Bronson Arroyo flew from Tampa to Cincinnati two days ago, took a physical examination yesterday morning, signed a new contract, met with the media and arrived back in Florida last night.

The whirlwind just hasn't let up for the pitcher who at this time last year was considered either the Red Sox's sixth starter or underutilized member of Boston's bullpen. He now finds himself atop the Reds starting rotation - with the paycheck to prove it.

"I don't know if it has sunk in, man," said Arroyo by phone just hours after agreeing to a contract extension with Cincinnati which will pay him $9.5 million in 2009, $11 million in 2010 and the possibility of $11 million in 2011, if the Reds pick up his option.

Regardless, he's guaranteed $27.5 million over the next four seasons.

"Put it this way, I'm not as surprised to have this contract as I was to win the World Series with the Boston Red Sox. I don't know if I could have ever imagined that, but I could imagine this. I've been in the weight room since I was 5 or 6 with my father. I've been working for this my whole career. Did I think it would come this quick? No. But I always thought I would make a lot of money in this game."

The latest twist in Arroyo's tale is something few thought possible when he signed a very tradable three-year, $11.25 million deal with Boston in January 2006. Two months later, his life was turned upside-down when the Sox dealt him to Cincinnati (along with $1.5 million) for outfielder Wily Mo Pena.

Following the trade, Arroyo made it clear that he was planning on making a return to the Red Sox after his current contract ran out, even going so far as to keep his Boston apartment. But after a '06 season, which saw Arroyo lead the majors in innings pitched (2402/3) while going 14-11 with a 3.29 ERA, perception for both the Reds and the right-hander began to change.

"I wasn't surprised they wanted to work something out, but I was surprised they wanted to work something out and came in with a realistic offer right out the gate," said Arroyo, whose agent, Terry Bross, was first approached about an extension by the Reds at the winter meetings but only conducted serious negotiations in the last 10 days. "For a team that didn't have a lot of money, I thought they would just low-ball me and we would have to wait until next year, but they were serious about it.

"No doubt about it, it is mind-blowing. I couldn't ignore it. From 2005 when I make $1.8 million to now where I'm signing $11 million for two years, it is mind-blowing because it has escalated so fast. I've had no complaints."

Few believed, including Arroyo, that Cincinnati would be the right fit for the 29-year-old. But not only did sharing the duties at the top of the Reds rotation with as newly signed starter Aaron Harang suit him, but so did the outside opportunities within Ohio's Queen City.

Lansdowne Street might in be in the rearview mirror, but Arroyo's musical exploits are anything but. In fact, it has been the Reds, not Red Sox, who may provide the biggest boost to his off-field career.

"I think (the Reds) realize it's an opportunity," he said. "The Red Sox don't have to promote the team. They sell out every game so they don't have to do a damn thing. They do not have to put up one billboard anywhere, and it's still going to be a packed house. Not a lot of organizations are like that, and for that reason I think the Reds look at it as an opportunity for a player to be out in the public doing something that isn't normal and for the team to be in the public eye a little more.

"(The music) was never a distraction. Looking from the outside, a lot of people look at certain things about me that weren't necessarily true. I'm sure I have been thrown in a category before as a guy who is reckless off the field and couldn't handle the business on the field. I'm just plugging away and people are eventually realizing that maybe I'm doing something that is working."

It has worked well enough to keep him in Cincinnati for possibly the next five seasons. Although, even with the certainty of his new deal, he still isn't ruling out that return to Boston.

"If I do what I'm supposed to do, I'll be there (Cincinnati) for five more years," he said, "but I plan on pitching for as long as David Wells has been pitching. I'm in no hurry."