Tax Time

The speculation is running rampant on the possible trade of Mark Prior for Miguel Tejada. I don't know if this is a good idea or not. At the end of last year, Prior was a shadow of what we saw in 2003. He's had two problems with his elbow. He's about to get a huge bump in salary. And he can leave after 2008.

Tejada is about as lock solid of a guy that there is out there, performance wise. And he's locked into his contract through 2009.

On the surface, it doesn't seem too unequal. It might even be a no-brainer if an Angel Guzman didn't book the MRI suite for road trips.

But here's what you really need to remember.

A few weeks back, when the Cubs acquired Juan Pierre, it was noted that he price the Cubs paid for Pierre (2 prospects and a AAAA player) was higher than it might have been due to the Furcal Fiasco. There's always a higher cost, a tax if you will, for screwing up.

Well, the Tejada Tax looks like it's going to be Mark Prior or Carlos Zambrano. Instead of eating Alex Gonzalez's $5 million salary in 2004, the Cubs went cheap and passed on Tejada.

If they trade Prior now, what did being cheap in 2004 get them? It might get them another hole in the rotation.

Waste some, want not. Words to live by.

Aside: Anyone else think that the Jacque Jones signing has all the markings of another Alex Gonzalez? Just like A Gonz, Jones is $5 million per year for an average-at-best player whose high salary will be used as an excuse to avoid getting a better replacement in the near future.