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Phillies Roster

Catchers (2): Carlos Ruiz, Brian Schneider

Infielders (7): 1B Ryan Howard, 2B Chase Utley, 3B Placido Polanco, SS Jimmy Rollins; 1B Mike Sweeney, Corner Greg Dobbs, MI Wilson Valdez

Outfielders (6): CF Shane Victorino, RF Jayson Werth, LF Raul Ibañez; Domonic Brown, Ben Francisco, Ross Gload (1B)

Starting Pitchers (3): RHPs Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt, LHP Cole Hamels

Bullpen (7): RHPs Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson, Chad Durbin, Jose Contreras, and Joe Blanton; LHPs J.C. Romero and Antonio Bastardo

Comment: As noted yesterday in the preview's comments section, the Phillies sensibly added Brown over an eighth relieve. Maybe it won't matter, but Brown's power in either park makes for a better desperation situation dude than the twin-less Dobbsey. With Blanton set aside for long-relief, injury, or extra-inning assignments, they're covered for those unhappy scenarios. The situational trio of Durbin, Romero, and Bastardo will be used in mix-and-match situations, but when it comes to controlling damage, the Phillies weren't among baseball's best teams in transition innings, letting opposing teams score in all but 16 of 70 opportunities when the starter had to pulled during a defensive inning.

As far as assault weapons to reach for on the bench, with Gload and Sweeney as a matched pair of veteran pinch-hitters for high-leverage situations, and Dobbs ready for use in the more disposable opportunities, Charlie Manuel has a nice spread of options. There may not be an obvious pinch-running choice beyond Francisco or Brown, but neither are pure burners.

Reds Roster

Catchers (2): Carlos Hernandez, Ryan Hanigan

Infielders (7): 1B Joey Votto, 2B Brandon Phillips, 3B Scott Rolen, SS Orlando Cabrera; Corner Juan Francisco INF Miguel Cairo, MI Paul Janish

Outfielders (5): CF Drew Stubbs, RF Jay Bruce, LF Jonny Gomes; Laynce Nix and Chris Heisey

Starting Pitchers (3): RHPs Edinson Volquez, Bronson Arroyo, and Johnny Cueto

Bullpen (8): RHPs Francisco Cordero, Nick Masset, Logan Ondrusek, and Homer Bailey; LHPs Arthur Rhodes, Aroldis Chapman, Bill Bray, and Travis Wood

Comment: Going with eight relievers might seem excessive, but there are no guarantees that they'll use Volquez and Arroyo in the series' fourth and fifth games in turn. You can also credit Dusty Baker with giving himself a nice collection of hard-throwing kids to turn to early in-game—maybe he'll have his starters on a short leash, because if he does, the idea of setting loose Chapman, Bailey, and Wood in the middle innings has to be tempting. Bray and Ondrusek will probably be limited to strictly situational roles, while Rhodes and Masset set up Cordero. All well and good, pretty much as expected.

The less happy outcome is Jim Edmonds' unavailability, but replacing him with Francisco does expand Baker's tactical options as far as having a bench player he can plug in at first, third, or left, but also one he might be less reluctant to use early. Edmonds' absence shouldn't guarantee anything in terms of Gomes starting every time out, although Gomes does have a decent track record as far as hitting against Halladay and Oswalt. There is no really good deluxe pinch-runner, and Heisey's flailures against southpaws probably rule out his employment as a platoon option in Game Three vs. Hamels.

Twins Roster

Catchers (2): Joe Mauer, Drew Butera

Infielders (8): 1B/OF Michael Cuddyer, 2B Orlando Hudson, 3B Danny Valencia, SS J.J. Hardy, DH Jim Thome; INFs Nick Punto, Matt Tolbert, and Alexi Casilla

Outfielders (4): CF Denard Span, RF Jason Kubel, LF Delmon Young; Jason Repko

Starting Pitchers (4): LHPs Francisco Liriano and Brian Duensing, RHPs Carl Pavano and Nick Blackburn

Bullpen (7): RHPs Matt Capps, Jon Rauch, Matt Guerrier, Jesse Crain, and Scott Baker; LHPs Brian Fuentes and Jose Mijares

Comment: With Justin Morneau finally ruled out, there are no real surprises here among the position players. Unfortantely, that probably makes for the worst bench imaginable, as ill-starred a bunch as Peter Klaven's groomsmen, but at least it's collectively planted on the pine instead of playing. The three reserve infielders will at least function as worthwhile pinch-running choices, and Tolbert and Punto might get all sacrificial on us in tight late-game scenarios—an opportunity to put A-Rod on the spot? Repko didn't do any damage against lefties, so there's no joy there as far as platoon matchups. In a series where the Twins might draw just one right-hander if the Bombers skip Burnett. The pen at least features the benefit of having three different guys with “closer cred,” so if Ron Gardenhire wants to focus on matchups and worry who accrues the statistical footnote later, so much the better.

Yankees Roster

Catchers (2): Jorge Posada, Francisco Cervelli

Infielders (6): 1B Mark Teixeira, 2B Robinson Cano, 3B Alex Rodriguez, SS Derek Jeter, DH/1B Lance Berkman; INF Ramiro Peña

Outfielders (6): CF Curtis Granderson, RF Nick Swisher, LF Brett Gardner; Austin Kearns, Marcus Thames, Greg Golson

Starting Pitchers (4): LHPs CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte, RHPs Phil Hughes and A.J. Burnett

Bullpen (7): RHPs Mariano Rivera, Kerry Wood, Joba Chamberlain, Dave Robertson, Sergio Mitre, and Dustin Moseley; LHP Boone Logan

Comment: So, you've go the usual assemblage of stars, and you've got a nice bench bat or two in Kearns for OBP against lefties and Thames for power, but drill down beyond that, and… blech, what is this, the Twins' twins? Maybe the obvious theme of the Yankeeography on Bomber benches is “They Also Played,” and maybe Girardi's borrowing from Joe Torre's age-old indifference over who gets the last three or four slots on the roster, but any situation in which Moseley and Mitre come into ballgames either involve double-digit leads or really bad things. Golson's at least present to be the team's designated Herb Washington, but he and Peña almost demand to go as unused as Mitre and Moseley. Much was made of Joba's stronger second half, but Robertson rebounded as well, and Logan as lone lefty had a fine turnaround year to becoming the quality LOOGY the Yankees needed to find after Damaso Marte disappointed them.

Rays Roster

Catchers (2): John Jaso, Kelly Shoppach

Infielders (7): 1B Carlos Peña, 2B/OF Ben Zobrist, 3B Evan Longoria, SS Jason Bartlett; INF Sean Rodriguez, 1B Dan Johnson, MI Reid Brignac

Outfielders (5): CF B.J. Upton, RF Matt Joyce, LF Carl Crawford; Desmond Jennings and Rocco Baldelli

Starting Pitchers (4): LHP David Price, RHPs James Shields, Matt Garza, and Wade Davis

Bullpen (7): RHPs Rafael Soriano, Joaquin Benoit, Grant Balfour, Dan Wheeler, Chad Qualls, and Jeff Niemann; LHP Randy Choate

Comment: There's room for obvious controversy here, not just in the elective decision to make Shields the Game Two starter, but also in that Willy Aybar has at long last been identified as a bad DH. Well, controversial if you're Willy Aybar, but I figure it shows that the Rays have some command of the obvious, as well as being prone to some enduring obliviousness—if Star Trek teaches us nothing, it's that if you keep raising Shields, it's always too late and you're going to get hit. Meanwhile, it looks like they really are going with Johnson and Baldelli as their solution for their DH-ly needs. You might hope that Jennings is here in an Andruw Jones-style cameo, but it's more likely that he'll have to settle for the pinch-running chores that Fernando Perez isn't around for any more. In the pen, Choate's really a lefties-only LOOGY who can only be safely used against the left-handed batters the Rays won't pull—or basically just Josh Hamilton.

Rangers Roster

Catchers (2): Bengie Molina, Matt Treanor

Infielders (7): 1B Mitch Moreland, 2B Ian Kinsler, 3B Michael Young, SS Elvis Andrus; MI Andres Blanco, Corner Jorge Cantu, UT Esteban German

Outfielders (6): CF Julio Borbon, RF Nelson Cruz, LF Josh Hamilton, DH Vladimir Guerrero; David Murphy and Jeff Francoeur

Starting Pitchers (4): LHPs Cliff Lee and C.J. Wilson, RHPs Colby Lewis and Tommy Hunter

Bullpen (6): RHPs Neftali Feliz, Alexi Ogando, Darren O'Day, and Dustin Nippert; LHPs Darren Oliver and Derek Holland

Comment: Cool on the Rangers for running with just 10 pitchers as well. As today's lineup reflected, there's a platoon of sorts between Borbon and Jeff Francoeur, and you can see Blanco as a defensive replacement for Kinsler if the occasion arises. German's not exactly a speedster as much as a competetent baserunner, with the added benefit of being playable at six positions if they get caught in an extra-inning affair. Since Moreland can move to the outfield, there's a goodly amount of play in their position assignments.

The bullpen similarly has a lot of stretch in it as well, since there are several former starters in that mix, and they could always use Hunter earlier in the series in an emergency. Holland as a situational lefty is a nasty indication of the organization's embarrassment of riches when it comes to their live arms, but they can also use him in long relief and let it ride if he's cooking in any given evening. Nippert is a bit of an odd choice for middle-innings sponge work—he's bad with baserunners, and not especially dominating, but he's disposable enough in case of big leads.

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TheRedsMan
10/07
Just thought I'd point out that Bruce hit .277/.352/.547 against lefties this year. And considering he's one of the best defensive RF in baseball, I don't think you'd platoon him regardless of how well Heisey plays. The real Heisey argument is about who should be starting in LF.