Boston Red Sox Can Count Their Concerns Heading into the Playoffs on One Hand

Clinching a postseason berth as early as the Red Sox did is a strange circumstance for the dedicated viewing public.

No disrespect to the Chris Woodwards and Brian Andersons of the world, but it’s nearly impossible to get amped up for three hours of scrub ball on a nightly basis during the final week of the season.

The result: I think I’ve seen about three innings of live baseball since the Wild Card was officially secured.

But the days of expanded rosters and dugouts with 26 available catchers are officially behind us. Sometime this week—a date still to be determined thanks to the AL Central’s looming right-to-be-the-team-that-loses-to-the-Yankees tiebreaker—playoff baseball will once again be upon us.

Hallelujah.

There’s no better time of year, period. Playoff baseball is ready to kick off, the NFL season is in full swing, the NHL has just begun, and basketballs are already bouncing in NBA training camps. It’s sports fan nirvana.

But when the Sox and Angels renew playoff acquaintances, all of my attention—and much of New England’s, I suspect—will be on the diamond.

That the Red Sox have arrived at this stage with all they’ve dealt with this season—the John Smoltz experiment and the Great Disappearing Ortiz chief among them—is borderline remarkable. As well, the way they’ve played since the trading deadline following acquisitions such as Victor Martinez and Alex Gonzalez has certainly given people plenty of cause for optimism.

But there are still some interesting subplots heading into the Angels series, a list of items that could make or break Boston’s quest for banner No. 3 in the last five seasons.

I present five of those subplots for your consideration.

1) Clay Buchholz

Two weeks ago at this time, nobody in Boston had any questions about Buchholz. He’d been arguably Boston’s best pitcher over the previous month, Jon Lester included.

But back-to-back disastrous starts have raised some old concerns, the least of which is the fact that Buchholz is still a 25-year-old hurler with zero playoff experience who is relatively untested in pressure situations.

The last two starts have been anything but pressure situations, and still he’s somehow channeled his inner John Wasdin and given up a bag full of home runs. I still think he can come up big as the No. 3 starter in the postseason, but his success is anything but guaranteed.

2) Opposing runners

It’s clear at this point the Red Sox couldn’t throw out Bud Selig. What’s troubling is their first round opponent has made an art form of the small ball approach. I expect the Angels to hit-and-run, bunt-and-run, slap-and-run, run-and-run—whatever. But expect bodies in motion. It doesn’t matter if Jason Varitek or Martinez is behind the plate.

This has potential to get ugly—the Sox have already given up at least seven stolen bases in a game twice this season—and the Red Sox are going to have to find a way to counteract this disadvantage.

3) Josh Beckett

The Josh Beckett we saw in last year’s postseason was an injured one, and the results are painfully memorable. So considering the Sox ace just missed a start with back spasms and received a cortisone shot, trepidation is expected.

He struggled out of the gate against the Indians on Saturday before settling in a little, which was encouraging, but he won’t have that luxury in the playoffs. Bad starts decide games in the postseason, and a rough couple of innings against Anaheim could spell doom.

My money is still on Beckett coming up big, but a week ago I’d have told you I was 95 percent confident in that happening. Now I’m thinking more along the lines of 75 percent.

4) David Ortiz

There’s no doubt Ortiz finished the season on a high note. He nearly reached 100 RBI despite sending Cesar Crespo to the plate in a Big Papi suit for the first two months of the season and was ranked first and fourth in homers and RBI in the American League since May 20. It appears the Ortiz swagger is back.

But he did have two prolonged slumps during the regular season, including the catastrophic start that crippled his stats for the year. He’s also older and less durable, and coming off a 2008 postseason in which he hit below .200 and hit just one home run (admittedly while battling a nagging wrist injury).

The Red Sox don’t need Ortiz to be the assassin he was during the ’04 run, but they will need him to be a contributor—and the jury is out on how much he’ll deliver.

5) Daisuke Matsuzaka

Talk about an enigma of a season. Matsuzaka tossed his way into the Red Sox doghouse during the World Baseball Classic and then tossed his way onto the DL with an atrocious April and May. But after four months off he returned in solid fashion, baffling none other than the Angels in his return to the big leagues during the second week of September.

He looked downright aggressive in that game, attacking the zone and keeping Anaheim off balance to the tune of a no-hitter through four innings and a shutout through six.

Daisuke will likely find a few starts throughout the playoffs, and if he’s on, he’s better than anyone else’s No. 4 starter. If Buchholz struggles, Daisuke becomes even more critical.

He’s certainly been trending toward solid performances, but nobody in Boston is ever sure which Daisuke you’re going to get.

It’s clear the Red Sox have a handful of things to worry about as the postseason looms, even after an impressive finish to the campaign. The Angels no doubt have some question marks of their own, most notably the quest to break the Boston curse in the playoffs.

Whether the series begins Wednesday or Thursday, in the early afternoon or wee hours of the night on the East Coast, we’ll finally start to find some answers.