Last night, Amalie Benjamin tweeted that Daisuke Matsuzaka was going to make his return to the Sox rotation on Tuesday. This means that Paul Byrd is suddenly out of a rotation spot, assuming Tim Wakefield makes his scheduled start next weekend in Baltimore.
Given that Wakefield isn’t starting until next weekend, however, and Jon Lester would be unable to take the hill on his scheduled day Wednesday, you could see Josh Beckett pitch one day earlier, or… have Mr. Paul Byrd draw the start.
Here’s how the immediate future looks:
Saturday: Davis v. Beckett
Sunday: Garza v. Buchholz
Sunday Pt. 2: Shields v. Lester
Monday: OFF
Tuesday: Lackey v. Matsuzaka
Wednesday: Saunders v. Lester(?)
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I wonder if Tazawa or Bowden might make that Wednesday start, as long as I don’t have to see Paul Byrd in there I’m cool. No way they start Beckett on short rest with the way he seems to have worn down this season.
I’m confused. With Beckett starting Sat, wouldn’t Wednesday be the fifth day after? If Lester starts Sunday why start him on Wednesday?
if Beckett starts Saturday, that’s starter #2 Sunday, starter #3 Monday (second day Sunday), starter #4 Tuesday, Starter #5 Wednesday and then Beckett again, so he’s due to pitch Thursday.
I doubt Lester gets the call for the make-up game on sunday. With three men on, I wouldn’t be shocked if they have Wagner or another reliever start the game, pitch one inning, and then have Byrd or another starter go as far as he can.
Not to worry, no complicated pitching maneuvers necessary – yesterday’s game was postponed, not suspended. (Only if it was tied in the fifth inning or later would it have been suspended, meaning they pick it up where it left off.) When they play the make-up game for this one, both teams will start fresh. Mercifully, it will be like that third of an inning never happened.