Part III: AL West Amnesty

Jorge Says No! introduced amnesty earlier and we are happy to present to you our AL Central picks. Which contract would your team want to waive at the end of this season? Lets take a look:

Angels:
Is there any doubt who the Angels would pick here? Your favorite $50 million dollar HGH filled backup outfielder, Gary Matthews Jr! Since being signed for the ridiculous $50 mil over 5 years after the 2006 season, Matthews Jr. has been terrible and is now lower on the depth chart than Joey Harrington. Matthews is only hitting .240 with 8 HR this season, which is a far cry from his spectacular 2006 campaign (.313 BA with 24 HR). Can we please get this guy some HGH?

Mariners:
A few good options here. We could go with C Kenji Johjima, who was rewarded by Seattle management with a 3 year extension at the beginning of this season. Oh yeah, he's hitting .215 right now AND your best position prospect, Jeff Clement, is a catcher. But Johjima is a draw to the Japanese crowd and we all know how important that is in the Seattle market. And to be honest, SP Miguel Batista and his 6 ERA have no business being in the major leagues right now, but he is only signed through 2009.
So the final choice is obvious: SP Carlos Silva. Why Bill Bavasi signed Silva is beyond me, but the fact that he gave Silva $48 mil over 4 years is downright insane. Is he serious with that contract? Did anyone remind Bavasi that Silva can't strike anyone out and only had one full season with a sub 4 ERA before this season? I guess not. And oh yeah, Silva has a 6.46 ERA this season. Nice investment there Mr Bavasi.

Athletics:
No real candidates here besides 3B Eric Chavez. Unfortunately, Chavez has been injured for a majority of the time since 2007 and has not resembled his 2000-2002 self in a few years. Gone are the days of the gold glove defense, 30+ HR, and 100+ RBI. The Athletics signed Chavez after 2004 to a 6 year/$66 mil dollar contract thinking that he would be the face of the franchise. The Athletics simply cannot afford to pay a guy $11 million dollars who may never produce half of that level ever again especially with a $47 million dollar payroll.

Rangers:
Even though the obvious answer should be Kevin Millwood, I think that SS Michael Young is a much better option. For whatever reason, the Rangers gave him an $80 million dollar extension through 2013, which is about $20-$25 million too much for a player of Young's caliber. Yes he is a great player who hits for a nice average. Yes he is a team leader and a consummate professional on and off the field. But in Texas, where pitching is so scarce, that money could have been spent wiser on pitching. Hitters are not hard to find in Texas, pitching is.
Oh boy.