Playoff Roster will be:

 

11 Pitchers: Buehrle, Garcia, Hernandez, Contreras, Garland, McCarthy, Jenks, Marte, Politte, Cotts, Hermanson (Vizcaino left off)

 

14 Hitters: Pierzynski, Widger, Crede, Uribe, Iguchi, Konerko, Podsednik, Rowand, Dye, Everett, Perez, Blum, Ozuna, Harris

 

Now, if right before the playoffs, Hermy has huge back problems, you could see Viz substituted in there for Harris.

Well El Duke pitched better with rest before so why not skip a couple of starts. Count has not convinced me yet neither has Bmac. I will wait a couple more weeks to make my decision.

You guys think Bmac will be on the playoff roster? I think Vizciano will. The only way i see BMac making the roster is if Harris gets left off. But his speed just might be enough to leave BMac off the roster. Ozzie won't leave anyone off the roster who have been on all season. So the only one who will probably be left off is Harris. But who knows??

El Duque is there because they figure his experience and history in playoff games will serve the team well. Debatable given his age, but at least defensible.

 

Ozzie hinted at BMac as a long relief guy. Couldn't this work just fine? If any of our regulars--and really ALL of them have had these days--has his head up his @#*, then yank immediately and insert BMac.

You guys think Bmac will be on the playoff roster? I think Vizciano will.  The only way i see BMac making the roster is if Harris gets left off. But his speed just might be enough to leave BMac off the roster. Ozzie won't leave anyone off the roster who have been on all season. So the only one who will probably be left off is Harris. But who knows??

if i had to guess right now.....if crede is on the team, then ozuna becomes the speed guy off the bench. to be honest the blum acquisition could be potentially be very very big because it allows us to have ozuna be the speed guy instead of willie. this leaves an open spot potentially for bmac to play a potential heros role if someone gets touched up early in a game.

I'd go with the 5 man and keep McCarthy in it. Hernandez should get used to the reliever role since to me, Contreras has earned a spot to be in the playoff rotation. I'm guessing the 4 starters will be Buehrle, Garland, Garcia, and Contreras and the 7 relievers will be Hernandez, Hermanson, Cotts, Marte, Politte, Vizcaino, and Jenks.

After today, I believe BMac has thrown 46 innings.  Guess he'll just have to beat out Buehrle and Garland for the Cy Young next year if he wants some hardware.

 

Actually after today I think he has 39 innings... so if only pitches 1 more inning of relief he is elgible

6 man rotation. Get the starters rested for the playoffs. That, and McCarthy's earned a starting spot.

6-man rotation is a smart thing to do. In fact, with a 9.5 game lead heading down the stretch, why wouldn't we? Most teams struggle in the playoffs because their starters are burnt out come playoff time. (2000 Sox for example) If we go w/ the 6-man the rest of the way we will be in great shape come playoff time. My only concern would be rustyness. Would they get rusty starting only 1 game/ 6-7 days?

If we had a day off each week the normal starting five would have the exact days off in between their starts as they would with a 6 man rotation with no days off. That's basically what we have the rest of the way...no days off (except for Monday).

6-man rotation is a smart thing to do. In fact, with a 9.5 game lead heading down the stretch, why wouldn't we? Most teams struggle in the playoffs because their starters are burnt out come playoff time. (2000 Sox for example) If we go w/ the 6-man the rest of the way we will be in great shape come playoff time. My only concern would be rustyness. Would they get rusty starting only  1 game/ 6-7 days?

 

I agree with the desirability of a six man rotation at this time, but from what I remember, the 2000 Sox suffered a lot more from an anemic offense than burned out pitching.

A 6-man rotation would just actually replicate like the team had a day off in the middle of a set of games which is a good thing. Also, this would give B-Mac some extra starts, would allow the rest of the starters to stay fresh, but also stay loose. Then in the playoffs, you can use any extra starters for long relief.

 

If they went to a 4 man rotation in the playoffs, it is hard to say who #4 would be. Jose has came on strong, El Duque is awesome in the playoffs, and B-Mac is a fresh lively arm. They also have their weaknesses, Jose is known for his inconsistency, El Duque is only having an average season, and B-Mac is a rookie.

 

I guess in the long run, it is better to have 6 quality starters than 1-2 and trying to patch a starting rotation together (see Yankees).