Ten Million Dollar Man

Cha-tatatatatata! Cha-tatatatatata! Cha-tatatatatata! Cha-tatatatatata!

The 10 million dollar man is Ryan Howard, obviously, who won his arbitration hearing last week. This ties the record for arbitration awards, but the guys he tied with were in their last year of eligibility. The Phillies' offer of 7 million would've tied the arbitration record for first year players.

I'm surprised the Phillies didn't win this one. Not because they've historically been the best team in the league in these cases, but I didn't think the arbitrators would give Howard the record like that. 7 million was the previous first year record, and I thought it would be fair to give that to Howard. No way would they let him shatter the record, right? Dead wrong.

What this ruling basically means is Howard is the best player to ever go to arbitration. This system has been in place for a while, and that's really important. If he doesn't sign a long term deal before next February, which I don't think he will, the Phillies are going to go through all of this again. Who knows how it'll turn out? He already tied one record, and there's no precedent for what comes next.

As I mentioned, I don't think he'll sign an extension. Unless Howard's not very confident in his ability to stay in shape and produce and needs to opt for long term security, why would he? He has the Phillies backed in a corner, and for the next three years, he owns them, with MLB's support. If he won arbitration in his first year with an offer that shattered the previous first year record, how can he not win the next three? It's going to be tough for the Phillies. Howard and Casey Close see big bucks in his future. He wants a giant deal, and I'm not sure if the Phillies can accommodate him.

Either way, he's a franchise player, and hopefully he's here for a while. I'm not concerned about his weight or his defense as much as a lot of people, and I hope he can be productive well into his 30's. He could be a Philadelphia legend when it's all said and done, and I think he'll be able to deliver.