Fan_since_Boggs

If the Red Sox move on to the next series, I would start E-Rod in game 4, with Sale, Eavoaldi, and Porcello as the top 3. Price goes to the bullpen. I have no confidence in Price and the Astros are pretty loaded with right handed bats similar to the Yankees.

Cashman traded for Happ, who s*** in the bed in the postseason. Dombrowski traded for Eavoldi. 'Nuff said. Resign Eaovoldi. Against Sabathia, I would play Nunez at 3b (Devers can't hit lefties and Nunez has good numbers against Sabathia), Kinsler plays 2b (good numbers against Sabathia), Holt plays LF, Benintendi plays CF, and Bradley Jr gets the day off (terrible numbers against Sabathia). My lineup: Betts RF Benintendi CF Pearce 1b Martinez DH Bogaerts SS Nunez 3b Kinsler 2b Vazquez C Holt LF

That's true. I'm starting to think both should be in the lineup.

Sandy Leon has 4 hits and 2 talks since August ninth. He is such a bum. I know his defense is useful but he contributes a permanent .000 spot in your order. Leon basically produces an out every single time the order turns over, bringing up the Red Sox's best hitters. Thus, Leon not only sucks as a bottom of the order hitter, his ineptness impacts the ability of the top of the order to produce runs. Leon essentially turns the Red Sox offense into a national league offense, not a great situation when you are trying to beat the Yankees in a short series.

I think game 3 is a must win game for the Yankees. If they lose game 3, little chance to win two in a row with Sabathia in game 4 and then against Sale in Boston for game 5. In contrast, the Red Sox can lose game 3 and still win the series.

I'm back to the "do whatever it takes to generate offense" mentality. That means Leon and Vazquez don't start at C. My lineup for tonight against Severino: Betts CF Benintendi LF Moreland DH Martinez RF Pearce 1b Bogaerts SS Devers 3b Swihart C Holt 2b (1) Devers doesn't hit Severino -- 0 for 12, 5 ks -- but he showed better patience and power in Sept. I'm giving him a chance. (2) Bradley doesn't hit Severino -- 12 ks in 25 ABs, .200 BA, .533 OPS (3) Holt doesn't hit Severino, but Kinsler doesn't either. (4) Bogaerts doesn't hit Severino -- I dropped him to the 6th spot in the order. (5) The Red Sox's best hitters against Severino: Benintendi, Martinez, Moreland, Pearce.

If it goes 5, I think Sale takes the Red Sox to the next round. Problem is, the Yankees don't lose at home very much and could definitely win the next two. Eric Van posted this: In other words, Severino slumped at the right time; Price slumped at the wrong time. With Severino returning to ace-form, the Red Sox are going to have a hard time winning on Monday. Porcello is a bit of a wild card on Tuesday, but so is Sabathia. I could see the Yankees taking out Sabathia at the first sign of trouble, turning it into a bullpen game. They will do whatever it takes to keep the series from returning to Boston for a game 5.

I like these two lineups. The only thing I would do differently: (1) against Severino, I like Holt batting second and Benintendi batting 5th, with JD Martinez batting third and Bogaerts 4th. (2) I also prefer Swihart at 1b over Pearce, assuming Moreland can't go against the righty. My revived lineups. Since I know the Red Sox will never start Swihart at C, I'll go with Vazquez. Against Severino: Betts RF Holt 2b Martinez DH Bogaerts SS Benintendi LF Devers 3b Swihart 1b Bradley CF Vazquez C Against Sabathia: Betts RF Benintendi LF Pearce 1b Martinez DH Bogaerts SS Nunez 3b Holt 2b Bradley CF Vazquez C

Yeah, I agree with the idea of giving Holt the two starts at 2b at yankees stadium. (1) Kinsler doesn't hit lefties. (2) Left handed batters can get some cheap HRs in Yankees stadium, just ask Brett Gardner. I also agree with your decision to play Devers against Severino and then Nunez against Sabathia.

Holt has a better OPS against RHP than LHP. Geez, Kinsler doesn't hit lefties at all. I wouldn't play Kinsler against Sabathia, nor would I play him against Severino. For me, Kinsler sits the next two games and Holt gets the two starts in yankees stadium.

Maybe, maybe not. Having an automatic out in the lineup might be a more incapacitating than taking a risk on Swihart. There are pitchers in the NL who hit better than Sandy Leon.

Against Severino in game 3, my lineup would be: Betts RF Holt 2b Martinez DH Bogaerts SS Benintendi LF Pearce 1b (it sounds like Moreland is hurt) Devers 3b Swihart C Bradley CF Against Sabathia in game 4: Betts RF Benintendi LF Pearce 1b Martinez DH Bogaerts SS Nunez 3b Kinsler 2b Swihart C Bradley CF

I'm not sure if the Red Sox need the bats to wake up as much as they need to put better bats in the lineup. Sandy Leon isn't going to wake up, he isn't a major caliber hitter. You start Swihart at catcher, you start Devers at 3b against a RHP and Holt at 2b against a RHP.

Yep, I just read this: Alex Speier stat - home team that splits first two games wins 37% of series. The good news IMO: that 37% seems low, maybe we are in for a market correction. The Red Sox are in trouble, though. But we could say the same thing about the Red Sox in the 2004, 2007, and 2013 postseasons. You reach a point where your back is against the wall and then you see how the team responds.

The series isn't over but we are probably looking at a 50-50 chance now.

(1) The Red Sox had such an easy regular season, we really don't know how this team will respond to adversity. I suppose we will learn something about this team over the next 2-3 games. (2) There is a sense that the Red Sox went to sleep late in the season--winning the division easily--and may not wake up in time. (3) The offense is obviously struggling. Cora needs to manage the offense with greater urgency. In a series like this, it matters when your catcher (the great Sandy Leon) is an automatic out. It matters when your third baseman (Nunez) sucks as a hitter. Against a RHP in Yankees stadium (Serverino), I would start Devers at 3b to add some power to the lineup in a stadium that gives up a ton of HRs and I would start Swihart at catcher for both games. The Red Sox need to get production out of the bottom of the lineup. I would also begin platooning Holt and Kinsler, with Holt starting at 2b against righties. Kinsler hasn't been awful, but the Red Sox need some players to get hot with the bat. Maybe Holt can have a 3 for 4 game in Yankees stadium against a righty starter. Maybe Holt can get a cheap HR down the right field line in a stadium that gives up a ton of cheap HRs. (4) If the series goes 5, I'm assuming Tanaka pitches game 5 instead of Happ. (5) If the Red Sox move on to the next round, I would demote Price to the bullpen and make E-Rod the fourth starter against the Astros/Guardians. (6) It is not all doom-and-gloom for the Red Sox. The Red Sox just need one big start from Eovaldi or Porcello and then it goes back to Boston in a game 5 with Chris Sale. Based on what we saw from Chris Sale, I think the Red Sox win game 5; the hard part is getting the series back to Boston.

Not simple at all; the whole defensive issue is entirely speculative. That is why Swihart should have hit for Leon. The only thing we know for certain is that Leon isn't a major league caliber hitter.

It is amazing how Leon gets credit when the pitcher is a stud and then we make excuses for Leon when the pitcher sucks. Something doesn't add up.

Getting Swihart and Devers in there makes sense. Get Leon and Nunez out of the game. Need offense.

I wouldn't even give him one AB. I would bring in Swihart in the bottom of the the 3rd. The Red Sox need offense tonight.

If the Red Sox move on to the next round, I would not give Price another start. He goes to the bullpen and E-Rod slots into the starting rotation. Price is a garbage starter in the playoffs.

The David Price playoff misery continues. Please bring in E-Rod and banish the loser to the bullpen.

Tanaka pitches scared: he tries to get ahead and when he does he stops throwing strikes. He relies on hitters expanding the zone. When hitters don't expand, Tanaka gets hit hard. I would start Holt at 3b, he has more plate discipline than Nunez, who looked awful last night. I would start Swihart at catcher, but I presume the Red Sox will not do that and so I'll stick with Leon. MY LINEUP: Betts RF Benintendi LF Martinez DH Bogaerts SS Moreland 1b Kinsler 2b Holt 3b Leon C Bradley CF

Yep, four times. He was brutal. New York sports radio is going to tear him apart today. (1) Chris Sale looked like an ace again. I suspect he will be even stronger next time out (game 5, if it goes that far). (2) Notwithstanding the Judge HR, I though Kimbrel looked great, very sharp breaks on his pitches and his command was good enough. (3) To win the W.S., Sale and Kimbrel must lead the Red Sox pitching staff and so game 1 was a positive sign. (4) Sure, the bullpen was shaky, but maybe the days off had something to do with it? They can pitch better than this. I'm pretty confident, for example, that R.Brasier will be better in his next outing. (5) The Porcello strategy is a good one. When the SPs have their 1 inning throw days, they can hold off, and perhaps throw an inning in the game instead. I suspect Eavoldi will be ready to pitch one inning today. (6) Loved the fact that the Red Sox beat up on J.Happ. I got so tired of hearing how good Happ is against the Red Sox. I guess we won't hear that anymore. (7) I worry about Devers defense, but I would start him over Nunez against Tanaka. That one AB in game one, don't remember the inning, but I think Nunez led off the inning. A 3-2 pitch, the next pitch wasn't even close, up and in, and of course Nunez swung at it and struck out. (8) Sale was squeezed all night, the Red Sox bullpen was squeezed all night, the umpire had a small strike zone. The Yankees pitchers had the same disadvantage. The Red Sox offense could have been a little more patient. The Yankees offense was patient throughout the game, but they also didn't get the big hit. (9) Bad luck with Bradley Jr. and Leon, both missed HRs by inches. Then again, maybe some of the Yankees hitters just missed too. I seem to remember Didi hitting some rockets. Not sure if you heard, but Wright had an issue with his knee, discomfort before the game. According to reports, he will likely be placed on the DL and and replaced on the playoff roster.

I'm not as familiar with the A's and so I am not going to talk about them. If the Red Sox face the Yankees in the division round, the rotation should be Sale, Price, Porcello, Eovaldi, and then Sale in game 5. Rodriguez to the bullpen. Price pitches in Fenway rather than Yankees stadium. The two righties--Porcello and Eovaldi--pitch in Yankees stadium. While Sale will start game 5, Price will be able to give you a few innings in game 5 from the bullpen.