I get the feeling that (what I've been suspicious is) Close's & Sheets' plan has worked out pretty well so far. 1) Demand a significant amount more than the other one-year, high-upside injury reclamation guys (Harden, Bedard) 1a) Incumbent upon the assertion that Sheets will be fully ready to go by Opening Day 2) Sheets works his butt off to be absolutely, positively 100% ready for his throwing session 3) Look very good in throwing session; physical conditioning ahead of where he'd normally be by ST time 4) Guarantee you're in the $7M/$8M/$9M range instead of $5M/$6M, since now at $8M, your asking price has 'come down' I dunno, I could just be all full of hot air, but I felt initially that the $12M-ish asking price was just a negotiating tactic. It all sounded crazy when Sheets wasn't physically able to throw (along with his assertion that he'd be 100% ready to go come OD), but after the seemingly successful session, he's probably got a lot of suitors.