Maybe it was the Southern California connection, their interaction when the Angels drafted Jim Abbott almost 20 years ago, or the fact that Scott Boras first bought season tickets in Anaheim's Diamond Club during Bill Bavasi's tenure as general manager there.
Bavasi and Boras, the superpower among sports agents, regard one another with mutual respect -- admiration, even -- a dynamic that could once again color the Mariners' offseason. The Bavasi-Boras relationship came to the attention of club president Chuck Armstrong as the Mariners sought a new general manager in 2003, and last year produced Adrian Beltre's five-year, $64 million deal.
"Clearly, it was not one of the reasons we hired him," Armstrong said, "but it's nice."
In recent days, industry sources have identified a Boras client, right-hander Kevin Millwood, as the Mariners' prime target among free-agent pitchers. Thursday, one veteran agent went so far as to say he expects the Mariners to sign Millwood -- a notion Bavasi indicated was premature.
"We're talking to so many starting pitchers right now," Bavasi said, "you can't pin us to one."