Without even explaining what this post is about I think most of you can figure it out. The free agent market has gone totally nuts. Let me start by saying that I realize that baseball is awash in revenue sharing money and that free agents were bound to get contracts that, by the standards of the past few years, were totally outrageous. However, that didn't prepare me for the stupidity of some of the GMs in major league baseball. This leads me to my new conclusion, one that I should have come to long ago: never, ever, under any circumstances underestimate the stupidity and poor reasoning abilities of GMs and owners.
Let's take apart the two biggest signings so far, one bad and the other nothing less than excrable, and I will explain exactly what is so tremendously idiotic about them. First the bad. The Cubs signed Alfonso Soriano for $136 million over 8 years. This is not the dumbest move I have ever seen but it is pretty dumb. Keith Law put it best: "So, let me get this straight: The team that finished last in the National League in OBP in 2006 (and, not coincidentally, second-to-last in runs scored) with a .319 team mark just signed a left fielder with a .320 career OBP and a .337 OBP in 2006 (both figures exclude intentional walks) to replace a guy with a .365 OBP in 2006." The thing is, Soriano might be worth that much money for a team like the Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, etc. Teams that already have high OBPs. However, the Cubs were the worst possible suitor for Soriano in that he just adds to their weaknesses. In addition, they signed him for 8 years! That is an insanely long contract for a guy who counts on his quick bat and speed as important facets of his game. He'll be 38 in the last year of his contract. While some might say that this is okay since players are increasingly playing better for longer, I just don't see a guy with Soriano's strengths (bat speed, foot speed) and weaknesses (poor pitch selection, hands of stone) as a player who will continue to play well as he approaches his middle age years.
Next let's tackle a signing that I think is one of the worst I have seen in years: Juan Pierre's. Once again, a very good breakdown of why this is so terrible is available in Keith Law's blog entry about it. Juan Pierre was a prime contributor to the Cubs OBP woes last year, so he obviously won't help the Dodgers in that category. In addition, they have three good young players (Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp and James Loney) who will most likely be able to perform at the level that Pierre does for much less money. I don't mean this is stupid because down the road they will regret having this contract when they have good young players to take Pierre's place. Rather, I mean that all three young players, right now, are about as good as Juan Pierre. Thus, the Dodger's brain trust has taken what would have been a cheap up and coming outfield and turned it into a low-OBP incredibly overpaid outfield. Stupid, stupid, stupid, and that is the last word on that.
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