One thing I am finding is that Win Shares is putting the value of my closer through the roof. I have looked at three teams now.
Using a modification of this method to fit the numbers I have
http://walksaber.blogspot.com/2005/12/win-shares-walkthrough-pt-5.html
The only major limitation the available stats present with this method is the lack of holds. So it is bound to overstate closers over other relievers.
It may be a coincidence of how I build teams, or the teams I have chosen to look at but here's something that is emerging:
First team: No closer Sambito leads team in saves with 10, Babe Adams leads team with 26.5 WS (kicked in 10 relief appearances including 8-1 saves)
Second team: 100M theme league (two pitchers over 7M allowed, 2 batters over 8M, 4 stars must consume specific proportion of 100M cap) Radatz takes home 27.32 WS by going 9-12 with 34 saves, 15 BS, 130 IP, team leading 3.60 ERA and team leading WHIP of 1.29. Schilling 2001 goes 16-16, throws 282.1 IP, first among starters in IP, ERA, WHIP, and gets 17.4 WS. Cliff Lee goes 20-9, second in innings, third in ERA and WHIP and gets 13.8.
Third Team: 140M theme league:
Ted Lyons takes the most (22-15, 325.1 IP, 4.76 ERA, 1.38 WHIP) with 10.4 WS. Miljus takes second place with 13-7 17 saves, 9 blows, 164 IP, 4.72 ERA, 1.48 WHIP. He is second best pitcher on team.
Fourth team: 100M random parks league
Sutter is godlike (15-11, 47 sv, 15 bs 190.1 IP 90 games, 3.12 ERA 1.03 WHIP) for 21.9 WS
Mussina is second (19-11, 267.2 IP, 4.34 ERA, 1.42 WHIP) for 9.11.
The lack of HOLDS as a stat skews the bullpen towards a big closer. In this case, Randy Myers, who threw 161.2 IP out of the pen is left with 4 WS despite appearing in 91 games and earning who knows how many holds.
What I'm getting at here is that where I have a closer who is even reasonably shut down, he takes an inordinate number of Win Shares. I understand the concept of leverage, but this seems a touch broken.
(I have also looked at adding a ding for a blown save, which mitigates it somewhat and redistributes WS from the closer to the rotation, but Sutter is still number one on this team by a wide margin... of course, if I eliminate the the third claim factor , he STILL has the top rating in the other two claim factors. Lot closer though... something to mull here.