The future of John Lackey?

The Los Angeles Angels will probably try hardest to re-sign this SOB, because he is the face of the starting pitching rotation - he bitches, whines, snarls and grovels for every pitch.

Simply put, Lackey has the intangibles of being a bully in the front end of the Angels rotation - losing him would probably as close to losing Nolan Ryan back in the late 70s.

As badly as the Angels want Lackey to come back however – the team will be content to move on if Lackey demands too many years and too much money and somehow a deal cannot be reached.

It is a two-way street for Lackey and the Angels – Lackey doesn’t have to choose the highest bidder and if he feels the Angels have made him an offer that falls a little bit short of what others are offering, but still fair enough for him to be with the Angels, he should take it.

While he has turned into an ace and some say may have matured, he still tends to have his bitter beer face moments - the good and the bad is what makes Lackey a fun pitcher too watch.

His swagger and cockiness maybe a little over the top and may not even be necessary at times when he is really imploding on the mound - but I shudder to think if the Red Sox or Yankees add Lackey to their starting rotation.