Baffling Bucs

The Pirates have signed Raul Mondesi. Besides having to consider him in my fantasy league drafts now, and I'll try as hard as I can not to draft him, I can't see any reason why the Pirates would do this. At best, Mondesi helps the Bucs win 5 more games that they otherwise would not have, getting them to 75, and his attitude is a non-issue. But when you think about it, what are the chances of a best case scenario playing out? 5% tops maybe? And am I skipping over any additional positives he might provide? It's not like fans are going to pay to come out and see the Great Mondesi. And it's not like his attitude is going to imbue the young players in the clubhouse with a sense of pride for the team and working towards team accomplishments.

Worst case? Raul realizes in mid-April that the Pirates are the worst team he has ever played on and he wants out. Look for a bowl full of laughs to ensure after that. Fun and games for all as Lloyd McClendon keeps talking about his "professional" and keeps running him out there day after day, missed cutoff after overthrow. And I'm sure his malingering won't have any impact on the other guys in the locker room. It's already a miserable enough place with Jason Kendall leading the league in lack of effort miserable attitude. Now along comes one of the few guys who could teach Mr Kendall a thing or three.