And on the fourth day, they found out their opponent.
Last night the Rays defeated the Red Sox to take the American League championship. The Rays will now play the Phillies in the World Series.
Now that the Phils have their itinerary set, they can concentrate on matchups, scouting, rotations and lineups. And they can focus on setting their lineup for Tropicana Field, which means assigning a designated hitter.
The first and most obvious option for a DH is Greg Dobbs, the best pure hitter on the Phils bench, and the best pinch hitter in baseball. In game one, against James Shields (who is said to be starting), Dobbs is the right play, and maybe in left field, allowing Pat Burrell to DH.
Game two will likely bring the Phils lefty Scott Kazmir. That takes Dobbs out of the equation. So who’s the extra hitter? Wait, let me rephrase that:
Who’s the extra hitter? So?
Yes, it’s possible So Taguchi will get the extra spot in game two. The case can be made for Eric Bruntlett, however. Chris Coste would get the spot only if he plays first base and Ryan Howard gets the DH spot. That’s not a bad idea, as it would allow Coste to stay on as the second catcher, if need be.
Dobbs should be the extra hitter in game one. Who’s the guy for game two?
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