During the offseason Angels pitcher John Lackey made it known to the Halos that he would like to sign a contract extension with the club, but that he was only going to negotiate before Opening Day. Well, Opening Day was on Monday and Lackey still doesn't have his contract extension, so I guess that means he won't be signing a new deal this season.Or does it?
While Monday may have been Opening Day for the Angels, Lackey is currently on the disabled list and not expected to be pitching for the Angels until May 1, which means that he's still willing to work out a deal with the Angels.
"Opening day is not my opening day anymore," said Lackey, who was shut down two weeks ago because of a forearm strain. "I'm going to let my agent handle that. I'm just worried about getting healthy now and helping us win. It's not going to be a distraction."Of course, even if you're willing to negotiate a new deal with your team, they have to be willing to negotiate with you. If not, you're just talking to yourself in a mirror, and when you do that people tend to think you're crazy. Luckily for Lackey, his sanity still appears to be in check, because Angels general manager Tony Reagins is willing to negotiate during the season.
Though, to be honest, if I'm running the Angels I may wait to work out a deal with Lackey and see how his shoulder progresses before doing anything. While he was a horse from 2003 to 2007, making 33 starts in each season, he only made 24 starts in 2008 and is already starting this season on the disabled list.
At 30, Lackey isn't exactly old, but at the same time, he's not going to be getting any younger. With arm and shoulder concerns in each of the last two seasons, the Angels may want to think twice about paying him a ton of money to stick around a few more years.
