When Buying a Bullpen, It’s Better to Go Cheap

That was the title of an article in the Wall Street Journal on Aug. 4. I have not seen much comment on it in the blogosphere, so I thought I would pass it along. Here is the link: When Buying a Bullpen, It’s Better to Go Cheap. Here is the key passage;

"Among the 54 pitchers who have been used regularly in high-leverage situations this season, the correlation between salary and performance is just .07 (where zero is no relation and one is a perfect bond)."

It would be intersting to see how this shakes out over time. One year can have alot of fluctuations. Maybe using a 3-4 year period would get a higher correlation. Also, I wonder how this compares to correlations between performance and salary at other positions. Then there is the issue of whether or not a given pitcher was eligible for free agency or arbitration. But still, it does seem like a pretty low correlation.