AB4AR's Final Playoff Roster Prediction

Joe's getting his Jim Gordon on and playing things close to the vest with announcements about his postseason roster, so not much has been confirmed yet.  We know that Casey McGehee won't be a part of the club, which is a bit of information that should elicit almost no emotional response, good or bad.  We know that CC Sabathia is getting the ball tonight to start Game 1 of the series, which has been a scientific fact since the moment he walked off the mound in his last regular season start.  We know about 22-23 of the guys whose names will inevitably be chosen, it's not that hard to figure out, so we're really only waiting for Joe to confirm those last 2 or 3 names.  But AB4AR waits for no one!  I'm going to help Joe get the news out of the way early with the official AB4AR 25-man postseason roster final selection.

Starting Lineup: 1) Derek Jeter- SS, 2) Ichiro Suzuki- LF, 3) Alex Rodriguez- 3B, 4) Robinson Cano- 2B, 5) Nick Swisher- RF, 6) Mark Teixeira- 1B, 7) Curtis Granderson- CF, 8) Raul Ibanez- DH, 9) Russell Martin- C

Starting Rotation: 1) CC Sabathia- LHP, 2) Andy Pettitte- LHP, 3) Hiroki Kuroda- RHP, 4) Phil Hughes- RHP

Bench- Chris Stewart: C, Eric Chavez- 3B, Eduardo Nunez- SS, Brett Gardner- OF, Andruw Jones- OF

Bullpen- Rafael Soriano- RHP, David Robertson- RHP, Boone Logan- LHP, Joba Chamberlain- RHP, David Phelps- RHP, Clay Rapada- LHP, Derek Lowe- RHP

So there you have it, folks.  Brett Gardner will get Chris Dickerson's "lefty bench OF/pinch runner" spot now that he's healthy enough to actually hit (sorry, ladies, looks like you won't be getting The D this postseason), and Derek Lowe is going to get the final bullpen spot over Cody Eppley based on recent usage and performance and the fact that he can throw more innings if needed.

I can't believe it, but Andruw Jones is going to make it.  Jayson Nix won't be ready in time for this series, we know McGehee is already out, and Joe is going to want another right-handed bench bit for late-game pinch hitting situations.  Jones is the only option.  It's sad really, but I don't expect we'll see much, if any, of Jones if Ibanez and Ichiro can do enough against the lefties.