The Futility Infielder

It's that time of the month again. My latest Prospectus Triple Play is up on BP today, and it's free. As usual it's a bit heavier on the Dodger analysis than on the others, but then again, they've been one of the busiest teams this offseason, and the statheads can't get enough of Paul DePodesta. For the other two clubs, I spent a bit more time cracking wise while taking note of Eric Munson being signed to a minor-league deal, Pedro Feliz being overpaid, and the dark, unseemly world of the most hated man in baseball, A.J. Pierzynski.

A late note about new Giants rightfielder Moises Alou. Prior to publication, I couldn't find the actual breakdown of his contract, which was reported as a two-year, $13.25 million deal with incentives and a player option for 2006. Just after the article went up, Fogball's Tom Gorman gave me a pointer to the one source that actually broke the deal down, Joe Roderick of the Contra Costa Times. Basically, Alou's base salary for '05 is $7.25 million, but some of it's deferred ($1 million to '06, $1.5 million to '07). His player option for '06 is for $6 million, but the Giants would pay $2 million of that chunk in '08.

Personally, I think Giants GM Brian Sabean should skip the creative financing if it means spending money on the likes of Mike Matheny, Omar Vizquel, and Grandma Moises, but then again, I actually get paid to write about their follies once in awhile, and I still get to root against them. So go get 'em, Sabes. You can borrow my brother's calculator to compute the compound interest if you need it.