The Worst Team $200m can buy

[BritSox]

I heard someone call the Yanks this again the other day, and was thinking....it's a nice gibe and all, but it's not even remotely close to being true. I'm sure if you tried, you could put together a much worse team, of Royals-esque suckitude, based on 2005 numbers, with the right bad contracts. So, out of the players in MLB today, who would feature on 'the worst team $200m could buy?' Can we get an entire team of scrubs? Or would one or two ok but overhyped players be needed to make that kind of payroll?

Clearly a couple of Yanks have to make the roster. Bernie's $12.35m actually manages to squeeze out even Beltran's monster deal in it's cost-inefficiency for this year alone. Add in Kevin Brown's $15m and we have a nice start.

Continuing with the rotation, Russ Ortiz may not be the most overpaid hurler, but 7.35m for an era of 6.88 makes even the Eric Milton signing look wise.

THe catcher's position is of course sewn up by the backend of another huge deal, Mike Piazza's $16. Yes folks, for just $2m/yr less the the Yanks are paying ARod, you too can have one of the worst defensive catchers in baseball, and a mediocre hitter to boot.

So so far we have:

C Piazza 16m
1B
2B
3B
SS
CF Williams 12.35m
LF
RF

SP Brown 15m
SP Russ Ortiz 7.35m
SP
SP
SP

CL
RP
RP

So far: Four players, $50.7 million spent. Further ideas?

[George_Foreman]

SS is easy. Christian Guzmon of the Washington Nationals.

edit: vinny castilla might be worth tossing on that heap, too.

also, mike hampton is getting paid a HUGE sum, although it's being paid by multiple clubs.

[BritSox]

SS is easy. Christian Guzmon of the Washington Nationals.

Good call. Not the biggest contract, at $4.2m this year, but wasted every penny of it. So we now have $54.9m, and five players.

[Mustangs989]

Not sure how much Chan Ho is getting paid now but I know when he signed with Texas he got a ton of money.

[blankman]

Sosa, no doubt at $17.9 M

Park is making 15

Dreifort

[NZF]

Troy Percival would have to be the closer and Jim Thome is a must at 1B.

And put Sammy Sosa in RF with Bernie.

[Yoda]

C = Kendall/Piazza
1B = Bagwell
2B = Boone
3B = Beltre
SS = Guzman
OF = Sosa

SP = Dreifort, Milton, Glavine
RP = Karsay

[NZF]

Sosa, no doubt at $17.9 M

Is he really getting paid that much? I knew it was a lot but 17.9 million is nothing short of highway robbery.

Some of these GM's have absolutely no idea.

[Yoda]

Sosa, no doubt at $17.9 M

Is he really getting paid that much? I knew it was a lot but 17.9 million is nothing short of highway robbery.

Some of these GM's have absolutely no idea.

Aren't the Cubbies paying for a lot of this?

[Red Stripe]

Add Milton to that list. What's his current contract like 34 mil over like 4 years or something. He's like the posterboy for the team.