Jeff Suppan Getting Paid To Stay Home

The Brewers have decided to part ways with Jeff Suppan. By part ways, I mean by paying him $10.08 million to sit on his couch or send out applications to other franchises to, um, throw batting practice. Suppan spent three years under the tutelage of Dave Duncan in St. Louis where he posted a 44-26 record and averaged a 3.95 ERA and a 110 ERA +. Those were easily his three best seasons.

His reward. Brewers GM Doug Melvin gave Suppan a 4-year, $42 million dollar contract in 2006 because why not give a league average (at best) pitcher $10 mil a year. In 2007, Suppan posted a 4.62 ERA and a 96 ERA+. Those would be the best numbers the Brewers would see. The ERA climbed every year as the ERA+ fell until this season when he has been relegated to mop up duty. Apparently, his 7.84 ERA and 51 ERA+ weren't cutting it any longer and he was granted his released. But Dougie had nothing but kind words...

"Jeff has always been a true professional. He gave his best effort to the organization, whether it was on the field or in the community. I am confident that he can return to a starting rotation with another organization. We wish Jeff and his family nothing but the best."

Hold up. He's confident Jeff will find a starting gig for another team? So he's going to pay him $10 million to do so? That's one weird business model.

Fun Suppan Fact Number One. Suppan's nickname is Soup. He owns a restaurant in California called Soup's Grill. They neither specialize in soup nor employ the Soup Nazi. Leaving me uninterested in visiting.

Fun Suppan Fact Number Two. This little nugget comes from one of my favorite things ever, Twitter.



How do I get in touch with Scott Leventhal? I've been sitting on my couch for free for way too many years now.