The Red Sox have been pegged by Vegas (per Bovada.lv) as 9:1 underdogs in the race for Josh Hamilton, with the San Francisco Giants leading the way at 3:1.

San Francisco Giants 3/1
Atlanta Braves 5/1
Texas Rangers 5/1
Philadelphia Phillies 7/1
New York Yankees 9/1
Chicago Cubs 9/1
Boston Red Sox 9/1
Pittsburgh Pirates 1 0/1
Toronto Blue Jays 10/1
Los Angeles Dodgers 15/1

Good odds if you're not a fan of a prospective Hamilton mood, which seems to account for most of the fanbase around these parts.

It's not surprising that the Sox are so low on the list. While Boston's open payroll and Josh Hamilton's likely high demands seem a match made in heaven, that's the only part of the arrangement that does. The Sox have made it known they're going to try to avoid the massive contracts which led them to take such drastic measures to unload money this past year, and then there's the fact that Hamilton is probably not tailor made for the pressure cooker that is Boston.

My real question is: what are the Phillies doing up there? How are they going to fit another massive long-term contract in there with Ryan Howard, Cliff Lee, and Cole Hamels? Are the Dodgers trading for one of the pitchers? If there's one thing Vegas seems to have learned, it's that you can't put any level of insanity past Ruben Amaro Jr.