The Sox have a great starter in Sale, but if he's not presently tipping then at least his arm is tired. Kimbrel is a great closer. Pomeranz is throwing as good as any #2/3 can reasonably be expected. But realistically, the entire rest of the pitching staff has been something of a crapshoot.I can understand the concerns about the offense. They seem to run hot and cold, and cold could easily come in a short series against a solid pitching staff.
But I don't see how their pitching isn't good enough to succeed in October. They have been one of the best pitching staffs in baseball all year. They should be able to more than hold their own against any playoff team.
How far this team goes into October is going to come down to the bats, period.
Reed and Kelly are both very good when they're good. But they're not as consistent as one would like. I won't even get started on Porcello and Rodriguez. Fister's rebirth may have saved the season but his continued renaissance isn't something to be counted on in October. And while relying on Price as the 1st lefty out of the pen has some potential, he hasn't gotten any game experience pitching in that capacity yet, with two weeks to go. Maddox's fastball plays up very well out of the pen, but as a 40-man call-up he isn't exactly featured in the opposing team's scouting report. It could be a strong staff, but with Sale scuffling recently I just can't get them to be as good as they need to be for the 2017 Sox to win in the playoffs.
Because the real problem is, even if the pitching is playoff-quality, they've just not good enough to bail out the offense. The playoffs is more likely to be more similar to the pennant race than it is to be significantly different. Sale should have 21-22 wins right now; Porcello probably should have at least 12. But they don't, due to a combination of giving up homers at inopportune moments, anemic bats supporting them, base-running outs, and bullpen scuffles.
I know anything can happen in short series, but I think it's much more likely that the playoffs will feature a Sox offense that lets down their good but not perfect pitching.
Unless, of course, the Sox can grind out some tie games after 9 innings. They're golden in extras.