Tek’s Free Agency Interesting Conundrum For Theo

When Jason Varitek and the Boston Red Sox couldn’t find a middle ground following the World Series, it put their 11-year marriage on hold - at least for now. Varitek, who put up career lows in the departments of batting average, hits, home runs, runs scored, RBIs and just about every other offensive statistic you can think of, still had an exceptional defensive season and managed a pitching staff devoid of Curt Schilling and a healthy Josh Beckett. Regardless of being one of the least offensively-productive players, not just catchers, in all of Major League Baseball, Tek’s agent Scott Boras entered MLB’s General Managers meeting boasting he would use Jorge Posada’s 4-year, $52.4 million contract from 2007 as a benchmark for acquiring the services of the Boston backstop. There’s a big disparity over what Posada deserved and what Varitek will make in 2009 and the details are in the…details! It’s simple: .338 vs. .220, .543 vs. .359 and 90 vs. 43. Those are the batting averages, slugging percentages and runs batted in between Posada’s contract year of 2007 and Varitek’s contract year of 2008. It’s not a comparison and neither should their compensation.

Still, the question of whether or not to bring the Captain back to Fenway for 2009 remains an interesting question for Red Sox GM Theo Epstein. After restocking his bullpen by trading outfielder Coco Crisp to the Kansas City Royals for Ramon Ramirez, the two-time World Champion executive must decide whether to bring Varitek or find a suitable replacement already in Major League Baseball. If the latter of those options becomes more apparent, I’d keep a lookout for the Sox to try and swing a deal to land either Jarrod Saltalamacchia or Taylor Teagarden from the Texas Rangers. Texas already has slugging catcher Gerard Laird, and with a pitching staff that gives out runs like the Marlins give up tickets, the Red Sox and their minor league system fully stocked with young arms seems like the perfect fit. Ofcourse, Red Sox Nation should probably be demanding a catcher for nothing after acquiring “batting practice” Eric Gagne in a trade deadline deal in 2007.

In a perfect world, Boston could field Varitek and a younger catcher to groom come opening day 2009. Whether or not they’ll spend the extra time and money to put their 36-year old captain back in a Red Sox jersey is up to Theo and that seemingly infallible Boston front office.

No Shortage of Stories From Fresh NBA Season

Even though we’ve just tipped off a new NBA season that’s had more than it’s share of drama in the form of blockbuster trades and last second buzzer beaters, all the talk in the NBA seems to be circulating around Lebron James and the summer of 2010. That’s right, the execs and fans in New Jersey and Brooklyn have been talking (and acting it out) since last season and this past week saw the Knicks and their new hierarchy of Donnie Walsh and Mike D’Antoni do the same: set yourself up to land LBJ in just under 600 days. It’s quite an interesting story when the two most historically-rich franchises in the NBA, the Celtics and Lakers, seem destined for a Finals rematch. But even while Kobe continues to scorch the Western Conference in L.A. while Doc Rivers and the Parquet Posse continue to roll up in Beantown, the story around the NBA is about the free agent signing frenzy that will surely follow the 2010 NBA Finals. That’s right NBA owners, it will be an unprecedented opportunity to line your roster with talent. Be it Lebron James, Amare Stoudamire, Chris Bosh, Steve Nash, Paul Pierce, Dirk Nowitzki, Tayshaun Prince, Dwyane Wade, Caron Butler and many other stars in the making like Al Horford and Jamal Crawford. But you can bypass almost all of those aforementioned players and place your crosshairs simply on James, who is the one player who will turn any team into an instant NBA contender. Regardless of your NBA affiliation, we at SportsMemorabilia.com are the unchallenged number one supplier of autographed basketballs, signed jerseys and just about anything your sports loving heart desires.

Cassel Continues To Impress

“Wow”, that’s all I have to say about New England Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel after watching him lead the Pats to a 48-28 victory over the Miami Dolphins yesterday in Miami. Cassel had another monster game, tossing for 415 yards while becoming only the fifth player since 1970 to throw for over 400 yards in back to back games. Randy Moss also had a huge game for New England, pulling in eight passes for 129 yards and reeling in three touchdowns.

Cassel’s continued success at the NFL level only goes to show he has the ability to be a top-flight quarterback, and odds are he’ll likely get this chance to lead a team full-time when he becomes a free agent after the 2008 season. In a “you heard it here first” moment, I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that if Brett Favre retires and Tom Brady comes back 100% recovered from season-ending knee surgery, that free agent to-be Matt Cassel will take over the reigns as the New York Jets quarterback at the start of next season! We at SportsMemorabilia.com love to go bold and there’s no better way of standing out when it comes to holiday gift giving than authentic NFL memorabilia. Be it autographed Matt Cassel helmets, signed Tom Brady footballs or autographed Brett Favre jerseys, you absolutely cannot go wrong with signed NFL items.

In fact, if you’re looking to avoid the Black Friday insanity at the mall, shop online from home or the office from SportsMemorabilia.com and score free standard shipping (a savings of $4.99) on absolutely any order from our monstrous NFL collection. To lock in free standard shipping, simply enter the coupon code FREESHIP when you get to checkout.

Yanks’ Mussina Calls It a Career

The New York Yankees just added another check mark to their offseason wish list: change the dynamic of the pitching staff. What the Bombers can’t be happy about is that change comes via the loss of their only 20-game winner. “The Moose” Mike Mussina announced yesterday that he had pitched his final Major League game, just over a month after polishing off the first 20-win season of his big league career. With that, Mussina at 39 became the oldest pitcher to ever secure his first 20-win season and becomes the first pitcher since Sandy Koufax in 1966 to win 20 games in his final Major League season.

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Mavs’ Owner Cuban Indicted On Insider Trading

So in his biggest bonehead move since trading Devin Harris for Jason Kidd this past February, eccentric Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was charged with illegal insider trading by the Securities and Exchanges Commission yesterday. While it may not get him the 25 years to life that O.J. Simpson received for trying to heist some of his football memorabilia, it still doesn’t mean Cuban isn’t in hot water.

Regardless of what will eventually become of the man with the $2.2 billion bank roll, we at SportsMemorabilia.com are having a sell-off on all of our authentic Dallas Mavericks items. For tonight only, score 10% off on Dirk, J-Kidd and more when you enter the promo code DMAVS6 at checkout.

MLB To Name MVPs Next Week

Major League Baseball is set to unveil the most valuable players of the National League on Monday and American Tuesday, the final two awards that completely wrap up the 2008 season. On the NL side, it could be anyone from a crop of World Champion Ryan Howard, Albert Pujols, David Wright or Carlos Beltran. Who knows, maybe even C.C. Sabathia may get some votes. Over in the AL, Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia is the front runner, accompanied by teammate Kevin Youkilis, the Rangers’ Josh Hamilton and Minnesota first baseman Justin Mornaeu. No matter who wins the award, expect a big spike in the demand for authentic baseball memorabilia, as an MVP award in either league can cause the price of items like signed baseballs to skyrocket.

Johnson 400 Miles From Three-Peat

I recently saw a fellow blogger post an entry titled “How To Win The Sprint Cup Championship”. No composition is necessary, you just need to take a look at Jimmie Johnson over the past nine weeks. The 32-year old Johnson is only Sunday’s race away from wrapping up his record-tying third consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. After a regular season dominated by Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards, Johnson emerged as almost unbeatable when the season rolled into New Hampshire to start the Chase back on September 14th. In the nine race weekends leading up to his coronation this Sunday in Homestead, Johnson has posted an absolutely mind-boggling 4.67 average finish in Chase races. This time last season I was thinking nobody could have a better Chase than Johnson did in 2007: he posted an average finish of 5.00! The point here is we’re all watching something very special, a Champion that is absolutely the class of an entire sport. And if the true measure of a champion is his competition, it speaks even louder of the domination of the No. 48 team. After all they’re out there every weekend putting a spanking to four-time Cup champ Jeff Gordon, two-time champ Tony Stewart, fan-darling Carl Edwards and the once dominant Kyle Busch. Even if Edwards, the only other driver mathematically possible of beating Johnson this Sunday, takes the checkers at Homestead, the 48 will only have to cross the finish line 36th, a finish he was relegated to only once in all of 2008.

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Cuban’s Cub Ownership In Doubt

Hot on the heels of the news that they’re the front runner to land San Diego Padres ace Jake Peavy, the Chicago Cubs are also apparently on the verge of new ownership. Unfortunately for all of us familar with his rare brand of electricity, that new owner will not be Dallas Mavericks squire Mark Cuban. The Chicago Sun Times initally broke the story, citing a source that said even if Cuban offers up the $1 billion price tag, that Bud Selig and the MLB owners association would never ratify the purchase. It’s truly a shame being one could only imagine Cuban clad in any variety of Chicago Cubs jerseys rushing past Lou Pinella and running out onto the diamond to argue calls with umpires. Oh, the possibilites. Unfortunately we’ll be limited to seeing Cuban kick the proverbial dirt at NBA referees for the better part of 2008 as Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki try to carry the Mavericks back to the Finals.

Maddux Ready To Walk Away

Free agent pitcher Greg Maddux is reportedly ready to call it a career after 22 marvelous seasons in the Major Leagues. While he may be ready to hang up his cleats, he certainly won’t have much room for them on his trophy case. One of the most dominant pitchers the game has ever seen, the 42-year old will step off the rubber with four Cy Young awards, a record 17 Gold Gloves and a 1995 World Series Championship ring on his mantle. A sure-fire future Hall of Famer, the demand for authentic Greg Maddux memorabilia will undoubtedly soar when the former Atlanta Braves star calls it a career. Although he dealt with mediocrity towards the twilight of his career, Maddux won his final regular season start to give him 355 career victories, good for eighth all-time amongst Major League pitchers.

Brodeur Out A Month Following Elbow Surgery

One of the hottest assets in hockey memorabilia and arguably the greatest goalie in NHL history, New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur is going to be sidelined up to a month after suffering a tear in his left biceps over the weekend. Brodeur, who is a three-time Vezina Trophy award winner and three-time Stanley Cup Champion, injured his arm making a second period save during New Jersey’s 6-1 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers on Saturday. While his injury may hamper a postseason run for New Jersey, it certainly won’t effect the demand nor value for authentic Martin Brodeur memorabilia. Even as he sits until well into next year, the sure-fire first ballot Hall of Famer remains hot on the heels of the NHL’s all-time winningest goalie: the legendary Patrick Roy.