Friday, August 10, 2007

No Joy in Steeltown

Alright, this isn't exactly new, but the great Rob Neyer pointed out that Matt Morris will become the highest paid player in Pirates history next season after they acquired him from the Giants at the Trade Deadline last week. That's the Matt Morris who will be 33 next season and has had precisely one season better than the league average in the past four. He was very good for the Cardinals back when he was young and cheap, but now, not so much.

There's only one Pirates payroll fact crazier than Matt Morris making the most money in team history. The player being paid the most money by the Pirates this season is Jason Kendall, a guy who:

a) has a .582 OPS
b) played for the Athletics and Cubs this season and
c) hasn't played a game for the Pirates since way back in 2004

And that's the highest paid player on a team with a $38.5M payroll. The Pirates will always have trouble competing with a payroll that low, but they'll never compete when they allocate so much money to Jason Kendall and Matt Morris while drafting relief pitchers with the top 5 draft picks they've "earned". But as an Orioles fan, I'll thank them for not scooping up Matt Weiters...assuming the Orioles can sign him.

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