Ask Francisco Rodriguez, coming off a record-setting 62-save season with the Angels, or Brian Fuentes, an All-Star three of the last four seasons with the Rockies, or all-time save leader Trevor Hoffman.

In an off-season in which 14 teams lost their closer -- some as free agents and some in trades -- those three tested the open market and didn't find it as welcoming as anticipated.

They should have known better.

These are challenging economic times. They are relief pitchers.

Closers may get the glory of the ninth-inning heroics, but relievers remain the stepchildren of a baseball roster. Teams talk about the value of a quality bullpen, but they don't invest.

A big reason is that relievers are not known for long-term consistency.

And the two teams that feed the financial frenzy in free-agent bidding -- the Red Sox and Yankees -- weren't interested.

The Yankees already have Mariano Rivera, and the Red Sox are more than satisfied with the strong-arm efforts of Jonathan Papelbon, who declined to discuss a multi-year deal with Boston, preferring to keep his long-term options open.

What the past off-season reinforced is that if the East Coast Axis isn't interested in a player, his market value isn't blown out of proportion.

That's why Teixeira and Sabathia could get rich, but other free agents from the past winter did not.

Who would have ever thought that a second baseman who brings the life to a lineup that Orlando Hudson does would be left to take a $3.38 million guarantee from the Dodgers? Certainly not Arizona, which actually shelled out $3.5 million for the mediocrity of Felipe Lopez to fill the vacancy created by Lopez's departure.

And why else would Pudge Rodriguez find himself in mid-March willing to take a $1.5 million guarantee from Houston in a game where catching remains the biggest void of any position?

Teixeira and Sabathia both caught the eye of the Yankees, who actually outbid Boston, along with Baltimore, Washington and Atlanta, for Teixeira, whose eight-year, $180 million deal is the fourth richest ever. And then they outbid themselves for Sabathia, who signed a seven-year, $161 million deal that was $61 million more than the second-best offer given to the left-hander, whose personal preference would have been to take less and stay in Milwaukee but was lured by the siren of bigger bucks. Undoubtedly the Major League Baseball Players Association, which sees only dollar signs and not comfort of surroundings as having any value, pushed and shoved a bit, too.

Francisco Rodriguez, meanwhile, saw his expectations of a six-year, $90 million contract -- which would have been double in terms of value and length of Rivera's deal with the Yankees -- never materialize. He settled for a three-year, $37 million package from the Mets. The Mets also swung a deal to acquire J.J. Putz from Seattle to provide protection for Rodriguez, as well as a quality right-handed arm to shut down eighth-inning rallies.

Fuentes, whose agents had indicated expectations of a four-year, $44 million deal before they actually talked terms with teams, took a two-year, $17.5 million deal with the Angels -- less than $2 million more than what he could have been paid to stay in Colorado. The Rockies, meanwhile, still have Manny Corpas, the closer down the stretch in 2007 who lost the job back to Fuentes in April of 2008, and added Huston Street from Oakland.

The only other reliever to receive a multiyear deal was Kerry Wood with the Indians, who signed for two years at $20.5 million.

Hoffman, meanwhile, left San Diego after his agent and Padres management got in a public war of words, and wound up with a $6 million deal in Milwaukee, an amount that was called an insult when it was offered by the Padres.

Instead of being able to break new financial ground, Rodriguez found teams focused on the three-year, $37.5 million extension Brad Lidge signed with the Phillies last year.

History says it shouldn't be a surprise.

With the new deals for Wood, Fuentes and Rodriguez, there are only eight established closers with multi-year deals, only two of which are for more than three years. B.J. Ryan signed a five-year, $47 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays two years ago. Joe Nathan is in the midst of a four-year, $47 million deal with Minnesota.

Other proven closers with multiyear deals are Ryan, Lidge, Francisco Cordero of the Reds (4 years, $46 million), Joe Nathan (4 years, $47 million), and Joakim Soria of the Royals (3 years, $8.25 million).

But then there is not a relief pitcher who has ever received a contract that would rank among the top 26 in baseball history -- worth $90 million or more. There isn't a reliever that ranks among the top 20 active players in terms of annual average value -- worth $17 million a year or more.

There are only four relievers who average more than $9 million a year -- Rivera ($15 million), Lidge ($12.5 million), Francisco Rodriguez ($12.33 million) and Wood ($10.25 million).

They may be the ones who get the call with the game on the line.

But when it comes to payday, closers have not found the door open to the baseball bonanza.

Tracy Ringolsby is a regular contributor to FOXSports.com, and is part of the Colorado Rockies broadcast crew for FSN Rocky Mountain. He also has a Web site, insidetherockies.com. In his 34th year covering baseball, Ringolsby was voted the J.G. Taylor Spink Award by the BBWAA in 2005, and honored during the 2006 Hall of Fame induction ceremony.