"We're" paying him $11,000,000 for 2012. That's nearly $400,000 per start. I hope management expects more from him than you do. Oh wait, he can pinch run, guess that makes him worth every penny.
(I am tempted to write: Edwin Jackson is a pitcher, based on what I've seen, that does not have the make up to be a big game/ playoff pitcher. Of course could be wrong but I would not want to see him in a key playoff game.
Since I really haven't seen that much of him I hope for the best should the Nats get to a big game!
he's our #4 starter. expectations for a #4 starter are usually along the lines of 'get us some innings, and keep us in the game'. in that aspect, edwin has been phenomenal. your putting top of the rotation expections on a guy that isn't a top of the rotation guy.
and his numbers are fantastic. whip, k/bb, era+ are way above the league average for #4 starters. he's arguably the best #4 starter in the league.
come on man, do you even follow baseball? lets just name a few pitchers who are making comparable money, most in multi-year deals...
john lackey - $16M
brett myers - $11M
daisuke matsuzaka - $10M
ted lilly - $10M
carl pavano - $9M
derek lowe - $15M
randy wolf - $9.5M
want to swap out for any of those terrible contracts? a one year "rental" at $11M for a solid #4 does NOT warrant complaints. he was a post-season pitcher for the world series champions, doesn't miss starts, he's currently 8th in the NL w/ a .230 BAA, WHIP is 1.16, K/bb ratio is 2.84, he's having the 2nd best season of his career, and the little i've heard about him in the clubhouse is all positive.
so as far as managements expectations being higher than mine... i'm sure they are more than thrilled with the investment they made for their #4 starter.
blatantly trolling, James.
since you omitted the response which demonstrated your complete lack of understanding of what starting pitches get paid, the stipulations surrounding edwin's contract, the expectations for edwin, and other statistics slightly more solid than W/L and ERA (Zimmerman's win-loss records sucks, too), i decided to re-hash it.
that said... sucks to see such an early deficit.