Changing up the Rotation

After watching the way that Farrell managed Game 4 versus the Tampa Bay Rays, I would say that my criticism that letting Stephen Drew bat against McGee was in fact the wrong decision and he has learned from his mistakes and won't ever do anything to my disliking again. Well, maybe not, but I thought that was one of his finest games at the helm of the Red Sox and he out-managed  a guy who drinks wine and wears hipster glasses, which clearly correlates to great managing.

(***Note: I still stand by my pick of Oakland in 5***)

All tire-pumping aside, I think the rotation needs a slight alteration for the ALCS, and it should go as follows:

Lester
Buchholz
Lackey
Peavy

Right now he has only really announced that Lester will start Game 1, and I think this is the reason for the non-announcement for the rest of the series. Let's delve, shall we?

Performances all around were ranging from Very Good (Lester and Peavy) to Competitive but not Great (Buchholz and Lackey).

Lester is the consensus number one, if anyone disputes that I would advise you to go watch a new sport like Professional Lacrosse.

Buchholz sort of slogged through his outing with the inability to keep the ball down consistently despite only giving up the one mistake. Lackey was sort of what Lackey is, a guy that competes, and usually keeps his team in the game. Also knowing that he had 10 days off in between starts spoke to his lack of command during parts of the game.

But I am proposing that Buchholz be the Game 2 starter instead of Game 3 in the upcoming series regardless of opponent. I know that Lackey has pitched better at home this season than on the road, however in his career he has better peripheral numbers than Buchholz in both Comerica Park and the Oakland Colosseum.

Lackey, coming from Anaheim, has had more than his fair share of Oakland and he has done very well in that stadium.

One of the main reasons for Lackey pitching in Fenway in the ALDS was to neutralize the left-handed batters which have a massive right field to deal with at The Fens compared to a more hitter-friendly Tropicana Field. In this case both ballparks are massive and it shouldn't really matter where he starts in this series.

Looking ahead to a potential series with Oakland as I predicted, Sonny Gray the best starting pitcher on the A's, is going to win seemingly any time he steps out there. Unless he throws on short rest he'll go Game 3 and then again in a potential Game 7. I want Lackey, someone that has more success in the Colosseum to try and match him zero for zero instead of Buchholz and his 9.58 ERA in Oakland.

Buchholz, for whatever reason (better competition?) has struggle in both of those parks. Despite being 2-2 against the A's in his career the gaudy numbers that they have against him in Oakland (.342 avg, .440OBP, .492 SLG ) combined as a team are akin to their team being Freddie Freeman.Yeah, no thanks!

So, within this series, you may need to adjust for Buchholz the way you adjusted for Lackey in the last series and put Buchholz on the home rubber. Throwing him in Game 2 also ensures that he will throw at home again in Game 6 which puts your player once again in the best place to succeed.

For those impressed with Peavy and wanting him to pitch Game 2, I don't blame you. He was dominant, in control, and the kind of bulldog that a Curt Schilling was for the Red Sox in post season's past. Also, if not for match ups and was (rightly) pulled in the 6th he very well could have gone for a complete game. But I want him in the 4 spot for a myriad of reasons.

• He is the new guy. Buchholz and Lackey have seniority on the team and in "baseball code" this does mean something. Also he's not selfish and doesn't view being the 4-starter as most teams actual 4-starter. They are pitching rich, and he gets it.
• During the regular season he did not pitch so much better or worse than either Lackey or Buchholz to warrant being moved up in the rotation as a foregone conclusion. If he had pitched head and shoulders better it would make the first bullet obsolete but they were all by and large equal, in terms of overall production.
• Situationally, I want him in the 4 spot. If the Red Sox are down 2-1 in a series (I don't see any team getting out to a 3-0 series lead) I actually have more confidence in him in the 4 spot than Lackey to come through and even the series at two games apiece and hand the ball back to Lester.
• I have an unadulterated man crush on him, and when that happens only good things can happen for him (see Lester in 2012, oh wait.)

The Sox are set up as well as they can be heading into this series getting three days off (the perfect amount of rest) before their next series and they can line up their rotation as they see fit, I like them to advance no matter the opponent.

Stay Tuned

Norton