Luvofthegame
09-02-2006, 09:06 PM
By Tracy Ringolsby
Rocky Mountain News.com
September 1, 2006
Pirates right fielder Jeromy Burnitz, diving, is among pricey free agents who have failed to improve the team's record this season. Burnitz and free agent Joe Randa have combined for 75 RBI for Pittsburgh.STORY TOOLS
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Word out of Pittsburgh is that for the second year in a row, ownership is going to beef up the payroll for 2007. What nobody is saying is who's going to be spending the money.
General manager Dave Littlefield is under contract, but he also has been on the job for more than five years, brought in his hand-picked manager, Jim Tracy, last offseason and is facing the potential of having a worse record than the year before for the third season in a row. The Pirates also could lose 100 games for the second time in 21 years.
Having money is one thing, but spending it properly is another.
Too often teams looking for credibility feel they have to spend whatever budget they have, regardless of the return on their investment.
Pittsburgh has suffered from that since long before Littlefield got the job, but last offseason was another display of misspending simply because the payroll budget jumped to nearly $48 million.
The Pirates made three key free agent signings - third baseman Joe Randa, outfielder Jeromy Burnitz and reliever Roberto Hernandez. Hernandez was dealt to the Mets a couple of weeks ago.
Randa and Burnitz have combined to drive in 75 runs for the $10 million investment and are spending the bulk of their time on the bench, waiting for the season to end so they can become unemployed.
Rocky Mountain News.com
September 1, 2006
Pirates right fielder Jeromy Burnitz, diving, is among pricey free agents who have failed to improve the team's record this season. Burnitz and free agent Joe Randa have combined for 75 RBI for Pittsburgh.STORY TOOLS
Email this story | Print
Word out of Pittsburgh is that for the second year in a row, ownership is going to beef up the payroll for 2007. What nobody is saying is who's going to be spending the money.
General manager Dave Littlefield is under contract, but he also has been on the job for more than five years, brought in his hand-picked manager, Jim Tracy, last offseason and is facing the potential of having a worse record than the year before for the third season in a row. The Pirates also could lose 100 games for the second time in 21 years.
Having money is one thing, but spending it properly is another.
Too often teams looking for credibility feel they have to spend whatever budget they have, regardless of the return on their investment.
Pittsburgh has suffered from that since long before Littlefield got the job, but last offseason was another display of misspending simply because the payroll budget jumped to nearly $48 million.
The Pirates made three key free agent signings - third baseman Joe Randa, outfielder Jeromy Burnitz and reliever Roberto Hernandez. Hernandez was dealt to the Mets a couple of weeks ago.
Randa and Burnitz have combined to drive in 75 runs for the $10 million investment and are spending the bulk of their time on the bench, waiting for the season to end so they can become unemployed.