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Tribe excited for ‘good matchup’ with Red Sox
- Updated: October 1, 2016
KANSAS CITY — Indians manager Terry Francona preaches staying in the moment, focusing on the task at hand and not looking too far ahead. Veteran Mike Napoli has embraced that approach, as evidenced by his response when asked about facing the Red Sox in the American League Division Series, starting on Thursday.
“That’s who we’re facing?” Napoli said on Saturday morning before Cleveland’s game against the Royals.
The only thing that remains undetermined is whether the Tribe will head to Fenway Park or open the series at home at Progressive Field. Texas clinched the AL’s No. 1 seed, so it will await the winner of the AL Wild Card Game.
Entering Saturday, the Indians (92-67) trailed the Red Sox (93-67) by a half-game. If Cleveland finishes a half-game ahead of Boston through Sunday, it will need to play a makeup game with the Tigers on Monday. If the Indians are behind the Red Sox after Sunday, the makeup game will not matter for Cleveland, as Boston owns the tiebreaker.
Including Napoli, who suited up for Boston for parts of three years and won a World Series with the club in 2013, there are plenty of connections between the Indians and Red Sox. Francona will manage against one of his best friends, Red Sox manager John Farrell, and try to beat the team that …
