Here’s a curious case.
There are 16 major league pitchers on the active roster.
I can only select one who should not make the postseason roster: Devern Hansack, who has pitched 7.2 IP on the year so far this year. Those innings came May 8, 19 and September 8.
The remaining 15 have strong cases to make the postseason roster. Unknown is whether or not the pitching roster will be at 11 (deepening the bench with the frequent off-days that will occur and usual reliance on the go-to guys) or 12 (deepening the bullpen). To make things even more difficult, I’m going to assume that we’re going with 11. Really, should the 12th pitcher on a pitching staff be pitching in October? I’ll designate who I think the swing guy should be, but let me assure you: this will be a hard task.
Quick aside: The magic number to make the playoffs is three. Let’s not fool ourselves: we’re making it. And let me tell you something else: the Red Sox are better than this. We CAN win the division. It starts tonight.
Okay, let’s look at each pitcher’s cases. They are in alphabetical order. At the end of each case, I’ll designate if they’re automatically in, or could be in. Away we go (with all facts supported prior to Saturday’s games)…
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