I'll Bet That You Can't Put Your Princeton Degree to Work For You Like This

Ross Ohlendorf pitches for the worst team in baseball.

Ross Ohlendorf is a starting pitcher for that team.

Ross Ohlendorf went 1-11 for that team in 2010.

Ross Ohlendorf went to Princeton (and by all accounts is a very bright guy).

Ross Ohlendorf is a member of the most successful union in the history of organized labor.

Ross Ohlendorf got roughly a 461% raise for his efforts. He made $439,000 in 2010 and will make $2.025 million in 2011.

This bit of baseball news could prompt a lot of comments, such as:

1. Gee, what if he won 2 games?

2. Gee, what if he had a winning record above .500?

3. Gee, what if he won 15 games?

4. Omigod.

5. Well, the players' union must have put the leftover steroids to good use -- they injected them into salaries of pitchers who will be more remembered for their academics than their records.

6. Wow, this makes Andy Reid's hiring of his offensive line coach as his defensive coordinator sound rational.

7. If it were the Philadelphia Daily News, they'd repeat the headline they used for #6 and say, "WTF?"

8. No wonder why the Pirates are doomed.

9. The baseball stat people might figure out a way to contend that this is a bargain because, well, had you put this guy on the Phillies, he might be the righthanded version of Cole Hamels. (Somehow, I think that's a reach, but perhaps that's what his agent tried to argue).

10. Civilization as we know it is doomed.

11. That's why parents will do almost anything to have their kids go to a place like Princeton -- "it's all about the bucks, kid."

12. He probably has some Princeton classmates who make more money at Google or on Wall Street than he does.

And perhaps many more.

But that's baseball for you. It's great work if you can get it.