaking the Kruk.
no no, its possible. did you count the neck rolls? that’s truly the distinguishing feature. if there aren’t three exactly, its a fake.
This is true. I don’t think there’s anyway anyone else, fat suit or not, could truly capture his essence.
This guy is really getting annoying. His client is cliff lee, not cy young. Get over yourself.
As much as the Yankees plan D would suck, how awesome would it be for Cashman to just say “We’re done trying to negotiate you.” and just leave?
Sticking it to Braunecker would be awesome but, Lee is pretty much Plan A, B and C for the Yankees.
Yankees plan B sounds like it could be to sign Crawford and then trade Swisher for pitching. The OF defense would be spectacular!
Crawford-Gardner-Granderson – R.I.P., fly balls.
Do you think that outfield comradery would spill over into over areas of life and they would just make a legendary triple threat to all road beef? That much speed and agility could a serious hazard behind closed doors.
@Ultimate913 – the answer to your hypothetical question of “how awesome that situation would be” is zero. Zero awesome.
@Andrew Laetus – what??
Elaborate on pitching, because just saying that Swish is going to land a pitcher doesnt mean it will. What pitcher? What team? We need Cliff Lee and dont need crawford, thats it
Oy vey.
+1. But only 1.
Between Jeter’s negotiations, Andy Pettite retirement possibility, and now this dragging out the offseason has been painful.
Note to self: Next year, don’t start reading about post-season negotiations until oh, say, the Solstice on December 21st. That way at least the days will start getting longer and happiness over that can counteract any disappointment.
We’re all gonna laugh at this shit when Jeter, Lee, and Pettitte are holding up the Commissioner’s Trophy together
seriously, everyone relax…jesus. this is how it goes. what is it everyone’s first rodeo? next you’ll be sending his kids death threats for chrissakes
I plan on eating his children then fading into Bolivia.
-Tyson’d
If Cliff Lee is not signed by anyone in the next ten minutes, I’ll
kill this bunny and to show that I’m serious, he’s got five minutes.
Lee was hunting or still is hunting, I don’t think he cares about the bunny wabbit.
just to show you how serious he is, he’s only giving you 2.5 minutes.
I actually like this guy. Not taking offers just yet! This is a bold move. A very bold move. It may or may not pay off. I respect the guy.
I don’t understand how waiting to take offers helps Lee’s cause. Can you explain what you think it does for him? (this is a serious question, no sarcasm intended)
it has nothing to do with lee, it’s all for himself. raise your hand if you knew/cared who Darek Braunecker was a month and a half ago.
This.
It must be about marketing Darek-lic to sign other players.
He can justify it by saying that the longer the MSM talks about Lee, the better off his client is…plus, Lee can’t take the heat because the poor guy is only on a hunting trip with his buddies.
If Cashman & others move on, then they weren’t all that committed to what’s best for Mr & Mrs Lee.
If it is true that they’re not taking offers, and not just what is being reported to the media, I think the idea is that you’re trying to get teams to bid against the unknown. Just as an example, if a team sets the market at 5/125, then that’s the point that everyone will work with. Whereas, I believe the thought process is that if you have teams essentially bidding in vacuum, then they’re likely to panic and start much higher than they normally would. In other words, it could be that they have a sense that the market actually isn’t that big for Lee at the expected price point, they know who is going to offer what, but by keeping offers off the table they’re hoping that one team will crack and do something stupid like offer 8-years just to get the negotiations started.
I get what your saying here, but the problem I have with it is most teams are not going to put their final/best offer down right off the bat…and they definitely won’t do it if they haven’t heard of a solid offer being put in.
I guess its all part of the (business) game.
Yeah, I don’t know if it will work, but it does seem to me like there’s some “game theory” behind this thinking.
a blind (or sealed) auction verus open cry. by starting the process as sealed he then gets to transition to open cry at the highest point possible, ensuring that it can only go up from there.
as somebody who still wants to see another catcher signed, i still throw the douche flag.
Well the Yanks aren’t the best in terms of not paying way more than anyone else, as can be seen with A-Rod, Jeter, and CC
What you described is also how the free agent bidding process is supposed to go. The teams have been flirting with collusion for the past decade or so. They have been disclosing their offers through the press to avoid legal trouble, but it’s the same result.
I think as other signing options come off the board, Lee becomes the only option, and others become more irrational in trying to sign him.
Real offers can be verified, fake offers can’t.
And, Lee will be the last, most hottest girl, standing at the end of the dance. Everyone will be tripping over themselves to take her home.
Thank you. This was the first comment that wasn’t vitriolic against this guy for what he’s doing. Cliff Lee was traded a bunch of times because he refused to sign long term, team friendly deals and he wanted to test the free agent market. This guy is just doing exactly what his client is asking him to. Cliff Lee wants the biggest possible payday he can get. Good for him. I hope he shoots for the moon and gets it.
He’s not a bad guy because he won’t sign for a penny less than he can get.
Once he gets here to Arkansas, I’ll hunt him down like a deer for making all my Yankees fans wait. He thinks that he’s dealing with the most hated Red Soxs. By the way I’m ready to beat them, get ready Adrian!!!
Maybe he’s going to AK to talk with Lee and bring him to Orlando.
So why didn’t Lee just fly to Orlando then…
Cause his moose hunt is in Alaska?
Afraid to fly without an escort?
Nice. They treat Jeter like a douche and chase after Lee like a bitch in heat… oh, wait… that’s what they’ve always done.
Crap, total and utter crap. This guy is really pissing me off.
Maybe hes flying to Arkansas to meet with Cliff Lee and den fly to New York for a press conference tomorrow :p
fuck this guy.
With what?
Cliff lee’s agent possibly has all the offer’s and has no reason to be at the winter meetings anymore, so he left to meet with cliff in person eather than calling him up and making the decisions! Good thought.
May be he’s frustrated, that no ones’ going for his “7 year offer” rumors and every possible team comes out saying “it wasn’t me”.
So he ended up leaving the winter meetings crying like a little girl…
Presumably this is the case. The decision may already be made. I don’t even care any more. He’ll miss a season injured and have one of his worst career seasons for sure if we sign him. You hoid it here foist.
Cool story, bro.
Always good for a chuckle, from me at least.
Rumor was met with Yanks last night, met with Rangers this morning, now left the building. One would think decision time is coming but who knows.
Maybe some GM Facebooked Braunecker a number and he got mixed up at who he was supposed to post something nice about in his status update.
All is fair in love and contact negotiations. If the Yanks sign this guy, you’ll have forgotten about all of this come New Years. If someone else does, we’ll have 100 better reasons to hate him come the season.
I say we reduce the offer to 5 years at 25mil per with a team option for a 6th. If you want more money to play for a loser
can’t call the Ragnars losers, they went farther than the Yanks did…
Ragnars sounds like a group of Middle-Ages Viking-Raiders
….who were great hunters, I’m sure. Lee to the Ragnars for seven years, 160 tons of raw boar.
Ragnars lead the way…
Anyone else wish Lee would pull an A-Rod? No not do PEDS and get caught cheating on his wife with a Canadian stripper, but just taking over negotiations and start working towards signing a new deal already.
No. If Lee does what A-Rod did he’ll end up getting a 10/$225 million deal.
yes I know that was all Hank’s doing, not A-Rod’s.
Just wondering but it was reported that Texas checked in with Crawford this morning. Was that before or after meeting with Braunecker? After could be a sign they informed of Yanks offer and know they can’t match. Or could be that Ryan just follows whatever Cash does.
This might be a ricochet from Cashman meeting with Crawford or his reps last night. If Texas realizes that its hand is beaten on the board, they have to move to Plan B rapidly. And if Texas moves to Plan B, Braunecker loses a lot of leverage.
I’ll be ready with my consoling comments if we don’t get him.
He couldn’t win a World Series! He lost 2 of the 5 games to the Giants! 12-9 WL record!
Overrated
If the Yankees pass on Lee and sign Crawford instead, how much money do you think Lee loses from this drawn out process.
The Yankees aren’t going to do that. They’d be eschewing a need area in favor of a luxury.
Braunecker has now informed ESPN that, due to John Kruk’s comments, he will no longer be communicating with them.
LMAO
Not sure if this is a joke, but now I’m curious. Did Kruk say something, if so what?
They (Kruk and Ravech) stated it on Baseball Tonight Hot Stove edition.
Truth hurts.
“Brewers asst GM Gord Ash on reports that they might be mystery team in on Cliff Lee: “It’s such a mystery, we don’t know about it.”
http://twitter.com/Haudricourt.....0739949568
ha ha ha
Heh, sounds like other folks annoyed at Braunecker
All this hooplah for no reason. Yankees will sign Cliff because they will pay him the most money. this is just to generate some drama and as its been said on this board, the agent is doing some brand marketing for himself. Lee is a Yankee one way or another. Does anyone really, truly doubt that?
Braunecker seems like a good agent when he’s not setting the market. However, when he’s setting the market…my god he fucking sucks. Though, I guess he wants Cliff to be there when the Yankees make their offer…can’t blame him there.