Postseason Happenings 2016

[cp176]

It is a team I love. When we get to the post season, I will be thrilled. Want them to win it all like everyone else but I will take what they give me. It is September and the excitement of a pennant is in the air once again. For me, it has always been about the regular season. Winning their division and getting to the playoffs is a great achievement.

[StephenCurry30]

Texas doesn't scare me, they are an absurdly lucky team with no pitching. obviously anything can happen in playoffs but on paper - we are the better team

[Kimmi]

With all due respect, I think those two posts are in conflict with one another.

 

I don't think they are. Just because stat geeks try to understand the game better through the numbers, that doesn't mean they are ignoring the human side of the game. They fully understand and acknowledge human factors.

 

From the same article that I got my previous quote from:

 

"It’s possible that playoff vets exert a calming clubhouse influence that these numbers can’t capture, but most big leaguers have methods of coping with the ever-present pressure of professional sports that would pay off in the October environment. Having a playoff veteran can’t hurt, but the wisdom of those who’ve been there before often boils down to the message Delmon Young delivered to Baltimore: “Keep your booty loose and go out there and play baseball.” That’s good advice, but it’s not news to most players."

[Kimmi]

Anyone else a bit concerned about the rotation, heading into the playoffs?

 

I expect Porcello to be solid, but Price has a not-so-stellar postseason record.

E-Rod and Buchholz have been consistently inconsistent.

I think Pomeranz has hit a wall, due to his IP.

 

It'd be nice to see if Wright can give us some meaningful innings.

 

In the do or die environment of the postseason, Farrell will be a lot quicker in giving the starter the hook. The more frequent off days will also help us. There are some question marks, but as others have said, we have no more than the other teams have.

 

IMO, the Sox have as good a chance as anyone else.

[Bellhorn04]

I don't think they are. Just because stat geeks try to understand the game better through the numbers, that doesn't mean they are ignoring the human side of the game. They fully understand and acknowledge human factors.

 

From the same article that I got my previous quote from:

 

"It’s possible that playoff vets exert a calming clubhouse influence that these numbers can’t capture, but most big leaguers have methods of coping with the ever-present pressure of professional sports that would pay off in the October environment. Having a playoff veteran can’t hurt, but the wisdom of those who’ve been there before often boils down to the message Delmon Young delivered to Baltimore: “Keep your booty loose and go out there and play baseball.” That’s good advice, but it’s not news to most players."

 

And how did Baltimore make out after that advice?

[Kimmi]

And how did Baltimore make out after that advice?

 

Ha. Kind of makes the point about not needing veterans in the postseason, doesn't it?

[Bellhorn04]

Ha. Kind of makes the point about not needing veterans in the postseason, doesn't it?

 

Well, not veterans whose only advice is to 'keep your booty loose'.

[mvp 78]

Well, not veterans whose only advice is to 'keep your booty loose'.

 

Thunder, ignore the above post.

[moonslav59]

Like Is aid at the start of the season, all AL teams have bigger and or more weaknesses than us. They also had less in-system options through depth to try and fill those holes.

 

Now, those weaknesses are coming to the forefront.

 

Imagine if we were playing like the Jays right now! This place would be going ape s***.

 

The O's have survived on smoke and mirrors long enough.

 

The Rangers and Guardians look comparable on paper, but they have holes still.

 

The injuries suck for the Guardians, but we lost our first half ace and our number one set up man was out all year. Our 4-5 starters lost their jobs. Our 1-2 catchers sucked or got hurt. Our 3Bman was beaten out. Lots of things went wrong for us, but we had the depth to cover just about every weakness, and the Pomeranz trade was insurance.

 

We haven't clinched anything yet. There's a long way to go, but I wouldn't change places with any AL team right now, just as I wouldn't have day one this year.

[cjp11561]

Yankee fan here who is still hurting badly from the brilliant but merciless slaughter in Fenway. Come on, Boston fans, get some confidence. Your guys simply toyed with the Yankees, single handedly knocked them out of the playoffs, and will exact further enjoyment in Yankee Stadium when they brutally sweep New York yet again later in the month. Boston power was simply too much for our team. There are many Yankee fans who respect gifted teams when they see them, especially when they use the Yankees as doormats all season. Granted, we will not be in the majority, but there will be a good number of Yankee fans rooting for the Red Sox in the playoffs, and I will certainly be one of them. Great job, Boston, your guys beat the literal stuffing out of ours. Here is to the 2016 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox.

[iortiz]

Cubs vs Sox will be the WS. Sox win in 6 games.

[Slasher9]

Fun to look back at the first couple of pages of this thread. There are a few of you that aren't allowed on our playoff bound party bus (Kimmi is driving)....

[oldtimer]

A lot of interesting things to talk about from last night's big win.

 

Baltimore went into last night with a pitching advantage, sending up their ace against our talented but inconsistent starter. To Baltimore, it was also a must win game. Perhaps the pitching matchup that favored the Sox was the fresh bullpen resulting from Porcello's complete game win. It turned out that E-Rod was on his game and went 6 1/3 before several balls were hit hard. JF did the right thing replacing him quickly. Barnes has good stuff, but got unlucky and perhaps can get frazzled and wild. JF again did the right thing putting in the veteran Ziegler to get out of the inning. Uehara was brilliant again and Kimbrel shut them down in the ninth. Both Kimbrel and Barnes walking people when ahead two strikes made no sense. Why nibble or try to get people to chase when up by three and you blew two by the batter already?

 

You could question Showalter's decision to keep Gausman in against Ortiz. Gausman had by then gone well over 100 pitches on a muggy night and Ortiz had seen him 3 other times. Gausman amped up the velocity thinking Ortiz couldn't catch up wasn't quite as sharp and got the ball over the plate, albeit at 99 mph. That was the turning point in the game. Hard to know if it was the right strategy but it didn't work.

 

The lineup looked good with Betts hitting very well in particular and JBJ getting two hits with a homer (another encouraging sign). Pedey was out with a sore knee (hope not too bad) and I thought Hernandez looked good at the plate. There was one play I didn't understand where he didn't cover second base on a throw in from Young on a double. It looked like he had a brain freeze on that one.

 

Leon appears to have gone into a slump and is taking good pitches and swinging at a lot of balls out of the zone. NOt a good time to be slumping and maybe a little reversion to more his norm. Also Shaw didn't look as bad hitting but is slumping again. Need these guys both to offer more offense as we go into the playoffs. Young looked good on the other hand so we have two good outfielders to choose from.

 

Tonight will be a tough one with Buchholz going. Hope he can give us at least 5 good ones.

[Bellhorn04]

This team is cooked for the simple reason that the bullpen is a disaster. I see no signs of hope for that changing.

 

Well, I have to own this Nostra-Dumbass prediction. I wasn't expecting such a miraculous turnaround by the bullpen.

[SoxnCycles]

Well, I have to own this Nostra-Dumbass prediction. I wasn't expecting such a miraculous turnaround by the bullpen.

 

I've given up trying to figure out bullpens.

 

I will say Koji has been a big boost.

[S5Dewey]

I've given up trying to figure out bullpens.

 

I will say Koji has been a big boost.

 

The bullpen has been maddening, now in a good way. We now have our two Asian pitcher believing that it's 2013 again, which is a big factor. And let's give credit to the starters for going deeper into games now.

Also, Farrell seems to have a better feel for the game. I was wondering when he pulled ERod last night if he would have made that move a month ago, or if he'd have let ERod try to pitch his way out of it. He seems to be managing with a sense of urgency, which is a definite improvement. Or.. maybe he now knows what to expect from pitchers on the staff.

[greenwell]

A lot of interesting things to talk about from last night's big win.

 

Baltimore went into last night with a pitching advantage, sending up their ace against our talented but inconsistent starter. To Baltimore, it was also a must win game. Perhaps the pitching matchup that favored the Sox was the fresh bullpen resulting from Porcello's complete game win. It turned out that E-Rod was on his game and went 6 1/3 before several balls were hit hard. JF did the right thing replacing him quickly. Barnes has good stuff, but got unlucky and perhaps can get frazzled and wild. JF again did the right thing putting in the veteran Ziegler to get out of the inning. Uehara was brilliant again and Kimbrel shut them down in the ninth. Both Kimbrel and Barnes walking people when ahead two strikes made no sense. Why nibble or try to get people to chase when up by three and you blew two by the batter already?

 

You could question Showalter's decision to keep Gausman in against Ortiz. Gausman had by then gone well over 100 pitches on a muggy night and Ortiz had seen him 3 other times. Gausman amped up the velocity thinking Ortiz couldn't catch up wasn't quite as sharp and got the ball over the plate, albeit at 99 mph. That was the turning point in the game. Hard to know if it was the right strategy but it didn't work.

 

The lineup looked good with Betts hitting very well in particular and JBJ getting two hits with a homer (another encouraging sign). Pedey was out with a sore knee (hope not too bad) and I thought Hernandez looked good at the plate. There was one play I didn't understand where he didn't cover second base on a throw in from Young on a double. It looked like he had a brain freeze on that one.

 

Leon appears to have gone into a slump and is taking good pitches and swinging at a lot of balls out of the zone. NOt a good time to be slumping and maybe a little reversion to more his norm. Also Shaw didn't look as bad hitting but is slumping again. Need these guys both to offer more offense as we go into the playoffs. Young looked good on the other hand so we have two good outfielders to choose from.

 

Tonight will be a tough one with Buchholz going. Hope he can give us at least 5 good ones.

 

It hindsight it is easy to say he shouldn't have pitched to Ortiz, but he wasn't well over 100 pitches, that was his 101st, which is a pretty low number for him.

[Kimmi]

Yankee fan here who is still hurting badly from the brilliant but merciless slaughter in Fenway. Come on, Boston fans, get some confidence. Your guys simply toyed with the Yankees, single handedly knocked them out of the playoffs, and will exact further enjoyment in Yankee Stadium when they brutally sweep New York yet again later in the month. Boston power was simply too much for our team. There are many Yankee fans who respect gifted teams when they see them, especially when they use the Yankees as doormats all season. Granted, we will not be in the majority, but there will be a good number of Yankee fans rooting for the Red Sox in the playoffs, and I will certainly be one of them. Great job, Boston, your guys beat the literal stuffing out of ours. Here is to the 2016 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox.

 

Not sure how sincere you are, but if you are being sincere, you are much more gracious in losing than I could ever be.

[Kimmi]

Fun to look back at the first couple of pages of this thread. There are a few of you that aren't allowed on our playoff bound party bus (Kimmi is driving)....

 

Playoff bound party bus geared up and ready to go!

 

All Aboard!

[Kimmi]

I've given up trying to figure out bullpens.

 

I will say Koji has been a big boost.

 

Koji has been a big boost. His injury has been a blessing in disguise.

 

The rest of the pen gets credit as well.

 

In the month of September, they have a 0.89 ERA (1st in baseball), 10.91 K/9 (2nd), .192 BAA (4th), and 1.03 WHIP (4th). Quite a turnaround from last month.

[Kimmi]

The bullpen has been maddening, now in a good way. We now have our two Asian pitcher believing that it's 2013 again, which is a big factor. And let's give credit to the starters for going deeper into games now.

Also, Farrell seems to have a better feel for the game. I was wondering when he pulled ERod last night if he would have made that move a month ago, or if he'd have let ERod try to pitch his way out of it. He seems to be managing with a sense of urgency, which is a definite improvement. Or.. maybe he now knows what to expect from pitchers on the staff.

 

I don't think that it's that Farrell has a better feel for the game all of a sudden. Farrell can manage with a sense of urgency now because it's September. If he managed the same way back in April - July, we might have won a few more games then, but I think the price of getting those added wins then would be biting us now.

[oldtimer]

Change in topic slightly. I am hoping that Hernandez gets the last open slot on the playoff roster for field players He just turned 24, is hitting 306 on a very limited opportunity basis, can play 3rd, SS or 2nd fairly well. He is a solidly built 6' and 200# and his plate discipline reminds me of Beni. I have been a supporter of his but realize the experience is low but would rather have him than a Hill for instance.

[oldtimer]

The Sox are now in the process of burying the Orioles while the Blue Jays also cooperated by losing tonight. Ten to go and it is looking better with Price going tomorrow. We put a shaky Buchholz out there tonight and while he was wild, he had enough stuff to keep the Orioles off the board with the exception of one in which Leon made a bad judgment play to throw to second.

 

The Sox lineup was weaker than normal tonight but the Orioles helped us with a key error and then Beni showed his hitting skill off by hitting the 3 run homer.

 

The question comes up as to what to do with 3rd base as Hill is not answer and Shaw is back into his slump. When the Sox are best, they offer a threat up and down the lineup. Is Holt a better option at this point? Hernandez? or do we stay with Shaw and hope he can complement his defense with an occasional hit?

[moonslav59]

The question comes up as to what to do with 3rd base as Hill is not answer and Shaw is back into his slump.

 

I think the time has come to finally give Hernandez a few games in a row at 3B.

[Spudboy]

I'd call-up Bryce Brentz and put him at 3rd.

[Oscars]

Yes he is managing with more urgency, but since September call ups Kelly and Scott and Koji came back, Farrell has much better options in the bullpen to call on, and they can get better rest to allow them to perform better.

[cp176]

I'd call-up Bryce Brentz and put him at 3rd.

 

I'd rather watch Moncada try to keep his streak alive than suffer watching Hill for another at bat.

[cp176]

The question comes up as to what to do with 3rd base as Hill is not answer and Shaw is back into his slump.

 

I think the time has come to finally give Hernandez a few games in a row at 3B.

 

 

I have liked Hernandez a great deal for a couple of years now. I like him a lot more at either second or short than I do at third. I agree though that if was between Hill and Hernandez there would be no question in my mind that I wold go with Hernandez. I'm really tired of watching Hill. Honestly though I would stick Shaw over there and leave him alone. I like his power potential at third. That being said, I think that Hernandez is a starting second baseman/shortstop in waiting for somebody just probably not for Boston. As much as I am curious about Moncada, I would not put him over there just yet. These are critical games and I don't think that it would be fair to him. The last thing that he needs is any fan backlash due to expectations that he just isn't ready to meet. Give him time or trade him.

[Slasher9]

10 more games to go!

 

ESPN has us at 99.9%.

 

Magic number:

Division: 6

WC: 5

 

it's been 3 years since i have been able to do one but it is very very close to the time i can start the "Countdown to the Parade" thread. excited!!!!

Edited September 22, 2016 by Slasher9

[oldtimer]

I'd rather watch Moncada try to keep his streak alive than suffer watching Hill for another at bat.

 

Now that is amusing.