Question of the week: what's your biggest postseason concern?

[Brock Beauchamp]

The Sox have a 96% chance to make the playoffs. When they get there, what's your biggest concern that could hold the team back from advancing?

[moonslav59]

Offense. If Abreu can't regain his skills in time, others need to step up.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

21 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

The Sox have a 96% chance to make the playoffs. When they get there, what's your biggest concern that could hold the team back from advancing?

The O has been the most inconsistent. When the entire line-up struggles against a pitcher with command, in-game adjustments need to be made at the plate.

Seeing veteran batters shorten up swings and hit to the opposite field has been the right approach lately for guys like Story, Bregman and Lowe, and is also a key for free swingers like Rafaela, Duran and Narvaez.

[notin]

Offense.

 

And FredLynn.  Not sure he’s prepared to see the Sox in the postseason…

[Bellhorn04]

Getting there is my only real concern.  Once you get there anything can happen and usually does.

The offense is the team's biggest concern right now obviously but it sure helps having Abreu back.

[mvp 78]

1. Getting In

2. Offense

3. Defense

4. Rotation

5. Bullpen

[Kimmi]

The inconsistent offense is my biggest concern.

It's nice to see how much of a strength our bullpen has become.  Chapman is getting a lot of praise, and rightly so, but Whitlock has also been money.

[Deja Doh]

What's the post season roster gonna look like?  26 players (I'm guessing 13/13).  23 below seem like locks.  Who are the last 3 on?

Crochet

Giolito

Bello

Chapman

Whitlock

Wilson

Weissert

Slaten

Kelly

Murphy

Matz

Early

 

Narvaez

Wong

Lowe

Gonzalez

Story

Bregman

Duran

Rafaela

Abreu

Yoshida

Refsnyder

 

[Chris_JP11561]

Just hoping that the Blue Jays hold on to win the division. That way, the Sox will play the Yankees in the first round, and Boston has just owned them all year!

[Maxbialystock]

Look at the box scores of the games the Sox have won.  Most of them show that the Sox pitching has yet again carried the day.  So my biggest concern is the pitching because I know we don't have much of a lineup. 

 If the pitching is good, we got a shot.  If it ain't, we don't.  And it sure helps the pitching when the defense makes great plays as Duran did last night with the bases loaded and 2 outs.  

[moonslav59]

I have confidence in Crochet, Chapman and Whitlock. Although Gio and Bello have had very nice seasons and might have better numbers that who they might face, I worry most about them.

However, my number one concern is the offense. You can't lose Devers, and .820 career OPS 1Bman and then a guy like Anthony and not be worried. We've already seen our preseason back-up catcher win the FT job. We've seen platoon guys like Romy and Ref starting vs RHPs, more and more. We've seen Yoshida go from the forgotten and banished DH to our late September hot bat. We've seen the highly missing in action Trevor Story lead the team in HRs and RBI. We've seen our CF, hovering near .700 all season find a way to lead our team to the playoffs with huge hits and spectacular defense.  We've seen the likes of Nate Lowe, Eaton, Sogard or DHam being forced to start- sometimes 2 or 3 of them at a time. With Abreu back, that should not happen as much, but still... Our offense is the biggest concern.

[illinoisredsox]

8 hours ago, Deja Doh said:

What's the post season roster gonna look like?  26 players (I'm guessing 13/13).  23 below seem like locks.  Who are the last 3 on?

Crochet

Giolito

Bello

Chapman

Whitlock

Wilson

Weissert

Slaten

Kelly

Murphy

Matz

Early

 

Narvaez

Wong

Lowe

Gonzalez

Story

Bregman

Duran

Rafaela

Abreu

Yoshida

Refsnyder

 

Eaton will be on it for sure.  He has some speed, can play decent D at multiple positions and isn’t going to embarrass himself at the plate.

The final position player slot will come down to Sogard or Hamilton.  Neither is a great option, so I’m guessing Hamilton for pure speed.

Bernardino would be the choice for the final pitching spot, but I don’t know if he’s recovered.  Otherwise it’s Harrison or Tolle; I don’t know who to take between those 2.

They could go with 14 position players and 12 pitchers, but they won’t.

[Maxbialystock]

8 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

I have confidence in Crochet, Chapman and Whitlock. Although Gio and Bello have had very nice seasons and might have better numbers that who they might face, I worry most about them.

However, my number one concern is the offense. You can't lose Devers, and .820 career OPS 1Bman and then a guy like Anthony and not be worried. We've already seen our preseason back-up catcher win the FT job. We've seen platoon guys like Romy and Ref starting vs RHPs, more and more. We've seen Yoshida go from the forgotten and banished DH to our late September hot bat. We've seen the highly missing in action Trevor Story lead the team in HRs and RBI. We've seen our CF, hovering near .700 all season find a way to lead our team to the playoffs with huge hits and spectacular defense.  We've seen the likes of Nate Lowe, Eaton, Sogard or DHam being forced to start- sometimes 2 or 3 of them at a time. With Abreu back, that should not happen as much, but still... Our offense is the biggest concern.

You're big paragraph is exactly why I focus on the pitching.  If it's good, the Sox have a little bats--Duran, Story, Bregman, Yoshida, Gonzalez, Rafaela, Lowe, Abreu/Ref, and Narvaez-- is capable of scoring some if not many runs.  

[Deja Doh]

7 hours ago, illinoisredsox said:

Eaton will be on it for sure.  He has some speed, can play decent D at multiple positions and isn’t going to embarrass himself at the plate.

The final position player slot will come down to Sogard or Hamilton.  Neither is a great option, so I’m guessing Hamilton for pure speed.

Bernardino would be the choice for the final pitching spot, but I don’t know if he’s recovered.  Otherwise it’s Harrison or Tolle; I don’t know who to take between those 2.

They could go with 14 position players and 12 pitchers, but they won’t.

I thought Cora said he would not take both Hamilton and Eaton.  Assuming Anthony is out because he hasn't played in a month, there are not a lot of options on offense.  Pitching wise we overstocked with lefties, so I'm guessing a righty.  

[notin]

48 minutes ago, Deja Doh said:

I thought Cora said he would not take both Hamilton and Eaton.  Assuming Anthony is out because he hasn't played in a month, there are not a lot of options on offense.  Pitching wise we overstocked with lefties, so I'm guessing a righty.  

Hamilton does become slightly less appealing because there are no ghost runners in the postseason aka fewer pinch running opportunities.  There are pros and cons with him over Sogard.  I could see it go either way.

[moonslav59]

I doubt the bottom bench guys play at all.

We probably will not even need 13 pitchers, as I see Crochet, Bello, Giolito, Chapman & Whitlock getting 70-75% of the playoff innings and Slaten, Weissert & Early getting almost all of the remaining 25-30%. There could be some mop up innings to give to someone, but if the games are on the line we'll likely see these 8 pitchers get 95%+ of the innings.

On offense, we will see some platoon action, but even that has lessened as Romy has hit righties well enough, and we have no better 2B option, anyway. I think we'll go with Yoshida FT at DH and platoon Ref with Abreu, but maybe Ref DHs vs a LH SP'er. Everyone else is FT.

If Narvaez gets 2 days of rest, he can start the 3 games in NY or TOR.

[mvp 78]

Last WC round:

Most pitchers used: Brewers 11

Least pitchers used: Royals/Padres 7

[Old Red]

Hitting, and flaws. This is a very flawed series by two very flawed teams as the AL is this year. Whichever teams flaws that are kept in check the most will probably win the series.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

My least concern is Crochet and the BP. My biggest concern is lack of timely hitting. This is based on what I'd seen during much of the regular season.

[Worsley5]

None

Red Sox finished 4th in team batting average. 

Red Sox finished 4th in team ERA. 

Yankees finished 8th in team batting average and 14th in team ERA. 

Enough said!!!

We need more positive comments, support for a statistically better Red Sox  2025 BETTER THAN YANKEES TEAM. 

[Kimmi]

12 hours ago, Worsley5 said:

None

Red Sox finished 4th in team batting average. 

Red Sox finished 4th in team ERA. 

Yankees finished 8th in team batting average and 14th in team ERA. 

Enough said!!!

We need more positive comments, support for a statistically better Red Sox  2025 BETTER THAN YANKEES TEAM. 

This is my kind of post Worsley.  I still have concerns about the inconsistency of our offense, but I love the positive post!

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

48 minutes before the first pitch and I'm back to my biggest worry going into the month: middle relief.

If a Sox starter can't get through 6 innings, Playoff Cora won't wait until the 7th to bring in Slaten. Or even Whitlock. 

The problem is, we can't trust Kelly or Weissert or Wilson or Matz or the rookies to keep all their pitches in the ballpark -- not at Pop-Up Stadium in the Bronx.

Prediction: even if Crochet gives up four solo bombs tonight, we may see Cora stick with him through a 7-inning, 100+ pitch-count, and only allow Whit and Chappy to finish.

They're the best three by far... in a must-win.

[Worsley5]

11 hours ago, Kimmi said:

This is my kind of post Worsley.  I still have concerns about the inconsistency of our offense, but I love the positive post!

Thank you!

4th in team batting average and 4th in team ERA are far more team attributes than home run Yankee leadership. 

 

[mvp 78]

15 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

48 minutes before the first pitch and I'm back to my biggest worry going into the month: middle relief.

If a Sox starter can't get through 6 innings, Playoff Cora won't wait until the 7th to bring in Slaten. Or even Whitlock. 

The problem is, we can't trust Kelly or Weissert or Wilson or Matz or the rookies to keep all their pitches in the ballpark -- not at Pop-Up Stadium in the Bronx.

Prediction: even if Crochet gives up four solo bombs tonight, we may see Cora stick with him through a 7-inning, 100+ pitch-count, and only allow Whit and Chappy to finish.

They're the best three by far... in a must-win.

I'm fine with the middle relief. Just bring them in for clean innings. Don't do the "let Bello put a or two runner on" gimmick. They have one of the best bullpens in the league. Just go to them early and secure a win if up. 

[Old Red]

1 minute ago, mvp 78 said:

I'm fine with the middle relief. Just bring them in for clean innings. Don't do the "let Bello put a or two runner on" gimmick. They have one of the best bullpens in the league. Just go to them early and secure a win if up. 

Bello will have a short lease too.

[mvp 78]

6 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Bello will have a short lease too.

Unless he has a big lead or is cruising, probably need to pull him after 5. You got rested arms in the pen, use them. 

[Old Red]

On 9/29/2025 at 8:42 AM, Old Red said:

Hitting, and flaws. This is a very flawed series by two very flawed teams as the AL is this year. Whichever teams flaws that are kept in check the most will probably win the series.

Red Sox were not in check. Yankees Win! Yankees Win!