Then, in that meeting, McCourt and Colletti made their third formal offer (fourth if you count arbitration) to Ramirez, this one for two years, $45 million. The offer called for a $25 million salary the first year and $20 million the second, but in reality all but $20 million ($10 million each of the two years) was deferred to 2011 and beyond. It also included an opt-out clause following the first season.

Then, after presenting the offer to Ramirez, Boras came back not with a yes or a no, but with a counterproposal of two years, $55 million, presumably to offset the fact that the deferred money carried no interest and also to make sure Ramirez got the same $27.5 million average annual value that another Boras client, Alex Rodriguez, has with his 10-year, $275 million contract with the Yankees.

Then, believing that he already was offering $45 million more than any other club and that he had absolutely no reason to increase that differential by another $10 million, McCourt released a statement on the night of Feb. 26 saying that Boras had rejected the offer and that negotiations would "start from scratch." That meant the $45 million offer was rescinded, and as of Feb. 27, there had been no further movement.