The Cubs have just become a sad team; a AAA team that is going through the motions until the last game of the season is over. The $108 million payroll will get cut dramatically when the season ends as $26.5 million comes off the books for dead money deals like Byrd and Zambrano. But almost half of the roster could be arbitration eligible, leading with injured Matt Garza, who will still seek a raise from his current $9.5 million salary.
Things could be worse.
Epstein's old club, the Red Sox, are imploding their team as a means of purging the malcontents and rebuilding from the rubble. In 2011, the Red Sox had one of the worst September collapses in history. Epstein fled town, and player-friendly manager Terry Francona got fired. Reports had players drinking beer and eating chicken in the clubhouse during games. The players were running the asylum. Ownership was not pleased.
But ownership continued to appease the players. The team kept most of the old coaching staff (some people call that keeping the enablers). The team president pushed and got an old school manager to shake things up. He hired Bobby Valentine, who has a gruff opinionated personality. The first shot across the complacency bow was Valentine trying to get some accountability for the poor start of third baseman Youkilis. Veterans were upset that a veteran was called on the carpet. The real situation was that Youk was going to lose his job to a rookie, which is never something veteran players like to see. The result was like smashing atoms together. The players texted management and ownership about their displeasure. Then they had a non-Valentine stealth meeting with management. Nothing was resolved. The team continued to struggle and lose. Big money players continued to have nagging injuries, dead money contracts and the overall public impression that the players were no longer likeable individuals. Recently, in Seattle, team owners and management went to "observe" their team and gather "facts" about the current situation. That is never a good sign.
YahooSports reported that the Red Sox players continue to gripe about their situation. The players also don't trust management, claiming they are the source of leaks and backstabbing comments in the press. But Boston has a long history of backstabbing people as they leave town. But now, it is an open street fight. Ken Rosenthal reported that it appears that Valentine will not be back as Red Sox skipper in 2013. If so, the players will think that is a victory. But it is a Pyrrhic victory.
When the Red Sox shuffled $250 million worth of player baggage to the Dodgers, the only team dumb enough to take Beckett and Crawford's deals in order to get Gonzalez's offense, management pushed out of town some of the biggest clubhouse complainers. The purge may continue this offseason as the Red Sox are in the position where they can turn over most of their roster.
The current $175 million payroll loses Ortiz ($14.575M), Matsuzaka ($10.33M), Loney ($6.375M), Ross ($3 M) , Cook ($1.5 M), Padilla ($1.5 M) and Podsednik . That is more than $37.5 million. The team is still committed to 5 players for $45.63 million (Lackey, Pedroia, Lester, Bucholz and Iglesias). Ellsbury, Bailey, Saltalamacchia, Breslow, Sweeney, Bard, Aceves, Aviles, Miller, Morales and R. Hill are arbitration eligible, but some of them may not be tendered contracts. Arbitration may add $25 million to the payroll so in theory the Red Sox could field a roster with 9 other minimum salary players for a total 2013 payroll of $75.2 million. An immediate $100 million in payroll reduction is a huge factor for any sports franchise.
The savings question means there are three ways to deal with the team's fortunate luck. One, save the money and hope the minor leagues will produce major league talent like Middlebrooks showed this season. The Red Sox have a lot of young arms in Melancon, Carpenter, Atchison, Beato, Doubront, DelaRosa, and Stewart. Or two, use the bankroll on the free agent market and become an overnight contender. But the free agent market may not be a blockbuster winter. Top FAs include Josh Hamilton, B.J. Upton, Nick Swisher - - - all who will be seeking a $100 million plus contract. There are a few quality starters on the market like Greinke, Edwin Jackson, Marcum, or Sanchez. Or three, do a combination of both. Promote your best system talent and fill in with veteran pick-ups. The team really has first base, left field, right field, catcher and starting pitching holes to fill.
You would think that the Red Sox would need to do "something big" in the offseason to right the ship. But the Yankees are in a tailspin, with the lowly Orioles making a run for the divisional lead. The Blue Jays are in transition and the Rays are unpredictable. It is possible that the rest of the AL East ma, on paper, fall back this winter towards the Red Sox. After winning championships, any lovable loser persona was lost. Fans expect more championships, a dynasty like the dreaded Yankees, not more losing steaks.
The Red Sox have a unique situation drop in their laps. They can quickly rebuild their club by imploding the existing roster in another horrible losing season.
