D'backs weave a Webb

Brandon Webb has won his first eight starts and could soon be rewarded with a long-term contract. Robert Beck/SI

Thank goodness for the Arizona Diamondbacks, who continually restore faith in the belief that yes, indeed, there is a ballclub out there doing just about everything right.

The D'backs are back now talking to Brandon Webb -- Mr. Perfect himself -- about a multiyear deal, and don't be surprised if a spanking new contract for Webb is closely followed by one for Dan Haren, their co-ace.

Arizona is about the only team without a bad contract on the roster, though Eric Byrnes at $10 million a season is close to full value. The D'backs' $66 million payroll ranks 23rd, between the Orioles and Twins, yet they've already established themselves as the favorites in the National League this year. (No surprise here; they were the D. Scoop pick in the NL.)

It's no wonder Webb wants to stay. The man with the untouchable sinker -- not to mention baseball's only 8-0 record after beating the Phillies 8-3 Thursday -- knows a good thing when he sees it. And Arizona, which definitely qualifies as a good thing, feels the same. "One Diamondbacks person referred to him the other day as "our franchise."

Webb, who is the first NL pitcher to win his first eight starts since Pedro Martinez for the Expos in 1997, has a puny 2.49 ERA and the lowest profile/ego of any baseball superstar. Last October, I ran into him while he was looking for baby formula at a CVS in Denver.

Webb, the star of agent Jonathan Maurer's stable, will be invoking the name and recent contract extension of the Padres' Jake Peavy as a point of comparison. Peavy recently re-upped for the usual San Diego discount, $52 million over three years in his case. The D'backs definitely are listening, and folks familiar with their negotiations are eminently confident a Webb extension will get done.

If not, well, the Diamondbacks already are sitting pretty with Webb still working on his cost-saving three-year, $19.5 million guaranteed contract. And as if that isn't enough, there's that $8.5 million team option for 2010 that could wind up being barely one-third of Webb's true market value by the time he gets there.

The D'backs realize how Webb's stark improvement -- he was only 31-37 lifetime when he signed the last multiyear deal in January 2006, and is 42-18 since -- has made him one of baseball's most underpaid stars. And they may be willing to even enrich him further in the years he's currently signed for, assuming Webb evens things out by taking less money in the seasons that follow. The team likely would want to add at least three more years, which would keep baseball's best-kept secret superstar in the desert through 2013.

When Webb's deal is done, Haren, who's working under a similar bargain contract, will be next up. Like Webb, his deal finishes with a bargain option for 2010 (Haren's is for even less at $6.5 million). That team-friendly arrangement was negotiated by the Oakland A's but inherited by the D'backs upon when they acquired Haren in a six-for-two trade last winter. Haren, who is 4-1 with a 3.12 ERA, won't get Webb money, but he'll get a significant raise on a deal that will likely be another Desert Discount.

Under the stewardship of general manager Josh Byrnes, who previously worked in Boston, Colorado and Cleveland (coincidentally or not, his resume represents the final four finishers last year), the D'backs have hardly made a misstep. They have drafted and developed more good players than anyone over the past several years, some going back to when Mike Rizzo was making their picks as scouting director. Their excellent system allowed them to surrender six honest-to-goodness prospects in the Haren deal without suffering pain.

The rotation, as good as any of the big-market powers, also boasts two-way star Micah Owings (perhaps even a better hitter than pitcher), the aging Cooperstown-bound Randy Johnson, Doug Davis (who was recently declared cancer-free following thyroid surgery) and young hotshot Max Scherzer, a 96-mph-throwing rookie who could become the closer if the need arises.

With baseball's best balanced lineup filled with young stars, the 23-12 Diamondbacks are also long on youth and energy. As Webb understands, this team is anything but a mirage.