October 9, 2007 ... No game scheduled ... The Sox worked out at Fenway Park, where Terry Francona announced that he was shuffling his pitching rotation. Josh Beckett will still pitch the opener, but Daisuke Matsuzaka and Curt Schilling have been flip-flopped. Schilling will pitch Game 2 Saturday, with Matsuzaka scheduled to pitch Game 3 in Cleveland Monday. Francona said he would like Tim Wakefield to pitch Game 4; to that end, Wakefield, who was off the Division Series roster because of soreness in the back of his shoulder, threw 65 pitches in a simulated game yesterday.

But Francona also left open the possibility that he would bring back Beckett on three days' rest for Game 4. With TV dictating the addition of a day off between Games 4 and 5 next week in Cleveland, that would put Beckett in line to pitch Game 7 on regular rest, which would seem to be a tantalizing alternative to giving the ball to Matsuzaka, who was shaky in his playoff start against the Angels last Friday.

Wakefield's session went well, but if he is indeed called upon to pitch Game 4, he will have gone 17 days between starts. Wakefield, who had a cortisone shot in his shoulder in late August, went 11 days between starts and did not fare well in his next two, giving up 9 hits and 6 runs in just 3 2/3 innings in the first outing, then 10 hits and 7 earned runs in the second. Even if he's healthy, throwing him into the rotation could represent a risk, which is why Francona is likely to keep his options open.

The Indians, who took yesterday off, worked out late this afternoon in Cleveland, then flew to Boston. They have announced that they will go with 19-game winners C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona in Games 1 and 2, with Jake Westbrook (6-9, 4.32 ERA) getting the call in Game 3.

October 10, 2007 ... No game scheduled ... Because of a forecast for rain today, Francona said the Sox contemplated sending Tim Wakefield and Jon Lester to Florida to pitch simulated games. Instead, both worked here yesterday. For the ALCS, Francona said he plans to carry 11 pitchers, as opposed to the 10 the Sox had for the best-of-five Division Series. If Wakefield is healthy, he will be the 11th pitcher. Francona said the plan is to use Lester out of the bullpen. If Wakefield can't go, Francona could add Julian Tavarez or Kyle Snyder. Kevin Cash, who made the Division Series roster as a third catcher, figures to be a roster casualty this go-round.

Rain is also in the forecast for Friday's Game 1, though NECN meteorologist Matt Noyes offered some encouragement that the game will be played. "The rain will come down heavy early on Friday," Noyes wrote in an e-mail,

Francona said he sent a text message to Indians general manager Mark Shapiro, congratulating him on the team's ALDS win. Francona worked for the Indians in 2001 as a special assistant to GM John Hart, and became close friends with Shapiro, who was assistant GM at the time. Several key members of the Sox organization. Pitching coach John Farrell, vice president/player personnel Ben Cherington, and director of player development Mike Hazen all worked for the Indians at one time, Farrell most prominently as director of player development.

John Farrell, who shares the same birthday as Roger Clemens (Aug. 4, 1962) but unlike Clemens was forced to endure two reconstructive surgeries on his pitching elbow, which caused him to miss two full seasons and limited him to six appearances in his last three years in the big leagues, is a big man, broad-shouldered and powerfully built. He has a physical presence that is not easily ignored. When John Farrell couldn't pitch anymore, he went back to Oklahoma State as an assistant coach, but he stayed in touch with Mark Shapiro, the Indians' farm director who had traded him, released him, and pretty much told him time was running out, but always had done so with honesty and directness and compassion. When Shapiro was promoted to general manager in November 2001 and offered Farrell his old job, Farrell didn't hesitate.

So last fall, when Theo Epstein called Shapiro to ask for permission to talk with Farrell, he was ready to succumb to the siren song. He accepted the offer from Epstein, a man whose leadership he admired, to work side by side with Francona, something the friends had often talked about.