2018 World Series: The Dodgers vS The Red Sox

[Maxbialystock]

I despised Pomeranz last year when he was good, so I flat did not want to see him in the postseason. But if he has the Cora good housekeeping seal of approval, so be it. He is a lefty and that knuckle curve ain't too shabby.

 

I guess Cora has infused the team with the winning spirit and maybe that started way back in May when HanRam was let go. But it's so very hard to quantify other than to say winning feeds on itself.

 

More concrete to me is his handling of the bullpen which has truly been masterful. He kept Kelly when many of us, especially yours truly, thought Kelly was dead meat. Wrong. He has been unreal because the slider and curve work really well and he doesn't rely so much on the fast ball.

 

Eovaldi has also been a great in the bullpen, but Cora has also used Chris Sale, Rick Porcello, and ERod. And he stayed with Kimbrel one everyone else was ready to shoot him. Now we know it was all on Kimbrel's glove position which was tipping his pitches.

 

The point is, almost everyone agreed going into the postseason that the Sox one real weakness was the bullpen. And guess what? We weren't all that wrong. That's right, folks, you read it here first, so get ready for some very selective stats.

 

Kimbrel, ERod, and Workman. Remember them? They have combined this postseason for 13.1 innings and--land o'goshen--13 earned runs. A disaster.

 

But Cora maneuvered around those giant obstacles to success and produced 9 wins with, I hasten to add, a rotation that has its issues as well.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Cora! Cora! Cora! Wasn't that a movie about the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor? Edited October 25, 2018 by SPLENDIDSPLINTER

[Yaz Fan Since 67]

I despised Pomeranz last year when he was good, so I flat did not want to see him in the postseason. But if he has the Cora good housekeeping seal of approval, so be it. He is a lefty and that knuckle curve ain't too shabby.

 

I guess Cora has infused the team with the winning spirit and maybe that started way back in May when HanRam was let go. But it's so very hard to quantify other than to say winning feeds on itself.

 

More concrete to me is his handling of the bullpen which has truly been masterful. He kept Kelly when many of us, especially yours truly, thought Kelly was dead meat. Wrong. He has been unreal because the slider and curve work really well and he doesn't rely so much on the fast ball.

 

Eovaldi has also been a great in the bullpen, but Cora has also used Chris Sale, Rick Porcello, and ERod. And he stayed with Kimbrel one everyone else was ready to shoot him. Now we know it was all on Kimbrel's glove position which was tipping his pitches.

 

The point is, almost everyone agreed going into the postseason that the Sox one real weakness was the bullpen. And guess what? We weren't all that wrong. That's right, folks, you read it here first, so get ready for some very selective stats.

 

Kimbrel, ERod, and Workman. Remember them? They have combined this postseason for 13.1 innings and--land o'goshen--13 earned runs. A disaster.

 

But Cora maneuvered around those giant obstacles to success and produced 9 wins with, I hasten to add, a rotation that has its issues as well.

 

Nice post here, well done. To me Evoldi has been one of our MVPs of the playoffs for obvious reasons. I remember we discussed using starters in the set up role, at that time Evolidi was still a 50/50 shot to either be great or terrible. I just didn't trust him in tight spots over and over again as a long playoff run rolls on. I figured his inconsistency would show it's ugly head sooner rather than later. Same with Kelly and Barnes. But was I wrong, so far anyway. Kelly is throwing strikes and everyone knows that's always been his issue. I'm not sure I bought the Kimbrel was tipping his pitches as the only reason, he was walking a ton of guys too when he was struggling.

Edited October 25, 2018 by Yaz Fan Since '67

[S5Dewey]

I'm not sure if Kimbrel has control issues or if he's just plain wild but with good enough stuff to fool the hitters. I see a lot of pitches that look good and the hitter will swing at but end up outside the strike zone. A blazing fastball for strikes and an unhittable curve has always been his stock in trade.

Whatever it is, it works.

[TylerD]

I'm not sure if Kimbrel has control issues or if he's just plain wild but with good enough stuff to fool the hitters. I see a lot of pitches that look good and the hitter will swing at but end up outside the strike zone. A blazing fastball for strikes and an unhittable curve has always been his stock in trade.

Whatever it is, it works.

 

He has definitely looked in more control the last three games. Whatever he did the past few days to work his s*** out, has worked wonders.

[Emp9]

I'm not sure if Kimbrel has control issues or if he's just plain wild but with good enough stuff to fool the hitters. I see a lot of pitches that look good and the hitter will swing at but end up outside the strike zone. A blazing fastball for strikes and an unhittable curve has always been his stock in trade.

Whatever it is, it works.

 

I just think it’s a concious effort to not give them anything to hit. Some of these hitters, namely Turner, i think I’d rather risk a BB than a HR. I hate giving up walks as much as the next guy, but sometimes they can be strategic. Or, if they happen, it’s not worst thing that could’ve happened.

[mvp 78]

"It's been fun," Kelly said. "Just playing good baseball as a team all-around, obviously winning, trying to attain that goal we set early in spring training of getting to the World Series and see what happens. So to be able to contribute and not stink is refreshing."

[Maxbialystock]

Cora! Cora! Cora! Wasn't that a movie about the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor?

 

Yup. About 30 years after Pearl Harbor--maybe 40 years--I remember seeing a cartoon drawing of that attack only this time you can see the Japanese Zeroes are dropping little cars, and the caption reads, "Toyota, Toyota, Toyota."

[OH FOY]

I still like to know how Notin knew Joe Kelly would turn into, Ace Ventura, haha. Good call, good call.

[Maxbialystock]

"It's been fun," Kelly said. "Just playing good baseball as a team all-around, obviously winning, trying to attain that goal we set early in spring training of getting to the World Series and see what happens. So to be able to contribute and not stink is refreshing."

 

Is that real? If it is, it is one heckuva quote.

[mvp 78]

Is that real? If it is, it is one heckuva quote.

 

I guess?

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

With POR most likely pitching game 3 tomorrow, the SOX have the added benefit of his dangerous bat in the line-up.

[notin]

Cora! Cora! Cora! Wasn't that a movie about the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor?

 

No. It’s an Irish lullaby...

[YastrzemskI]

HEY ALL! DOES THE SERIES COME BACK TO FENWAY PARK?

 

I picked the Red Sox in 6.. I think that the Dodgers may scrap two wins out of three

down in LA.. they are a formidable opponent plus it would be sweet to see us win again

at Fenway Park!

 

PS-Who am I kidding? Let's sweep Hollywood's ass!!!

 

GO RED SOX!

[jacksonianmarch]

If the Sox take the title, they will become the most expensive championship team of all time and it ain’t close. That record, to this point, belongs to the 2009 Yankees. The Yanks were the only team to win a title with a payroll north of $200 mil. They finished the year at $203 mil. The Sox, this season, have spent over $40 mil more.

[Bellhorn04]

If the Sox take the title, they will become the most expensive championship team of all time and it ain’t close. That record, to this point, belongs to the 2009 Yankees. The Yanks were the only team to win a title with a payroll north of $200 mil. They finished the year at $203 mil. The Sox, this season, have spent over $40 mil more.

 

That's inflation for ya.

[FredLynn]

If the Sox take the title, they will become the most expensive championship team of all time and it ain’t close. That record, to this point, belongs to the 2009 Yankees. The Yanks were the only team to win a title with a payroll north of $200 mil. They finished the year at $203 mil. The Sox, this season, have spent over $40 mil more.

 

And your point is...............?

If the Sox take the title they will also be one of the most dominant teams in the history of baseball. Hopefully you can sit back and enjoy the show.

[mvp 78]

If the Sox take the title, they will become the most expensive championship team of all time and it ain’t close. That record, to this point, belongs to the 2009 Yankees. The Yanks were the only team to win a title with a payroll north of $200 mil. They finished the year at $203 mil. The Sox, this season, have spent over $40 mil more.

 

Which just goes to show that a high payroll doesn't necessarily give your team a trophy at year end. Their opening day payroll was less than the Dodgers was from 2015 - 2017.

[OH FOY]

Lot of Dead Money.

[mvp 78]

Lot of Dead Money.

 

$55M for Pablo, Hanley and Pedey

[OH FOY]

$55M for Pablo, Hanley and Pedey

 

Bang!!

[mvp 78]

Bang!!

 

The sound of Pablo's belt buckle exploding?

[Youk Of The Nation]

Cora! Cora! Cora! Wasn't that a movie about the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor?

 

It was Tora! Tora! Tora!

[moonslav59]

$55M for Pablo, Hanley and Pedey

 

...and Castillo's money doesn't even count.

[dannycater]

Hanram was the only consistent reliable hitter in last year playoffs for Sox.

[notin]

I still like to know how Notin knew Joe Kelly would turn into, Ace Ventura, haha. Good call, good call.

 

Simple. I wasn’t overly discouraged by a 7 IP sample size in September...

[Maxbialystock]

Hanram was the only consistent reliable hitter in last year playoffs for Sox.

 

Great point. I sure wish we had HanRam right now instead of that turkey JDM. What the heck was DD thinking?

[Maxbialystock]

If the Sox take the title, they will become the most expensive championship team of all time and it ain’t close. That record, to this point, belongs to the 2009 Yankees. The Yanks were the only team to win a title with a payroll north of $200 mil. They finished the year at $203 mil. The Sox, this season, have spent over $40 mil more.

 

Meh. I don't disagree with your basic point, but the Sox and the Yankees and the Dodgers are fully capable of spending a whole lot of money and still not getting the brass ring.

 

From a broader perspective I am of course appalled at those salaries, which are the product of rapacious agents, the MLBPA's determination to ensure no MLB player is required to actually earn the salary in his contract, impatient owners, and a few players who truly are greedy.

[dannycater]

Since Price, Sale, Eavoldi, Porcello, Eduardo and Pomeranz are all starters and relievers, they earn their salaries

[jacksonianmarch]

It’s more an observation. I legitimately could care less. But the next time I hear the Sox brass or fans whine about the Yankees spending, I’ll bring this nice tidbit back to life