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Bucs' spending remind me of my son

My wife made the mistake of telling my son he had some extra cash left from his birthday a couple of months ago.

The money likely was misplaced, but my wife, being the dutiful mother that she is, quickly told our son of his new wealth.

I, however, thought that would be a mistake.

"He'll want to spend it as soon as he can," I said.

I was right.

As soon as he found out, he wanted to buy something. It didn't matter what, he wanted something.

He could have saved the money for a bigger purchase. He could have saved it for something nice.

Nope.

He had to spend it.

Which is kind of how the Pittsburgh Pirates approach free agency.

They have a certain amount of money and they'll be sure to spend it.

Instead of getting a quality player, the Pirates sign the same type of player each year.

Matt Diaz is that player this season. The Bucs and Diaz reached a preliminary two-year, $4.25 contract Wednesday. That comes on the heels of the team getting pitchers Kevin Correia (two years, $8 million) and Scott Olsen (deal pending physical).

Talk about your blockbusters.

Diaz hit .250 with little power for Atlanta last season. He'll likely platoon with Garrett Jones. Correia has half of his starts in pitcher-friendly San Diego and still posted a 5.40 ERA last season. He has a 4.57 career ERA. As for Olsen, he went 4-8 with a 5.56 ERA with Washington.

These kind of deals make you want to run out and get season tickets for Christmas.

Well, at least with my son, I have the chance of changing his ways.

I'm not sure the Bucs will be any different with the management structure they have in place.
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