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Originally Published: September 5, 2003

Pointing out the very bad

While Mike Maroth is having a truly bad season, there are far worse players clogging up big-league rosters.

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By Jim Caple
ESPN.com
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How about doing everyone a favor and cutting Mike Maroth some slack?

Mike Maroth, right, is on the verge of becoming the first 20-game loser since Brian Kingman lost 20 in 1980.

So he has a chance to become the first pitcher in a quarter century to lose 20 games in a season. Big deal. Tigers owner Mike Ilitch sells Little Caesars pizza and no one makes him feel guilty for that.

We're not going to give you the old cliché about how it takes a pretty good pitcher to lose 20 games, but we will say that not even a good pitcher could win with these Tigers. They're averaging 3.5 runs per game (less than the 1906 White Sox who were known as the Hitless Wonders) and may lose more games than anyone in modern major league history. Who knows what Maroth's record would be with a team that doesn't wear Chico's Bail Bonds on their jerseys?

Besides, it's not like he's the only one in baseball having a rough season. Look at the Rally Monkey. Ray-Mo was the darling of last year's World Series, sparking the Angels to late-game rally after late-game rally. This year the world champs have a losing record, may finish in last place and are 6-67 when trailing after the seventh inning, The Rally Monkey, meanwhile, has spent the summer riding on Geoffrey Rush's shoulder in "Pirates of the Caribbean.''

Ray-Mo's fortunes have fallen so far that San Francisco Chronicle columnist Scott Ostler wrote that he saw him selling oranges on a freeway exit ramp.

Now, that's a bad summer. Compared to that, Maroth is having a great season. And compared to this team of underachievers, he's practically an All-Star.

Starting pitcher
Jeff Weaver, Yankees
What's the difference between Weaver and Maroth? Maroth has a lower ERA (5.42 to 6.06) and is earning 1/13 as much money as Weaver's $4.1 million salary. It's one thing to lose 20 games for one of the worst teams in baseball history, it's another to lose nine games by mid-August for the best team in the league and then losing your spot in the rotation.

	Ausmus

Catcher
Brad Ausmus, Astros
We were about to go with Maroth's battery mate, Brandon Inge, who is hitting .207 and was so bad the Tigers demoted him to Triple-A (which is like being banned from the Jerry Springer Show for being too dysfunctional). Instead we chose Ausmus, who is hitting just .227 with only four home runs and 42 RBI in a hitters' park. With numbers like that, isn't it time for the Tigers to trade for him again?

First base
Daryle Ward, Dodgers
The one-time wunderkind hit 20 home runs in just 264 at-bats in 2000, but has done so little since then that the Astros dumped him on the Dodgers last winter. Nice deal. Ward hit .183 with no home runs and only one extra-base hit before the Dodgers grew tired of him and sent him to Triple-A. He was so bad Los Angeles didn't even bother recalling him in September.

	Alfonzo

Second base
Edgardo Alfonzo, Giants
Teams have had a real good experience dealing for former Mets second baseman this year, haven't they? Alfonzo was supposed to replace Jeff Kent in the Giants infield. The bad news is he's hitting 67 points lower than Kent did last year with 26 fewer home runs at the same point. The good news is he hasn't fallen off his truck and broken his hand.

Shortstop
Ramon Santiago, Tigers
He's not exactly Alex Rodriguez. For one thing, he's hitting .218. For another, he's scored only 33 runs. For another, he's driven in only 18 runs. And for another, he's earning only $307,000. So, at least he's cheap.

	Cirillo

Third base
Jeff Cirillo, Mariners
A .311 career hitter when Seattle traded for him two winters ago, Cirillo was supposed to be the third baseman the Mariners had been searching for ever since Edgar Martinez became a full-time DH. Instead he hit .249 last year, began taking anti-anxiety medicine and then complained about manager Lou Piniella not offering him enough love. Seattle Post-Intelligencer columnist Jim Moore even bet Cirillo that he wouldn't hit .285 this season, promising to rake his leaves and wash his car if he did, with Cirillo donating $20,000 to Moore's charity of choice if he didn't. So what happened under new manager Bob Melvin? Cirillo is even worse, hitting .205 and losing his job. That's all right, though. It gives him more time to wash his car this fall.

Don't let Jeff Kent help!

Outfield
Pat Burrell, Phillies
He hit 37 home runs with 116 RBI last season. He signed a six-year, $50 million contract last winter. He had his own fan club of gorgeous young women -- Burrell's Girls. Everything was perfect. And then the season started. Burrell is hitting .207 with fewer RBI (59) than Randall Simon (60). But to really appreciate how bad this season has gone, consider that when Burrell had his hair dyed blonde, the bleach burned his scalp.

Oh well, at least Philly fans are pretty understanding about such things.

	Higginson

Bobby Higginson, Tigers
It's one thing to be a terrible team. It's another thing to be an expensive, terrible team. The Tigers may lose more games than any team in modern big-league history, but their payroll still is $47 million. And almost a quarter of it is going to Higginson, who is hitting .237 with 47 RBI.

Jermaine Dye, A's
With a payroll of $49 million, the Athletics can't afford to tie up a lot of their money in one player. Especially in one player who can't hit even when he is healthy. Dye is making nearly $12 million, almost one-quarter of Oakland's payroll and more than they're paying Eric Chavez, Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, Barry Zito and Rich Harden combined. He's hitting .152 with two home runs and has missed half the season.

	Giambi

Designated hitter
Jeremy Giambi, Red Sox
Is there a reason Boston GM Theo Epstein gave this guy $2 million? Yes, he had a .342 on-base percentage this season, but his slugging percentage was only .354 and he hit under the Mendoza Line (.197). He'll spend the rest of the season on the disabled list, wondering whether Arnold Schwarzenegger would allow medicinal marijuana for a sore shoulder.

Closer
Mike Williams/Jose Mesa, Phillies
They've both been so bad that we're going with a closer by committee. After making the All-Star team with a 6.44 ERA, Williams became the symbol of how overrated closers are and how cheap saves have become. He's earning $3.5 million, he has a higher ERA than Maroth, he's lost six games and has blown seven save chances. And the thing is, he isn't his team's worst reliever. That distinction goes to Mesa who has an even higher ERA (6.26) and more losses (seven). He would have more official blown saves (four), but the Phillies keep taking him out before he can officially get it.

These guys are making $8.7 million and neither can protect a lead. No wonder Philly fans are so angry all the time.

Jim Caple is a senior writer for ESPN.com.