Why aren\'t setup men paid better?
 

Unless I'm mistaken, it seems that setup men are way undervalued and underpaid. Nowadays, the setup guys often pitch more innings than the closers and usually come into the game in more difficult situations. In fact, most managers don't like bringing in their closers in any situations except to start the last inning, before anyone is on base.

I guess the answer is purely statistics: saves are sexier than "holds." But if I were a gm, I would be placing at least as much importance on getting a reliable setup guy as getting a closer or even a 4th starter.

Re: Why aren\'t setup men paid better?
 

Lots of pitchers can pitch "setup." Very few can go six innings of quality work.

Re: Why aren\'t setup men paid better?
 

He was speaking in comparison to closers.

Re: Why aren\'t setup men paid better?
 

Setup men are a dime a dozen. Sure, there's a demand for quality setup men, but there's a huge supply of them as well.

Also, it's not so much that setup men are being underpaid, but more that closers are being overpaid.

Re: Why aren\'t setup men paid better?
 

I'm going to say the opposite of the previous poster - there aren't many excellent set up men, which is why they are a dime a dozen. Great set-up men inevitably become closers, and if they fail get put back into the set-up man hopper; [censored] set-up men hang around for years, left-handers especially. The Yankees were rumored to be interested in BJ Ryan and finally paid a ton for Kyle Farnsworth but that was because he had a closer's price tag. Most teams just can't afford paying millions for a set-up man.

Re: Why aren\'t setup men paid better?
 

There really isn't much difference between a good setup man and a good closer. /captain obvious

I wouldn't sign any one-inning reliever to a large or long term contract at typical free agent prices.

Closers are paid so much because most GMs don't realize any of this.

p.s. jim hendry sucks.

Re: Why aren\'t setup men paid better?
 

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Lots of pitchers can pitch "setup." Very few can go six innings of quality work.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was primarily comparing setup men to closers, but I also disagree that lots of pitchers can effectively pitch setup. My main point is that the setup man is often pitching at the most critical stage of the game, with men already on base.

In the 1970s and early 1980s, managers brought in closers in DIFFICULT situations, frequently for more than one inning. But now it is the setup men who face those situations more than the closers. But for some reason, the market has not recognized this shift in responsibilities.

Re: Why aren\'t setup men paid better?
 

supply and demand

Re: Why aren\'t setup men paid better?
 

The reason is that that the media, especially ESPN, make the save into a much more important stat than it really is. Most good setup men become closers to get more money. Look at that rediculous BJ Ryan deal. If you give him a bunch of holds, rather than saves, he gets less than half of what he got.

The "closer mentality" is greatly exaggerated. On Baseball tonight the other night, they said Papelbon was the most important player on the Red Sox right now. The truth is the vast majority people that can get outs in the 7th inning can get outs in the 9th inning, and vice versa.

Re: Why aren\'t setup men paid better?
 

[ QUOTE ]
There really isn't much difference between a good setup man and a good closer. /captain obvious

I wouldn't sign any one-inning reliever to a large or long term contract at typical free agent prices.

Closers are paid so much because most GMs don't realize any of this.

p.s. jim hendry sucks.

[/ QUOTE ]
The Red Sox tried this a few years ago. Didn't work out so well.