MLB All-Overpaid Team: Who Makes the Pre-Spring Training 2011 Team?
January 31, 2011MLB All-Overpaid Team: Who Makes The Pre-Spring Training 2011 Team?
As Spring Training draws near, it’s time to look at which players are going to be overpaid in 2011 based on their previous performances.
How many Yankees and Mets players are on the list? Do Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and A.J. Burnett make the list?
What about Boston’s Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jonathan Papelbon?
Oddly enough, none of them are on the list. So if it’s not these veterans, then who could have possibly made the list heading into 2011?
Catcher: Jorge Posada, $13.1 Million
As much as I like Posada, I can’t even justify the contract anymore. He’s not even guaranteed to play catcher because he just can’t stay healthy. He’s an average defender now as his range of mobility has been limited from wear and tear. I still want his bat, but he’s an overpaid catcher now for the Yankees.
First Base: Todd Helton, Colorado Rockies, $19.1 Million
I understand it’s the waning part of the contract finally, but this is what the man will be paid in 2011. Helton can barely stay active. His time in the sun came and went when the Rockies went to the World Series and lost to the Red Sox. The Rockies will be better off once Helton’s contract runs up or he retires.
Whichever comes first, it can’t come soon enough. He played in 118 games in 2010, hitting .256 with eight HR and 37 RBI.
Second Base: Brian Roberts, Baltimore Orioles, $10 Million
Roberts has trouble staying healthy, playing in just 59 games in 2010 and totaling just four HR, 15 RBI, 28 runs and 12 stolen bases. Baltimore would be better off trying to trade Roberts and moving forward in my opinion, because I’m not a believer he’s going to bounce back and stay healthy.
Shortstop: J.J. Hardy, Baltimore Orioles, $5.85 Million
Orioles trade for Hardy, for no good reason, and then are forced to pay him due to arbitration. I thought what manager Buck Showalter did last season was remarkable. But see Baltimore, this is why you don’t progress in the majors.
Third Base: Aramis Ramirez, Chicago Cubs, $14.6 Million
Oh how the mighty have fallen. Aramis used to be one of the top third basemen in the Majors. Now, he’s on the all-overpaid team. Again.
Is it just me, or did it seem like Aramis had a nagging injury for the most part of the past two years? Yeah, he bounced back to hit 25 HR in 2010, but he only hit .241, his worst average since 2002. At this point, I’d rather cut my losses with Aramis if I were a Cubs fan.
Left Field: Carlos Lee, Houston Astros, $18.5 Million
Granted, I’ve never been a fan of Carlos Lee’s, but come on, $18.5 million? Not even Houston wants him around anymore. They’d prefer him to be beat out of the starting job! If that doesn’t say overpaid, I don’t know what does anymore.
Center Field: Aaron Rowand, San Francisco Giants, $12 Million
Rowand won a World Series in 2010. Good for him that he was able to ride the coat tails of his teammates. Rowand continues to underachieve time and time again in San Francisco. In 105 games, he hit .230 with 11 HR, 34 RBI, 42 runs and five stolen bases.
Right Field: Magglio Ordonez, Detroit Tigers, $10 Million
Magglio is a big reason the Tigers have trouble breaking through again. He’s constantly struggling and last year played in just 84 games. He hit 12 HR with 59 RBI, although he did hit .303. My issue with Magglio is that throughout his career, he has been very streaky. Not the type of player I want to pay.
DH: Travis Hafner, Cleveland Indians, $13 Million
For someone who really only needs to focus on hitting, Hafner does an extremely poor job of it.
In 118 games in 2010, he hit just 16 HR with a .278 average, 50 RBI and 46 runs. At least you get just over one home run per $1 million, Cleveland.
Starting Pitcher: Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs, $17.85 Million
Zambrano does far more harm than good for the Cubs. I’d much rather pay to see Zambrano in an MMA bout than pitching… Unless of course the MMA bout resulted from Zambrano pitching, which isn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility.
Zambrano is an immature hot head who just might rather make trouble amongst his own team than the opposing one. This takes away from the respectable 11-6 record he had in 2010, although it’s only respectable for him since he makes almost $18 million in 2011.
Relief Pitcher: Joaquin Benoit, Detroit Tigers, Three Years, $16.5 Million
Sometimes, you just have to scratch your head when teams do certain things. Is Benoit terrible? No. He’s been solid. Relievers are just too fickle to give this type of contract to. I think this one comes back to bite the Tigers.
Closer: Francisco Rodriguez, New York Mets, $11.5 Million
K-Rod was overpaid when he was first signed to the Mets. He’s even more overpaid considering he’s such a hot head and got himself arrested and suspended for beating up his father-in-law at Citi Field.
Good move.
Rodriguez is a rollercoaster on the mound, and somebody I would never feel comfortable throwing out there with the game on the line.
Manager: Joe Girardi, New York Yankees, 3-Year, $9 Million
Although I think Girardi is a good manager, I think just about any Yankee manager would be overpaid considering the amount of talent on a team. It just feels like most people could make the simple decisions made during an average Yankees game. Granted, every manager makes questionable decisions. And hey, maybe the extra money is justified considering the pressure of being the Yankees manager.