The most fascinating aspect of the war of attrition being waged between the Yankees and Red Sox is the degree to which the outcome is being affected by the dry free-agent market of 2004-05. Decisions made six months ago are proving to be as important as home runs hit in the present. Since Tom Hanks gave voice to the rule in “A League of Their Own,” we’ve all come to learn that there is no crying in baseball. There is also no Wal-Mart in baseball, no store stocked with answers to a team’s every needs. When you shop for help in baseball, you take what’s on the shelves or go home empty-handed.

On Monday, the Red Sox had the ancient David Wells on the mound for a key game, while the Yankees went with rookie Chien-Ming Wang. Neither would have pitched had the teams been given better options in the off-season.

Last winter, the Red Sox needed to replace Pedro Martinez, whose contract demands and injury history made him unlikely to re-sign, and Derek Lowe, whose inconsistency was no longer welcome. The Yankees were not only still reeling from the defection of Wells, Roger Clemens, and Andy Pettitte two years before, but were also looking to replace some of their replacements, including Orlando Hernandez, Jose Contreras, and Brad Halsey. The Yankees did succeed in trading Javier Vazquez and Halsey to the Diamondbacks for Randy Johnson, but for all of Johnson’s ability, he only filled one rotation slot. The Yankees needed bodies.

Neither team felt they had replacements ready in the minors, and in the case of the Yankees, they wouldn’t have been inclined to use them even if they had. Thus, both approached the free-agent market with wallets out, only to find that they were shopping at Filene’s Basement rather than Bloomingdale’s. Aces were in unusually short supply. Martinez appeared to be in decline, and character questions made him an unlikely fit in the Yankees’ clubhouse. Clemens was determined to stay in Houston. Brad Radke gave the Twins a hometown discount.

That concluded the list of pitchers who seemed to provide any certainty of giving a strong performance. The next tier included Kris Benson, who took himself off the market by re-signing with the Mets – in the process signing a contract that made Jon Lieber too expensive for the Yankees to retain – and Matt Clement, a pitcher with great ability and a career losing record. Carl Pavano had one very strong year pitching in a nurturing environment for the Florida Marlins, preceded by an extensive injury history. Jaret Wright had enjoyed a strong comeback year in Atlanta under the magic tutelage of Leo Mazzone and Bobby Cox, but his arm was held together by packing string and chewing gum. Kevin Millwood had had a mediocre year with the Phillies. Wells was coming off of a strong year in San Diego, but he was about to turn 42, prone to injury, in terrible shape, and had also benefited from one of the friendliest pitching parks in baseball.

Again, it was a small group. Beyond the second tier lay the pitchers of last resort: the veteran Paul Byrd, whose arm was even shakier than Wright’s, the erratic Shawn Estes; the wild, aged Al Leiter; the home run machines Eric Milton and Jose Lima; Russ Ortiz, who got by more on run support and defense than stuff.

With both the Yanks and Sox cut off from Martinez and Clemens, they bought from the second tier. The Red Sox correctly focused on Clement as the best pitcher in a weak group and signed him to a three-year deal. The zeppelin shaped Wells was given a two-year contract on the theory that if he could pitch in his condition at 40 and 41, he probably could do the same at 42 and 43.

The Yankees focused on “youth,” signing Pavano and Wright, both 29. For the Yankees, any pitcher closer to 21 than he is to death is young.

Neither team got what it wanted, though they did get what they probably should have expected. The only real disappointment of the group has been Clement, who had posted a strong 3.80 ERA in nearly 600 innings from 2002-04. After pitching the Red Sox into first place with a 10-2, 3.85 ERA performance in the first half, he has totally disappeared, going 3-4 with a 6.14 ERA since the All-Star break.

Wells has pitched as one might expect a man of his age to pitch (injury time-outs included), and, in all, has probably been about as good as could have been realistically expected. Despite his Monday night collapse against the Devil Rays, he’s posted a 3.92 ERA in the second half of the season after allowing an ERA of 5.00 in the first half. Essentially, he and Clement have switched places.

As for the Yankees, Pavano and Wright have made a total of 28 starts, which, along with Kevin Brown’s injuries, allowed for the rise of Wang, not to mention starts by Sean Henn, Aaron Small, Al Leiter, Scott Proctor, Darrell May, and Tim Redding. The Red Sox, with injuries to Wells and Curt Schilling, have had to grant starts to Lenny DiNardo, John Halama, and Jon Papelbon.

In as soon as a few weeks, one or both of these teams will be back in planning mode. The off-season market will be even thinner than last year’s, with the top pitchers being Kevin Millwood, Roger Clemens (again), Tony Armas, Jr., Jamie Moyer, Ted Lilly, and Jarrod Washburn. Neither team can sign them all, and even if they could, there isn’t the makings of a championship staff there. Neither team will have to, of course – for Boston, Papelbon and other prospects have developed this year, while the Yankees and will be given strong consideration for next year’s rotation. The Yankees will have a few pitchers – Matt Desalvo, Tyler Clippard, Henn – who should be ready at some point during next season.

Whether or not they use them is another question. They may prefer to shop, even though this year has proved that there is no Wal-Mart in baseball.

Mr. Goldman is the author of “Forging Genius,” a biography of Casey Stengel, released this year.