Projo Sox Blog

Click the play button below to hear Sean McAdam's comments, recorded this morning. The topics: last night's frustrating loss, including Jeff Bailey's would-be double that bounced off third-base umpire Gerry Davis; Josh Beckett's uncharacteristic struggle with control; the division crown slipping out of reach; tonight's opponent, Cliff Lee; and the importance for Tim Wakefield and Paul Byrd of posting good starts the next two nights, to make the argument for playoff roster spots.

Here's what Sean said about Cliff Lee, who will be facing the Red Sox for the first time this season:
"Lee has been the comeback story of 2008. A guy who really didn't contribute much at all last year, when the team got to within a couple of innings of going to the World Series, he was back pitching in Triple A trying to work some things out. And whatever it was he worked out, certainly resulted in a terrific season for him. He's 20 games over .500 and certainly the presumptive Cy Young winner in the American League this year."

And on Wakefield and Byrd:
"I don't know that the decision [on roles in the playoffs] is going to be made on how Wakefield does tonight and how Byrd does later in the week, but certainly it's part of the equation. I think they're going to look at a number of factors, including who they're playing, where that game would be -- it's likely that Game 4 would be back in Boston if the Red Sox open on the road, as we think they will now, as the wild-card team playing the Angels. So I think there's a million things to take into account, including who would be more effective if he didn't start -- in other words, if they pick one and the other goes to the bullpen, could the other pitch in relief successfully and contribute there. So it's one of many factors, but if you're Paul Byrd or Tim Wakefield, you want to go out and make that final start a good one and leave a good impression as they make that decision."

 Tags  Cliff Lee Paul Byrd Sean McAdam SoxTalk Tim Wakefield

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