Add new comment

and they do well in accomplishing their purpose.  The point is that there is no good measurement system for defining the value of a lock-down reliever, at least not in the mainstream internet community.  We've tried applying leverage and win probability, but thus far they haven't come up with anything that is apples-to-apples with hitting and starting pitching.
So when people are wringing their hands over the loss of a ~20% chance that Morrow could be vastly more valuable than League (using the metrics and valuation systems available to us today), the counter-point is based on how you answer "Well, how much do you think Mariano Rivera and Jon Papelbon are worth?"  If you think they aren't worth any more than their current WAR x $4.5m, that's fine.  But many people, including nearly every Major League FO, believe they're worth considerably more than that.
Papelbon or Rivera, League is not.  But that doesn't erase the point of attempting to define the *actual* value of a shutdown reliever who comes in with RISP and no outs to protect a one run lead.