Tuesday Oct. 9, 2007
| Amalie_Benjamin | I'm here and ready to answer questions from the press box at Fenway. |
| krz__Guest_ | Is Wake really playoff ready? |
| Amalie_Benjamin | Right now, probably not. But Terry Francona has maintained that he's hopeful that Wakefield will be ready by the time they need him for an ALCS start. We'll have to see how he progresses before the roster has to be named, but if he can go, he should be there. |
| Marblehead_Mike__Guest_ | Hi Amalie, I like the idea of giving Jon Lester a start, showing the Indians a lefty among the righties. Any chance of that happening? |
| Amalie_Benjamin | If Wakefield is ready to go, Lester almost certainly would not get a start. Remember, he wouldn't have been on the ALDS roster had Wakefield been healthy. But there's always a chance that Wake won't be ready to go, which would give Lester a chance. |
| UVMSoxFan__Guest_ | Hi Amalie, what are the chances we see Jacoby Ellsbury get a start in centerfield in the ALCS? I mean Coco Crisp could probably be even more valuable off the bench than Ellsbury with his speed and bunting ability, no? |
| Amalie_Benjamin | It really looks like Terry Francona is going to stick with the starters that he had about a month ago, that ideal lineup (for him) that didn't happen the last month of the season with Manny Ramirez out. It's certainly possible, but I'd think Francona would mainly continue with the group he's had out there the last three games. Defense is huge in the postseason and, despite Coco missing that catch on Sunday, his centerfield defense is more well developed than Ellsbury's, at this point. |
| dahvee72__Guest_ | How much faith, if any, does Tito have in Gagne? Would he bring him in in a key sit or just blowout
mop-up duty? If he's not gonna use him to help win a game, why not give his slot to someone else? |
| Amalie_Benjamin | The team maintains that they have faith in him. Had Manny not hit that home run on Friday night, Mike Timlin was coming out of the bullpen next, then Gagne. (I'm sure that would have pleased a lot of fans.) Do I think they are excited about using him in a close game? Probably not. But I think they are probably going to find themselves in a situation where they need to use him in that spot. Besides, who would you rather have out of the bullpen -- Gagne or, say, Julian Tavarez? |
| Dan__Guest_ | Any lingering concern about DP's shoulder after the dive in game 2? |
| Amalie_Benjamin | Looked bad, huh? It was pretty interesting to me that Dustin stayed in that game, despite the injury, while Vladimir Guerrero, the only really scary hitter in that lineup, came out of the game. Both the team and Dustin have been saying that it's less sore than they thought it would be. Unless something major changes with the shoulder, he'll be playing. |
| cingram21 | Should we be in high anxiety watching Daisuke Matsuzaka pitch in this ALCS against a potent Cleveland lineup, or does he have something working in his favor that might tip the scales his way? |
| Amalie_Benjamin | He scares me more than a No. 2 starter (so far, no word yet on whether that will change for the ALCS) should. He just seemed to show the Angels far too many pitches, especially for a team that -- overall -- isn't all that patient. Can he put it together and pitch brilliantly? Sure. Would I bet on that? Probably not. In two regular season starts, Matsuzaka was 1-1, giving up six runs in 12 2/3 innings. |
| ding3rz34__Guest_ | Hi
Amalie, Im just wondering if Matsuzaka doesn't perform at the level they are expecting him to perform,
would they consider Clay Buchholz in the rotation?? |
| Amalie_Benjamin | Nope. Buchholz was shut down for the season, which isn't going to change. His shoulder fatigue was the reason he wasn't on the postseason roster for the ALDS because the team judged it was dangerous (to his health) for him to pitch. |
| Bostondotcom | Greetings all. Amalie will answer a few more questions and end at 11:40. She has to go down to the clubhouse to speak to some players and Tito. Thanks all. |
| Unruly_Fan_in_MAINE__Guest_ | How do you see the Sox match up against the Tribe? How have the we hit against CC and Carmona? Who wins and in how many games? |
| Amalie_Benjamin | As much as the Indians' top two starters have dominated this season, the matchup isn't horrible for the Red Sox. And that should be an incredible Game 1 matchup, for that matter. Sabathia gave up one run in seven innings in one start against the Sox in a fantastic matchup with Matsuzaka in Cleveland, then Carmona shutout the Sox for eight innings the next night against Josh Beckett. |
| Dan__Guest_ | Any news on the starting rotation for the ALCS? |
| Amalie_Benjamin | No news quite yet. We'll see what happens when we head down to the clubhouse/meet with Terry Francona today. We'll get all the news up on the blog. |
| Enmcnz__Guest_ | Our pitching was great against the Angels, but given some of the late-season flameouts (Dice-K, Okajima), how can we expect the Sox starters and relievers to fare in a longer, 7-game series against, really, a better, healthier, and more dangerous offense? |
| Amalie_Benjamin | The Sox pitchers pitched very well (Matsuzaka, Beckett) in that series in Cleveland in July. Granted, Matsuzaka has had trouble since then, but it's all about starting pitching. If Beckett pitches like he did against the Angels and Sabathia struggles like he did against the Yankees, things turn the Sox way. If reverse that, it's headed Cleveland's way. As Curt Schilling said on Sunday, it's all about starting pitching in October. Not much game-to-game momentum. |
| Kev__Guest_ | What's going to be the key for this series? |
| Amalie_Benjamin | Starting pitching. Starting pitching. Starting pitching. |
| Amalie_Benjamin | That's it, folks. Sorry for the delay, and sorry to head out now. But we've got to use all the clubhouse access we can get. I'll be up on the blog all afternoon, so check back. And enjoy the ALCS. Thanks for joining me. |
