John Tomase of the Boston Herald writes that general manager, Theo Epstein of the Boston Red Sox and Jason Bay are in contractual negotiations but they have so far been unable to close the deal on a new contract.
Says Tomase: "Epstein characterized the negotiations thus far as 'weird' in the fact that Bay wants to stay, the Red Sox want him, and neither side is being unreasonable, and yet they still can't get a deal done."
Frankly, I know not to take things which are said to the press at face value but this really is one of the most feeble things I have ever heard a major league general manager say. In other words, Bay wants to be here, we want him here, he is not unreasonable in his demands but for some reason we just can't get this done now, this is so hard. As someone who negotiates for a living, I do know that timing can be everything in putting together a deal and the timing just might not be "right" on this one but I am still missing something here.
I think they need a "conflict resolution specialist" like Dr. Phil or Kate Gosselin to mediate this.* Lock them up in a room with nothing but gummi bears and water and don't let them out until they have an agreement so we don't have to hear any more wishy-washy statements from Theo Epstein on this.
Life is too short for these unresolved "weird" issues to be lingering around.
Get to it!
*I bet if you would agree to televise the arrival and departure of either of these specialists, they would be even more likely to come and do this. Just a thought.
4 comments:
Have you volunteered your time to help resolve this horrid issue?
If it goes well, it could open many doors...
Maybe he needs a translator, hay fever shots made from horse urine, or wants his contract tied to Jason Varitek's being with the team?
(And if you haven't seen Bang the Drum Slowly, that will make NO sense)
Mark,
Unfortunately as a Tiger fan my (secret) strategy as a mediator would be to quickly declare an impasse between the parties and suggest to Bay that he talk to the Tigers who would be much more reasonable.
Kevin
CCC,
That is why I was in the fog on your reference. Wikipedia helps a little but not much.
Actually, we are kind of kindred spirits as I frequently make obscure references to things and receive puzzled looks from people before they back away slowly.
Kevin
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