It’s been four long years since the Yankees ended their season with a dog pile. Mets fans won’t have much sympathy – Red Sox fans even less – but four years is a long time when you work for George Steinbrenner.

One reason for the Yankees’ futility in October is that despite the highest payroll in the game, they have fielded weak playoff benches and, in 2003, a soft bullpen whenever Mariano Rivera wasn’t on the mound. The flaws weren’t enough to keep the Yankees from winning the AL East, but they played a big part in playoff losses to the Diamondbacks, Angels, and Marlins.

This year, though, the Yankees have a bullpen that compares well to the ones on their championship teams of 1996-2000, and a bench that may well be the best in Joe Torre’s tenure. The Yankee postseason bench will likely consist of two switch-hitters with power, Tony Clark and Ruben Sierra; John Olerud, a left-handed hitter who gets on base and serves as a good defensive replacement for Jason Giambi; and standbys Enrique Wilson and John Flaherty, neither of whom have much value within a game.

If Olerud starts, Kenny Lofton or Bernie Williams won’t, giving the Yankees added on-base average and a little speed on the bench. All told, there are many ways in which this diverse group of reserves can contribute within a game. Contrast that with last year, when instead of Clark and Olerud, it was Karim Garcia and David Dellucci serving as the pinch-hitting threats.

The 2001 bench was one of the worst in recent memory: a backup catcher (Todd Greene), four utility infielders (Wilson, Randy Velarde, Clay Bellinger, and Luis Sojo) and a right-handed-hitting outfielder (Shane Spencer). There was almost no way that bench could help the Yankees win a game, and it’s a tribute to the team’s front-line talent that the club got as far as it did. The 2002 bench was a little better, but one-dimensional – no speed, no defense.

Just like the 2004 Yankees’ bench, this year’s bullpen is much better than the 2003 version. Remember Game 4 of the World Series, when Joe Torre had to use Jeff Weaver in extra innings because he had no better right-handed options? That won’t happen this year. In addition to Rivera – only the greatest reliever in postseason history – Torre has Tom Gordon, who’s been one of the best relievers in the AL this year, a devastating force in the seventh and eighth innings.

Paul Quantrill is a normally durable groundball machine who has been worn down this year amid overuse – he’s allowed 39 hits and struck out just six men in 24 innings since August 1. If the Yanks can ease up on him for the two weeks leading up to the Division Series, he should be primed to rack up outs in the playoffs. Jon Lieber will add to the depth, assuming Kevin Brown and his broken right hand return for the playoffs.

Another exciting possibility is right-hander Steve Karsay, who has pitched five innings this month in his first action since the end of 2002. Karsay’s fastball/curveball combination has always been hard on right-handers, and if he’s capable of pitching effectively, he’d be a stronger option than Scott Proctor, Bret Prinz, or Esteban Loaiza, with the potential to play Jeff Nelson’s old get-the-righty role.

The Yankees do face ongoing problems from the left side, however. Since they allowed Mike Stanton to leave as a free agent after the 2002 season, the Yankees have used 10 lefthanded pitchers in relief.

Those 10 have combined to allow 123 earned runs in 228 1 /3 innings, an ERA of 4.85. Even that is heavily weighted towards 2003; right now, the Yankees do not have a single left-handed pitcher on their roster with an ERA below 6.75.With an all-right-handed rotation, that’s a problem, especially if the Yankees draw the lefty-hitting A’s in the first round. Either Felix Heredia or C.J. Nitkowski will have to take a big step forward to fill this hole.

Bill James, baseball’s resident statistical guru, once wrote, “In the postseason, depth don’t count.” In the big picture, he was right, as most postseason series are won by the front-line talent. On a micro level, though, a team needs certain tactical advantages to put the odds in its favor in close games. In 2001, 2002, and 2003, the Yankees didn’t have the ability to do that, relying on Jeff Weaver or Raul Mondesi or Jose Contreras in a situation that required a better option.

This year, Torre once again will wield the ability to gain a match-up at the plate, to add some speed on the bases, and to keep bring in talented pitchers out of the bullpen. That will certainly help the Yankees as they try and end The Curse of the Big Unit.

This article was provided by Baseball Prospectus. The Sun will run exclusive content from Baseball Prospectus throughout the 2004 season. For more state-of-the-art baseball content, visit www.baseballprospectus.com.