The above very interestingly suggests that Drew and Jerry Colangelo came to an agreement, but when JC was ousted, all bets were off, hence the painfully slow progress of negotiations since. We still have six weeks or so to sign Drew, so we'll see what happens.

"If I were making a prediction, I think it is unlikely he will sign,'' Kendrick said Wednesday. "We haven't ended discussions, other than they have our final offer.'' Drew signed with the Camden Riversharks of the independent Atlantic League on Wednesday, although he remains the D-Backs' property until May 31, the week before the 2005 draft.

The D-Backs are believed to have offered Drew a $7.5 million deal, with $5.5 million guaranteed, which would make Drew the richest member of the 2004 draft class. Tampa Bay committed $5.2 million to Rice right-hander Jeff Niemann, the highest so far. Drew and Angels draftee Jared Weaver are the only 2004 picks unsigned. Both are represented by Scott Boras, who did not immediately return a phone call Wednesday.

1. White Sox, 2000, Joe Borchard - OF, $5.3M 
2. Twins, 2001, Joe Mauer - C, $5.15M 
3. Devil Rays, 2002, B.J. Upton - SS, $4.6M 
4. Rangers, 2001, Mark Teixeira - 3B, $4.5M 
5. Devil Rays, 2001, Dewon Brazelton - RHP, $4.2M 
5. Phillies, 2001, Gavin Floyd - RHP, $4.2M 
7. Cubs, 2001, Mark Prior - RHP, $4.0M 
7. Pirates, 2002, Bryan Bullington - RHP, $4.0M 
9. Devil Rays, 1999, Josh Hamilton - OF, $3.96M 
10. Cubs, 1998, Corey Patterson - OF, $3.7M 
10. Devil Rays, 2003, Delmon Young - OF, $3.7M 

Sure, I'd like to have Mauer, Teixeira or Prior on the D'backs, but for every one of those, there's somelike Borchard who, in 2004, hit a mediocre .266 at the Triple-A level. Okay, it's too early to say he's a bust, but he has now spent three seasons at AAA, and has yet to show he's worth $5.3m, that's for certain - after 95 major-league games, he is batting just .182 in the bigs.

Or Dewon Brazelton, with a 7-18 record, 5.45 ERA. As an aside, it's interesting how the D-Rays have paid four of the top ten bonuses in history. Perhaps if they'd spent a bit more on their actual team, rather than prospects, they might have managed more than 70 wins in a season during their history...

I'm all for building from within, but overpaying unproven youngsters is every bit as questionable as overpaying for declining veterans - and since we have a nasty tendency to do the latter, that's all the more reason we can't afford to burn our financial candle at both ends.

Said Ken Kendrick, "We've made what we believe is the best offer we know how to make," Kendrick said of a five-year deal, potentially worth $7.5 million, which was presented to Drew and his agent, Scott Boras, last month. "We're not in position to do anything more than we've done. We've gone as far as we think is reasonable in terms of our circumstances and the value of any drafted player."