Two Octobers ago, Joe Torre — to the surprise of some, most notably veteran lefthanded reliever Ron Villone — rewarded rookie relievers Ross Ohlendorf and Jose Veras for strong Septembers with spots on the 25-man roster for the Division Series against the Indians.

Shelley Duncan and Bronson Sardinha also made the cut for that Division Series.
Much of the makeup for the 2009 postseason roster falls under the headline of “well, obviously,” but there’s still some intrigue in seeing who can secure the small handful of spots considered “open.”
For instance, outfielder Freddy Guzman, acquired from the Orioles in an under-the-radar deal Aug. 31, was added to the 40-man roster Monday and might be this year’s Sardinha in terms of a postseason roster surprise. (Sardinha appeared once in the 2007 series against the Indians, replacing Johnny Damon in the bottom of the 11th inning of Game 2.)
“You don’t carry 12 pitchers in the postseason, so there’s some spots that might be opened up,” general manager Brian Cashman said this week.
How much thought has gone into what the roster will look like in October? Not until “after we clinch,” Cashman said.
“Right now Joe and I might kick things around a little bit,” he said. “But we haven’t extended it to anything formal or anything where we have staff meetings and stuff because we haven’t got that automatic bid (to the playoffs). So once we do, we’ll start talking about it.”
Still, making room on the 40-man roster for the swift Guzman, who would be used almost exclusively as a pinch runner — giving Girardi another baserunning option to go with Brett Gardner — was made with October, and only October, in mind.
“By this move, you’re clearly thinking about it,” Cashman acknowledged. “We’re not having extensive meetings, but we do discuss it. There’s guys certainly that are going to try to finish strong and more guys that are going to try to get right before October.”
Guzman, on what Cashman called an “audition” for a postseason spot and a player he referred to as a “potential burner as a 25th man,” still has to earn his spot, as do several other “bubble” players.
The five reserves in 2007 were Wilson Betemit, Jason Giambi, Jose Molina, Sardinha and Duncan. This year Jerry Hairston, Gardner and Molina seem to be locks. Depending on what the Yankees perceive as their needs — e.g., more speed, options in the field, power off the bench — Ramiro Pena, Guzman or Eric Hinske are possibilities.
The composition of the bullpen for the first round offers the most intrigue.
Assuming the Yankees choose the series with a day off between Games 1 and 2 — their option should they have the league’s best record — the starters will be CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and, provided his “aching” shoulder is nothing to be concerned about, Andy Pettitte. That would shift Joba Chamberlain, presumably built back up to a full-fledged starter by then, into the bullpen to fill any role from situational reliever to long man.
As managers like to say when it comes to the postseason, it’s “all hands on deck.”
From there, Mariano Rivera, Phil Hughes, Alfredo Aceves, Phil Coke and David Robertson — assuming the tightness in his right elbow dissipates — are the locks.
Chad Gaudin appears to have pulled away from Sergio Mitre as a long reliever candidate, although a couple of bad — or good — outings either way the rest of the season could change that.
Damaso Marte, thought to be a non-factor a month ago as he continued an unimpressive rehab assignment in the minors, has been better than expected — aside from a four-run hiccup Sept. 11 against Baltimore — and with Girardi wanting another lefty option to go with Coke, he looks better than 50-50 to be there come October.
The Yankees were interested in what hard-throwing lefty Mike Dunn, brought up Sept. 1, would do, but he’s shown little ability in the way of command. Brian Bruney hasn’t demonstrated consistent control, but September call-ups Mark Melancon and Edwar Ramirez haven’t been particularly impressive, either.
Then again, there’s still more than two weeks to go.
And there’s plenty to speculate on, though Cashman, at least publicly, isn’t engaging in it.
Instead, he gave a half-smile.
“Obviously,” he said, “we’re trying to compete every day to get that process hurried along.”