Who Should Pitch in October?

by | Sep 23, 2007 | Bryan Corey, Clay Buchholz, Curt Schilling, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Devern Hansack, Eric Gagne, Hideki Okajima, Javier Lopez, Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon, Josh Beckett, Julian Tavarez, Kyle Snyder, Manny Delcarmen, Mike Timlin, Tim Wakefield

Here’s a curious case.
There are 16 major league pitchers on the active roster.
I can only select one who should not make the postseason roster: Devern Hansack, who has pitched 7.2 IP on the year so far this year. Those innings came May 8, 19 and September 8.
The remaining 15 have strong cases to make the postseason roster. Unknown is whether or not the pitching roster will be at 11 (deepening the bench with the frequent off-days that will occur and usual reliance on the go-to guys) or 12 (deepening the bullpen). To make things even more difficult, I’m going to assume that we’re going with 11. Really, should the 12th pitcher on a pitching staff be pitching in October? I’ll designate who I think the swing guy should be, but let me assure you: this will be a hard task.
Quick aside: The magic number to make the playoffs is three. Let’s not fool ourselves: we’re making it. And let me tell you something else: the Red Sox are better than this. We CAN win the division. It starts tonight.
Okay, let’s look at each pitcher’s cases. They are in alphabetical order. At the end of each case, I’ll designate if they’re automatically in, or could be in. Away we go (with all facts supported prior to Saturday’s games)…

  • Josh Beckett: Beckett is our ace. There’s no question about it. Beckett is unquestionably a strong contender for the Cy Young Award, and undoubtedly is a deserving candidate. Beckett just won the 20th game of his season and is starting Game 1 of the ALDS, and there is no doubt he has to be on top of his game for us to have any chance to win it all. AUTOMATICALLY IN.
  • Clay Buchholz: The guy with the no-hitter has some crazy stuff, but he hasn’t seemed to been used by the staff in a relief role. Wouldn’t you think that they would start preparing Buchholz for a relief role after his no-hitter? Word is the Red Sox have finally decided on a role for Clay going forward. The man with a 1.59 ERA in 22.2 IP needs to start coming out of the bullpen. Now. He should make the postseason roster, but it’s possible the Sox could opt not to – to preserve him for next year. Lunacy? Would you be surprised if they shut him down? I wouldn’t. COULD BE IN.
  • Bryan Corey: Corey has impressed in the limited time he’s pitched for the Sox. He’s only pitched 5.2 innings on the year, but they are clean innings that have resulted in no runs, three hits, two walks and four strikeouts. He comes in and he gets the job done. Period. If he keeps this up through the end of the year … you have to ask … should he be? COULD BE IN.
  • Manny Delcarmen: Remember when Tony Gicas said “Bring [Kyle Snyder] on alongside Javier Lopez and Manny Delcarmen – they