C.J. Wilson Has Pay Raise Coming, Despite Postseason Record: A Fan’s Take

Despite having a rough postseason, C.J. Wilson(notes) is still looking to get rich in the offseason. A number of discussions about his struggles against the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series have taken place, but the Texas Rangers' ace isn't going to see a pay cut just because he has had a rough October.

There is a good argument that Wilson may not have raised his price tag like Cliff Lee(notes) or Carlos Beltran(notes) did with successes for the Rangers and Houston Astros during the postseason. There are players who have struggled in the playoffs and still walked away with nice contracts, even if the players didn't end up really deserving the deals.

Chone Figgins had a great 2009 season for the Los Angeles Angels, and this was heading into free agency. He then went hitless against the Boston Red Sox in the ALDS (0-for-12) and hit just .130 in the ALCS against the New York Yankees (3-for-23). That's a combined 3-for-35 in the postseason, and yet he was still able to get a four-year $36 million deal from the Seattle Mariners. At the time it seemed like a contract worthy of a lead-off hitter who had also just won a Gold Glove.

This year, Wilson had a regular season record of 16-7 with a 2.94 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. He will one of the best starting pitchers available on the market, and could easily be the best if CC Sabathia(notes) simply decides to stay with the Yankees. Those numbers are better than the 0-3 record and insanely high ERA that Wilson has through the first four games of the 2011 World Series. He only managed to pitch 21 1/3 innings in his first four starts, and that increased the microscope getting placed on him in Game 5 (Oct. 24).

In a league where pitching is getting harder to find, Wilson could probably get shelled in his last World Series start and still make more than $100 million in his next contract. Sure, he could have seen an even bigger pay raise had he been able to shut down the Tampa Bay Rays, Detroit Tigers, and Cardinals, but he will still "settle" for more money than most pitchers have made in the history of the game.

*Ryan is a lifelong Seattle Mariners fan who never misses an opportunity to attend a game at Safeco Field. He has been attending games since 1985, and has fond memories of The Kingdome , Edgar Martinez, and the historic 1995 team. Sodo Mojo!