FR: General Manager Mike Dunn [mdunn@chiblacksox.com]
CC: Assistant GM Ralph Arnold [rarnold@chiblacksox.com]; Sleaze McPhuch [sleazydealsrus@aol.com]
SUBJECT: Your RIDICULOUS signing bonus demand
Paul Valentine, you're so funny. You crack me up. You were drafted by the Black Sox organization in the 9th round, and yet you're demanding more to sign than many of the players who the Black Sox drafted before you.
Specifically, you're asking for $430,000.
You so funny, Paul Valentine.
But, now that I think about it, you're only 16, so most likely your RIDICULOUS signing bonus demand probably comes from your agent, the esteemed Sleaze McPhuch (cc'd). Or, maybe you're just a practical jokester, and you thought it would be humorous to yank my chain like this.
To be clear, it's not so much the dollar amount that makes your demand ridiculous, but the fact that you should be counting yourself fortunate just to have been drafted. Let's look at our evaluation of your skill set:
So I don't know what your parents or your high school coach have been telling you, but you are not anything close to a blue chip prospect. Normally I wouldn't tell a kid this, but normally youngsters with your skill set would not be asking nearly half-a-million dollars to sign. It is simply out of line with reality.
So wake up if you want to play in the pros. Here's my last and best offer:
Take it or leave it, I truly don't care.
Regards,
Mike Dunn
GM, Chicago Black Sox
Laid out less than $2.5m to sign the lot
