Depth: The New Inefficiency

Last season, the New York Yankees roster went on the disabled list.  In the absence of players like Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira, the Bombers plugged in whatever they could rummage from the junkyard -- Jason Nix, Eduardo Nunez, Lyle Overbay, Travis Hafner and a cast of thousands who contributed even less. The result was their second playoff absence since 1995.

Meanwhile, the talent-challenged Rays and A's made the playoffs, winning 92 and 96 games respectively. The Athletics featured one star -- the hitherto unknown third baseman Josh Donaldson -- and no one else who either batted over .300 or socked more than 30 homers. On the mound, Bartolo Colon shocked the league with an 18-6, 2.65 record, but you'd be forgiven if you never heard of the rest of the staff.

So how did Oakland win the West? How about this: seven of nine regulars posted an above average OPS, and all nine cleared 90% of league average. Another five backups with 100+ at bats contributed likewise. On the hill, the A's threw six quality arms at the league, the worst of whom was Tommy Milone, 12-9, 4.14 with a K/BB rate over three. The bullpen chipped in well-distributed excellence, with seven above-average pitchers finishing more than 10 games each.

It wasn't just the numbers on the bench. Skipper Bob Melvin slotted 18 different players into the DH role over the 162 games, using it to maximize lefty-righty and offense-defense match-ups. Four catchers shared shin guard duty -- Derek Norris, utility man John Jaso and Kurt Suzuki for their hitting skills and Stephen Vogt for his defense.

This year, Billy Beane inked four solid relievers to longish-term deals, a rarity in MLB and certainly in Oakland. The lead the AL in scoring and in ERA; following a four-game skid they remain atop the AL West.

For a couple of years after Moneyball spilled Beane's beans, the A's lost a bit of their edge. But he has found new inefficiencies to exploit and has Oakland poised to ride their embarrassingly low payroll to a third straight West Division title. And it's easy to see what the inefficiency is.

While the Yankees were reacting to inevitable injuries on their geriatric roster, the A's prepared for it by inking average players to moderate paydays and scattering them around the diamond. The result is a catching platoon of Derek Norris and John Jaso that has limited their plate appearances to opposite-handed starters. Combined they are hitting .302/.397/.482 and earning $2.8 million.

Just three of the A's 13 moundsmen earn more than $800,000 -- closer Jim Johnson, set-up man Luke Gregerson and starter Scott Kazmir. Hitting star Donaldson, still under team control, takes home half-a-million bucks. It's as if the A's, unable to afford George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, entice Jeremy Irons and Emma Thompson to act in their movie for scale, and then ink Annette Benning, Robert Downey, Jr. and Maggie Smith to low-dough deals with the promise of juicy roles. 

It's working, and as soon as the rest of baseball figures it out, Oakland and Tampa will be on to something else.