One of my most vivid memories of a truly dominant playoff team features the 2009 Phillies. Featuring a rotation anchored by Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels, the Phillies steamrolled through the NLDS and NLCS on their way to a pennant. Though they were ultimately outmatched by the Yankees in the World Series, those Phillies and their rotation were the platonic ideal of what I thought an excellent playoff team should be.
An opposite example, of course, would be this year’s Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays were a team with strengths in just about every area except the rotation.