Exactly. Lackey may be the "cream of the crop" - but there are several players more talented available. He has a career 3.81 ERA and dwindling strikeout numbers. I am terrified to give him anything over 4 years. If healthy, I think Sheets, Bedard and Harden all have better stuff. Myers, Randy Johnson, Pedro, Lowry could also potentially put up similar numbers with a lot less of a commitment. Lackey is no Sabathia. I agree with you twobrewers. It's just more fiscally responsible to go after Sheets/Bedard/ Harden/Myers/Martinez/Johnson/Lowry for a couple years and try to figure out which of them will warrant an extension beyond 2-3 years(excluding Johnson and Martinez). If the Brewers are going to attempt to extend Fielder, they can't afford to have a contract like Lackey is figured to get bogging them down. Hopefully, 2-3 years should be plenty of time for us to get some of those young arms developed.