John Farrell has confirmed to WEEI what most of us assumed: he will turn to Jon Lester in Game 1 of the ALCS.
Farrell on @WEEI: Lead off with Lester in ALCS, but wait on other part of rotation
— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) October 9, 2013
So no surprise on Lester, who was excellent for the Sox as they got off to a 1-0 lead in the ALDS. The second half of that tweet deserves some attention, though.
The 2-3 portion of Boston's playoff rotation in particular seems quite fluid between John Lackey and Clay Buchholz. Heck, with all the time between the two series, Jake Peavy could even be up for consideration after a strong performance against the Rays Tuesday night.
Are any changes going to come, though? Probably not. John Lackey wasn't terribly good against the Rays in Game 2, but it seems like the Red Sox want him pitching at home if possible, and the current setup would ensure that would happen. On the other hand, if the Sox are headed to the massive Coliseum in Oakland, it might make sense to swap him with Buchholz so that Lackey, who has allowed 1.24 homers per nine innings this year, has a bit more space to work with.