Vlad can't find his gorilla

In the winter of 2000, when players and agents were driving the free-agent bus, Jeff Moorad shopped Manny Ramirez in full view of an ESPN camera crew. The mini-documentary, "Manny's $160 Million Adventure," featured a telephone conversation between Moorad and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who unwittingly expressed interest in Ramirez while the cameras were rolling.

"Now we've got our 300-pound gorilla," Moorad said, as he hung up the phone.

Moorad was just adhering to Chapter 1, Rule 1 of the agents' handbook: When the objective is negotiating the best possible deal for a star, it pays to get the New York teams involved as quickly as possible.

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