A commonly heard off-season lament is, "If [greedy owner] weren't such a tightwad, he'd open his wallet to improve [my favourite team]. There's no way we can compete without spending more money."

It may be true that [greedy owner] is a tightwad, and it's definitely true that high payrolls correlate with winning. But are big-ticket free-agent acquisitions really the best way to improve a team?? Or will this year's free agent "saviour" be on Canadian Business Online's Worst Value list next year?

Let's see how last year's biggest free agent signings (contracts valued at more than $30 million) performed in 2008.

Looking good

None.

Looking OK

??lex Rodr??guez, Third Base, New York Yankees (10 years, $275 million)
No, he's not worth $27.5 million, but at least Rodriguez continues to be an elite player. The Yankees can afford him (he'd bankrupt most teams), and they're not going to find anyone better to play third base.

Torii Hunter, Center Field, Los Angeles Angels (5 years, $90 million)
Hunter was the consensus best available player (not including A-Rod), and landed the biggest contract. In 2008 he did what he always does, but at $18 million a year, a typical Torii Hunter season suddenly seems like a rip-off. He's good, but he's not a true star.

Francisco Cordero, Relief Pitcher, Cincinnati Reds (4 years, $46 million)
Cordero had a 3.33 ERA and 34 saves with a so-so 85% conversion rate. He wasn't a disaster and had some dominating stretches, but there are dozens of pitchers who can replicate this type of performance for less than $11.5 million a year.

Mariano Rivera, Relief Pitcher, New York Yankees (3 years, $45 million)
Aging like a fine wine, Rivera very quietly had perhaps the best year of his impeccable career (1.40 ERA, 77/6 K/BB; 39 saves). Still, that's an awful lot of money for 70 innings of work.

Looking bad

Aaron Rowand, Center Field, San Francisco Giants (5 years, $60 million)
The consolation prize in the Hunter sweepstakes, Rowand tailed off badly after a fine start. He's Torii Hunter Lite ??? not an impact player. This is not how you replace Barry Bonds.

Jorge Posada, Catcher, New York Yankees (4 years, $52.4 million)
Aging catchers are never wise bets, and Posada, 37, spent most of the season on the disabled list ??? a crippling loss for the Yankees.