I hated the signing at the time and I hate it even more now. Suppan just isnt any good. All you heard was that he was a real innings eater yet the guy rarely gets past the 5th or 6th inning. He also leads the league in hits allowed and looks at times like he is throwing batting practice. As far as his signing being Melvins biggest mistake my reaction is that he isnt the one who made this move. Mark A was watching last years playoffs and he fell in love with Suppan off his playoff performances. He is the one that wined and dined Suppan and he is the one that is solely responsible for him being on the team. You really have to look at Melvins track record when it comes to pitchers and free agents in general. Melvin is constantly looking for values when it comes to pitching and he often targets young pitchers in trades. He traded for Bush, Villanueva, and Capuano and picked up Doug Davis and Turnbow off waivers. He has never given a mediocre pitcher a long term contract and that is why he traded Davis instead of giving him 21 mil over 3 yrs. If he wasnt willing to give Davis that kind of money I just dont think he would give a ridiculous amount of money to Suppan who isnt as good as DD. So therefore just based on track record and the way that the owner wined and dined Suppan the only conclusion you can come to is that Mark A wanted Suppan and Melvin probably tried to talk him out of it but Mark A had his mind made up. Yes Suppan was a huge mistake but the blame should solely go to the man responsible and that is Mark A.