I’m not making this up. During the early stages of the last night’s first game of the series between the Stros (46-53) and the Pirates (45-54) to determine last place in the National League Central, the following advertisement appeared on one of the Minute Maid Park screens:

Mini-Season Ticket Packages Still Available!

Playoff Ticket Option Included!

Uh, I think that playoff ticket option is of dubious value.

As the Pirates were putting up a 7-spot on the Stros in the top of the 9th on their way to a 9-3 win, I noticed something that pretty well sums up the sorry state of the Stros these days. Although they do not have a hitter the caliber of the Stros Lance Berkman (51 RCAA/.438 OBA/.638 SLG/1.075 OPS), the Pirates — who are heading toward their 16th straight losing season — have four hitters who are at least as productive this season as the Stros’ second-best hitter, Carlos Lee (18 RCAA/.353 OBA/.550 SLG/.903 OPS).

The four Pirates are Jason Bay (29 RCAA/.379 OBA/.514 SLG/.893 OPS); Nate McClouth (24 RCAA/.350 OBA/.527 SLG/.878 OPS); Xavier Nady (22 RCAA/.377 OBA/.526 SLG/.903 OPS); and Ryan Doumit (20 RCAA/.380 OBA/.560 SLG/.939 OPS). As a result, the Pirates overall (+38 RCAA) are vastly superior to the Stros (-44 RCAA) in hitting. Only their abysmal pitching (-138 RSAA!) keeps the Pirates in the fight for the cellar with the Stros.

At any rate, guess the total amount the Pirates are paying all four of those hitters?: $10,187,000, or more than $2 million less than the $12.5 million that the Stros are paying this season to Lee alone. And Lee’s salary goes up to $18.5 million for each of the 2009-2012 seasons.

As I suspected when the Stros signed Lee to that contract, that is the kind of contract that can turn a contender into an also-ran very quickly. Unfortunately, the value of the contract relative to Lee’s above-average (but not spectacular) productivity, combined with a no-trade clause, makes it virtually certain that the Stros will not be able to unload it.

By the way, did anyone else notice who has climbed into second place today?