Melvin brought up an interesting point regarding the free agent class of pitchers the year that Suppan signed his deal. Taken from McCalvy's blog page: "It's a fair question. Have any of you done your homework to determine who the free agent players were that year?" he asked reporters before answering himself. "We could have signed Jason Schmidt. He signed for three years and $47 million. Barry Zito was seven years and $126 [million]. Gil Meche was five years and $55 [million]. Miguel Batista, three years and $25 [million]. Jason Marquis, three and $25 [million]. Vicente Padilla, two and $20 [million]. Ted Lilly, at four years and $40 [million], was probably the pitcher who performed the best out of that group. "