Matt Cain now highest top paid righty in history

[Zito75]

Seems to me if the Giants have tons of cash to throw around, why not sign a bat? Just 2 guys in their rotation have contracts in excess of $250M.
Cain's deal will be worth more than $140M when all said and done - for their sake I hope it turns out better than Zito's.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/spring2012/story/_/id/7766104/sources-san-francisco-giants-work-extension-matt-cain

[CandlestickBum]

for their sake I hope it turns out better than Zito's.

That's setting the bar awfully low.

But, based on his size, history and delivery, he *should* (knock on wood) be pretty sturdy throughout. But yeah, paying that much for a *pitcher* who plays only once every 5 games hurts. Seems a position player would be a better value.

But...market forces and all that....

And the last year is a *players* option? I hate those.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

I'm glad Cain got signed!

[GiambiJuice]

I wonder kind of money Lincecum will get...

[Zito75]

I wonder kind of money Lincecum will get...

I thought the same thing. He just signed a 2 year deal for $40M. I feel he's better than Cain, so assuming he stays healthy, The Freak is probably worth in the $170M-$180M range for maybe 7 years.

[RaysFan_98]

Is Cain even worth that much money? I thought he struggled a lot?

[CandlestickBum]

Is Cain even worth that much money? I thought he struggled a lot?

Nope, he's as steady as they come.

[Bothrops Atrox]

Is Cain even worth that much money? I thought he struggled a lot?

They overpaid a little, but Cain certainly does not "struggle" consistently, no.

[GiambiJuice]

I know wins aren't a very important stat, but the fact that he's pitched 6 full seasons and hasn't won more than 14 games yet and has a losing record for his career, makes me feel that he's getting a bit overpaid. Also his ERA+ is 125. Very solid, but not $100 million level. This signing kind of baffles me, to be honest. They have so many good young pitchers...shouldn't the Giants be making this kind of investment in a hitter instead?

[Honus Wagner Rules]

I know wins aren't a very important stat, but the fact that he's pitched 6 full seasons and hasn't won more than 14 games yet and has a losing record for his career, makes me feel that he's getting a bit overpaid. Also his ERA+ is 125. Very solid, but not $100 million level. This signing kind of baffles me, to be honest. They have so many good young pitchers...shouldn't the Giants be making this kind of investment in a hitter instead?

The Giants have only three good "young' pitchers (Lincecum, Cain, Bumgarner). Not singing Cain would reduce that number to two.

[9RoyHobbsRF]

Cains w-l record is marred by 2007 and 2008 when the Giants were not very good and Cain's run suppot was the worst in the ML



from si.com

But his 7-16 and 8-14 records in 2007 and '08 skew that number. Not only were the Giants a bad team that lost at least 90 games each season, but Cain also received by far the worst run support of any starter in baseball. The Giants scored, on average, 3.32 runs for every nine innings he pitched those seasons, more than three-quarters of a run worse than that for any other qualified starter.

Not only is Cain highly effective (3.35 career ERA) but he is also among the most durable pitchers who has earned a spot on the short list of the sport's best.

Cain has completed six full big-league seasons since 2006 while never throwing fewer than 190 2/3 innings and never making fewer than 31 starts. In the last four seasons he has averaged 220 innings with a 3.17 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. He is one of only nine pitchers to have thrown at least 880 regular-season innings over the past four years.

He is an elite starter, even if his won-loss record fails to describe that because of persistently poor run support


Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...#ixzz1qvl4DjVc

I know wins aren't a very important stat, but the fact that he's pitched 6 full seasons and hasn't won more than 14 games yet and has a losing record for his career, makes me feel that he's getting a bit overpaid. Also his ERA+ is 125. Very solid, but not $100 million level. This signing kind of baffles me, to be honest. They have so many good young pitchers...shouldn't the Giants be making this kind of investment in a hitter instead?

[9RoyHobbsRF]

the Giants are well aware their pitching friendly park does not attract free agent hitters

the core giants are lincecum, cain, bumgarner, wilson, posey and sandoval

it was a good solid well thought out signing

[Rich the Giants fan]

Seems to me if the Giants have tons of cash to throw around, why not sign a bat? Just 2 guys in their rotation have contracts in excess of $250M.
Cain's deal will be worth more than $140M when all said and done - for their sake I hope it turns out better than Zito's.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/spring2012/st...sion-matt-cain

The Giants tried the offense first approach for years and had squat to show for it. Now it's a pitching first approach and they have a World Series Championship to show for it. I'm not sure how you get $140MM out of it, though.

[Rich the Giants fan]

Is Cain even worth that much money? I thought he struggled a lot?

No, he's one the best and most underrated pitchers in the game. A real workhorse veteran who's still even younger than Lincecum.

[Rich the Giants fan]

I know wins aren't a very important stat, but the fact that he's pitched 6 full seasons and hasn't won more than 14 games yet and has a losing record for his career, makes me feel that he's getting a bit overpaid. Also his ERA+ is 125. Very solid, but not $100 million level. This signing kind of baffles me, to be honest. They have so many good young pitchers...shouldn't the Giants be making this kind of investment in a hitter instead?

In this case, wins and losses are most definitely tied to run support. With an average offense for his career he'd have a well above .500 record.