I've seen this making the rounds on the usual blogs, so I thought I should share it here for a very important reason:

The Worst Contracts in MLB

Notice one team in particular that's conspicuously absent from this list? That's right it's your Pittsburgh Pirates (along with the Rays, Phillies, Marlins, Braves, and Padres). You probably could not have said that as recently as 2-3 years ago, depending on your opinion of the Jason Kendall contract.

Some will argue that the Pirates' absence from this list has to do with the fact that the Nuttings are generally unwilling to put up enough money to saddle the team with an albatross contract, and I can't really disagree with that. However, I think it does warrant mentioning that Team Neal could have mishandled the McLouth, Doumit, and Maholm negotiations, but whether it was because of the lousy economy or just sound business strategy, they managed to handle themselves pretty well. Just saying.