With my utter disdain for Bill Stoneman at an all-time high after the signing of Gary Matthews Jr., I figured I should remind everyone of a smart thing he did in the recent past... signing Kelvim Escobar to a below-market value contract extension.

I hadn't thought about this lately, but Stoneman signed Kelvim to a 3-year, $28.5 million deal on May 31, 2006. In retrospect, that deal looks like a genius move considering that Gil Meche has offers floating around in the range of $36 million over 4 years.

I shudder to think what Escobar could command on the open market right now if the going rate for Gil Meche is $9 million per year.  Methinks that Escobar could demand upwards of 4 years and something approaching $50 million.

Kudos and thank you Mr. Stoneman - you did something right this year.