Yes, that’s why I used him.

Betancourt had a higher RSAA (29 to 21) and ERA+ (312 to 214).

I’m a little surprised at the choice of Betancourt as 2007 set-up man example. Did you forget about Okajima because of a Yankee blind-spot or did Betancourt actually have a better season by the chosen metric?

Isn’t John Smoltz the poster boy for this kind of debate? It’s clear that even after he excelled in the pen that the Braves valued him more as a starter.

A guy like Bob Gibson would have been lights out as a closer. Does anyone think he would have been anywhere near as valuable to the Cardinals in the bullpen?

Who knows, maybe the Yankees screwed up by not starting Mariano all these years! (I think not, though, because he doesn’t have a variety of pitches, and his mental make-up is perfect for late-inning, high-pressure situations.)

I look at it this way.

Money.

You want to know how important someone is, look at how much their market value would be.

Mo Riveria is the greatest closer of all time, and he isn’t even the highest paid pitcher on his own team, and he just got a new contract.

Starters make more money because they are worth more, then closers, then middle relievers.

I wonder how many closers are in the top 10 highest paid pitchers in baseball, now granted, Joba isn’t hitting free agency anytime soon, but even when you get to his arbitration years, he would still get paid less for being a reliever then he would get as a starter.

That alone tells you something. Also, back in spring training, when Joba did the “Rome is burning” show (the clip might still be on ESPN), he was pretty damn clear that he wanted to be a starter.

Set-up man is not a position. It doesn’t need to exist in the sport and only has value at times because the current “wisdom” is to baby pitchers and take up roster spots with more mediocre pitchers. So yeah, the best guys add some RS, WS, ERA+ or whatever metric is in style, but it’s really value that’s lost by not having a quality starter pitch those innings.