Twitter Friday

It's another Twitter Friday, and it's also the first day of the ALDS.  Lester versus Moore today at 3:00 Eastern on TBS, if you are wanting to watch the game.  I will be watching from the comfort of my living room today, but I will be at the game tomorrow to see Lackey versus Price.

A lot of Red Sox players were tweeting this week, which is great for this Twitter Friday post.  The players are excited, the fans are excited, and I even think the critics are excited.  Now, all we need to do is wait for the games to begin.

For those who are commenting, I'm having a little bit of difficulty with replying.  I'm hoping to get the glitch worked out later today.

Now, without further delay, here are this week's Tweets:

9/27

9/28

9/29

9/30

10/1

10/2

10/3

This Week's Tweet of the Week is Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe retweeting the blog's tweet:

Red Sox To Face Rays In ALDS

Well, my hope for a Red Sox-Indians ALDS ended last night, and the Rays will be heading back into the postseason to play the Red Sox.  I was actually rooting for Swisher last night, which is something I don't think I've ever done in my life.  I know a lot of other people were hoping for the Indians to make it in as well.  Not only would Francona returning to Fenway be a huge story, but the Indians making the postseason is a good story.

Of course, the Red Sox and Rays have a rivalry that has gone back years.  The Rays were always pesky against the Red Sox, even when they were still the Devil Rays.  When they were losing more games than their winning now, the Rays would find a way to beat the Red Sox.  Over the last 5 or so seasons, things have become even more competitive against the two teams.

The Red Sox set their rotations as Lester (Game 1), Lackey (Game 2), Buchholz (Game 3), and Peavy (Game 4- if needed).  The Rays are said to have Moore pitch Game 1 and Price Game 2.

The Rays strength is and pretty much always has been their pitching.  Moore ended the season with a 17-4 record and a 3.29 ERA, and Price was 10-8 with a 3.33 ERA.  After Moore and Price, the Rays have Cobb with a 11-3 record and a 2.76 ERA and Archer with a 9-7 record and a 3.22 ERA.

During the season, the Red Sox were 12-7 against the Rays, but the Red Sox only hit .209 against the Rays pitching.  The Red Sox average 3.7 runs against the Rays, and the run differential was only +14 in favor of the Red Sox.

On the other side, the Rays have won 10 of their last 12 games, and they've basically been in do-or-die mode for the last month.  However, Price also just pitched a complete game on Monday during the run-off game against the Rangers, so there may (hopefully) be some fatigue.

Outside of the pitching, the Red Sox will have to deal with Wil Myers, James Loney, and Evan Longoria at the plate.  Surprisingly, Loney lead the Rays with a .299 batting average.  Lonoria lead the team with 88 RBIs and a .498 slugging percentage.  Myers is the young superstar of the team that was traded from the Royals midseason.

As I updated yesterday, Farrell announced he would go with 11 pitchers for the ALDS roster, which means Thornton or Doubront will probably be on the roster.  It's not that I don't trust Farrell and his decision making, but I don't trust Thornton and/or Doubront's abilities.  Hopefully, I get proved wrong.Doubront pitched in the intrasquad game yesterday, so that may indicate he has the roster spot.

In other news, the Red Sox announced that approximately 3,900 fans showed up to the open practice/intersquad game.  The "Blue Shirts" won the game 1-0.  Saltalamacchia and Ross didn't catch but DH'd, and Salty hit an RBI double in the first inning.  Here's a picture from the game:

Photo from The Boston Globe

Well, that's it for me today.  I'll be writing a post before the 3:00 game tomorrow.  Thank you for everyone who has checked out the blog this week; it's been the best week I have ever had.

Predicting the Red Sox ALDS Roster

Picture from The Boston Globe-Extra Bases

First, thank you everyone who has been checking the blog!  The numbers this week have been amazing, and it's inspiring me to keep going on getting the name out.  I really appreciate all the input I've been getting as well.

For this post, I wanted to discuss the Red Sox's ALDS roster.  Manager John Farrell has not announced the ALDS roster yet.  Infield Brock Holt and Right-handed-pitchers Allen Webster, Brayan Villarreal, and Steven Wright were sent home and will not be on the roster.  Other players will also not be on the roster and will either be with the team or sent to Fort Myers to continue working out.

Farrell has indicated he may go with a 10 pitchers rather than 11, as the Red Sox's starting pitching has been strong all season.  Lester and Lackey seem to be set to start Games 1 and 2, and the indication is that Buchholz will go Game 3 and Peavey Game 4.  That would take care of the starting pitching for the ALDS.

Without a doubt, Koji Uehara will be the closer for the Red Sox (was there any other choice?).  Craig Breslow, Franklin Morales, Brandon Workman, and Ryan Dempster are sure to fill up other bullpen spots.  Breslow has been one of the most reliable relievers (besides Uehara) the Red Sox have had this season.  Morales has been good since his return from the disabled list, and Workman seems to be a favorite of Farrell's.  Dempster brings a veteran presence who has can go long, if needed.

I'm guessing that Junichi Tazawa will be the other addition, though I have my doubts about his ability.  It seems like the later the season became, the more unreliable Tazawa became.  Matt Thornton could also take a spot, but neither one is a solid lock.  If the Red Sox decide to go with 11 pitchers, Tazawa and Thornton could both be in, but I'm still thinking they go with 10.

David Ortiz is, of course, the designated hitter for the Red Sox.

For position players, the Red Sox will go with two catchers, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and David Ross.

In my opinion, this has been Salty's best season.  He's been productive both at and behind the plate.  Ross, when playing, has been a great presence behind the plate, especially when throwing out runners.  Unfortunately, this would mean Lavarnway wouldn't be on the roster, but I'm sure he'll be with the team or in Fort Myers, just in case something would come up.

The Red Sox will go with five infields: Mike Napoli, Dustin Pedroia, Stephen Drew, Will Middlebrooks, and Xander Bogaerts.

The first four would be locks, and Bogaerts would be the questionable one.  I would put Bogaerts on the roster as he's shown pop at the bat, great defensive skills, and he could provide that extra spark down the stretch that the Red Sox would need to move forward.

Lastly, the Red Sox will go with seven outfields: Jacoby Ellsbury, Shane Victorino, Daniel Nava, Jonny Gomes, Mike Carp, Jackie Bradley Junior, and Quintin Berry.

I believe the first three outfielders listed will be the starting outfielders.  As much as I enjoy Jonny Gomes, I think Daniel Nava deserves the starting spot.  Surprisingly, Nava has played as many games (134) as Ellsbury this season.  He batted .303 with a .385 OBP and .445 SLG.  By comparison, Ellsbury hit .298 with a .355 OBP and .426 SLG.

Both Gomes and Carp have the potential to be late game-changers, and that'll provide Farrell with more possibilities late in games.  Carp and Nava also have the potential to play first base, if Napoli needs to be spelled.

My guess is that Berry will be used as a Dave Roberts role, to come in and get the steal when needed.  Jackie Bradley Junior will provide another option as a pinch-runner, and he's able to cover a lot of ground on defense.

Those are my predictions, and I'm excited to see which players Farrell will pick for the ALDS.  Red Sox play Game 1 at 3:00 Eastern Time on Friday.

Stay Connected!

Hello all!

Welcome to the postseason, Red Sox fans!  This week, I'm planning on doing more posts than the normal Monday, Wednesday, Friday posts, so make sure to keep checking back this week.  I'll be writing about the postseason roster tomorrow.

I wanted to also share other ways to stay connected to this blog!  As you can tell, this blog has had some changes over the last few weeks, and I'm hoping everyone is taking advantage of them.  You now refer the blog via Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.  If you like what you're seeing/reading, please take the time to refer the blog.

You can now follow Born Into It In Iowa on Twitter @BornIntoItInIA

You can also follow on Pinterest: BornIntoItInIA

Also, this blog has a Google+ account, so if you have Google+, I'd love to be in your Circle!

You can also sign up to be notified via email when there's a new post (you can find this towards the upper right-hand of this page, to the right of the newest post).

I'm still working what else this blog can do, and I'm toying with the idea of creating a Facebook page.  If you have any feedback, please free to let me know!