Game 1 Just Hours Away
ESPN is reporting that both J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell are capable of hitting, but not necessarily ready to play the field.
So my proposal: Petition the commissioner, for many of you, you already consider him a Red Sox apologist, and ask for 3 DH spots. Lowell, Drew and Ortiz in the DH whilst players like Alex Cora and Coco Crisp play the field without hitting.
Done and done.
It is good news that Drew and Lowell feel OK to hit, but they really need to feel good about everything at this point. While in the post-season most players have an injury or two, these 2 must have more than the basic injury. I've had my issues with Drew, but having watched Lowell, he is not good to go.
So if Drew is can play the field, great. That leaves Lowell as the first pinch-hitter off the bench and Crisp the primary base stealing threat (ala Dave Roberts) and outfield defensive replacement.
The Red Sox need to get out of the blocks quickly in this series. Reader Blmeanie suggested that David Ortiz could be the deciding factor offensively. If he has healed sufficiently and can make a early statement, the Red Sox have a much better chance.
I still take the Red Sox in 5 as the they have many good players and have a bunch of players that have been to the post-season and won important games. The Angels are a very good team but seem to fade in post-season play. Perhaps this year will be different as they still have a bunch of returning veterans and a few new all-stars (Hunter and Teixeira).
First pitch: 10:00pm Wednesday night (that's what they say. My guess is more like 10:15pm).
