via today's baseball notes section at boston.com

A few quick facts about the 2009 version of the Pittsburgh Pirates:

• the Yankees infield will be paid almost 4 times what the entire Pirates roster will be paid this year
• the Pirates current payroll ($25 million) is 25% less than what Alex Rodriguez will make this season
• the current annual MLB average salary is $3.3 million.  The Pirates are the only team without a player making at least that amount (Paul Maholm makes $2.5 million)

And lest you think they're just cutting costs because of current tough financial times, consider that they'll get $27 million this year just in revenue sharing from Major League Baseball (remember, the Pirates payroll is roughly $25 million).

So before a single fan buys a ticket or a hot dog at PNC Park, and before the team receives the $35 million from national TV contracts it's owed this year as part of its deal with MLB, owner Robert Nuttig will have already had his roster salaries paid by the other 29 major league teams.

How is that right?