ESPN

• Vote: When will Stephen Strasburg join the Nationals' rotation?

Scott Boras isn't so much the boy who cries wolf as the agent who gets the beleaguered townsfolk to fork over a record signing bonus to the next shepherd boy prospect.

Putting aside the pleas for $50 million contracts and shelving the threats to sit out a season, Boras provided the Nationals with No. 1 pick Stephen Strasburg's signature on the dotted line in advance of Monday's signing deadline. SportsNation had given up on a deal getting done, but that it took almost literally until the last minute surprised voters even less than the Raiders denying the franchise's latest embarrassing moment.

So what now? Strasburg is expected to bring change to Washington, D.C., but he may be saddled with baggage even less helpful than Congress, namely the worst franchise in baseball. But no pressure, Stephen. It's not like anyone is asking you to fix health care.

As a reminder of why this all matters, and how long the odds are on Strasburg saving the franchise, consider what Keith Law (who chats again later today) had to say in March when SportsNation asked how he stacked up against recent college aces.

"The last guy this good would be someone from before I was involved in the industry -- other scouts who've been doing this for 20-plus years are bringing up names from the '70s and '80s like Witt, Heaton, Tatsuno." -- Law chat transcript

And last we checked, Bobby Witt, Neal Heaton and Derek Tatsuno still had to pay admission in Cooperstown.

• SportsNation puts Strasburg ahead of Stafford, behind Griffin for No. 1 picks.
• Voters think Boras got Strasburg the better end of the deal with the Nationals.
• Beyond the Nation: U.S.S. Mariner on No. 2 pick Dustin Ackley and rookie contracts.
• Chats: Joe Morgan, 11 a.m. ET | Rob Neyer, 12 p.m. ET | Keith Law, 3 p.m. ET
• Groups: Nasty Nats live here | National league | Everything Baseball

“

15 Million for an rookie!! Wow that is just crazy. And i doubt he will even play in the mlb this year, mabye later on in the year but still that is just unreal that a rookie in baseball get this much money. I know in football rookies get like 5 times that but for baseball it's different, I think this is what changes the draft.

” -- Nao888

“

So the "Natinals" got their guy. Can't wait until next year when they have the No. 1 pick again (because they'll still be terrible) and we can do this all over again.

” -- jb1089