Have you ever made a high-end purchase – a new car, a new big screen television, a new laptop, or whatever – and as soon as you get it home you immediately ask yourself “Was this a smart idea? Did I really need this? Can I actually afford this?” It’s called buyer’s remorse and at one time or another we all have or will go through it – some more than others.

On December 30, 2015, the Dodgers signed a then 32-year-old Scott Kazmir to a three-year / $48 million deal. There is zero doubt that at the time it seemed like a great deal for Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Farhan Zaidi. Since that day, Kazmir has made a grand total of 26 starts for the Dodgers, with his last being on September 23, 2016 – a 5-3 win over the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. To his credit, the Houston, Texas native with whom Friedman had come to know well during their days together with the Tampa Bay Rays, would finish his first full season in a Dodger uniform with an impressive 10-6 record and a respectable 4.56 ERA; not top-of-the-rotation-type numbers but certainly good enough for a number four or a number five guy. But was this good enough to justify spending $48 million on a guy who has yet to make even one pitch in the second year of that lofty three-year deal while recovering from what is listed as a left hip strain? Buyer’s remorse?

Perhaps.

And then on December 16, 2016, the Dodgers resigned a then 36-year-old Rich Hill to a (wait for it..) three-year / $48 million deal that will take him through the 2019 season. And even though the extremely likable and brutally honest Boston, Massachusetts native was absolutely brilliant in Game-3 of the 2016 National League Championship Series when he tossed a 6-0 shutout against the eventual World Series champion Chicago Cubs before signing that huge contract extension and finishing the 2016 regular season with an impressive 3-2 record and very impressive 1.83 ERA, he spent six weeks on the disabled list for a recurring blister issue on his left middle finger, a condition which has already landed him on the DL twice this season as well. In fact, through the Dodgers first 47 games thus far this season (including Wednesday night), Hill has made only four starts with a 1-2 record and 4.76 ERA. But is this good enough enough to justify spending $48 million on a guy who some have affectionately dubbed “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hill?”

You didn’t need to be a lip reader to fully understand what Rich Hill was saying as he was walking off the field after the second inning on Wednesday night. (Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA)

Speaking of Wednesday night, all Hill did was allow five earned runs on four hits while striking out four and issuing a career single-game high seven walks in his four innings of work. And while the intensely competitive 6′-5″ / 220-pound lefty with his signature eephus-like curveball was (very) visibly annoyed with several borderline calls by veteran home plate umpire Rob Drake, the bottom line is that the Dodgers eventual 6-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in front of 40,653 at Dodger Stadium was because Hill was … well, horrible. To his credit, however, Hill accepted full responsibility for his poor outing.

“The finger is no issue,” Hill told reporters after the game. “No, I was just terrible, honestly. It’s just embarrassing. I mean, there’s no issue with the finger. I’m completely healthy. That’s all I can really say about that.”

Although this may have been all that Hill said to the media, he was clearly seen on television saying a bit more when walking off the field after the second inning when he unleashed a string of expletives that brought one viewer to tweet a quote from a popular (but poignant) television commercial – “Daddy, we don’t say words like that.”

“Daddy, we don’t say words like that.”
(Video capture courtesy of Values.com)

What was also abundantly clear after Hill’s abbreviated outing on Wednesday night is that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wasn’t particularly pleased with it either.

“I know he’s an emotional pitcher, but you’ve got to compose yourself in some capacity and still execute pitches,” Roberts said. “It wasn’t about execution, it was continue to focus on executing and not get too frustrated by the strike zone. I’m just so accustomed to seeing Rich with command of his curveball. He can really manipulate, and today he had no feel. Changing arm angles, but couldn’t find any consistency tonight.”

Roberts did, however, credit his veteran left-hander with his ability to rebound after a rough outing and expects that he will do fine when the two teams square off again next week in St. Louis.

“We all know what Rich can be in recent history. At the forefront is keep the blister at bay and now pitch well. I’m confident he will,” said Roberts. “This guy is ultra-competitive. He’s got them again in St. Louis and he’ll be ready to go.”

But here again, are the Dodgers getting their money’s worth out of Rich Hill? Buyer’s remorse?

Perhaps.

The big difference is that Scott Kazmir is on the hook through the 2018 season and Hill through the 2019 season, and to be brutally honest, it will be an absolute miracle if either are still in the Dodgers starting rotation when their respective contracts expire.

Buyer’s remorse indeed.