There were a couple of interesting playoff rosters decisions that were made in the Yankees-Twins series, and both came down to pitching numbers.

The one that will grab the headlines was Jason Giambi being left off the Yankee roster. The Yankees wanted to bring 11 pitchers, and Giambi was just 4-for-33 with one home run after missing almost two months of the season.

The other decision was ex-Phil and ex-everything else Joe Roa being left off the Twins roster. Minnesota is carrying only ten pitchers. Roa pitched 70 innings competently (4.50 ERA) this year for Minnesota. However, the Twins decided to bring young Jesse Crain who has just 27 innings under his belt as a righty out of the bullpen. Roa has worked as a long reliever all year, and the Twins, with extra starters in the pen, now find him expendable.

Roa was invited to travel with the club and was told that he might be activated for a later playoff round. But Roa decided to pack his ditties and go home. When asked

"I don't think I deserved that," said Roa, who turns 33 next week. "That's the reason I'm disappointed. If I pitched seven or eight times and not been as successful, I would have been the happiest guy in the room. I would say 'Thanks, I'll be ready for the second round.' But I wasn't given a chance in September. That's the reason I had to decline."

Roa had a 15.10 ERA in September. Crain had a 2.00 ERA in his short stint with the Twins.

So all of you fans who wanted to see Giambi hit a game-winning homer off of Roa,—and I know you’re out there—like a Phils fan, you’ll just have to wait until next year.