Late October is always an intriguing part of the baseball season with seven-game series changing the commonly held roster construction norms. There are those teams who choose to carry a third catcher or extra infielder and those who choose to put a starter or another arm in the bullpen to fortify their back-end. Bruce Bochy of the Giants, for all intents and purposes, appears to be constructing his roster very similarly to the regular season; however, with Tim Lincecum nursing a neck injury in the pen, one could make the argument that he’s somewhat handicapped in roster construction. This weakness has not been shown in past playoff series this year because Giants starting pitching has done pretty well on the backs of Madison Bumgarner (2.54 career playoff ERA) and Ryan Vogelsong (2.16). When it hasn’t, the amazing Yusmeiro Petit has given them both exceptional relief efforts and length. The Royals on the other hand, carry both six outfielders and six infielders (including Billy Butler) along with two catchers, making for fourteen position players. With James Shields, Yordano Ventura, Jason Vargas, and Jeremy Guthrie toeing the mound, Danny Duffy shifts into long-relief with a pen full of flame-throwers. In other words, the Royals have chosen to use a standard seven-man bullpen, electing for the extra position player over the extra arm. Though Wade Davis can go two innings if need be, the Giants clearly carry the upper-hand in extra-inning games, with Petit and Lincecum in their pen.
–Nick Corrado
Bases Loaded Online 