Strasburg Signing Could Be Historic – The Post
Happy Strasberg-mas! The Nationals have said they are going draft Stephen Strasburg of San Diego State. It won’t come cheap, super-agent Scott Boras is talking about a $50 million deal. I do not think that will happen, but the Starsburg is going to get paid.

The price of drafting high – The Wash. Times
Last year, the Nats drafted Aaron Crow, who they could not sign over about $500,000. The blame is not entirely on the Nats, Crow’s agents appear to be nuts, but they are paying for it big time this year. That $500,000 they saved is going to be a drop in the bucket of what they have to give up to Strasburg.

Prediction — Crow goes to Baltimore at #5 and signs within a month. That will suck for a while. I hope he is the next Ben McDonald, whom I am sick of hearing about, aren’t you? No, acutally I hope any pitcher the Orioles draft is the next Brien Taylor.

Strasburg Is the Pick, if the Price Is Right – The Post
Guess what, the price is right period, because perhaps even more than a pitcher, the Nationals have to buy credibility.

How good will Strasburg become? And how tortuous will negotiations be between the Nats and agent Scott Boras up to the Aug. 15 signing deadline?

The second issue is simple. My advice: Let them worry about it. Call us on the Ides of August. That’ll be soon enough to find out whether the two sides, weakened by recent embarrassments and low on leverage, are so stubborn that they can’t get Strasburg signed. Remember, this is an arm-wrestling contest between 97-pound weaklings — baseball’s worst team, with crowds down 25 percent, and an agent whose two most famous clients are this year’s PED poster boys, A-Rod and Manny Ramírez. Neither wants more headaches.

Bos is right that we should let them worry about it, but I think Strasburg signs for far more than $15 million because Boras’ leverage is not that bad right now. He has some, the Nats have none. No sympathy for $3,200,000,000 man Ted Lerner though. What good is having all that money if you aren’t going to spend it, Ted?

LOVERRO: After Crow flies, Nationals can’t afford illusion – The Wash. Times
Another, don’t blow it column.

In This Draft, No. 10 Nearly As Big As No. 1 – The Post
The Nats have the 10th pick as well, leftover from no signing Crow last year. Again, they have no leverage here, so they will probably get less than they should.g