text: I hate to say this...but hearing about those kind of contract numbers makes me think about many of the  long term deals around baseball and how few actually work out...We just need to think about the Cargo and Tulo deals to see the shortcomings. 
  
  The way to keep the team strong is to continue to draft and develop and if need be, trade a player that is up for renewal for more top level prospects in the off-season and keep the ball rolling to stay relevant. This was one reason I hated to see the team give up its 1st rounder for Desmond as it was short sighted especially for a guy who did not have crazy stats to make it worth it. 
  
  If Blackmon can agree to something similar to the Desmond deal, I'd jump on that but those long term deals worth 100's of millions I'd pass.