Anonymous suggests that this strategy doesn't work at all:
Last season, I was killed with this strategy. I think if you're going to reasonably pull this off, you'll need two ace-type pitchers who can essentially ensure good WHIPs and ERAs to offset any stumbles you might have from your No. 3 or from a middle-reliever who suddenly can't find the strike zone. But, I guess if you went with two stud starters, that probably negates the money-saving strategy.How much wiggle room do you need if you sink most of your money into an ace?
Ten Most Expensive A.L. Starting Pitchers 2008
| # | Player | Sal | IP | ERA | WHIP |
| 1 | Erik Bedard | $30 | 81 | 3.67 | 1.321 |
| 2 | CC Sabathia | $28 | 122 1/3 | 3.83 | 1.234 |
| 3 | Justin Verlander | $28 | 201 | 4.84 | 1.403 |
| 4 | Josh Beckett | $26 | 174 1/3 | 4.03 | 1.187 |
| 5 | Felix Hernandez | $24 | 200 2/3 | 3.45 | 1.385 |
| 6 | Scott Kazmir | $24 | 152 1/3 | 3.49 | 1.267 |
| 7 | Daisuke Matsuzaka | $23 | 167 2/3 | 2.90 | 1.324 |
| 8 | James Shields | $21 | 215 | 3.56 | 1.153 |
| 9 | John Lackey | $21 | 163 1/3 | 3.75 | 1.231 |
| 10 | Roy Halladay | $21 | 246 | 2.78 | 1.053 |
| Average | $25 | 172 | 3.60 | 1.246 |
These are the 10 most expensive pitchers in the American League last year, looked at using a different lens.
Compared to the average American League starting pitcher, these guys are good. The average American League starting pitcher purchased in an A.L. auction last year put up a 4.21 ERA and a 1.345 WHIP.
The average pitcher on this staff also would have put up some pretty good qualitatives in my A.L. last year. That 3.60 ERA would have been good for third while the 1.246 WHIP would have been good for 1st. 22 points.
The problem is that not all anticipated aces were equal. You probably could have made this strategy work with Halladay or Shields. Everyone else would have made you fall short of winning ERA, winning WHIP, or making innings.
Innings is the category I have the biggest problem with. Scott Kazmir wasn't an ace last year, but I probably could have used him for this low IP/low wins/high ERA and WHIP strategy IF he had thrown 200 to 200 IP. One hundred and fifty-two innings of Kazmir probably would have left me scrambling.
Ten Most Expensive N.L. Starting Pitchers 2008
| # | Player | Sal | IP | ERA | AP |
| 1 | Johan Santana | $40 | 234 1/3 | 2.53 | 1.148 |
| 2 | Jake Peavy | $33 | 173 2/3 | 2.85 | 1.180 |
| 3 | Brandon Webb | $29 | 226 2/3 | 3.30 | 1.196 |
| 4 | Dan Haren | $25 | 216 | 3.33 | 1.130 |
| 5 | Cole Hamels | $24 | 227 1/3 | 3.09 | 1.082 |
| 6 | Roy Oswalt | $24 | 208 2/3 | 3.54 | 1.179 |
| 7 (tie) | Aaron Harang | $21 | 184 1/3 | 4.78 | 1.383 |
| Carlos Zambrano | $21 | 188 2/3 | 3.91 | 1.293 | |
| 9 (tie) | Chris Young | $20 | 102 1/3 | 3.96 | 1.290 |
| John Smoltz | $20 | 28 | 2.57 | 1.179 | |
| Average | $21 | 179 | 3.40 | 1.198 |
This is more like it. The average National League starter bought at auction in 2008 put up a 4.15 ERA and a 1.351 WHIP. If you splurged and bought any of the top six starters in the N.L., you probably did very well for yourself.
And regarding anonymous' point about having to buy two of these starters to compete, at these prices I say why not? Haren and Hamels at a combined $49 would probably put you in a position where you could simply pull and pray all year with the rest of your staff and hope to luck into Jair Jurrjens or his non-union equivalent at some point.
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