I just had a thought that scares the bejebus out of me

So I was sitting in the bathtub last night reading my ESPN the Magazine. I'll wait for a second for that image to sink into your head. Got it? Good. Sorry. So I was sitting in the bathtub last night reading my ESPN the Magazine. One of the cover stories is on C.C. Sabathia, the hefty ace of the Cleveland Indians and the 2007 Cy Young award winner. If the Indians let him reach free agency, Sabathia is in line to earn the largest contract for a pitcher in Major League history after this season, especially if the Yankees get involved in the bidding. The Mag had a little chart showing the largest contracts ever given to pitchers. They were:
Kevin Brown - 7 years, $105 million from the Dodgers in 1999
Mike Hampton - 8 years, $121 million from the Rockies in 2001
Barry Zito - 7 years, $126 million from the Giants in 2007
Johan Santana - 6 years, $137.5 million from the Mets in 2008

Here are the pitchers career records after signing their monstrous contracts:
Kevin Brown - 72-45 in 164 starts (average 10 wins, 6 losses, 23 starts, and $15 million per year)
Mike Hampton - 53-48 in 134 starts (average 11 wins, 10 losses, 27 starts, $15 million per year, hasn't pitched since 2005)
Barry Zito - 11-13 with a 4.53 ERA in the hitter-friendly NL park in San Fransisco. He got shelled in his first start this season. Only 6 seasons to go including this one Giants fans, a bargain at $18 million a year! That's barely over a million dollars per win! At least he hasn't been to the DL yet.

That brings me to Johan Santana who in his first start for the Mets was dominating. Hopefully he will continue to be the 200 inning workhorse he's been for the past several years but based on recent history, signing good pitchers to mammoth long-term contracts has not exactly paid dividends.