The_BaseBlog's Blog

Despite what the brilliant FOX announcers claim, Terry Francona is not an upper echelon MLB manager.  The Sox won in spite of him in '04 and now they will have to do the same this year.

Why would he take out Timlin after a perfect 1-2-3 inning in Game 2 when it was obvious he needed to save his best pitcher, Papelbon, for extra innings?

And can somebody please tell him that the most important thing in the playoffs is to play your best players. Gagne had 3 months to prove himself and all he did was give up runs every time he pitched. He should not even be on the playoff roster.

J.D. Drew is a bust. It's time for the Red Sox to swallow their pride - and their check books - and bench Drew in favor of Jacoby Ellsbury. Ellsbury was arguably the best player on the team in September, and would provide a spark at the top of the lineup and speed on the bases and in the field.

Beckett should be starting Game 4 also, more so he could start Game 7 if necessary than anything else. If this series does go 7 games and Dice-K is on the mound for game 7, he'll be lucky to get to the 4th inning.

-- Green Monstah