October 31:
I didn't expect to be here, but here I am. As long as I'm here, I may as well try to win this thing.
The first order of business is choosing the 26-man Division Series roster. Unfortunately, Aaron Hicks is not eligible. Fortunately, Akron will likely use mostly right-handed starters against us.
There isn't much to decide on my end. We'll go with a straightforward starting rotation of Ohtani, Eovaldi, Crawford, and Lorenzen. On paper, Ohtani is our fourth-best starter, but I know he's better than that, and he's pitched well against Akron this year. Akron hits righties better than lefties, but that's irrelevant, since there is no chance in hell that any of our lefty starters will earn a roster spot.
Our starting lineup is set in stone:
1. Adley Rutschman, C
2. Brandon Belt, 1B
3. Bryan Reynolds, CF
4. Shohei Ohtani, DH
5. Jason Heyward, RF
6. Wilmer Flores, 2B
7. Rafael Devers, 3B
8. Lane Thomas, LF
9. Paul DeJong, SS
That's twelve. The bullpen is a pretty easy call:
Moreta
Stephenson
Hamilton
Strahm
Chavez
Kahnle
The bench:
Riley Adams
Andrew Benintendi
Garrett Cooper
Stone Garrett
Jorge Mateo
Davis Schneider
Nick Senzel
That's 25.
Hicks would make a fantastic 26th player, but alas...
It boils down to the 11th member of the pitching staff. Would I rather use Craig Kimbrel or Brooks Raley? Kimbrel strikes out a ton of batters and gives up a ton of homers. Raley is a lefty who is lethal against righties. Austin Riley and Patrick Wisdom have had trouble against lefties. Riley and Wisdom also strike out a lot. This is a tough call. I'll have to go with Kimbrel.
