The Sports Monitor

It's Opening Day and I had the misfortune of turning on the Pirates. It's early in the game as I write this, but it's hard to get excited about a team that features Lyle Overbay as its cleanup hitter. So even if he does come through with a game-winning homer, I won't change my mind. I know the Pirates are trying to justify his offseason acquisition, but batting him fourth? The last time I checked, teams put their biggest home-run threat fourth. Overbay is coming off seasons of 20, 16, 15 and 10 homers. And it's not like Overbay had limited action in those seasons. His at-bat totals were: 607, 500, 627 and 476. I know new manager Clint Hurdle is full of energy and is ultra-positive, but this move reeks of something John Russell would do.

Meet your new first baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates: Lyle Overbay. The Bucs continued their overspending spree on mediocre or washed up players Tuesday by signing Overbay to a one-year, $5 million contract. Overbay, 33, hit .243 last season with the Blue Jays with 20 home runs. The last time he hit 20 homers was 2006 when he hit 22. He's solid defensively, but lacks the skills to make contact. He certainly doesn't have the profile of your prototypical first baseman, which is probably why he was available for the Pirates. The Bucs' new plan is to have Overbay play first base with Garrett Jones and Matt Diaz splitting time in right field. At $5 million, it's a bad plan. I can't imagine fans going out to buy season tickets as Christmas gifts because of this signing.