According to various sources (Here is one of them), the Diamondbacks and Randy Johnson have agreed to a contract extension (for 2004 and 2005) that will pay him $16 million in each year.

That's an insane amount of money for a 40 year old pitcher. At the same time, as I said about Luis Gonzalez before, if there's an old guy to lock up, it's Johnson. He's really showed no signs of slowing down, he's had no boo-boos recently, and he's obviously as effective a pitcher as anyone in most of our lifetimes.

Of course, he is old. And the decline, if it happens, won't be pretty. It never is for old players. Johnson could crater this year. He could do it in 2004. He could do it in 2005. Or he could hang on until he's 47, 48, 52, whatever.

For my money, I think this is a good deal, at least in terms of locking Johnson up for two years. The money may be a little excessive, but I'm not privy to the D'Backs's financial situation, so it's really hard to say.