The words of one of my favorite songs growing up were: “The landlord rang my front door bell; I let it ring for a long, long spell, I went to the window, peeked through the blind, I asked him to tell me what was on his mind. He said: “Money, honey”
I wrote how the Red Sox owners came up with the idea which is to get rid of the big salary players and put minimum wage guys on the field in their place. The Sox this year decided to throw the rest of the season by unloading some of their best players. At the beginning of the year they sold season tickets on the premise they’d compete all year long but then threw in the sponge half way through the season. They saved oodles of money dumping those big salaries; they also kept the big money paid by the season ticket holders. It was a win-win for John Henry the Sox owner; it was a lose-lose for those who paid for a full season and only got a half of season, the fans. Oh yes, it was all about Money, honey.
When the Boston baseball team worked its magic, Mr. Kraft of the New England Patriot’s football team watched in awe. The message was clear. He too could follow them. The seasons tickets were sold out. He could get rid of the big salaries and go with the lesser ones. His team didn’t have to compete every year. Just every so often. The fans will pay full price whether you put a good team on the field or not.
It was only two or three years ago when Mr.Kraft said: “One of the things I’m most proud of coming into the season is we knew this was coming, and we made an effort to tie up our key veterans, people like (Tom) Brady, (Stephen) Gostkowski and Vince Wilfork, . . .I hope that us locking up our core veterans and bringing in these seasoned veterans, and probably you’ll see our good friend Logan Mankins will be signed up soon — hopefully to be a Patriot for life . . . “
How things have changed.
Mr. Kraft has been agonizing for a while that Logan Mankins is being paid big bucks especially since Mankins in not a suck-up type guy. He never felt truly appreciated by Mankins an all-pro offensive tackle making six million or so. Mankins had held out for several months forcing Mr. Kraft to pay more than he wanted to pay. He decided to dump him. Following the Red Sox idea, he told his staff to find a guy making the minimum salary of about a half million.
You don’t have to be Einstein to see such a swap immediately puts $6 million in his pocket. So what if the other guy is an undrafted free agent who played one year. Mr. Kraft knew the sports writers who cover his team who like all the bennies they get from him and fear his wrath will make it sound like a good deal. And, he always has his loyal employee and good soldier Bill Belichick who will take the hit if things don’t work out. It’s a win-win for Mr. Kraft. It’s a less competitive team for the fans. It’s the Money, honey.
The song goes on: “Well I was lean and mean and real hard pressed. I went to the woman who I loved best. I said tell me honey, face to face. How can another man take my place? She said: “Money, honey.”
Bill Belichick is quoted as saying: “Logan Mankins is everything we would ever want in a football player. It is hard to imagine a better player at his position, a tougher competitor or a person to represent our program. He is one of the all-time great Patriots and the best guard I ever coached. Logan brought a quiet but unmistakable presence and leadership that will be impossible to duplicate.”
If that’s the case, you might ask, “why are you getting rid of him?” Bill answered: “we feel [it] is in the best interests of the team.” How can it be in the best interest of the team to give up that type of player? If Bill was interested in telling the truth he should have answered, “Money, honey.”
I’d suggest that Vince Wilfork did not have a good sleep last night. Vince Wilfork’s contract in 2014 is a sucker’s “pay for play” one. He’s paid by the game and number of defensive snaps he’s on the field for. He dreamt of hearing Mr. Kraft telling his loyal soldier Bill to hold him out of the games so he doesn’t make his snap bonus.
Aside from that, Wilfork walked into a trap. There’s a crafty provision that give him a $4 million roster bonus due on the first day of the 2015. Who wants to bet that he’ll be around to pick that up. So say goodbye to Vince. Just tell him it’s the: Money, honey!
That leaves Tom Brady. He’s also costing big money. Tom loves the game but he doesn’t need it anymore. He can make more off the field now than on it. He can even be a stay-at-home dad since his wife makes good money.
He’s got to be upset Mankins is gone. He knows that taking a bull like that out of the line in front of him increases his chance of injury. Having had the knee injury, he knows how vulnerable he is. Brady, like the man in the song, might be tempted to go up to Mr. Kraft and say: “How can another quarterback take my place? Mr. Kraft will just smile and say: ”Money, honey!”
Matt,
Loved this post. Literally laughed out loud a few times.
Declan, every professional sports team is in business for two reasons. To make money and win championships. Sometimes the former overshadows the latter. I think here in Boston we do a better job than most other teams (cities) of aggressively pursuing the latter while still achieving the former.
msfreeh,
Is there anything new in the epoch news link on gardner? I read it and found nothing new.
Thanks, Rather
Rather:
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it.
Matt,
Are you trying to tell me that a man that owns a business is interested in making a profit? How shocking!! This man, who bought the team with money he made from another successful business venture, then invested millions more by building his own stadium wants to see a return on his investment? Disgusting! I don’t follow it too closely, so I would guess from the tone of your post that this fraud is putting out a lousy team year after year, due to his miserly ways. There is no way that he or his toady of a coach could achieve any level of success running a business this way, correct?
Let’s hope that the fans will stop supporting this sub par product that this guy is putting out on the field year after year! Thanks for exposing him!
Declan:
People buy tickets at high prices especially in this area hoping their team will win a championship or at least compete hard for it. I’m not bothered by team owners making as much money as they can; I am bothered when they do it as they are doing this year (not year after year) at the expense of putting a competitive team on the field. I probably shouldn’t be bothered at all since I don’t spend any of my money on their projects but I can’t help feeling sorry for the others who do in the expectation they will see a first rate team.
Both the Red Sox and the Patriots have spent considerable money over the years putting good teams on the field. But this year a new attitude seems to have developed. The Red Sox quit, yes quit, in the middle of the year trading off their best players. They now have the lowest winning percentage than in any other time in over the past fifty years. Did the fans pay big bucks for that? Or are we to just ignore it?
As for the Patriots, trading away a guy as good as Mankins this year, which all seem to agree was to save money, seems to me to suggest the Patriots have put money over the goal of winning. As for the fans support, I’ve no doubt that they will continue to support the team but in doing that they should be entitled to watch the best product that can be fielded and I just don’t think they are getting it this year. I also think that the quarterback Brady feels the same way.
Obviously I hope I’m wrong because I do like it when the Patriots are in a Super Bowl since only then do I go to one of the Super Bowl parties.
What does this have to do with the Patriots?
FBI and Vermont State Police prevent photographers from
taking pictures of front of former FBI Director Louis Freeh’s SUV
after his near fatal accident.
Vermont State Police refuses to do a accident reconstruction report.
Vermont State Police did not administer a breathalyzer or do blood testing to see if a DUI was involved.
I called Scott Mills of the Barnard Vermont Volunteer
Fire Dept at his Hardware Store in Bethel.
Scott was a first responder and had to cut off the roof of the car to extricate Louis Fresh. Scott says he did a walk around of the car
and the entire front left side of the car was pushed up into the
drivers compartment including the wheel.
look at photos
http://www.thevermontstandard.com/2014/08/freeh-injured-serious-accident-in-barnard/
see link for full story
Former FBI Director Louis Freeh Injured In Barnard Accident
August 25, 2014 7:00 pm Leave a comment A+ / A-
Update: Preliminary investigation shows drugs and alcohol were not factors in the crash, according to a press release from the Vermont State Police. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
By Eric Francis, Standard Correspondent
BARNARD — Louis Freeh, the former director of the FBI, was seriously injured in a single-vehicle crash early Monday afternoon on Route 12 in Barnard when his SUV went off the east side of the road, struck a mailbox and a large tree.
Freeh was cut out of the wreckage of his grey 2010 GMC Yukon by members of the Barnard Volunteer Fire Department, treated at the scene for several minutes by a White River Valley Ambulance crew, and then rolled on a stretcher a short distance down the pavement to a waiting DHART medical helicopter that had landed on Route 12 across from the Doton Farm.
Citing their patient privacy policies, the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire has so far refused to release any information about Freeh’s condition but several national news sources have been quoting senior law enforcement officials in Washington D.C. who say they had been in contact with Freeh’s family and are reporting that he underwent surgery overnight for at least one broken leg.
Police said that Freeh, who served as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for nearly eight years from September 1993 to June 2001 under presidents Clinton and George W. Bush, was the lone occupant of the SUV and that he was wearing his seatbelt when the accident occurred shortly after noon on Monday.
The stretch of rural highway just to the north of the Lakota Road intersection involved as “a straightaway” — flat, level. It appeared Freeh was heading south and struck a mailbox on the other side of the road. There didn’t appear to be any skid marks.
On Tuesday morning the Burlington Free Press reported that Freeh, whose driver’s license lists him as a resident of Wilmington, Delaware, has a summer home in Barnard.
During his career with the FBI Freeh was frequently in the public eye nationally as his agency dealt with several major investigations including the Unabomber case, the crash of TWA 800 into Long Island Sound,
Will someone help Matt with the Patriots 12 Step Detox Program?
In other news
The Gardner Museum Art Thieves, Unmasked at Last?
By Alexander Boyle | August 27, 2014
http://m.theepochtimes.com/n3/917435-the-gardner-museum-art-thieves-unmasked-at-last/