-David S.-

2011 was certainly the biggest free agent year ever.  Millions and millions of dollars were spent.   Teams need to remember that one player may sell lots of tickets, but it doesn’t guarantee you a winning season.  The question is, are these players worth all the money?

Albert Pujols Contract: 10-year  $250 million

Albert Pujols Stats (as of 5-19-12): H: 34   HR: 3  RBI: 18  AVG: .215

Not Worth It!!! Albert has been slumping all season so far.  He has hit 30 or more home runs in every season of his 11 years in the bigs.  Angel fans must be starting to worry about this mega deal and all of the money that is being burned.  Could this be a start of a declining career for Albert?

Prince Fielder Contract: 10-year, $214 million

Prince Fielder (as of 5-19-12): H: 46  HR: 7   RBI: 24  AVG: .303

SO SO…Prince has been pretty sub-par this year.  Not horrible, but not outstanding.  I think that he’ll heat up as the year goes by and gets into a groove.

Rickie Weeks Contract: 4-year, $38.5 million

Rickie Weeks Stats (as of 5-19-12): H:22  HR: 4  RBI: 7  AVG: .154

HORRIBLE!!!!!!!! I don’t get why on Earth the Brewers are paying him this much money.  He’s never been a great player.  Weeks is also injury prone and whenever he has a good year going, he gets injured.  I’m sick of watching him strike out over and over again.  Furthermore, his defense is questionable.  He can make a play look fantastic, but only when the ball comes right to him.

Jonathan Lucroy Contract: H: 38   HR: 2   RBI: 20   AVG: .330

Jonathan Lucroy Stats (as of  5-19-12): 5-year $11 million

BARGAIN!!!!!! Jonathan Lucroy is a monster!!!!!  You can always depend on him for a clutch hit and great defense.  A  star in the making.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the All-Star game this year.  The good thing is that the Brewers locked him up for a while and he was very cheap.

The Moral is that you can’t judge a player by a paycheck.