Just because we live in a world where Shane Victorino can make $39 million over three years doesn't mean it's OK to pay Shane Victorino $39 million over three years.

Maybe there is a long-term plan -- maybe this paves the way for trading Jacoby Ellsbury for legitimate starting pitching (which, let us not forget, is all that really matters) -- but as an individual baseball decision the addition of Victorino at that price is a mistake, plain and simple.

Of the 144 major league players with enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title last season, Victorino ranked 116th in OPS and 121st in slugging (that would be one spot ahead of Mike Aviles). I know we have been told not to care about batting average anymore, but for those of you dinosaurs who pay attention to that charming but antiquated statistic should note that Victorino hit a career-worst .255 in 2012, 20 points below his career average.

So for the second time in as many days it appears Ben Cherington -- with many if not most of the local media only too happy to help with positive spin -- has overpaid for a player coming off of a lousy season. Isn't it supposed to be the other way? Understanding there has been shifts and guys almost always get paid more than they should, it still strikes me that Victorino should come closer to a buy-low candidate than an clear and obvious overpay.

And it really shouldn't matter that the Cleveland Indians had already offered Victorino $44 million over four years, as has been reported. Not a factor. If that's an actual option for Victorino, you let him go to Cleveland and find someone else. 

I get the Napoli signing, I really do. I think it's too much money for a player who has played 113 and 108 games the last two seasons (still would like to know why Texas -- we all agree a pretty solid baseball organization, right? -- declined on the $13.3 qualifying offer to Napoli while the Sox were happy to triple it in both years and money) and is coming off of a 2012 line of .227/.343/.812, but I recognize the upside.

Victorino is a platoon player. This is not written to be hyperbolic, to get a rise, it is a statistical reality. And you'd think for $13 million a year you would at least get a platoon player who excels against right-handed pitching. That's not Victorino.

In 2012 Victorino had a .229/.296./.333 line against righties. Now, to be fair, that came in the worst season of his major league career (it's true -- Victorino landed a $39 million deal after posting the worst OBP, slugging and batting average of his career, and we aren't exactly dealing with past numbers that will be confused with Miguel Cabrera's). So let's go just a year back to 2011. Victorino had a fine season, finishing with a slugging percentage of .491 and an OPS of .847. Guess what? He was still just a little better than average against righties -- slugged .455 with an OPS of .787 -- but destroyed lefties, an OPS of 1.032. 

For his career Victorino has 2.979 plate appearances against right-handed pitching as a left-handed batter and his OPS is .732. In his last three seasons -- which, again, includes 2011, maybe the best of his career -- he has a .387 slugging percentage in 1,231 at-bats as a left-handed hitter (for some frame of reference, Darnell McDonald has a career .394 slugging percentage.) Victorino's struggles as a left-handed hitter were so profound last season that at the end of the year the switch-hitter began to hit right-handed against right-handed pitching. To some that might be a red flag, for the Red Sox it's evidently still another reason to go above market value.

Look, there are positives to Victorino, of course. A very good defensive player and by every account a swell guy to have in the clubhouse. And three years and $39 million isn't the kind of contract that will come close to limiting this franchise when exploring other options. 

And those other moves may happen this week. At some point Cherington will have to get around to finding some reliable starting pitching. And I'm not talking 38-year-old R.A. Dickey for the two best prospects in the organization, but someone who fits in the middle of the rotation and is under some club control contractually. Not an easy find, but an essential one. We can talk all day about chicken and beer and Bobby Valentine and chemistry and how much John Henry enables the players and all that stuff, but the Red Sox were the best team in baseball in August 2011 and have been 30 games below .500 since because of the starting pitching. If Cherington doesn't solve that, Napoli and Victorino are meaningless. 

It's very early, but the returns on the Era of Discipline have been David Ross, David Ortiz, Mike Napoli and Shane Victorino for about 110 million bucks. Not a disaster, but is anyone really overwhelmed by that haul?

And Victorino is easily the worst of the four deals. American League batters had a .731 OPS last season. Victorino has a career .732 OPS against right-handed pitching. For roughly three-quarters of his at-bats Victorino is by definition an average hitter. And for that he will be paid $13 million for each of the next three seasons. 

That may not qualify as undisciplined, but it's the worst move Ben Cherington has made in his tenure as general manager of the Red Sox.