[mikev]

'Dads extend Dedeaux

In a news conference today, the Crawdads announced that starter Lee Dedeaux had signed a 4 year contract extension that will pay him a total of 16 million dollars.

Dedeaux seemed pleased with the deal.

"I'm excited, I really am. The Crawdads gave me my shot, and I'm sure I probably could have made more in free agency in a few years, but it's the security of a long term deal and their willingness to buy out an arbitration year that was really the clincher. I think we have a good core with Willie, Champ, and Creole, plus there are some rookies who will be contributing a lot too. I think the team is heading in the right direction and I'm glad they want me to be a part of it."

GM Mike Voelker seemed equally as happy about the signing. "Lee has become a workhorse for us, that's for sure. He's probably not the bona fide ace that he was expected to be, but you can't really place enough value on a guy that's going to go out there and give you 30 starts and 220 innings a season. Lee also expressed his desire to spread the contract out in order to help us remain financially stable in the future. He's really been the consummate team player in these negotations, and he really wanted to get something done before the arbitration hearings, as did we."

Last season, Dedeaux posted a 10-12 record with a 4.52 ERA, but posted a 1.19 WHIP and struck out nearly 10 batters per inning.