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I like the deal.

Carp has been healthy since he's been here, except for a freak nerve thing.

He's being rewarded for being an ace and for taking less money when he could have demanded more before.

In an age when Roger Clemens, David Wells, and Kenny Rogers are pitching well into their 40's, I'm not so concerned about signing Carp to a deal like this at his current age.

Like I said, I like the deal. I LOVE that we have the anchors of our pitching staff and lineup locked up for the rest of the decade.

Kyle wrote:

JCShutout wrote:Again, I don't hate the deal, but I would have preferred something around 11-12/per over the last 3 years (instead of 16), especially since Carp has talked about how he doesn't really care what the Cards pay him, as long as its competitive.

He's $11 / $12 really competitive?

In 2009, Jeff Suppan, Vicente Padilla and Ted Lilly-esque pitchers will be getting that money.

Carp gave us a few years of being severely underpaid. I think we should be grateful for that and move on. He's giving us a discount, there's really no doubt about that.

Zito could very well get $17 a year in the contract he gets...

Even on this market, he would be underpaid... it will be even a bigger discrepancy down the line.

I think its competative enough. AP could have gotten near A-Rod money, but he took a big contract, but not what he could have ransomed the team for. Carp's statements made me think that he'd be fine with something around 11 or 12. I was wrong.

I don't hate the deal, I am a little worried though, considering his health history, especailly since the big money doesn't come in for awhile. I'm not a fan of heavily backloaded contracts.

If Carp is healthy and pitches as well as he has for 2 of the 3 extra years (and starts to regress due to age in the third), then I'd be fine with it, but he's gonna be an old guy come the last year of this contract.

How many pitchers have been extended 2 years before their contract was up? I still probably would have waited until next season, I mean it's not like the market was down this offseason so they wanted to hurry up and get him extended at a good time.

Kind of confusing, but I do like having Carp.

skmsw wrote:He's gonna be getting some 12% of our budget, when he is 38.

There's no way to know that, really.

Kyle wrote:

JCShutout wrote:I worry about Rolen's durability, but come to think of it, what would Rolen make in this market?

In hindsight, Pujols and Rolen are bargains.

+++++++++++++

Kyle wrote:I think we could very well be saying the same about Carp down the line.

If he stays healthy, then yes we will. +.5

BW23 wrote:As for paying others when Edmonds and Izzy are gone, the possibility of those positions being filled by guys making the minimum are very high.

How do you figure that? And even if they are, odds are also very high the production from the minimum guys will be significantly less than their prior placeholders(mainly speaking about Edmonds here).

Leroy wrote:

skmsw wrote:He's gonna be getting some 12% of our budget, when he is 38.

There's no way to know that, really.

No, but there is a fairly reasonable way to estimate it. Frankly I'm being generous; it could easily be 15%.

whyhellothere wrote:How many pitchers have been extended 2 years before their contract was up? I still probably would have waited until next season, I mean it's not like the market was down this offseason so they wanted to hurry up and get him extended at a good time.

Kind of confusing, but I do like having Carp.

Yeah, I would have waited to extended him after this season as well.

Transmogrified Tiger wrote:

BW23 wrote:As for paying others when Edmonds and Izzy are gone, the possibility of those positions being filled by guys making the minimum are very high.

How do you figure that? And even if they are, odds are also very high the production from the minimum guys will be significantly less than their prior placeholders(mainly speaking about Edmonds here).

So never play younger kids when good vets retire. That's what you're saying, right?

Of course the production will be down. I don't understand that post at all.

Fat Strat wrote:

whyhellothere wrote:How many pitchers have been extended 2 years before their contract was up? I still probably would have waited until next season, I mean it's not like the market was down this offseason so they wanted to hurry up and get him extended at a good time.

Kind of confusing, but I do like having Carp.

Yeah, I would have waited to extended him after this season as well.

Not me.

Now was the time, IMO.