Was a first-round playoff exit worth $28 million?

10. Adam Eaton, Phillies (3 years, $24 million; 10-10, 6.29 ERA) – There were others who gave Adam a fight for the No. 10 spot on the list, but after looking at the numbers he was clearly the right choice to make the cut and possibly could have pushed for a higher ranking had he not pitched well in helping the Mets to the worst collapse in baseball history. I still find it hard to believe that Eaton is worth $8 million a year in today’s market, which is simply mind boggling, but that’s an argument for another day. Adam gave the Phillies their moneys worth with a nice 6.29 ERA, averaging 5.38 innings per start, a step up from his exact 5 in 2006. Maybe this was an off-year for an average major league starter, but letting opponents hit .378 off you is just hard to fathom.

9. Jeff Weaver, Mariners (1 year, $8.25 million; 7-13, 6.20 ERA) – Somehow this man is still able to find work in the major leagues. Weaver joined Seattle (his sixth team) after a year in which he gave up 34 home runs, only one less from his 35 in 2005. Analysts cannot talk enough about how great Weaver’s “stuff” is, but opposing hitters obviously do not think much of it, considering they hit .357 off him in 2007. The only reason Jeff is this low on the list (and believe me, I would absolutely love to put him up top for allowing that walk-off home run back in the 2003 World Series to the Marlins) is because he only signed a one-year deal. The Mariners took a risk and lost with their $8-million investment, but at least their marriage with Weaver did not cost them too much.

8. Barry Zito, Giants (7 years, $126 million; 11-13, 4.53 ERA) – The only thing keeping Barry out of the Top 5 on this list is the fact that he does have six years remaining on his contract. But when you sign the largest contract ever for a pitcher, you should probably post an ERA in AT LEAST the 3-range, especially in the NL West. And finishing two games under .500 after 33 starts is not exactly “ace” material. Zito owes the Giants a Cy Young-esque season in 2008, or he might be on the top of this list next October. Zito still needs to prove to me that he is not just a one-year wonder. That one year was his Cy Young season.

7. Roger Clemens, Yankees (1 year, $28 million; 6-6, 4.18 ERA) – The Rocket wanted to return to the Bronx and bring Yankee fans championship No. 27. Instead they had to settle for a .500 pitcher and only 17 starts from the future hall-of-famer. Clemens pitched 2 1/3 innings in Game 3 of the ALDS against the Indians and was replaced by rookie Philip Hughes in the eventual win. But since many Yankees have said Roger helped to spark the  team’s emotions with his return and their run at a wild card berth he can stay low on the list. It would seem that this was the last stop of a career that began in 1984, and if it is going to cost someone this price to have Roger back next summer, it really is not worth it  anymore.

6. Daisuke Matsuzaka, Red Sox (6 years, $103 million including bid; 14-12, 4.40 ERA) – If $103 million buys you a No. 3 starter in the AL nowadays, there are going to be some teams with serious pitching holes in the coming seasons. Dice-K was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated in their 2007 MLB Preview and hardly lived up to the hype that Red Sox Nation placed on him. After the gyroballers flight was followed from Scott Boras’ in California to Boston back in December, the Japanese righty had some trouble keeping the ball in the park, giving up 25 home runs in his rookie campaign. The projected 20+ game winner and early Cy Young favorite was anything but that and will need to adjust to the North American game if he wants his numbers to improve in ’08.

5. Mike Mussina, Yankees (2 years, $25 million; 11-10, 5.15 ERA) – The Yankees had a $19 million club option on the Moose for 2007 and did the right thing by choosing not to exercise it. However, they did choose to give Mussina a two-year deal for less money. After it was obvious he was in a serious decline as a major league pitcher, Brian Cashman gave Mussina another couple years to waste the Yankees time. However, this season, the Moose’s top supporter, Joe Torre, was given no choice, but to demote Mussina to the bullpen after allowing 19 earned runs over the course of three consecutive starts. The Yankees would be smart to admit to their mistake, eat Mussina’s contract and let him go as there is clearly no room in the Yankees rotation next season with Philip Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, and Ian Kennedy all ready for the bigs.

4. Kei Igawa, Yankees (5 years, $46 million including bid) – I could think of a lot of things to do with $4 million a year, giving it to Kei Igawa would probably be the last thing. Igawa was simply awful (aside from that one unusual day in the Bronx when he shut down the Red Sox) and between he and Matsuzaka, maybe now scouts will know that Japan’s Central League is just a little bit different than the major leagues. The former Japanese strikeout king thought that pitching high in the strike zone in the American League would translate into success, but I think he got the point when he found himself in Tampa working out at the Yankees’ minor-league complex. There were rumors of clubs interested him at the July 31 deadline, but Brian Cashman decided to hang onto New York’s latest version of Hideki Irabu, a move that will come back to hurt them as any value he still has will soon be gone.

3. Julio Lugo, Red Sox (4 years, $36 million; .237 AVG, 8 HR, 73 RBI) – They could have re-signed Orlando Cabrera in 2004. They could have kept Edgar Renteria in 2005 or even Alex Gonzalez in 2006. And because of the seasons Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell are having, let’s forget that they had Hanley Ramirez. But Julio Lugo? Come on. Sure, he was the best shortstop in last year’s free agent class, but an 0-for-33 in the middle of the season had Julio not even batting his weight (a mere 175 lbs). Had the Red Sox not finished first in their division, the Boston media would have packed Lugo’s bags for him and most likely would have covered the cost of the plane ticket as well.

2. Jason Schmidt, Dodgers (3 years, $47 million; 1-4, 6.31 ERA) – There is not much you can write about a pitcher who only made six starts and pitched 25 2/3 innings, except for the fact that when you make $15.7 million a year you should take the mound a few more times. It is hard to get on someone who signs a big deal and is injured, but it would not be fair to Carl Pavano to leave Schmidt off this list since Pavano has gotten terrible publicity for his lengthy list of misfortunes that have caused him to miss excessive time. The Dodgers are hoping Schmidt can make a full recovery by spring training because as of right now Jason is taking them for $7.83 million per start.

1. J.D. Drew, Red Sox (5 years, $70 million; .270 AVG, 11 HR, 64 RBI) – The only person that could have stripped Drew of the No. 1 ranking would have been our old friend Carl Pavano if only he had been signed this past winter. But Drew took the cake in this poll, failing to fill into the five-hole in the Red Sox order behind Ortiz and Manny, and would have lost his everyday role with the team to Jacoby Ellsbury had Manny not missed so much time at the end of the season. J.D. was able to play in 140 games this year, reaching that plateau for only the third time in nine full seasons in the league. J.D. hit exactly zero home runs in both May and July and one homer in August. Theo Epstein and company have to be wondering why they let a similar player in Trot Nixon walk before 2007, and at the same time they have to wonder where Drew fits into the ’08 roster now that Ellsbury has proven he is major league ready.