Joe Maddon has offered the Boston Red Sox a path to victory in the American League Championship Series by changing his pitching rotation, according to a story in today's Boston Herald.

In a story titled "Joe Maddon's logic inviting,'' Sean McAdam makes the case that Maddon's decision to start struggling Scott Kazmir in Game 5 tonight in Boston and save staff ace James Shields for a potential Game 6 on Saturday in St. Petersburg plays right into the Red Sox's hands.

"In rearranging his rotation with an apparent eye toward a worst-case scenario, Maddon is holding the door wide open for the Red Sox, taking their coats and directing them to make themselves comfortable,'' McAdam writes.

With the Rays leading the series 3-1 and needing just one win to advance to the World Series, McAdam calls the decision 'backward thinking.''

"Somewhere along the way, Maddon forgot the most salient point: His Rays, not the Red Sox, control the series,'' McAdam writes. "His team has outscored the Sox, 22-5, in the past two games. His club, not the Red Sox, can wrap up the series tonight.

''For some reason, Maddon is exuding a whiff of panic. Why worry about the weekend when you can put the Sox away now? The Red Sox haven’t won a game since last Friday and the momentum is all on the side of Tampa Bay.

''Imagine an NBA coach taking a timeout with his team in the middle of a 17-2 run. That’s what Maddon has done here.''

(Photo: Boston Herald)

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