If the Players Association decides to file a grievance against the owners accusing them of collusion in their treatment of free agents, the first witness the owners will call in their defense is the man who makes more money than anyone connected to the union.

That person would be Scott Boras, the most prominent agent in the business. Boras expressed his views on baseball’s economy last week, and the owners couldn’t have asked for stronger support for their defense. In comments to reporters at the general managers’ meetings in Chicago, Boras predicted that this winter’s free-agent market will be vibrant. The best free agents, he said, will receive huge contracts despite forecasts from Major League Baseball that spending will be down because of the shaky economy.

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One of the things I like best about this job is never knowing when a great story might develop. By great, I don’t mean finding out that the owners and the players are on the verge of signing a new labor agreement or learning that a team is going to sign a major free agent or that two teams are about to make a trade of major players.

Those are all good news stories that any reporter would like to get, but I’m talking about a highly unusual news story, maybe a bit on the bizarre side, which no one would have expected. I have one of those stories to relate here.

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They will most likely live in baseball history as memorably as Athos, Porthos and Aramis in literature and Larry, Curly and Moe in television: CC, A.J. and Tex.

The Yankees signed the free agents CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira in the space of less than three weeks last winter, and now, 10 months later, they are World Series champions.

Other free agents signed long-term contracts with the Yankees, but Mike Mussina, Jason Giambi and Carl Pavano don’t have World Series rings and Hideki Matsui and Alex Rodriguez didn’t win World Series rings until Sabathia, Burnett and Teixeira joined them.

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