Boston Red Sox skipper Terry Francona and the brain trust have put together the 25-man roster for the 2008 American League Championship Series against the Tampa Bay Rays that they think will get the job done in the best-of-7 series that starts Friday night in St. Petersburg, FL.
PITCHERS (11): Josh Beckett, Paul Byrd, Manny Delcarmen, Jon Lester, Javier Lopez, Justin Masterson, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Hideki Okajima, Jonathan Papelbon, Mike Timlin, Tim Wakefield.
CATCHERS (3): Kevin Cash, David Ross, Jason Varitek.
INFIELDERS (6): Sean Casey, Alex Cora, Jed Lowrie, David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis.
OUTFIELDERS (5): Jason Bay, Coco Crisp, J.D. Drew, Jacoby Ellsbury, Mark Kotsay.
So what’s different here than their roster in the ALDS?
For starters, Mike Lowell is not on the roster since he’s not eligible because he was removed from the ALDS roster. Gil Velazquez, who was added to the ALDS roster when Lowell was removed, did not make the roster as the Red Sox decided to go with 11 pitchers. This means Mike Timlin is on the roster.
