Red Sox Notebook: Pitching plans, roster makeup coming into focus

Over the weekend, Alex Cora revealed -- to absolutely no one's surprise -- that his first three starters in the American League Division Series would be, in order, Chris Sale, David Price and Rick Porcello.

On Tuesday, he took his rotation a step further, revealing that the Sox are "pretty sure'' Nathan Eovaldi would start Game 4 if the Sox meet the New York Yankees, while being available out of the bullpen in Game 1. A potential Game 4 starter against the Oakland Athletics is not yet determined, though Cora said the Sox were getting closer to that decision, too.

"We're still digging for information,'' said Cora of a potential matchup with the A's, whom the Sox haven't seen since May. "It's different. I know we played them early, but it's a different team now and we still have to make decisions on that.''

Also, while the Sox have yet to announce their 25-man roster for the Division Series -- they don't need to do so until noon on Friday --  a handful of players have been told that they will not be included.

Infielder Brandon Phillips was sent home. Three players -- infielder Tzu-Wei Lin, first baseman Sam Travis and lefty reliever Robby Scott -- traveled to Fort Myers where they'll keep active in case they're needed because of injuries or are added in future series. Two pitchers who contributed both in relief and as starters, Brian Johnson and Hector Velazquez, will not be on the Division Series roster, but will remain with the team in case they're needed at some point.

"Even if you're not on the roster,'' said Cora, "you've got a job to do -- either going to Fort Myers to prepare or staying here and staying in shape. You can help -- just like (Dustin) Pedroia is doing right now: looking for tendencies. You might dominate a guy and your information might be very important for a guy who makes the roster to get him out. Not being on a roster, I know, for some guys, it's frustrating.''

Cora said it was particularly tough to deliver the news for Velazquez and Johnson, who were on the roster all season long.

"Very difficult,'' acknowledged Cora. "But at the same time, I let them know that they were very important. No chance that we survive pitching-wise without them accepting their role and using them in different roles. They should be proud of what they did. They're going to stay health, be ready if something happens and will be guys that stay in the conversation throughout the month.''

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In somewhat of a change of plans, Chris Sale, the Game 1 starter, threw a flat ground session on Monday and was scheduled to throw a bullpen inside on Tuesday. "He feels better,'' said Cora of Sale, who is trying to work through some mechanical issues to bolster his velocity and command. "(Monday) was good. It's something that, honestly, is not a huge adjustment. I'm glad that he saw it firsthand and it should be easy to fix...Hopefully, it's close to what we want or the way we want it and he'll get extension on Friday and see where we go. We do feel that if the mechanics are close or perfect, the velocity will come.''

Sale hasn't been the same since being sidelined with mild left should inflammation in late July, but the Sox are convinced that this is no longer a physical issue.

Cora reiterated that the Sox remain completely convinced that the issue with Sale is not physical.

"The fact that when the game was on the line (last week against the Orioles), he hit 94 mph,'' said Cora. "He went from 88-89 mph to 94 mph. I know he's there. And the fact that he came to me, right away, after the game was over and he felt it on the mound and saw it on the video, I was like, 'OK, this is mechanics.' He's been going through his program the right way. That's why I'm 100 percent sure he's healthy and he's going to be fine.''

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MLB announced the umpiring crew for the Red Sox' ALDS: The crew chief is Mike Winters. The rest of the crew: Cory Blaser, Dan Bellino, Fieldin Culbreth, Angel Hernandez and D.J. Reyburn...The Red Sox will have a team dinner Wednesday night and will watch the wildcard game between the Yankees and A's together.