Just How Bad Are The Red Sox?

Short version: Really bad.

John E. Sokolowski / US PRESSWIRE | Licensed to Alpha Media Group 2012

It’s no secret that the last twelve months have been positively cataclysmic for the Boston Red Sox. From their epic beer-and-chicken fueled collapse last season through Bobby Valentine’s bungling and and the team finally throwing in the towel with their monster trade with the Dodgers a few weeks ago, it’s been all bad for Boston. How bad? Well, at this point, the Sox  are projected to finish 73-89, for a .451 winning percentage. Which isn’t utterly putrid – plenty of teams have finished with far worse records.


What sets the Red Sox apart is that they have 2012’s third highest payroll, at $173,186,617 ( just a million below the Phillies). Granted, the Dodgers trade allowed them to jettison the contracts of Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Adrian Gonzalez, but for our purposes, we’ll count the 2012 payroll that they started with. That would mean the Red Sox paid a whopping $2,370,000 per win. The Oakland A’s, in contrast, are on pace for a 92-70 record with a payroll of $55,372,500, for an average of $602,000 per win.


The Red Sox famously tried to sign away A’s GM Billy Beane a decade ago. Beane declined, the Sox went on to win two World Series in the next five years, and the A’s fell back to earth. Well, Beane and Co. are back in business, and maybe it’s time for the Sox to make him an offer he can’t refuse. Moneyball anyone?

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