Hub Money

Divisional Round Prediction

2011-01-16T08:44:00.001-05:00

Pats 31 Jets 20

Pats cover the 9 point spread and both teams will outscore the 44 1/2 point over/under. Rex Ryan will put his foot in his mouth. Bring on the Steelers!

End of Regular Season Report Card

2011-01-03T08:24:00.001-05:00

Unable to keep up with the second half 8-0 New England Patriots, I was still a respectable 6-2 against the line and 5-3 for the over/under which brings the season to 12-4 against the line and 11-5 for the over/under.

More impressive were the following two pre-season predictions:

"Pats are going to be much better than all of the pundits think. Patriots' offense will make up for some of the defensive deficiencies. Defensive backfield will gel for the second half of the season. Pats special teams will be better than past years. Pats will surprise with a 12 win season."
"2002 is the last year the Jets won the division. Don't look for that to change for the 2010 season. Pats win the division. Jets are a wild card team."

While I sold the Pats short by two games I was one of the few who predicted that the Pats would have a good season, that they would win the division, that the defensive backfield would gel for the second half of the season, and that special teams would be a key this season. Unlike the Patriots I will not take the high road, to all of you who made fun of me for my starry eyed Patriots predictions… Hah!

Week 17 Prediction

2010-12-30T07:15:00.001-05:00

Pats 24 Dolphins 17

Not a good week for betting in a meaningless game. I was going to say that Sparano's job might be on the line but it has since been revealed that the Dolphins will keep him on another year. The Pats would do better letting the Dolphins win with the hopes that Raiders lose so their first round draft pick is higher. (This pick was from the Richard Seymour trade.) The Pats will ignore such advice and push hard to win taking out slightly injured players early in the game. I will assume that Tom Brady falls in this category with Brian Hoyer filling in for him. Even with the second stringers the Pats will be able to cover the 3 ½ point line and both teams will make it over the 43 point over/under.

Week 16 Prediction

2010-12-24T09:43:00.001-05:00

Pats 31 Bills 20

Pats are not going to lose a hat and t-shirt game against the Bills. They have a chance to wrap up the division, first round bye, and top overall seed. Pats will cover the 8 point spread and both teams will beat the 44 ½ over/under.

Week 15 Prediction

2010-12-18T04:27:00.001-05:00

Pats 31 Packers 17

Assuming Aaron Rodgers doesn't play on Sunday it's a lock for the Pats to beat the 9 point spread. It would be pretty shocking if the teams didn't hit the 44 point over.

Week 14 Prediction

2010-12-09T21:37:00.001-05:00

Pats 27 Bears 21

The Bears have beaten many weak teams with Philly and Green Bay as the only exceptions. The Bears have been perfect since their bye week with a five game win streak. Expect the streak to end this Sunday at Soldier Field. Most of the Bears' games have been close and this one will be no exception. The Pats will just cover the 3 point spread and expect the teams to beat the 44 point over/under.

Patriots 2010 Contract Expirations

2010-12-04T03:25:00.001-05:00

The Patriots are in unusually good position going into the offseason. With the uncertainty of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the Patriots have done a good job getting a majority of their roster signed through the 2011 season or beyond.

Logan Mankins is one player who probably jumps out at most people as someone the Patriots would want to get signed. No one on the rest of the list below would be a likely candidate for the franchise tag. If the new CBA has a franchise tag, the Machiavellian Bill Belichick will likely consider applying the tag to Mankins. Given the uncertainty with Stephen Neal's future at right guard, it would seem to be prudent to franchise Mankins. At the very least, Belichick could get a draft pick with a sign and trade.

For other players, my guess is that the Pats sign Matt Light for next year. It is difficult to replace a left tackle and Light/Vollmer at the tackles is likely a better combination than Vollmer/anyone. The one x-factor could be if the Pats get a top tackle in the 2011 draft.

Matt Light, OT, 32, $4.5 million, Free Agent

Fred Taylor, RB, 34, $2 million, Free Agent

Kevin Faulk, RB, 34, $2 million, Free Agent

Jarrad Page, DB, 26, $1.759 million, Free Agent

Sammy Morris, RB, 33, $900K, Free Agent

Gerard Warren, DL, 32, $900K, Free Agent

Logan Mankins, G, 28, $816K, Free Agent

Quinn Ojinnaka, OL, 26, $640K, Free Agent

BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB, 25, $470K, Restricted Free Agent

Tracy White, LB, 29, $470K, Free Agent

Ryan Wendell, OL, 24, $395K, Restricted Free Agent

Kyle Arrington, CB, 24, $395K, Exclusive Rights Free Agent

Shayne Graham, K, 32, $216K, Free Agent

Week 13 Prediction

2010-12-04T02:50:00.001-05:00

Pats 27 Jets 20

Pats have been deadly at home and I wouldn't expect them to reverse the trend especially during a Monday night game against the Jets with ten days between games. Pats will beat the 3 point line and Pats and Jets will beat the over of 45.

Week 12 Prediction

2010-11-24T07:50:00.001-05:00

Pats 38 Lions 20

Pats cover the 6 ½ points and both teams hit the 51 point over. Happy Thanksgiving.

Week 11 Prediction

2010-11-21T08:50:00.001-05:00

Pats 31 Colts 24

The Colts have won one game on the road this season. Don't look for this stat to change especially with so many key personnel on the injury report. IR: Dallas Clark. OUT: Joseph Addai, Gary Brackett, Mike Hart, Bob Sanderrs, Clint Sessions, Justin Tryon. QUESTIONABLE: Austin Collie, Kelvin Hayden, Reggie Wayne, Blair White, and more. The Colts aren't built like the Patriots with a big middle class of players. The Colts have a bunch of high salaries at the top and many of those guys are injured. The Pats will cover the 4 point spread. Both teams will hit the 50 point over.

Week 10 Prediction

2010-11-13T07:50:00.001-05:00

Steelers 23 Pats 20

Roethlisberger has only had one game at Heinz field this season, a 28-10 beat down of the Browns in week six which makes it hard to predict the score in this one. The Pats will cover the 4 ½ points but will lose outright while both teams won't put up enough to hit the 45. Take the under.

Mid Season Report Card

2010-11-13T07:32:00.001-05:00

Just like the Patriots, I am 6 and 2 for both picking against the line and on the over/under.

In the two losing games against the line I had a blind spot for where the Pats got blown away by the Jets and the Browns. I picked the Pats to beat the line every game except the 14.5 point game against the Bills.

In the over/under I took the over for every game except the Ravens and Browns games. Good choice for the Ravens but not so good for the Browns. My second mistake was the taking the over in the Chargers game.

Betting with me for the first half of the season would have been a good investment. Let's see if I can keep it up for the second half.

Week 9 Prediction

2010-11-05T22:59:00.001-04:00

Pats 27 Browns 17

Don't believe the trap game hype. The Browns inept offense will not be able to overcome the Pats dominant offense. Take the 4 points. My scientific scoring prediction landed on exactly an over/under of 44. Err on the side of the under if you must.

Week 8 Prediction

2010-10-29T20:23:00.001-04:00

Pats 31 Vikings 24

Pats will cover the 5 point spread but the Vikings will be able to put points on the board as both teams blow away the 44 point over/under.

Week 7 Prediction

2010-10-23T09:41:00.001-04:00

Pats 28 Chargers 27

My instincts tell me to pick the home team when there are so many variables up in the air... Chargers haven't scored less than 38 at home this season (in 2 games). Antonio Gates (7 TDs) is questionable. How will the Pats do on the road? How will the Pats do travelling to the west coast? What do you make of San Diego's three punts blocked, two opponents kick returns, and one opponent punt return this season? But most of the questions other than the road woes are on the Chargers side so the Pats will cover the 2 ½ points. Take the over; special teams scoring is fast and likely allowing for a higher overall score than 47 points.

Week 6 Prediction

2010-10-16T12:57:00.001-04:00

Pats 24 Ravens 20

Ravens haven't scored more than 17 on the road. Ravens haven't allowed an opponent to score more than 17. The Pats game will break both trends and cover the 2 ½ points the Ravens are giving them. Take the under; 45 points is too rich for this game.

Week 4 Prediction

2010-09-30T21:36:00.001-04:00

Pats 27 Dolphins 24

Pats are favored in Miami by 1. Give the point and take the Pats as they should be able to move the ball against the Miami defense. Miami's offense will be successful against the Pats' D as well so take the over. 46 ½ is too low.

Week 3 Prediction

2010-09-26T08:47:00.001-04:00

Pats 31 Bills 17

Pats will break the recent trend in covering the spread at home in Bills games by only winning by two touchdowns. The 14 ½ is too rich to take. Forty three points is too low so take the over.

Week 2 Prediction

2010-09-17T15:48:00.001-04:00

Pats 24 Jets 17

Jets offensive output will improve with fewer penalties but the Pats offense has many more weapons than last year. Pats cover the 3 point spread and the total score beats the over of 38.

J-E-T-S

2010-09-11T18:15:00.001-04:00

Jets preseason hype has been ridiculous. They get rid of aging 1,400 rusher, Thomas Jones and bring in aging 730 yard rusher LaDanian Tomlinson and everyone thinks this is a brilliant move. Antonio Cromartie has more children that he can't name than interceptions over the past two seasons and everyone focuses what he did in 2007. Jason Taylor is 36 years old! How much does he have in the tank?

2002 is the last year the Jets won the division. Don't look for that to change for the 2010 season. Pats win the division. Jets are a wild card team.

Patriots’ Preseason Prediction

2010-09-10T14:23:00.001-04:00

Pats are going to be much better than all of the pundits think. Patriots' offense will make up for some of the defensive deficiencies. Defensive backfield will gel for the second half of the season. Pats special teams will be better than past years. Pats will surprise with a 12 win season.

This week's prediction…

Pats 27 Bengals 24

Bengals will cover the 4.5 point spread but both team's offenses will blow away the 44.5 over/under.

Super Bowl Prediction

2010-02-06T08:35:00.001-05:00

Colts 34 Saints 24

Colts beat the spread (Colts by 5) and both teams beat the Over/Under (56 ½) in a shoot out.

Patriots Offseason Predictions

2010-01-23T18:35:00.001-05:00

I will assume that the NFL will not renew the Collective Bargaining Agreement in the offseason. To that end here are my off season predictions.

Restricted Free Agents
- Logan Mankins - $3 million for one year forcing another team to give up a first and third round pick should they try to sign him.
- Stephen Gostkowski - $2.4 million for one year forcing another team to give up a first round pick should they try to sign him.
- Pierre Woods – Pats will make him an offer in the $800,000 range but not the $1.7 million necessary for one year forcing another team to give up a second round pick should they try to sign him.
Exclusive Rights Free Agents
- Gary Guyton - $470,000 for one year
- Bret Lockett - Unclear
Unrestricted Free Agents
- Vince Wilfork – Franchise Tag for $6.8 million. Wilfork will likely hold out until at least the start of the season but potentially through the first six games.
- Tully Banta-Cain - $1.5 million per year for three years.
- Kevin Faulk - $1.2 million for one year.
- Stephen Neal - retired
- Junior Seau - retired
- Leigh Bodden – another team due to too much money. The Pats will offer him in the $2.5 million range for two to three years but another team will sign him to more money.
- Jarvis Green – another team
- Derrick Burgess – another team
- Ben Watson- another team
- Chris Hanson – another team
Under Contract
- Tom Brady – contract extension averaging $15 million per year for three or four years; May front load contract to 2010 so it gives the Pats more salary cap flexibility in the near future.
- Adalius Thomas – cut

Playoff Predictions Revisited

2010-01-23T16:37:00.001-05:00

So I no longer believe that the Chargers are going to win the Super Bowl. I need to continuously remind myself, "Norv Turner is the Chargers' coach. Norv Turner is the Chargers' coach."

My new prediction is the Colts over the Vikings in the Superbowl. The Jets and Ravens look like similar teams and the Colts didn't seem to have much of a problem with the Ravens last week. Even with Percy Harvin potentially out, Brett Farve will get the Vikings into the Superbowl.

Patriot Free Agents

2010-01-11T06:46:00.001-05:00

The following players are scheduled to be free agents after the end of this season:

Kevin Faulk
Jarvis Green
Stephen Neal
Vince Wilfork
Leigh Bodden
Logan Mankins (restricted free agent if no new CBA)
Derrick Burgess
Pierre Woods (restricted free agent if no new CBA)
Ben Watson
Stephen Gostkowski (restricted free agent if no new CBA)
Junior Seau
Chris Hanson
Gary Guyton
Bret Lockett

The Pats can choose to apply the franchise tag to one of the players on the list. It would be unsurprising if most of these players are not Patriots next season. Logan Mankins will probably remain a Patriot if no new Collective Bargaining Agreement is reached. As the Boston Globe reports, "Once the Patriots tender Mankins, any team that signs him to an offer sheet would have to surrender first- and third-round picks to the Patriots if they choose not to match. That threshold last year was $2.562 million, which is exceedingly affordable for a player of Mankins's caliber."

Playoff Predictions

2010-01-09T09:07:00.001-05:00

Wild Card Round

Jets over Bengals
Cowboys over Eagles
Patriots over Ravens
Packers over Cardinals

Conference Round

Colts over Jets
Chargers over Patriots
Packers over Saints
Vikings over Cowboys

Championship Round

Vikings over Packers
Chargers over Colts

Superbowl

Chargers over Vikings

Week 17 Prediction

2010-01-03T10:56:00.001-05:00

Texans 23 Pats 17

Texans need this game badly and the Pats might prefer to lose! Seven points is too generous, however. The Pats have only lost by more than seven once this year. Even with Brian Hoyer and many subs, the Pats will cover the spread. Don't look for a high scoring game; 46 is high for a meaningless game for the Pats and a mediocre offense like Houston. Take the under.

Almost Famous

2009-12-29T14:31:00.001-05:00

One of my questions on the Pats week 17 strategy for landing the 3^rd or 4^th seed was published in this week's Pats questions on ESPNBoston.com.

Past posts to Boston.com include one on the Pats 2009 draft and one on the Red Sox LaRoche for Kotchman deal.

Week 16 Prediction

2009-12-26T14:11:00.001-05:00

Pats 24 Jags 13

Pats cover the 8 point spread. Jacksonville has not been a scoring team on the road and will continue the trend to keep the score under the 43 ½ Over/Under.

Week 15 Prediction

2009-12-20T09:27:00.001-05:00

Pats 24 Bills 16

Pats cover the 7 point spread but take the 40 ½ under.

Check out SI's "redraft" and see Sebastian Vollmer as the 8^th overall pick! Of course the Pats had the chance to draft Michael Oher which SI rated as the #1 pick!

Adalius Thomas Revisited

2009-12-11T14:57:00.001-05:00

This blog has been too kind to Adalius Thomas and his performance on the field. He has been unable to regularly get to the quarterback. His #3 salary on the Patriots behind Tom Brady and Randy Moss is totally unwarranted. Even though it will cause a very large salary cap hit of approximately $13.5 million, the Patriots will almost certainly cut (or trade) Thomas in the offseason. The Pats will be able to avoid paying Thomas the $4.9 million and $5.9 million salaries over the next two years.

There are a few possible scenarios to unfold for Thomas in the offseason…

Scenario 1: Uncapped Year

If the NFL is unable to come to a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) then the salary cap rules next year will mostly be suspended. It is somewhat unclear how the year will play out but the Patriots will be free to cut Adalius Thomas and take the entire $13.5 million salary cap hit in the year. Since this money has already been paid out as a bonus the Pats will largely be unaffected by getting rid of Thomas and his contract. It is possible that if the parties agree to a cap the following year there could be some consequences but they are far from clear. There is a high probability that the Pats will get off scot free by cutting Thomas in this scenario.

Scenario 2: Capped Year, Thomas cut before June 30th

In a capped year scenario the Pats will have to take an uncharacteristically large salary cap charge for a single player. For this year the Pats only have $3 million or so in "dead money." If they were to cut Thomas before June 30^th the remainder of Thomas's $13.5 million prorated signing bonus will have to be counted against next year's salary cap! This would likely be the biggest hit the Pats have ever taken for a player not on the roster.

Scenario 3: Capped Year, Thomas cut after June 30th

If a player is cut after June 30^th his salary cap charge can be split over the current and subsequent season. In this scenario the Pats can take two $6.75 million hits a year over 2010 and 2011.

Given Thomas's current performance it is difficult to believe that he will be a part of the team next year. How his departure affects the Patriots salary cap situation remains to be seen.

Week 14 Prediction

2009-12-11T14:54:00.002-05:00

Pats 27 Panthers 14

13 ½ are a lot of points for any game especially where the favored team is faltering. Take the 13 ½ points and the under. The Pats and Panthers are unlikely to hit 44 total points since the Panthers offense is terrible.

Week 13 Prediction

2009-12-05T09:39:00.001-05:00

Pats 27 Fins 17

The Pats will cover the 4 point spread. The last two Pats games in Miami were 48-28 and 49-28 so the 45 ½ under might be a little dangerous. Take it anyway as the Pats usually bounce back after a bad win.

NFL.com added a new "If the season ended today" webpage. Check it out.

Week 12 Prediction

2009-11-26T23:09:00.001-05:00

Pats 34 Saints 27

Take the 2 points and the Pats. Don't believe the hype about the Saints versus the AFC nor the Drew Brees versus Belichick. The Saints have a mediocre scoring defense and Tom Brady and the Patriots will exploit it. These two potent offenses are likely to beat the 56 point over/under so take the over.

A Workable BCS Playoff Plan

2009-11-23T08:00:00.001-05:00

Towards the end of every college football season there is an outcry against the fairness of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) selection of who the Division I football champion is. Today a complicated formula ranks all of the teams and then the top two teams play in a BCS bowl game the second week of January. Most fans want an eight game three round playoff that will "fairly" crown the winner. There are pages and pages of plans on the Internet that will never come to fruition. The problem is that the proposals will not maximize the profit of the organizations that run the bowls. A plan that focuses on delivering the maximum television revenue to the powers that be in the BCS can be realized.

Today the BCS bowl system has four key games played at the Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Sugar Bowl on or about New Years Day. The BCS Championship game is played a week later rotating between these four venues. It seems clear that the BCS values a New Years Day/day after (when New Years Day falls on Sunday) and a weeknight championship game a week later. Most of the fans plans involve playing a number of key games between December 15^th and December 31^st. The BCS clearly does not want their games in December. Television audiences are diminished during this time period. Looking back to 1998 all of the four BCS games were between January 1^st and 5^th with the BCS championship game on the 7^th or 8^th.

For the most part the Rose Bowl features the Big Ten versus the Pac Ten champion, the Fiesta Bowl features the Big 12 champion, the Orange Bowl hosts the ACC champion, and the Sugar Bowl hosts the SEC champion.

I will now throw my plan into the proverbial ring and propose the following. All of the eight team playoff plans pushes two of the BCS bowl games into December to allow the winners to play on New Years Day. The eight team plans are total non-starters for the bowls. A four team playoff can work within the current structure. A four team plan would have two BCS games on New Years Day featuring the #1 versus #4 and #2 versus #3 team. The other two BCS games could be played between January 2^nd and January 5^th. The BCS Championship game could be played on January 7^th or 8^th featuring the winners of the two New Years Day games.

The advantage of this plan is that the best teams would have extra games, fans would be able to watch four of the top teams play each other, there would be some measure of having the best teams play for the championship, and the bowls would be enriched. The negative side is that two teams would lose out on big time bowl games, the two championship teams would have less than a week to prepare for the championship game, and fans would still complain about not having a true playoff.

Week 11 Prediction

2009-11-20T06:40:00.001-05:00

Pats 27 Jets 17

Pats win but won't cover the generous 10.5 point spread. The Pats haven't beaten any non-Tampa Bay/Tennessee team by more than 10 points and will continue the trend. The Jets' Kris Jenkins at nose tackle is a key injury which will open up the Pats running game. Don't look for the Pats to score like they have been over the past four game with the Jets as the seventh best scoring defense and a top four team in preventing red zone scores. Take the under (45).

Week 10 Prediction

2009-11-13T06:25:00.002-05:00

Pats 27 Colts 24

Take the 3 points and the Pats to beat the Colts in Indianapolis. Leave the 49.5 Over/Under alone. With Bob Sanders, Kelvin, Hayden, and Marlin Jackson injured in the Colts secondary expect the Pats to test the Colts rookies in the secondary. The Colts are the #1 team in terms of points allowed and the #6 team in points scored. The Pats are #2 and #4 in the same categories respectively.

Adalius Thomas’s Future with the Patriots

2009-11-11T10:14:00.001-05:00

It might be a little difficult to understand Bill Belichik's (BB) handling of Adalius Thomas's playing time. Our eyes tell us that Thomas is one of the best players on the field. Looking at Thomas's playing time, however, tells another story. With Thomas's inactivation for the Titans game, playing 18 of 61 snaps for the Bucs game, and now playing 44 of 72 snaps in the Miami game provides some clues for BB's thinking. (Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com provides the playing time: Bucs game and Dolphins game)

Thomas's playing time is partially diminished by Tully Banta-Cain's tremendous success as an outside linebacker. With the strengthening of the Pats secondary this year and BB's trend in running nickel and dime packages there is only room for one or two linebackers on the field. Those spots are taken by Jerod Mayo and Banta-Cain. Thomas has been relegated to the third best linebacker on the team.

Thomas's deactivation for the Titans game was probably BB sending him a message. BB likely figured that Tennessee was so terrible he didn't even need his best players on the field.

Some have speculated that the Patriots cannot afford to have their number three salary and number one defensive salary player be a part timer. Let's look at Thomas's salary from two perspectives. First from the cash side Thomas's contract has the Patriots paying him $4.9 million in 2010 salary and $5.9 million in 2011 salary with a $107K annual workout bonuses for $5 million and $6 million over the next two years. Cash wise this is not a concern for a team whose payroll will likely be in the $130 million range.

The salary cap numbers look a little different. Thomas's salary cap hits will be $9.4 million in 2010 and $10.4 million in 2011. If Thomas is cut before the start of next season his cap number will be $11 million in 2010. If he is cut after June 30^th then the $11 million can be split over both the 2010 and 2011 season. Thomas's contract details were written about by Peter King in SI.

The Pats have $11.5 million in salary cap dead money in 2009. This number includes cut, traded, retired, and injured reserved players. Richard Seymour's number of $6.1 million is the lion share of the dead money followed by $1 million for Mike Vrabel and then everyone else is below $1 million. (Salary cap data is provided by Patscap.)

Cutting Thomas in the offseason doesn't seem to have a great return on investment. The Pats would have to take a $5.5 million cap hit for the next two years versus $9.4 million and $10.4 million hits each year. If the owners and players union don't come to an agreement and next year is an uncapped year then cutting or trading him in the offseason might allow them to take the full hit in 2010 and not affect future years. By the same token they might not have to worry about the cap and thus won't care about the numbers.

With this year's salary cap as a model it appears that the Pats could trade or cut Thomas. Thomas's prorated salary cap number is similar to Seymour's salary cap number this year.

Given the dearth of good linebackers available for BB's scheme I would be surprised if the Patriots got rid of Thomas next year. He is one of the best players on the field and even though he is overpaid, the Pats will not be getting a strong benefit from cutting him in the offseason.

Yankees Fan Sounds Off on Sox Offseason

2009-11-07T14:10:00.001-05:00

Now to Hub Money's first mail bag! Don H., one of my good friends with a serious personality flaw (he is a Yankees fan) sent Hub Money its first official fan email. Editors note: In Don's world Stinkys = Red Sox, asterisks are the editor's changes to keep the mailbag PG, and this letter was sent before the League Championship Series.

"Based on your analysis, the Stinky Sox are in real trouble for 2010, cir Yankees of 2003-2008. Big contract obligations to under-performing aged vets, with no younger free agents on market to fill the holes. In 2009, the Yankees got 3 years younger, cut payroll of: Abreau, Giambi, Mussina; AND will win the WS.

For 2010, Yankees look even stronger as defending WS champ. Pitching gets BETTER + younger, AND payroll shrinks again by shedding Matsui, Damon, Mitre, Marte, Molina, and 1 or 2 other stiffs.

Now the really bad news for your stinky sox is that history is repeating itself as a 6 year cycle if you compare Yankees of 2003 - 2008, and stinky sox of 2007 - 2013.

Yankees

2003 - lost game 7 of ws on broken bat ********
'04 - lost game 7 of alcs on ****** up Fenway low wall in right field with fan touches ball in play preventing winning run scoring from first (game 5)
'05 - 3 and out
'06 - 4 and out
'07 - 3 and out
'08 - no playoffs

Stinky Sox

2007 - won 6 game WS
08 - lost game 7 of ALCS
09 - 3 and out
10 - a fight for wildcard and 3 and out vs. Angels again
11 - same as 10
12 - fire Tito and rebuild

In my humble amateur analysis, back at the all star break in July, when the Stinkys blew their 3 game lead and went 10 down in the standings, I made this dire 5 year bear market outlook for the Stinkys.

In July, I said that not coughing up an extra $10M for Teixeira they needed a desperation move. They had to give up Pedroia or Youkilis and Buchholtz to get Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee. I stand by that analysis.

Atlanta proved for 10 years if you have 4 #1s you can compete while you fill major holes.

Now that you have Martinez, you still have big problems for '10 and '11:

1. Closer – [Papelbon] is disgruntled, Jerry McGuire him at $10M /year for 7 years like Mo [Mariana Rivera], or trade him ASAP. Closer is a must-have so lock him up.

2. Hitting - still need 2 more bats even if you resign Bay (see #3)

3. Shortstop - must give up Ellsbury, Pedroia, or Youkilis for a Tier 1 shortstop

4. Catcher - okay for 2010 to platoon Martinez and Varitek. However, if not aggressive today, the Yankees will box out snagging the best 25 year old stud (assuming Mauer is not a capitalist next year) and thus we fix our #1 issue.

5. DH - what a mess for you; AND the Yankees will box you out for '10 in FA/trade where Matsui is a free agent freeing up $10M cash.

6. Farm - Stinkys raided farm for '07 - '09 teams, now you pay the man for 3 years to rebuild. Yankees get kudos for sucking up 07/08 to develop the 6 young stud pitchers we have that will be thorns in your side for next 6-10 years!

So how smart were the Yankees to hang onto those 6 stud young pitchers, and develop Gardner, Cabrera, Cano, and Cervelli in-house? Amazing!

We can literally give up Damon, Matsui, Marte, Mitre, Molina, and not exercise club options for Wang (won 19 games 2X in 06 and 07) and Xavier Nady (3 arm operations). That amounts to the starting LF, RF, DH, #2 starter, and 2 solid contributors; AND field a better team in 2010. Plus our team is seasoned proven WS winner, average age gets 3 more years younger, and sheds $40M in payroll.

Our only off-season must-do is resign the captain / league MVP / Mr. November /house-that-Jeter-built himself. And pick either resigning Pettitte or Wang. Plus we sit in the catbirds seat to sift through FA and trades to address long-term: Catcher and SS. My friend, you know my analysis is accurate.

In recap, put your seatbelt on. Sorry to say you will be sucking it up big time for 2010 to 2013; watching the Yankees win 3 or 4 more WS!

Yankees rule AGAIN!"

A few corrections and clarifications for an otherwise good letter: Marte is under contract until 2011. Mitre has a team option for 2010. Wang is arbitration eligible for 2011. Jeter is under contract for 2010.

I will agree that the Yankees are in a better position for this offseason then the Red Sox are. My guess is that if the Sox management is smart they will treat this offseason as a lost year. They have no prospects ready to come up from AAA: http://www.soxprospects.com/ With a weak free agent class this year, mortgaging the future would be a terrible mistake. With almost $40 million in salary coming off of the books at the end of the 2010 season they should be positioning themselves for the 2011 season and beyond.

To respond specifically to Don's points…

Continue to offer Papelbon arbitration this season and trade him next year. He is going to want a big money contract and the Red Sox management will not want to commit big time dollars. If the opportunity presents itself, Papelbon is probably the best chip for a trade.
The Sox definitely need more bats.
Giving up Youkilis or Pedroia would be foolish. They are the studs that the team should build around. Ellsbury should only be traded for a great player. Yes, the Sox could use a better shortstop. I would not give up building blocks of the future for a 2010 shortstop. Let's see how the Hanley Ramirez sweepstakes goes for 2011.
Unless a catcher like Mauer is available in 2010, the Sox should wait until Varitek comes off of the books in 2011 before making a move.
DH situation will be fine in 2011. In 2010 the Sox are stuck with Ortiz and his contract.
I think the "raiding" of the Sox farm system requires more analysis. The Sox are not in a good position for young prospects in 2010.

The Sox fortunately will be able to rebound in 2011. I think it will be interesting to watch them in 2010. They need to bring in some A-list talent to make sure they continue to sell out at home throughout 2010. Their top concern should be not to put themselves in a bad position in 2011. For 2010 they need to keep fans in the seats. They are probably really concerned that their sellout streak is probably in jeopardy.

So far in this offseason we have seen several small market teams cutting or trading arbitration eligible players that they probably would have kept in other years. There may be some good players available for large market teams where in other years these players would have been offered arbitration. Even with this glimmer of hope, the Sox will still not be in a great spot for 2010.

I will differ from Don in that contract-wise the Red Sox are in good shape for 2011. They will have Drew ($14 million), Youkilis ($12 million), Matsuzaka ($10 million), Lester ($5.75 million), and Pedroia ($5.5 million) at significant salaries and don't have significant obligations otherwise. Some of their top minor league talent will have hopefully matured to be able to contribute to the big league roster. The 2011 free agent market is significantly better than 2010.

So Red Sox fans, be patient. 2010 may not be our year but there is no reason not to be optimistic about the Sox's long term future.

Week 9 Prediction

2009-11-06T06:00:00.002-05:00

Pats 27 Miami 20.

The Pats will be able to cover the Wildcat formation and the Tedd Ginn Jr. in the kicking game but won't be able to cover the 10.5 point spread.

JD Drew’s Value to the Red Sox

2009-10-25T21:55:00.004-04:00

After Theo Epstein, the Red Sox's General Manager, appeared on WEEI last week defending JD Drew's performance and contract terms, the Boston sports world has had some pretty negative things to say about Drew, Epstein, and Drew's contract. Let's take a look at what Drew's contract should be.

From a skill set standpoint, Drew is one of the elite hitters in baseball. As discussed in a previous posting, Drew had one of the top 30 OPSs for 2009 (with at least 200 At Bats).

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=t9pKhThYHf3Il_tCMsE_23g&output=html

Drew has the most reasonable contract of anyone on the list that has hit free agency! Carlos Beltran who has .915 OPS to Drew's .914 will earn $18.5 million a year for the next two years. This is significantly more than Drew's $14 million a year. Looking further down the list Lance Berkman, Aramis Ramirez, Chase Utley, and Todd Helton will all make more than Drew. The only players that have lower contracts on this list are either under team control, arbitration eligible, or negotiated a contract while arbitration eligible such as Joe Mauer, Hanley Ramirez, and Ryan Braun.

According to the Epstein interview there is much more than OPS when evaluating talent. General Managers look at overall offense including base running. So let's look at JD Drew's rank on the Red Sox roster in 2009 for EqBRR or Equivalent Base Running Runs which measures how many additional runs the player accounts for on the base paths. As you would expect Jacoby Ellsbury leads the list followed by Kevin Youkilis and Jason Bay but JD Drew ranks third from the bottom only above David Ortiz and Mike Lowell.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/statistics/sortable/index.php?cid=69432

Drew's base running performance evidently was not good in 2009. His base running is only part of his offense, however. To look comprehensively at JD Drew's offense let's look at his VORP or Value Over Replacement Player which measures the number of additional runs that a player generates over an average player at that position.

Drew ranks 65^th on the VORP list for all players in baseball in 2009. The top of the list is comprised of Albert Pujols, Joe Mauer, Hanley Ramirez, Derek Jeter, and Prince Fielder. Looking over the list matches what my eyes tell me when I'm watching a game. Red Sox players on the list include Kevin Youkilis (17^th), Jason Bay (28^th), Jacoby Ellsbury (38^th), Dustin Pedroia (45^th), and JD Drew (65^th). Looking deeper down the VORP list Mike Lowell, Victor Martinez, David Ortiz, Alex Gonzales, and Julio Lugo round out the Sox's top ten.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/statistics/sortable/index.php?cid=69045

Drew's $14 million is a little more than Lowell's $12 million and Ortiz's $12.5 million but they are in the same ballpark. Seeing what Jason Bay gets this offseason will be an interesting look. My guess is somewhere in the $16 to $18 million range a year based on the lack of impact position players for this offseason. (This number will depend on the number of years of his contract.)

Now let's take a look at Drew in the field. Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) is a very complicated formula for computing how effective a player is at saving runs in a given position. Let's look at all of the qualifying Right Fielders in baseball.

http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=rf&stats=fld&lg=all&qual=y&type=0&season=2009&month=0

We can see that Drew has the third best UZR of all 19 qualifying Right Fielders behind Nelson Cruz and Ichiro Suzuki and number 13 of all 63 qualifying outfielders.

There are other factors in determining how good a player is. Durability and number of games played matters. Drew started 124 games this season and played in another seven with one as a DH and one as a PH only. This earned him the 11^th spot on the same list of 19 Right Fielders.

There are other intangibles that could be measured. If a player is a terrible teammate that would certainly be a factor. Some comment on Drew's temperament where he doesn't get excited or upset when making a bad play. I'll turn it the other way and say his lack of excitability lets him get the job done.

One of the other arguments is against paying so much money for a number eight hitter. Drew only started nine games batting 8^th. When you dig into the stats, it is amazing how versatile he is in terms of where he can hit in the lineup. He started at every position in the lineup except 9^th. He had 30 or more At Bats in every position except 4^th and 9^th. He had the most ABs in 6^th followed by 5^th and then 2^ndspot. Drew had over a .800 OPS hitting from the 5^th, 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th spots. Drew's lack of excitability allows for Terry Francona, the Red Sox manager, to have Drew bat from multiple different positions in the lineup. One can imagine certain players getting bent out of shape if they were moved down in the order.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.cgi?n1=drewj.01&year=2009&t=b

My opinion on Drew turned in game 6 of the 2007 ALCS. His mauling of the Indians with 3 hits, 2 runs, 5 RBI, and 1 HR made me forever grateful to his presence on the Sox roster.

For those that object to his contract, I wonder what they think a fair contract would be. Drew compares very favorably financially to others with similar stats. One maybe could argue that he should only be paid $12 million or so but it would be tough to argue that his contract should be substantially less.

Michael Crabtree Contract

2009-10-25T08:20:00.001-04:00

With Michael Crabtree set to take the field with the 49ers against the Houston Texans this weekend, it is worth looking back at his contract holdout to illustrate the economics of his decision.

Crabtree was drafted 10^th overall in the 2009 draft by the San Francisco 49ers. He was unhappy being slotted as the 10^th best player and instead wanted 7^th pick money. Oakland picked another wide receiver, Darrius Heyward-Bey, in the 7^th slot. Crabtree argued because conventional wisdom said he was better than Heyward-Bey, he should be paid like Heyward-Bey. Heyward-Bey's contract is $38.25 million likely over five years with $23.5 million guaranteed.

According to media reports the 49ers suspended talks after offering a $20 million contract with $16 million guaranteed. Crabtree did not sign for 71 days after the start of training camp and was not on the roster for the first four games of the season. Crabtree reportedly signed a $32 million contract with $17 million guaranteed and has a voidable last year of his contract. His contract will pay him $19 million over 1^st three years, $23 million over 1^st four years, 28 million over 1^st five years, and $32 million over six years. There are another $8 million in incentives.

Let's take a look at some comparable contracts. Jerod Mayo who was drafted in the same 10^th spot the year before signed a five year deal with $18.9 million likely with $13.8 million in guarantees. BJ Raji who signed one pick before Crabtree in the 2009 draft got a five year deal for $28.5 million with $17.7 million guaranteed. Aaron Maybin who was signed as the 11^th pick in the 2009 draft after Crabtree got a 5 year deal for $24.6 million and $14.24 million guaranteed.

Virtually all of the stories I read were how irrational Crabtree was with his holdout and the circus surrounding MC Hammer and Crabtree's "cousin and advisor." My take is Crabtree may be a shrewd businessman. From a contract perspective Crabtree was not obligated to sign the contract. When an office worker gets a job offer and then "holds out" for 6.25% more in guaranteed money, his family and friends congratulate him and have no ill will for acting in his own best interest. Why should The Crabtree case be any different? Just because a 22 year old will get more money than most people do in their lifetime doesn't mean that he is obligated to concede to the team offer. Most players in Crabtree's position have one, two, or at most three such contracts in their career. They should maximize their opportunities.

What did Crabtree live on while he was holding out? Did he stock up on Ramen Noodles and packages of Mac and Cheese like many kids right after college? Did he take out a loan based on expected future earnings? According to his agent, Crabtree has deals with Subway, Jordan Brand, Topps, and Upper Deck. His deals have brought in over $750,000 which probably means that Crabtree is not feasting on Ramen Noodles regularly.

What about other ill effects of the holdout such as losing out on 4 games worth of salary, ill will by teammates and fans, and possible worse performance by not participating in training camp and learning the playbook? From a salary perspective Crabtree likely would have close to a minimum salary in 2009 in the range of $310,000 to maybe $500,000. Missing ¼ of his game checks would mean that he would lose between $77,500 and $125,000. Given his increased guaranteed money, it seems like a good investment. In terms of the fans, other players, and his development, Crabtree better make sure that he performs to ensure that he can get another big payday when his contract expires in five or six years.

The discussion around the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) renegotiation has rookie salaries as one of the top issues. The fact that a player could get more money by skipping 25% of his first season should be addressed in these negotiations.

Crabtree contract details:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4538482

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_contract.aspx?sport=NFL&id=5135

Crabtree negotiation details:

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/32845735/ns/sports-nfl/

Crabtree sponsorship details:

http://sportsbusinessdigest.com/michael-crabtree-doesnt-need-football-he-has-subway/

Other 2009 rookie contract details:

http://www.macsfootballblog.com/2009/04/2009-nfl-rookie-signing-status.html

Mayo contract details:

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2008/07/25/mayos_deal_worth_189m/

Week 7 Prediction

2009-10-22T22:46:00.000-04:00

Pats 59 Bucs 0

Just kidding...

Pats 36 Bucs 10

Not kidding. The Bucs are terrible. The Glazers have no business owning a football team. The trip to London should be worse on the "home" team than the vistors.

NFL Salary Cap Rules Pats Decisions

2009-10-21T22:19:00.000-04:00

When you don’t understanding personnel decisions in the NFL the answer is almost always the salary cap.

Prior to the trading deadline speculation had Joey Galloway traded to Baltimore, Adalius Thomas being sent somewhere, and Deion Branch returning from Seattle. This week saw Tully Banta-Cain and Eric Alexander cut and then resigned. Sam Aiken was given a contract extension.

Let’s break down the implications of all of these deals.

The Boston Globe Extra Points had a column headed, “Could Thomas be on his way out?” http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/extra_points/2009/10/could_thomas_be.html Looking at the Pats salary cap structure can illuminate the likely answer, “no.” Adalius Thomas has a prorated signing bonus remainder of $13.2 million until the completion of his contract in 2011. In the NFL you can prorate a signing bonus over the life of a contract. That would mean that cutting or trading Thomas would escalate his cap number this year by approximately $7.2 million! With a Pats salary cap of $128 million this has huge implications. The Pats probably were under the cap by $5 million or so before the trading deadline and are even closer after the Banta-Cain, Alexander, and Aiken deals. They cannot trade Thomas. Belichick’s benching of Thomas this week was likely just to send him a message. Belichick knew how bad the Titans were and figured this was the week to do it. Thomas is probably regarded by Belichick as the number two linebacker behind Jerod Mayo. Thomas has not lived up to his contract nor his status as the number three paid player on the team behind Brady and Moss but he is still a productive member of the team. Even if he is the number three or four linebacker it makes neither economic nor football sense to cut him.

There were a number of stories surrounding speculation of Deion Branch being traded to New England. http://www.nesn.com/2009/10/could-patriots-work-out-a-trade-for-deion-branch.html Both on the football side and salary cap side this deal could have made much more sense than a Thomas trade. Since coming to Seattle Branch played 14, 11, and then 8 games over the past three years. This year he has only played four of the six games, starting once with 12 catches in 94 yards and no touchdowns for the year. Seattle should be looking for more production out of one of the top salaries on the roster. There are a number of things that made this trade difficult.

1) Cap money Seattle would have had to eat: If cut or traded after week six Seattle would have to take approximately $8.25 million in cap money. This is 6/16ths of Branch’s 2009 $4.94 million salary plus half his approximate $13 million signing bonus covering 2009, 2010, and 2011. If the Seahawks kept him they would be paying $7.5 million under the cap. So they would be increasing their cap number this year for someone not on the roster. Since they have likely not given up on this season yet at two and four it made financial sense to hold onto him.

2) Cap space the Pats would have had to clear to be able to get Branch: Pats would need $3 million or so this year and $5.47 and $5.95 million in the next two years. They would be free to cut Branch before game 1 in the next two years saving that money but this is not the sort of deal that Belichick likes. The Pats could likely take on another $3 million in salary but it might have been at the expense of the Aiken, Banta-Cain, and Alexander deals. It also gives them less flexibility for the rest of the year should they need to sign additional players due to injury.

3) What could the Pats possibly trade that the Seahawks would value enough to give a up a somewhat productive player AND take a higher cap hit? I would speculate something like a 3^rd, 4^th, or 5^th round pick. It is unlikely Belichick would make a trade getting an aging player with big money on his contract who hasn’t played a complete season in years.

Because of the difficulty of finding common ground in this deal, it wasn’t possible to pull it off. From the Pats side, Branch could definitely help and has the experience to get on the same page as Brady.

The Pats cut Joey Galloway after shopping him before the trading deadline. This was a case of performance and no salary cap benefit. The Pats actually owe Galloway all of his salary for this year as he was on a veteran’s contract and was on the roster for game one of the season. The Pats would have been able to shed the last ten weeks of his salary (about $719K) had they been able to trade him. The Pats cut him before the trading deadline to free up a roster spot for one of the players coming off of the PUP list, practice squad, or a free agent. The transaction was done before the trading deadline as a courtesy to a veteran so he could not be claimed off of waivers. (Veterans with four or more years of experience become immediate free agents before the trading deadline but must clear waivers after the trading deadline.) A dreadful team that Galloway didn’t want to play for could claim him and his salary and he would be obligated to fulfill the contract. Now he can negotiate with any team he chooses.

The Aiken, Banta-Cain, and Alexander moves were all a result of the salary cap. The Pats had extra cap money this year, they see these player s in their medium term future and signed Aiken and Banta-Cain to three year deals and altered Alexander’s deal to allow for an extension. Because of the upcoming expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) will potentially cause an uncapped year next year, the Pats are shrewdly locking up their middle class of players on the roster. A Deion Branch or Adalius Thomas type deal would have prohibited them from performing the housekeeping that the Pats feel is crucial for their success in 2010 and beyond.

The following resources were used for constructing this post…

Pats salary cap info:

http://www.patscap.com/

Galloway info:

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/extra_points/2009/10/making_sense_of.html

Branch info:

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/2252/easy-money-how-the-seahawks-can-save

http://www.rotoworld.com/Content/playerpages/player_contract.aspx?sport=NFl&id=1132

Replacing Jason Bay

2009-10-18T14:31:00.000-04:00

The Jason Bay sweepstakes will be one of the big stories of the 2010 offseason. In trying to understand why every free agent slugger story involves Bay and Matt Holliday take a look at the 2009 OPS stats. (OPS is On base percentage Plus Slugging average.) The following spreadsheet has every player with over a 900 OPS and 200 at bats in 2009 and includes their age and contract status:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=t9pKhThYHf3Il_tCMsE_23g&output=html

Notice that there are only 30 players in baseball with over a 900 OPS!

There are two free agents in this bunch: Jason Bay and Matt Holliday. Every team looking to spend big money on a slugger will have two choices in free agency.

Two players on the list are already on the Red Sox roster: Kevin Youkilis and JD Drew.

Looking for other options there are five players whose contracts expire after next year: Joe Mauer, Prince Fielder, Derek Lee, Manny Ramirez, and Adam Dunn. It is hard to believe that the Twins would give up Mauer who is one of the best players in the league, is a great hitting catcher, is 26 years old, and a local boy. Lee is 34 and plays for the big market Cubs so is probably not someone that is likely to change teams unless the Cubs are out of it next year right before the trading deadline. Manny is a persona non grata in Boston. That leaves Fielder who plays for Milwaukee and might not be able to be signed the following year and Adam Dunn who plays for the worst team in baseball. The Nationals may be willing to dump Dunn’s salary for the right package of prospects. The Sox passed on Dunn in the past offseason although they didn’t have a spot in the outfield for him then.

Note: All ages in this post are as of 4/1/2010.

There are six solid gold players on this list; young players that are either under team control (meaning they play for close to minimum salary and won’t be free agents for years) or are arbitration eligible whose contracts are still owned by the teams but an arbiter decides their salary each year: Joey Votto (CIN, 1B, 26), Ben Zobrist (TB, 2B, 28), Pablo Sandoval (SF, 3B, 23), Garrett Jones (PIT, OF, 28), Adam Lind (TOR, DH, 26), Kendry Morales (LAA, 1B, 26). These are the guys that small market teams work so hard to get and keep and big market teams use to balance their payroll. It would be shocking if any of these players changed teams before their last year or two of arbitration eligibility.

Hanley Ramirez will be paid $7 million in 2010 with his contract escalating to $11 million in 2011 and then $15 million in 2012. The Marlins will not want to move him this year without a big package of prospects. In 2011 and 2012 they may consider getting rid of Ramirez and his salary which could account for 25% of their payroll.

Other small market players who have very reasonable contracts and thus will require Theo to give up the farm are Ryan Braun (MIL, OF, 26, $1 million), Troy Tulowitzki (COL, SS, 25, $3.5 million), Jason Kubel (MIN, DH, 27, $4.1 million), Brad Hawpe (COL, OF, 30, $7.5 million)

We can probably ignore the rest of players on the list - good and great players on large market teams. The only exception might be Miguel Cabrera who seems to be talented at getting into the news for off the field incidents. Would Detroit be willing to trade his antics and $20 million salary? Maybe a better question is would Theo and Tito be willing to put up with those same antics and how would he fare with the Boston press?

Who is better for the Red Sox, Bay or Holliday?

While conventional wisdom has Holliday as the better fielder and he may be, statistically Bay has a small advantage. Bay has a career .988 fielding percentage and a 2.04 range factor. Bay’s 2009 stats are a 1.000 fielding percentage and a 2.29 range factor. Holliday has a career .980 fielding percentage and a 1.91 range factor. Holliday’s 2009 stats are .983 fielding percentage and 1.88 range factor.

Range factor is a Bill James statistic adding putouts and assists multiplying by 9 innings and dividing by number of innings played. A higher number is better. The last full year Manny Ramirez was in Boston (2007) his range factor was 1.72. MLB league leaders for the past five years in left field range factor are Adam Dunn’s 1.97 in 2008, Geoff Jenkins’s 2.30 in 2007, Alfonso Soriano’s 2.28 in 2006, Cliff Floyd’s 2.12 in 2005, and Jason Bay’s 1.97 in 2004 according to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Range_factor

There are a number of other considerations for Bay fitting in well in Boston. He does not shrink in the limelight, hits well against American League pitching, and has had some of his best games against the New York Yankees. In Bay’s 14 games against the Yankees in 2009 he hit .392 with 13 RBI and 3 HR.

Holliday has a smaller sample size in the American League but had a relative unsuccessful few months in Oakland before going back the National League and feasting on National League pitching.

The bottom line is that Bay is the superior choice for the Red Sox. There are few good choices if they don’t resign him. The Yankees will likely make a run at him to replace the aging Matsui and to run up the Sox payroll.

The Red Sox free agency strategy should be to sign Bay. If that fails they should go after Holliday.

Week 6 Prediction

2009-10-16T18:36:00.000-04:00

Pats 30 Titans 17

New England is too good coming off of a loss at home. They'll put it together this weekend despite the bad weather.

Red Sox 2010 Salary Status

2009-10-15T22:51:00.000-04:00

The Red Sox will have one of their more challenging offseasons in recent history. Their lineup has aged while their long term contract obligations have not.

David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, and Julio Lugo are all under contract for a total of $34.75 million next year. Jason Varitek has a $3 million player option which he will likely exercise. The Red Sox will be paying approximately $37.75 million (roughly the Florida Marlin’s 2009 salary) for maybe $17 million worth of output - $8, $8, $0, $1 million respectively.

Salaries are based on Cot’s Baseball Contracts and Son of Sam Horn:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p4ew-fwu2XT1vMqHeigxmcg

http://www.sonsofsamhorn.net/wiki/index.php/Red_Sox_Contract_Status

Theo has some easier decisions regarding team options. He will almost certainly exercise Victor Martinez’s and Tim Wakefield’s options as he has said as much. He might keep Alex Gonzales depending on how the rest of the offseason goes regarding shortstops. He will likely not exercise Jason Varitek’s option but Tek has a player option discussed above. Saito’s $3.5 million team option is a little pricey for his performance.

On the arbitration front both Jonathan Papelbon and Hideki Okajima are arbitration eligible. My guess is that Papelbon will get in the $8 million range in arbitration and Okajima will receive $2 million.

Assuming the Sox sign Jason Bay for $16 million, a number of other free agents for $8 million, and fill out the rest of their 40-man roster with near minimum salaries, the Sox are looking at a $150 million payroll which is about $24 million more what their 40-man roster payroll was in 2009.

This increase is due to the fact that the Sox will be paying millions more for Beckett, Victor Martinez, Kevin Youkilis, Pedroia, and Lester. The Sox will potentially be paying more for Gonzo, Papelbon, and Okajima. If Jason Bay is signed, his salary will probably double from $7.75 million.

Something will have to give. Either the Sox will cut payroll with a less competitive team or will be operating from a higher salary basis.

Calculations for next year's salary structure: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tCmM3bYtz1SBDPSfdXE0SiA&output=html

Hub Money

2009-10-14T07:05:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Hub Money! This blog is exclusively focused on financial issues surrounding baseball and football with an emphasis on the Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots.

The next several posts will take a look at Red Sox off season decisions.