Originally Posted by
rjt721
Winner of tonight's game wins the series. So, no, they're not on the ropes yet, but if they lose tonight they're done. As a Sox fan, I can't say I have much confidence in Wake throwing a good game tonight, but pitching Beckett on 3-days rest makes no sense. Even if Beckett went tonight, Wake would still be the starter for game 5, as they're not pitching Schill without giving him an extra day. Luckily for Boston, Byrd is no Cy Young, so they're more than capable of winning even if Wake struggles.
Something is wrong if Kielty's not in the lineup tonight in place of Drew, who offers nothing. Kielty's 10/30 w/ 4 HR's in his career off Byrd, while Nancy, who's done nothing all year, is 2/10.
With Pedroia struggling, Boston's basically playing with a 4-man lineup (Youk, Ortiz, Manny, Lowell), as after the 5 spot the lineup is embarrassing. Ellsbury replacing worthless Coco Crisp in CF and leading off would be just the spark the team needs, while also providing speed at the top of the order, but Francona doesn't have the balls to do it.
Yeah, I'm worried.