“Bullpens are developed, not bought.”

I’d say for the most part, you’re right – but not always. Boston won it all in ‘04 with few homegrown guys in their pen. Same for the “dynasty” Yankees, save for Mo Rivera.

I agree that it’s more shrewd for a team to try and develop its own pen, though, being that FA bullpen arms tend to be both outrageously expensive and wildly unpredictable.

After all they hired a 3B at such a staggering rate of pay that they didn’t have the money to use for a better quality bullpen for several years.
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Now there’s a ridiculous comment. The Yankees have been paying what many other teams pay for closers for 2 or 3 guys for the last several years: Rivera, Gordon, Quantrill, Farnsworth, Myers, Villone, and Vizcaino.

Bullpens are developed, not bought.

When I first read Jeter’s remark on Pet Abe’s site it didn’t seem to be a swipe at A-Rod.

Still doesn’t. It appears like a simple observation that baseball is a team sport. I figured someone would try it to make a fuss out of it.

There is no there there.

If you want to make something out of nothing then consider it a swipe at Yankee management. After all they hired a 3B at such a staggering rate of pay that they didn’t have the money to use for a better quality bullpen for several years. After all it is a team sport.

Nice one. Much better than the yawn-inducing stuff I’ve come to expect, such as:

“He’s a great player; we wish him the best.”