He pitched exceptionally well both outings but won neither of them. In his career he has won 19 games twice, including the strike-shortened 1995 season, which cost him two or three starts, and 18 games last season. And he's a guy with four Cy Young Awards. The standards should be different now because the game is different. That's not true anymore.
Teams do have someone out there in the bullpen with a better, rested arm.
Four years ago, for example, Mussina came out of an early September game tied at two after seven innings against Kansas City. He had thrown 118 pitches. The bottom of the Royals' lineup was due up, while the top of the Baltimore lineup was coming up. That was one of the years Mussina wound up with 19 wins. Palmer, of course, never wound have exited from such a game.