Between Skip Bayless and Adam Schefter, there is a man named Doug Gottlieb. He isn't just an emitter like Bayless, as he still has something of an "Insider" rep to his name where you're under the impression he occasionally has a phone to his ear. He does get to fart out an opinion every now and then, and they are usually wrong.
Gottlieb went to his urinal and said that he had heard that the Braves had made a final offer for an extension in the winter and that he had railroaded Freddie into accepting the Dodgers offer. It wouldn't take much for those who don't want to actually consider Gottlieb's usual M.O. of dysentery of the mouth to be interested.
Most agents would deny this. This is ice cream for morons as there are still a lot of fans who don't like agents. They don't have your team's interest in mind, so they can be unseemly. There has been an agent's agenda filled out over a player in the history of the game, but not as often as people would like you to think.
It's not clear who Gottlieb is bidding for, but it's difficult to follow through. If Close preferred to take the Dodgers offer, he would know that he would lose out on his agent fee when he did, even if he preferred to take the Dodgers offer. Lying to clients is one of the reasons an agent loses other clients. Maybe this all has legs if Close is dropped by others.
He desperately wanted to stay in Atlanta for the rest of his career, even though he didn't get the ending he wanted. His agent might have sabotaged him. The Braves decided to get five years younger at the position and save $6 million per year because Close wasn't going for the price they wanted him at. The answer is clear because you know how MLB front offices work and we know that the Braves love to save money wherever they can.
Gottlieb still has a "Fox" label to his name, which makes it possible for him to bellow this kind of thing. Gottlieb has been spitting into the wind for a while now and these guys can't ever lose their credibility. It could be that the Braves are trying to stick it to the Dodgers one more time, or that they are trying to make themselves look better in the eyes of their fans, who are still upset about the departure of Freddie. It could be that other agents are trying to get rid of Close. You can be certain that Gottlieb is doing someone a favor when he steps up to the mic.
It took me an extra night to get around to it, but on Tuesday night history was made with the debut of the USWNT's first black player. She's the first player with a limb difference to play for the team.
Getting her first call-up at 28 would be a story for itself, as the story with the USWNT of late has been the kids how are replacing the older players. We need any story we can get about someone getting their rewards after years of hard work, and Pickett is the best one right now.
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