The Red Sox will be in LA-LA-land on Tuesday to start their defense of last year's World Series crown. Will Mike Lowell & J.D. Drew be part of the roster?
If most fans had to pick one, Mike Lowell is the logical choice. Lowell has shown that he is willing to play through his injuries. If, however, Mike becomes a liability in the field or he can't run hard on the bases, then his usefullness to the team becomes compromised. LA is a team that bunts a lot also.
Sean Casey is the logical choice to start at 1B & Youk moves over to 3B. That gives the Sox another decent bat in the lineup. Later in the game, Cora can go into SS for defensive purposes, moving Youk back to 1B & Lowrie over to 3B. That plan has seemed to work most of the year.
If Cora comes up in an offensive situation with runners on base, you have the option of using Bailey or Carter as a PH & then enter Kotsay at 1B, moving Youk & Lowrie back to their original positions.
Tito will need to use his whole roster to beat an Angels team that has power & speed. I think the pitching edge goes to Boston, but low-scoring affairs will abound. It will depend on which offense gets hot first or who delivers on the few occasions with RISP.
History shows that the Red Sox have a knack for stepping it up in the playoffs, especially against the LA Angels of Anaheim.
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