Playoff Rotation

Weeeellllllll it looks like the Sox are in the playoffs again as the wild card team. Five game series, on the road, probably against Minnesota. What's the rotation? In order, the best Sox starters lately have been Schilling, Pedro, Bronson Arroyo, Lowe, and Wakefield. I really like Wakefield. But I wouldn't start him.

The question is Game 1 (and therefore, if necessary, Game 5). Games 1 and 2 will be in that stupid Humptydome. They'll probably go with Pedro, but I'd start Schilling. I think you want your best guy to pitch the most, and lately that's been Schilling. Pedro hasn't pitched as well. Pedro Martinez is probably my favorite player on the Sox, but he hasn't been pitching so well lately. Then again, if Pedro starts Game 5, Schilling could come on in relief on three days rest....


As a sidenote Johan Santana, who they'll face in games 1 and 5, been absurd (he's run away with the Cy Young--I can't see any rationale for giving it to Schilling, unfortunately). Santana allowed one (1) run in September. That's right. One run. In one month. That's a 0.257 ERA over five starts. In September, opposing batters managed seventeen hits in thirty five innings. He's now won his last TWELVE CONSECUTIVE starts. It's astonishing, but after Tampa Bay beat him June 3, he was 2-4 with a 5.50 ERA. So naturally he's 18-2 with a 1.34 ERA since then. In August he faced Boston, Oakland, Seattle (ok, they're not that good), the Yankees, Texas, and Anaheim. He shut all of them down, won every game. Ugh. We're screwed.