Hank Schulman of the Chron fires back at Baggs! OK, that's a bit over the top, but Schulman
wrote on the Chron's Giants blog last night that anonymous sources say Baggarly's report on Buster Posey's deal -- which cites a $7.5 million signing bonus -- is wrong. Schulman then gets Giants director of player personnel Bobby Evans to deny it on the record. Who's got the goods, and who got taken for a ride? We'll find out in a few hours. The signing deadline is tonight at 9 p.m. PT.
First, thanks for my big laugh today! :^D
Baggarly has his latest views on this on his blog.
As I noted on my blog comments, Schulman's blog does not refute Baggarly's info, they can both co-exist: the deal is on the cusp to be finished (meaning the major parameters are done) but there is no done deal yet and negotiations are ongoing, which covers the nitty-gritty fine and final details of the deal.
The only real divergence is on the deal size. Apparently Evans confides more to Hank: Schulman wrote that Evans told him that the $7.5M figure was "too high" but when Baggarly questioned him, he wouldn't say "if it was too high or too low".
Still, Evans personally called Baggarly to dispute his account of things, so at least he has that. :^)
But as I noted, 6 of one, half a dozen of another, the deal might not be done, but that doesn't mean that it is not on the cusp of being done.
And if $7.5M is "too high", all the better. Baggarly thinks it might be the Wilt-Russell conundrum: both Alvarez and Posey agents want to have the largest contract signed for their client (i.e. them them them! The agents! :^)
Baggarly thinks, and I've wrote this all along too, that both sides need to get this deal done, there is nothing good that happens for either side if a signing don't happen.