Calgary Herald Sports-Wrap - 1998 V4 - Plemel Re-Ups

[KCCardinalFan]

The new GM was gifted a franchise in pristine financial condition with a slew of young talent. That left really only one piece of free agent business to attend to this season. Calgary's best pitcher this season has been Lee Plemel, and Lee just signed a new 5 year $22.1 Million deal last month. Plemel has been fantastic in 1998, with a record of 10-1, a 2.66 ERA, and appears to be going to his first all-star game this year. For his career, Plemel is 84-49 with a 3.48 ERA.

As a team, Calgary has now moved into sole possesion of 2nd in the division just one game behind Seattle. With a team payroll of just $48 Million, their highest paid player, the irrelevant Santos Vazquez, will have his $8+ Million off the books following this season. What this means is that Calgary should be in a nice position to shore up the shaky bullpen, add a starter, and still be in a position to be very good for the next several seasons.

Calgary fans are now hoping that the new GM isn't a total idiot and can make some smart baseball decisions that may bring a title north of the border in the near future.