Top 10 reasons why the Dodgers gave Clayton Kershaw $30 million a year for 7 years

$100+ million for each thumb

10) Pretty confident that they can wring every last drop of value out of him before the current deal runs out

9) Had to prove to the home crowd that they can overpay their own farm system products as well as others

8) Having the highest paid player in baseball has worked out so well for the Yankees with A-Rod

7) Was going to be a free agent in another10 months, so he had that happiest of all things -- leverage

6) Now that the Dodgers have their own television channel, it's not like money actually matters to them

5) This should keep their fan base happy, and as their history with opposing fans shows, you really need those people to be happy

4) It's not as if the history of big money pitcher signings isn't spectacularly awful

3) Were a wee bit convinced by the last 700+ innings of sub 1.0 WHIP

2) By paying him more this year, he'll be sure to have more gas left in the tank to avoid soul-crushing playoff defeats

1) If you are going to overpay everyone on the roster, might as well overpay the guy who's actually really damned good