In sizing up the possibility of inking Longoria to a multi-year contract, Friedman seized on the practices he developed in his private equity days. When investing in a company, he had to assess not only that firm’s operations but also the quality and risk tolerance of management, the current trends within its industry, and the state of the broader economy. Likewise with a potential Longoria deal, Friedman had to consider a lot more than the quality of the player. The success of the Crawford contract and similar deals across baseball offered a sound precedent. The Rays’ revenue streams—outside of the estimated $70 million to $80 million a year they would pocket in revenue shared via MLB Advanced Media and other league-wide ventures, as well as from richer teams—remained tight. And then there was the matter of Longoria’s agent.

Paul Cohen, an agent for Los Angeles-based TWC Sports whose client list included Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano, Braves pitcher Tim Hudson, and Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, also repped Tulowitzki’s former Long Beach State teammate Longoria. After tearing up Double A for most of the 2007 season, Longoria’s numbers tailed off slightly in Triple A as he hit .269/.398/.490 with 29 strikeouts in 31 games. Cohen had just locked down a six-year, $31 million contract for Tulowitzki—the biggest contract of all time for a player with one-plus seasons of major league service time—with a $15 million club option at the end. Would his other high-profile Long Beach State Dirtbag client, Baseball America’s number-two prospect for 2008, be willing to consider an even longer deal, coming off zero seasons of service time?

– Jonah Keri, the Extra 2%. Via GQ.

GQ magazine presents an excerpt from Keri’s new book, which hits shelves today. It charts the way the Rays’ front office used Wall Street techniques to build a winner, and seems likely to become a must-read for baseball nerds. This excerpt lacks a heavy-handed locksmith analogy though.