Empyreal Environs

With the Yankees, Red Sox, and Braves eliminated, there are no teams from the eastern divisions of the leagues remaining in the playoffs. But the oft-alluded to East Coast bias will prevail; I can just see the ESPN SportsCenter recap now:

“Leading off on tonight’s SportsCenter: A-Rod steals away Johnny Damon’s stylist in his efforts to establish a more grassroots appeal. More on this [dramatic pause] hair-raising scandal after the break. In other news, the Angels beat the White Sox in a 27-inning duel in Game 7 of the ALCS.”

What better way to while away the upcoming winter than examining the salaries of the eliminated teams? Reviewing the postseason roster salary totals, I devised the following breakdown:

It’s hard to comprehend how the Red Sox, the AL leading offense in multiple categories throughout the regular season, managed only 9 runs in the ALDS, two less than the laggard Padres, who were fourth to last in the majors in runs scored (684). Other points of interest:

• Alex Rodriguez made almost twice as much as the entire Padres infield and just slightly less than the Braves infield. Rodriguez went 2 for 15 but did manage 6 walks in his ALDS for a .435 OBP, .200 slugging percentage, and no runs batted in. The Padres offense managed a .375 OBP collectively with a .425 slugging percentage and 11 RBIs.
• Manny Ramirez made about $6M less than Rodriguez and was 3 for 10 with 2 walks in his 3-game series. His OBP was .417 and he garnered a slugging percentage of .900 with 4 RBIs.
• Derek Jeter continued to be worth the money he makes. He completed the postseason by going 7 for 21 with .348 OBP, .619 slugging, and 5 RBIs, many at key points in the game (unlike other Yankee infielders we could name).
• The Yankees played almost 30% more innings than the Red Sox but their per inning price tag was nearly equal.
• The combined salaries of the starting pitchers left off the Yankees’ playoff roster, the trio of Kevin Brown ($15.7M), Carl Pavano ($9M), and Jaret Wright ($5.7M), was $30.4M, which was $7.4M less than Boston’s playoff pitching staff. This total is $3.9M more than the Braves and $12.5M more than the Padres.

Once wonders how marketable the Yankees will be after their long championship drought. I have a sneaking suspicion they’ll use their defeat to their advantage by exploring new realms of endorsements.

Special thanks to Joe a.k.a. gerky for the image, inspired by this thread at redsoxnation.net. Salary data gleaned from multiple sources, including ESPN, USA Today, and The Hardball Times. You can download this file for salary details.