MLB is so screwed up, it's not even funny anymore.

Bud Selig is proof used car salesmen are barely more human than politicians.

From SB Nation Pittsburgh:

Bud Selig Calls Out Pirates For Overspending

News of the Pirates' big spending on the 2011 MLB Draft was welcomed by many, especially critics who've long dismissed management as being cheap. MLB Commissioner Bud Selig was not among those thrilled by the big bonuses dealt to first-round pick Gerrit Cole and second-round pick Josh Bell, however, as Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman reports.

According to people in attendance at the owners meetings in Cooperstown, the [Pirates and Nationals] were singled out by Selig for overspending.

Selig's pet project is to institute a hard cap for baseball's drafted amateur players. This year's draft, which featured a total guaranteed haul of $236 million, according to Baseball America draft and signing guru Jim Callis, was up 17 percent from last year, giving Selig more ammunition to press hard for a firm cap in this year's CBA negotiations.

"[Selig] is more determined than ever to get slotting," one person who knows Selig well said.

With a hard slotting system, it's unlikely the Pirates could have lured Bell away from his commitment to the University of Texas. Bell would have been locked into a bonus likely much smaller than the $5 million he signed for, and there's a good chance he would have decided on college rather than jumping straight to the minor leagues from high school.

For this reason, a slotting system would probably be a disaster for a small-market team like the Pirates unless it's tied to a Big League salary cap. Unable to compete with big-market clubs like the Yankees and Red Sox for elite free agents, the Pirates have elected to bring in elite talent by dropping big bucks in the draft in recent years. If the Bucs ability to do that is legislated out of baseball and the Pirates are forced onto a level playing field in the draft while the big market clubs are able to do whatever they want in free agency, it'll be a major blow to their long term prospects of playing at a championship level consistently. The big clubs will likely be at too much of an advantage in free agency, and the Bucs would likely be without any kind of effective counter.

Thankfully, if you're a Pirates fan, Heyman reports a source says Selig would have to "shut down the game" to get a slotting system into a new collective bargaining agreement, so there might be hope yet for teams like the Bucs who like to load up through the draft.