The quick and the dead...

There's a lot to be said about setting up a salary cap structure for Major League Baseball.

Even with one in football, there's a lot of dead money under the caps of a lot of teams. Sometimes it's because of players no longer on rosters, sometimes you can consider the money dead even with the player on the roster.

The San Francisco 49ers project to have $3.64 million in dead money under their cap next season.

Those are players no longer on their roster.

The Patriots will consistently put players on IR for the season, starting at the end of training camp. That's money that counts against their cap, not counted as dead, but it may as well be.

Then there are those players who just take up space on rosters. Usually they don't stick around
and the dead money hit on an NFL team is minimal.

Baseball is different.

In MLB there are players that just don't live up to their contract, sometimes receiving contracts they haven't earned. Other times demonstrating the requisite talent, however, fail to stay on the field due to injury issues or a lack of toughness.

JD Drew will come to the mind of Red Sox fans - a player who received a fat contract from the Sox who essentially were in a bidding war with themselves for his services.

While the owners need to be protected from themselves. Fans need to be protected from the owners. Teams like the Marlins should not be allowed to spend fewer dollars than they receive from their cut of the Yankees luxury tax.

Teams and fans of teams that aren't the Red Sox or Yankees whine about the spending of those teams, but the Orioles are carrying $11 million in dead money into this season over one player. Just before the season started, the team cut oft injured outfielder Jay Gibbons. While it's admirable that the team would cut its losses with a player that has a hard time staying on the field, it should be noted that they evidently feel they can eat an $11 million salary without a problem.

If that's the case, then why can't they spend in a way that keeps them in the neighborhood of their division rivals?

Honestly, other teams have proven it's not the spending itself, but how you spend.

That said - what about the ridiculousness that the Brewers engaged in during this off-season...

Gagne, baby Gagne...

After a season during which Eric Gagne, once the premier closer in the majors, blew a number of hold for the Red Sox down the stretch, the Milwaukee Brewers signed Gagne to a one-year $10 million contract. This signing happened before the Mitchell Report essentially said that his couple of years of domination came out of a syringe.

On opening day Gagne blew the save in a 3-0 game, getting smoked on a three run shot by a rookie. Gagne later got the win, but showed nothing to merit the Brewers' $10 million worth of faith in him.

If Gagne doesn't break, at the very least, the 20 save margin,or a combined 30 saves and holds, that's just more dead money on a major league roster.

The people that look at contracts like this and don't think it's time for a salary cap should go get professional help. Lord knows, if I'm a fan of a team like a Kansas City or a Milwaukee that decides to go out and make a big splash in free agency by signing someone like Gagne, and then hearing the party line that my team can't compete with the big-markets...well, I'm just gonna be really pissed.

Quick hits

Slim to none

Michael Vick's chances for an acquittal just went from Hell in a hand basket to...well, whatever could be worse than going to Hell in a hand basket. Maybe the best comparison is that his scrotum is about to get raked across hot coals by the feds.

With the news hitting that Vick's remaining two co-defendants in the dogfighting trial, Quanis Phillips and Purnell Peace are copping guilty pleas, Vick's defense just took a major hit.With Phillips and Peace copping pleas months before trial, it's probable that these two have worked out deals in which they will be testifying against Vick. This now gives the feds at least seven people that will be testifying against Vick.

Sayonara Mikey, don't let the turnstile hit you in the ass on your way out of the league.

Knuckling down

To some people's chagrin, and I will never understand why that is, Tim Wakefield right now is Mr. Red Sox. With approximately eight starts left, Wake is now second on the team in wins at 14-10, is second on the team in innings pitched 150.1, and third in ERA (4.55) among starters.

This guy has been invaluable to the team in his time here. He has started, been middle relief, closed, and even was the emergency starter two games after his scheduled spot in the rotation a few years ago. The man has been an innings eater and an absolute horse and last night, after a series in which the bullpen blew two games the team had essentially won, Wakefield silenced the Devil Rays' bats through six full innings, and finished the game with three hits over eight innings.

That's veteran presence.

Interesting tidbit from Steve Phillips

Phillips noted that Eric "Gags" Gagne, since coming to the Red Sox is throwing fastballs on roughly 62 percent of his pitches. During his streak in Texas where he was pitching so well - only 52 percent of his pitches thrown were fastballs, and his punch-out pitch was typically a change-up.

I would like to think that Red Sox scouts would have noticed this.

Best bullpen in baseball Gags again

Gag - verb (gagged, gagging) 1 put a gag on. 2 choke or retch.

From the Oxford English Dictionary.

From here on out - Gags is my nickname for Eric Gagne, the trade-deadline pitcher that was supposed to propel Boston to the World Series. And it ain't because he's a laugh riot or 'cause he's silencing anyone.

I'm already on record as saying I didn't like the trade. Like Paul over at Behind Enemy Lines, I'm an, "It ain't broke, don't fix it," sort of guy when it comes to sports. If there was anything broken on the Sox, it certainly wasn't their bullpen. Could they have used some better hitters coming off the bench - sure, what team couldn't. But the bullpen? Before they traded for Gagne they had the best bullpen in the league.

But Gagne? Gagne has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Behind Enemy Lines already commented on Friday's Gag, and I was willing to let it go since anyone can have a bad day - but in his brief career with the Red Sox (and I'm not positive, but I think these numbers don't completely include today's fiasco), batters are hitting a whopping .474 off of Gags to go along with an astronomical ERA of 16.20, he has blown two hold/save chances and has almost given up as many runs (6) in a Sox uniform as he had in his entire time with Texas (8).

Given my choice, I will say it again - I would have kept Gabbard.

Gabbard gave the Sox four wins. Gags has given the Sox two losses.

Gags brings back memories of the Human Angioplasty, Heathcliff Socumb - but without that occasional ability to be clutch.

Early returns - it's looking like Theo got taken to the cleaners by the Rangers. As for myself - I'd rather have a team with Wily Mo and Kason, than one with Gags.

So much for sabermetrics.

A few Red Sox observations

The Red Sox landed Eric Gagne as the big piece to put themselves over the hump for the stretch run. I'm not sure I like this move all that much.

I understand the logic - get the proven arm to shore up the bullpen for the dog-days and the post season, while opening a rotation spot for the returning Curt Schilling. Really, I get it.

This is my problem - Kason Gabbard has been a more than solid replacement in the rotation for the marginally effective Schilling this season. He is a left-handed pitcher that hasn't turned 23 yet, and has shown veteran poise on the mound. I would have less problem with it if Gabbard were a righty, but he's not - he's a lefty in a division where the best regular season team for the last decade has struggled against quality lefties. The Sox could have been going into next season with two of them.

Instead the lefty was traded for a rent-a-player to improve what is already, statistically, the best bullpen in baseball. I think I would even have felt better about it if the Sox had gotten a decent bat out of it. Instead, they got a power-pitcher with a history of arm problems.

I'll give Theo to the end of the season on this, but I have to say, I'm not feeling as good about this trade as the rest of Red Sox Nation. Anything less than a World Series appearance would be unacceptable after trading away someone who could be a solid middle-of-the-rotation guy for years to come.

Our Dumb Red Sox Nation members...

Need to either learn math, or stay off the message boards. I say this because there have been a number of our idiotic brethren calling for the Sox to rid themselves of Tim Wakefield making claims like the following - and I quote, "my MOM throws harder than Wakefield!! he'll probably pitch until he's 50....and still be a .500 pitcher."

At least one argument that I read is that he's a waste because he takes up two roster spots by forcing the team to have to carry the light hitting Doug Mirabelli - and as such, doesn't get good run support.

Let's analyze these arguments just to see how ignorant and idiotic they are (I remember when Sox fans used to be knowledgeable).

Wakefield's career record is 164-143 (.534). Last time I checked, that was indeed higher than .500, unless I just don't understand the new math. This season he is 13-9 (.591), tied for the team in wins.

His 138.1 innings pitched in 22 starts is second on the team only to Daisuke Matsuzaka's 144. He has averaged 6.1 innings per start, the same number averaged by Schilling. The only regular starter that has had below six innings per start has been Julian Tavarez. Batters are hitting .261 against him. That's .027 points lower than Schilling or Tavarez.

As for run support - Wakefield is sporting a 4.55 ERA after today's game. Given that he averages just 6.1 innings pitched per start, that means he is giving up an average of 3.20 runs per start. The team is averaging 4.5 runs scored per Wakefield start.

So...can someone explain to me how these people learned to use a computer - it's obvious that they don't know how to read numbers.