Postseason prep
With division sewn up, Cora looks to October
CLEVELAND — The regular season is a done deal for the Red Sox.
Now, it’s all about 11 wins in October.
Now, the homework begins. The Red Sox have two weeks to plan, prepare, debate, assemble, arrange, study, scout and draw up both a roster and a battle plan for their Division Series against — almost certainly — the A’s or the Yankees.
That’s why Dave Dombrowski, and his two top assistant GMs, Brian O’Halloran and Ed- die Romero, plus
Pedro Martinez, Jason Varitek and Tony La Russa are here.
It’s time to meet with manager Alex Cora and his coaches.
It’s playoff time — even if Game 1 at Fenway Park is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 5.
They are plenty familiar with the Yankees.
The A’s, however, beat them four times out of six this season, the Red Sox haven’t played them since the spring and they are better than ever.
“We have to dig into the Athletics and what they’re doing,” Cora said. “We haven’t played them since May. I remember what I said when we played them: ‘Get them out of here.’ I saw it. I was like, ‘This team is going to be good.’ ”
Cora is obviously keeping close tabs on the wild card standings.
“We’ve to be ready actually for three teams, I think — the Rays are still in the hunt,” said Cora. “Right now, they’re like the best team in baseball. We’ll start digging into information. We’ll start talking about rosters and matchups and what we need to do. The opponent is going to dictate what we’re going to do.”
Cora intimated that the Red Sox will alter their rotation depending on whether they face the Yankees or Athletics. That means the fourth spot. If it’s Oakland, look for Eduardo Rodriguez. If it’s the Yankees, look for Nate Eovaldi.
Not that Cora specified his thinking.
“We saw what happened this week (against the Yankees),” said Cora. “We have a pretty good idea who matches well with the Yankees, but now we have to take care of seeing the A’s. They’re tough because they match up. If there’s a lefty, they go with righties. If there’s a righty, they go with lefties. We’ll see if it’s in Oakland. Obviously playing there is a lot different. There’s a lot of stuff that goes on.”
There’s been plenty of speculation in media circles about how the Red Sox will fill out the last two or three spots in the bullpen: Bobby Poyner, Brandon Workman, Joe Kelly, Hector Velazquez, Heath Hembree and Brian Johnson are the leading candidates.
Interestingly, Cora seems to already have that figured out.
“It’s wide open for you guys, I have a pretty good idea where we’re going,” he said.
Cora has to think about how to not only rest his players but keep their intensity and focus sharp. He’s not concerned about any of that. He sees the schedule providing enough motivation. If the Red Sox are able to beat up and/ or extend Yankees pitching in the last three games of the season, that could help the A’s overtake New York for home-field advantage in the wild card game.
“Five-hour flights are tough — if we’ve got a chance to do that, it would be great,” said Cora.
The day after a division-clinching effort in the Bronx that included a spirited and spirit-filled clubhouse celebration, Cora filled out a bench-heavy starting lineup. He didn’t want J.D. Martinez to play, but Martinez insisted.
That’s how Cora knows he doesn’t have to worry about his players letting their guard down.
“We don’t have that problem — whoever we’re playing, the intensity will be there,” said Cora. “You’re competing. If you go out there not giving your best, it’s going to go against you. They’re looking at numbers, too. They want to finish strong. They want to be ready for October.”
That’s what the Red Sox have been aiming for all season long.
And even though the calendar still says it’s September, the Red Sox are all in and all about October from here on out.