Roy Oswalt signs 5yr $73Mil contract. Zito...?

After it was announced that Roy Oswalt signed a 5yr $73,000,000 (million) contract, the A's announcer said, "Barry Zito is the 2nd happiest guy on the planet." Why is that? Because Oswalt is very compairable to Barry Zito. They are both top tier, high-caliber guys. Oswalt is a 2-time 20-game winner. Zito is a Cy Young winner. Oswalt (29) and Zito (28) are close in age, both in the prime of their career.

So what's the big picture? If these 2 pitchers are both the same high-class pitchers, then Zito should be demanding about the same 5yr, $73,000,000 (or approx $13Million/year). Maybe even more. That's more than some team's payrolls. And there is no way that the small-budget Oakland Athletics will be able to pay that much money to keep Barry Zito.

It has been fun Zito, but its time for your Fairwell Tour.