It was announced last night that Chris Carpenter has signed a contract extension with the Cardinals through 2007, which a team option for 2008. The terms weren't released, but the Post Dispatch said, "The deal is believed to pay Carpenter about $6 million per season should the third season vest." There are significant appearance incentives not available to the public, so the final value of the contract is up in the air, but it sounds like a sweet deal for the Cards. Worst case, if he suffers from continual injuries, the Cardinals are probably only out about $10-12 million. On the other end of the spectrum, if Carpenter avoids injury, and pitches like he did in '04, we've got a bonafide ace on our hands for below market value.

Here are some of Carpenter's comments from the P-D article:

"It's very exciting for me and my family. It's exciting to be part of the Cardinals team for several more years," Carpenter said before Friday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers. "It's good to know the players, the manager and the general manager who are going to be around. It plays into wanting to be part of this team."

"Basically my other option was to pitch the season and then look into the free agent market, or get it done now and know that for the next three years I was going to be where I wanted to play," he said. "There's a lot of stability in this organization. Everybody here is pretty solid in the direction they're going. There is no transition. I wasn't going to go somewhere just for the money and take the chance of being miserable."

You'd think as Cardinal fans we'd be used to hearing these kinds of things from guys who forego a bit of salary in order to stay in St. Louis when free agency nears, but it never gets old, does it? I wonder if Kline's recent comments helped him realize the importance of being somewhere you want to be?