Outside the Box

Yahoo! Sports: Cubs release RHP Spradlin

Here are two pitchers

	Pitcher A		Pitcher B
Year	IP	ERA+	IP	ERA+
1998	84.7	99	81.7	124
1999	68.7	101	61	85
2000	80.7	86	90	82

Pitcher A just signed a two-year deal for many millions, while pitcher B was released by the Cubs. I'm guessing the big difference here is A (Jose Mesa) has 138 career saves while B (Jerry Spradlin) has 11. Given unlimited dollars, I'm not so sure that I wouldn't take Spradlin, and given the actual dollars I'm certain I would.