Why Have a 40-Man Roster? All You Need Is Ace, Closer, and Slugger

(Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

I was reading an article the other day where a baseball commentator said the qualities needed to make the playoffs aren’t the qualities needed to succeed in the playoffs

They said that deep starting pitching, production up and down the lineup, good middle relief and steady defense isn't nearly as important as having two dominant starters and a closer.

Intrigued to know just how true this was, I began researching the topic, starting with the 2008 American League.

Let’s take a look at the four AL playoff teams and the qualities they showed to get to the postseason.

Anecdotally, we speak about the teams being among the league’s elite. Statistically, we know they are the squads with the best win-loss record.

We know Carlos Quentin, Jermaine Dye, and Jim Thome hit more than 100 home runs between them for the White Sox, and that Carl Crawford, BJ Upton, and Jason Bartlett each stole more than 20 bags for the Rays.

But looking deeper, all four teams—Tampa Bay Rays, LA Angels, Boston Red Sox, and Chicago White Sox—played great defense, pitched fantastically, and produced throughout their lineup.

Starting rotations

Each team had solid starting pitching from top to bottom, highlighted by the fact that all four teams were within the top six AL teams, ranked by ERA.

The Red Sox’s rotation included four double-digit game winners who combined for a 56-30 record.

Three of them—Josh Beckett, John Lester, and Daisuke Matsuzaka had more than 150 strikeouts.

Chicago’s starting rotation posted a 4.11 ERA, compared to a Major League average of 4.32.

Their staff was led by four pitches with double-digit wins, including a 17-game winner in Gavin Floyd.

Going one better, Tampa Bay’s rotation saw all five starting pitchers record at least 11 wins, with three of them posting an ERA below 3.75.

James Shields, Andy Sonnanstein, and Matt Garza also threw five complete game shutouts which ranked joint first in the AL in 2008.

Of the eight pitchers who threw a pair of shutouts in the 08 season; two were from the Rays.

Similarly, the Angels’ staff was manned by five pitchers who each won 11 games or more, combining for 70 of the team’s league-leading 100 victories.

Among their starting pitchers was Ervin Santana, who pitched 219 innings (fourth among AL hurlers) and struck out 214 batters (second behind AJ Burnett).

To put these starting rotations into perspective, only one other team had more than three starters with double-digit wins.

The Seattle Mariners didn’t have a single 10-game winner.

Call to the 'pen

The relief pitching of the four playoff-bound teams was also fantastic.

Only the New York Yankees’ bullpen had a better strikeout rate per nine innings of work than any one of the Rays, White Sox, Red Sox, or Angels, and all four clubs’ relievers ranked within the top six AL teams for runs allowed.

The Rays, White Sox, and Red Sox were also within the best four clubs for losses allowed in relief, and three of the four teams had bullpen ERAs much below the league average.

It comes as little surprise, perhaps, that five of the top set-up men played for one of the four teams in question.

LA’s Scott Shields (31) and Tampa Bay’s Dan Wheeler (26) had the most holds in the AL, while Boston’s Hideki Okajima, Tampa’s Chad Bradford, and the White Sox’s Octavio Dotel ranked sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively.

Shields actually recorded the most holds in the Big Leagues, getting the ball to the league’s top closer, Francisco Rodriguez.

Productive offense

Offensively, the clubs also proved they were both worthy of playing meaningful October baseball.

The Rays, Angels and Red Sox were the top three teams in the American League for stolen bases, while the White Sox led the league with 235 home runs.

Also of note was the fact that the Red Sox’s one-through-six hitters had more RBI than any other team’s top and middle orders, while the White Sox’s seven, eight, and nine batters drove in more runs than the lower third of all but one other roster.

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