Oh What the Eck

new ss signee should be serviceable. basically the same player as womack, at a diff't position. on-base avgs are acceptable, and he appears to make the routine plays in the field. but his range is not even close to edgar's.

also to the good, eckstein comes at a reasonable price --- a better value than either edgar or cabrera. but here's what i want to know: if this guy's worth $3.5 mill a year for three years, why wasn't womack worth $2.5 mill for two?

and here's another $$$ question: this year the cards have shed tino, edgar, woody, matheny, and kline from the payroll and cut morris's salary by $10 mill ---- a seeming windfall, roughly $30 million. but so far all they've done is add mid-priced contracts (mulder eckstein and 1/2 of walker's salary) and absorb a $4 mill spike in suppan's contract . . . . all of which by my estimate totals about $20 mill. whither the rest? and who's still on the market that's worth spending the money on? . . . . i think walt has missed some opportunities.

but perhaps i'm quibbling. to give walt his due, he's plugging the holes well enough to keep the team competitive, and he has avoided biting some dangerous bait this off-season, for which i give him loads of credit.