What Are The Nationals Smoking?

The Washington Nationals have reportedly signed Adam Dunn to a two-year, $20 million contract.

We've been reading so much about how (a) the economy is affecting free agency, and (b) in particular, the poor economy is why so many players who might be commodities in other years are finding themselves without contracts as spring training begins. We're expecting that most of these guys - Bobby Abreu and Dunn among them - would eventually sign for much less than they'd have received in past seasons.

So what the hell are the Nationals doing paying $10m for a guy who's probably desperate for half of that? That the Nats need his power, and may be able to swallow his poor batting average, isn't the point. You can't expect to compete when you throw away money, especially if you're not a big-spending team. Washington just paid as much as $5m a year more than they needed to. That's enough for a veteran player that now they can't afford to sign.

In other words, more of the same from a wayward franchise.