Pittsburgh Pirates: The All Bust/Bad Contract Team (1992-2007)

This is the companion article to and article about the ineptitude of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1992 until 2007 during the reigns of terror of former General Managers Cam Bonifay and Dave Littlefield.

To call them General Mangers is a very generous stretch. It's like calling Matt Millen a football luminary. There are things that just shouldn't be mentioned together in a sentence.

The previous article covered the tragic history of players sent packing by the Pirates before they were given the chance to help the team. I put together a 25-man roster of former Buccos who, had they played on the same team, would have likely been able to muster the necessary 82 wins to save the franchise from its date with history.

Now, a look at the opposite side of the coin. Here are some awful draft picks, acquisitions, and signings that never panned out for the Pirates or their "GMs" in the last 16 years.

This roster of horror was easier to compile than the previous one. Take a look.

Starting Rotation

1. Bobby Bradley

2. Bryan Bullington

3. Kris Benson

4. John Van Benschoten

5. Matt Morris

Analysis- The vast majority of failed pitching acquisitions were by far starting pitchers.  That's why most of the bullpen is composed of starters in relief spots. The first four members of this disaster were top draft picks by the Pirates that failed. Bradley never even made it to the bigs and Bullington never stuck. 

Morris was the last salvo of Littlefield's disaster and since his contract is still being paid, he gets the last spot.

Bullpen

Closer-Masumi Kuwata

Setup-Matt Herges

Setup-Josh Fogg

Middle-Kip Wells

Middle-Ryan Vogelsong

Middle-Jimmy Anderson

Long-Mark Redman

Analysis- Kuwata never made the impact the Pirates had hoped when they brought him on board in 2006. Herges was part of a huge failure of a deal and was cut before he even pitched for Pittsburgh.

Fogg and Wells were a poor acquisition of prospects who were given too long to earn their status.  Vogelsong, part of the Jason Schmidt trade, blew out his arm and never really could have been as good as Schmidt became.

Anderson was a failed draft pick and Redman was part of the Kendall trade (amazingly the Pirates were even on the wrong side of that one).

Lineup (in order of defensive positions)

C-Jason Kendall

1B-Kevin Young

2B-Bobby Hill

3B-Chris Stynes

SS-Pat Meares

LF-Chad Hermansen

CF-Raul Mondesi

RF-Jeromy Burnitz

Analysis- Kendall was a decent hitter, but he never earned the money Pittsburgh paid him. Young was mediocre at first base and also had a terrible attitude.  His $24 million deal was another albatross for Cam Bonifay. 

Hill and Stynes were mysteries as acquisitions. 

Hill's is made even worse because the Pirates gave up Aramis Ramirez for him. Meares was another Bonifay Disaster Special with his huge contract and immediate trip to the DL.

Hermansen was one of this biggest non-pitching gaffes of Pirates draft history. Burnitz and Mondesi were massive flameouts who got huge dollars for next to nothing in performance.

Bench

INF-Benito Santiago, Jose Hernandez, J.J. Davis

OF-Tike Redman, Craig Wilson

Analysis- Santiago cost Pittsburgh a well-regarded pitching prospect (Leo Nunez) and was useless at the plate and behind it before he got hurt and retired. Hernandez was recycled by the Pirates more times than anyone and never really lived up to the money or prospects paid out to get him. 

Davis was another awful draft choice who never made an impact in the bigs. Redman and Wilson were continual failures as well before both finally were mercifully sent away.

And, to top it all off:

Coaching Staff

Manager: Lloyd McClendon

Bench Coach: Jim Tracy

Pitching Coach: Jeff Andrews

Bullpen Coach: Spin Williams

First Base: Gene Lamont

Third Base: Jim Colburn

Hitting: Jeff Manto

Analysis- The only guy really out of place is Colburn, who deserves to be on this list but couldn't crack the list of pitching coaches because Andrews and Williams totally obliterated pitchers. McClendon, Tracy, and Lamont were ex-managers of varying levels of awful and Manto nearly turned Pittsburgh into the hitless wonders.

The scary part? There are a ton of other names who could have made this list. Try to recall some of these duds:

Joe Randa, Brad Eldred, Jose Castillo, Tony Armas, Jr, Scott Sauerbeck, Pokey Reese, Armando Rios, Derek Bell...

The list is endless. The Pirates have missed more than they've hit.  Also left out are recent draft picks Brad Lincoln (slowed by arm trouble) and Danny Moskos (undefined role in the team's future) because they haven't had a chance to bust yet.

The scariest part? There are some talented names that the Pirates could have had on their teams that they passed on. Take a look at these guys:

Tim Lincecum, Lance Berkman, Paul Konerko, Ryan Howard, Matt Weiters, Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Varitek, Roy Halladay, Barry Zito, Ben Sheets, Brett Myers, B.J. Upton...

Ouch, to say the least. That's just scratching the surface, too. Think with even a few of those players that the Pirates could at least compete? I thought you'd say yes.

Now we have the whole story. A 25-man roster of Pirates players who could have made the playoffs and a 25 man roster of players who replaced them and were nothing but junk.

Let's just hope the Neal Huntington's plan, as good as it seems so far, is really not just more of the same. I don't think it is, but at one point Bonifay and Littlefield were well-regarded up-and-commers too.