2018 World Series Champions Boston Red Sox

[Bellhorn04]

Regardless of the interleague record, the Dodgers were horrid and weren't as good as any of the AL playoff teams, Yankees, Guardians, and the Astros. The Dodger front office's silly approach to the lineup hamstrung their on the field Roberts. Lets face it, if it weren't for a bad throw by Kinsler, the Dodgers probably would have not won a single ball game.

 

I think we made the Dodgers look bad more so than they WERE bad.

 

We didn't beat them much worse than we beat the Astros (marginally), and going into the playoffs the Astros were considered to be a very tough opponent.

[jung]

The DH/no DH thing has been in place since 1973 - 46 years. Have you always felt this strongly about it?

 

Nope....only in the last 15-20 years, a period within which the MLB as the administrative body for both leagues has gone and continues to go in an entirely different direction than the NL thus creating a dynamic whereby the NL is at odds with its own administrative body making for incomparably ugly baseball.

 

Then on a secondary level is the utter stupidity of conducting MLB's championship using two different formats. Both the NL and MLB itself needs to fix their perspective houses as well as getting on the same page. Ratings by the way for the 2018 v 2017 WS were flat awful for the 2018 edition. So there is that as well.

[Yaz Fan Since 67]

A huge shout out to the Red Sox ownership who spent a ton of money above the tax threshold to allow us to sign players like JD. Thank you

[jung]

I think we made the Dodgers look bad more so than they WERE bad.

 

We didn't beat them much worse than we beat the Astros (marginally), and going into the playoffs the Astros were considered to be a very tough opponent.

 

 

And the Astros would have crushed the Dodgers even as banged up as they were. The Astros would have given the Red Sox a much tougher fight had they not been so banged up in their lineup.

[Bellhorn04]

And the Astros would have crushed the Dodgers even as banged up as they were. The Astros would have given the Red Sox a much tougher fight had they not been so banged up in their lineup.

 

The Astros weren't that banged up. They were rolling coming into the postseason and they annihilated Cleveland.

[Kimmi]

My favorite moments:

Game 1: Sox strike quick against the Dodgers with 2 runs in the bottom of the 1st. Nunez later emerged to put it on ice with a 3 run homer

 

Game 3: Eovaldi 'start' within a start. It's took guts as every pitch is sudden death. With the BP emptied he saved us from tapping into another starter. This is a heroic effort.

 

Game 5: Sox got Betts, JD, to hit bombs. Price pitch a beautiful game, dominant. Kelly & Sale struck out the final 6 batters to seal the Series.

 

My favorite moment was the team's reaction to Eovaldi's outing in Game 3, and how they rallied around him after giving up the walk off home run. That has to be the worst feeling in the world for a pitcher, especially after such a grueling game. The team was not having anything to do with letting Eovaldi get down on himself. Well done Red Sox.

[Kimmi]

I picked the Sox in 6.

 

I am disappointed!

 

LOL I picked the Sox in 6 too, but later changed my pick to 5.

 

Does that count?

[Kimmi]

Congratulations everyone. Well deserved. The Sox were the best team in baseball this year throughout the season. They beat #s 2 and 3 in the AL and a good Dodger team as well. Nothing cheap about this one. This isn’t a flash in the pan. It’s clearly well deserved. Enjoy it

 

Thank you Jacko.

 

I guess it's true that Yankees fans are better losers than they are winners.

[Kimmi]

I picked the Sox in 6.

 

I am disappointed!

 

Also, the postseason road to the Championship was way easier than it had any right to be.

 

Not that I'm complaining!

[Bellhorn04]

LOL I picked the Sox in 6 too, but later changed my pick to 5.

 

Does that count?

 

No, we leave the flexible predictions to Jacko.

[Kimmi]

The big hits provided most of the excitement of course, especially Pearce, but also the surprise 3 run dingers by Moreland and earlier by Nunez.

 

But my three most enduring memories will probably be how much better the pitching was in the postseason, how masterful Cora was in numerous decisions, and how much these guys rooted for each other. I woke up this morning and could name all 25 from memory.

 

Well said.

[Kimmi]

Thank you Joe Kelly. I have no idea how you did that but thank you.

 

I will never doubt Joe Kelly again.

[jung]

The Astros weren't that banged up. They were rolling coming into the postseason and they annihilated Cleveland.

 

Cleveland was not good enough to make the injuries to Correa and Springer really cost the Astros.

 

George Springer, Correa before our ALCS series with them began and then Gonzalez and Altuve himself early in our series. At the end they were all playing but just barely with Altuve unable to even take a field position. How many damaged Astros right out of the middle of their order do you think it takes to hobble that team? Still and all even with that as long as they found some way to work Altuve in, they would have crushed the Dodgers who are just that bad. The Yankees as immature as they were in the lineup and as old as they were in the rotation would have beaten but probably not crushed the Dodgers. Still would have beaten them IMO.

 

Our lineup except for Nunez and Moreland was intact all the way up to the WS where I think X got hurt but played subpar. So that was it for us. Two platoon players and our full time Shortstop injured with one of the platoon guys, Moreland working back in by the end of the Dodgers series. Sale and Wright from the pitching staff with Sale still contributing at a pretty high level, just not mid-season form level.

 

That said, even fully healthy, I don't think the Astros would have beaten the Red Sox. The gap between any of the NL teams and the top four, maybe five AL teams was enormous. I don't even think the Dodgers make the WC in the AL.

Edited October 29, 2018 by jung

[FredLynn]

And the Astros would have crushed the Dodgers even as banged up as they were. The Astros would have given the Red Sox a much tougher fight had they not been so banged up in their lineup.

 

We were the better team all year. I think to an extent we went into cruise control in September but when October began the guys again played to their abilities. And its not like the Sox were completely healthy either: Sale is clearly not Sale; Nunez is hurt. And against the Dodgers JD banged up his ankle. Lets not blame injuries to the Astros for their loss-they just lost to a great team that got hot at the right time.

[jung]

We were the better team all year. I think to an extent we went into cruise control in September but when October began the guys again played to their abilities. And its not like the Sox were completely healthy either: Sale is clearly not Sale; Nunez is hurt. And against the Dodgers JD banged up his ankle. Lets not blame injuries to the Astros for their loss-they just lost to a great team that got hot at the right time.

 

Thats not the discussion you have engaged in. The discussion you have engaged in a bit late is what were the Dodgers as a competitor to the Red Sox and as an extension of that would other AL teams have either crushed or beaten the Dodgers. The Astros would have crushed them even with their injuries. The Yankees would have beaten them. Cleveland probably beats them in a 7 game series.

 

If you moved the Dodgers into the AL, they don't even make the WC IMO and neither do the Brewers.

[Northern Star]

Knock knock

 

Who's there?

 

The 2018 World Series Champions Boston Red Sox

[Northern Star]

Also, the postseason road to the Championship was way easier than it had any right to be.

 

Not that I'm complaining!

 

The playoffs were perfect in terms of beating the Yankees, then the defending champs. I really thought the Dodgers would put up more of a fight, but like you said, who's complaining?

[Northern Star]

I will never doubt Joe Kelly again.

 

Finally got something out of that trade when it looked like a huge bust.

[jung]

The AL is already off on a WS run that I suspect only gets worse for the NL from here.

2013: Red Sox

2014: Giants at the end of their run

2015: Royals

2016: Cubs

2017: Astros

2018: Red Sox again

 

That is 4:6 of the last WS with the gap in baseball play and sports entertainment value just starting to widen and widen between the two leagues.

[sk7326]

The AL is already off on a WS run that I suspect only gets worse for the NL from here.

2013: Red Sox

2014: Giants at the end of their run

2015: Royals

2016: Cubs

2017: Astros

2018: Red Sox again

 

That is 4:6 of the last WS with the gap in baseball play and sports entertainment value just starting to widen and widen between the two leagues.

 

2012: Giants, 2011: Cardinals, 2010: Giants, 2009: Yankees, 2008: Phillies ... that's 5:11

 

It's just a world and a sport where teams lose 3 games in a row all the time. It is hard to make inferences about league quality from the World Series or the All Star game ... it's why baseball is such a fun postseason. I embrace it for what it is.

[Maxbialystock]

The AL is already off on a WS run that I suspect only gets worse for the NL from here.

2013: Red Sox

2014: Giants at the end of their run

2015: Royals

2016: Cubs

2017: Astros

2018: Red Sox again

 

That is 4:6 of the last WS with the gap in baseball play and sports entertainment value just starting to widen and widen between the two leagues.

 

4 of the top 5 and 8 of the top 12 in attendance this year were NL teams. If anything, the DL would appear to have less entertainment value.

[devildavid]

The 2018 Red Sox go down as the greatest champions in team history. They were unrelenting in the post season. It was a true team championship. I wasn't surprised by how good a manager Cora is, as I always thought he was one of the smartest players ever to come off the Red Sox bench. This was a perfect season. A dream season.

 

And David Price emerged as a true ace, both in the regular season and especially it in the World Series. We can never question his heart again. Vindication!

[Northern Star]

This series has settled the DH question for me. The NL must adopt it. A team like the Sox shouldn't be penalized by being forced to bench a player like Benintendi. Not when folk are paying top dollar for tickets to see the pitchers strike out weakly.

[MADSTORK]

Power Pitching wins Championships! Congrads to all you pink hats and hat's off to the 3 Stooges who defied all odds!

[Bellhorn04]

Power Pitching wins Championships! Congrads to all you pink hats and hat's off to the 3 Stooges who defied all odds!

 

Thanks MADCOW. You proved all year that you really know your stuff.

[moonslav59]

Finally got something out of that trade when it looked like a huge bust.

 

Well, I think the idea was to get many years of Kelly for 1 year from a possible pouting Lackey, plus whatever Craig could give us at 1B- another area of weakness at the time.

 

Judging trades like that really need to be done after all parties have used up their control time.

 

 

 

[Hitch]

Finally got something out of that trade when it looked like a huge bust.

 

Funny how it works out, but that trade is now a success. As was the Porcello move.

[moonslav59]

A recap of Ben's influence on this championship team:

 

The great Dodger dump that allowed us to sign Napoli, Victorino & Dempster for the 2013 ring.

 

ERod- traded Andrew Miller

Porcello- traded Cespedes (via Lester) & Alex Wilson

Holt- traded Melancon with others.

Kelly- trade Lackey

Hembree- trade Jake Peavy

Leon- traded cash

Marco Hernandez - traded Doubront

Wade Miley- traded for C Smith

 

International Free Agents:

Rafael Devers

T-W Lin

Rusney Castillo

Yoan Moncada- big part of Sale trade

Anderson Espinoza- traded for Pomeranz

Javier Guerra- part of Kimbrel trade

Basabe Brothers- part of Sale and Ziegler trades

 

Drafter:

Andrew Benintendi

Brian Johnson

Bobby Poyner

Michael Chavis

Josh Ockimey

Austin Maddox

Sam Travis

Justin Haley, Travis Lakins, Jake Cosart, C Shepherd, Austin Rei

Michael Kopech- big part of Chris Sale trade

Ty Buttrey- traded for Kinsler

Pat Light- traded for Abad

Carlos Asiage- traded as part of the Kimbrel trade

Mauricio Dubon- traded as part of the Thornburg trade

[jung]

4 of the top 5 and 8 of the top 12 in attendance this year were NL teams. If anything, the DL would appear to have less entertainment value.

 

That is simply a consequence of more tightly packed teams as to record in the NL than the AL. The AL had the better teams by far than the NL and as a consequence more AL teams were knocked out early. Big win totals also yield big loss totals. The AL had three teams with over 100 win totals. The NL had none, meaning of course that the NL had more tightly packed standings and closer races. Has nothing to do with the actual quality of play which will eventually effect all attendance. Once baseball itself becomes bombastically boring nobody will care how tightly packed the races are between the teams playing.

 

4 of the top 5 in attendance were NL teams, none of which including the Dodgers would have likely even made the WC had they been in the AL. The top 5 in attendance were:

Dodgers

Yankees

Cardinals

Cubs

Giants

 

The only one of those clubs that even stood a chance of getting into the AL post season had they been in the AL was the Dodgers.

 

Biggest increases in year over year attendance were:

Astros

Yankees

Brewers (probably the only NL team besides the Dodgers that would have stood any chance at all of even achieving a WC had they been in the AL in 2018)

Phillies

Mariners

No shockers there.

 

Biggest declines in year over year attendance:

Blue Jays

Marlins

Royals

Tigers

Orioles

No shockers there either.

 

The issue is and has been the combination of NL insistence on maintaining a spot in the order for the Pitcher contending that it yields a purer form of the game when it in fact does not coupled with the overarching administrator, the MLB, attempting to turn a multi-dimensional game, in fact a game that depends on its multi-dimentionality into a one dimensional power game. The consequence is both leagues heading for problems by virtue of MLB rules changes, the juiced baseball and acquiescence to the Overload all of which are leading to bigger, less agile, players and high HR rates coupled with monster K rates and other out related manifestations of weak hitting. The only dif is that the added burden of keeping a spot in the order for the Pitcher is driving the NL off the cliff edge faster than the AL is going there. This is leading to higher quality play in the AL, more play that reflects the aspects of this game that actually make it popular while the AL is actually more in step with MLB's desire for more power. The simple fact is the AL gets more good, entertaining stuff out of its game than the NL does with its Pitcher Hits format. The following material will make the point that all the NL gets is higher bunting rates and the God almighty double switch.

 

There is NOTHING I repeat NOTHING interesting about computer positioned oversized, overblown and in some cases fat slob ballplayers that are not agile fielders making plays one foot to their left or one foot to their right because they were standing where the computer told them to stand. There is nothing interesting about taking agility, running the bases and moving runners around the bases and supplanting that with additional HR's by virtue of launch angle and the additional K's and other weak, useless outs it yields. The AL is in fact getting more multi-dimensionality out of its format because it is not burdened by holding a spot in the batting order for the Pitcher.

 

In fact, it was reported that the reason that the strike zone was universally called tighter in the post season than in the regular season is that MLB noticed the alarmingly high K rates and as usual decided that two wrongs make a right. It instructed its umpires to call tighter zones in the post season in an effort to cut down on the K rate, an entirely idiotic direction. The K rate increases have nothing to do with the strike zone. The K rate increases have everything to do with launch angle changes adopted by hitters trying to conform to what MLB wants and the limited amount of time the bat now stays in the hitting zone.

 

The high K rate is a consequence of a short sighted, dimwitted insistence on driving the game to one dimensional power baseball and the tools MLB has used to try to make that happen. Those are:

- acquiescence to the Overload and in fact encouragement of it

- the juiced baseball

- rules changes

 

As dimwitted as MLB has been, the NL's insistence on continuing its Pitcher hits nonsense has been entirely at odds with its administrator, MLB and has driven the NL game to:

- a plethora of lumbering, wildly gesticulating ballplayers that attempt to "cheer" their balls over the fences as opposed to running the damn bases

- hideously high K rates with 9 of the top 15 strike out total teams being NL teams while 9 of the top HR hitting teams were AL teams.

- However, the NL has 9 of the top 15 AB/HR rate teams. They are hitting more HR's deeper into the order than AL teams since they have to try harder to score ahead of the useless pitcher's spot in the order. But NL teams are actually hitting fewer total HR's.

- 9 of the top 15 teams in extra base hits are AL teams

- 9 of the top 15 teams in plate appearances are NL teams meaning the preponderance of over long baseball games are happening in the NL

- 10 of the top 15 fly ball hitting teams are AL teams. Combined with the other stats, it would appear that the most telling revelation is the degree to which trying to score ahead of the pitchers spot is driving NL players down in the batting order to try to lift the ball while not succeeding at it

- as you might expect then 10 of the top 15 and all of the top 5 GB/FB rate teams are NL teams

- 8 of the top 15 sacrifice fly teams are AL teams

- 14 of the top 15 bunting teams are NL teams as you might guess. However bunts even in the NL are down to 0.008 of all PA's. Nobody actually bunts any more with the exception of the pitcher uselessly trying to get something out of a PA.

 

So there you have it:

- more of what everybody complains about in MLB, over long games, high K rates, one dimensional baseball happens in the NL than in the AL

- The AL actually gets more power while maintaining more multi-dimensionality out of its game because it is not burdened by the Pitcher Hits format

- The AL both conforms more to where the administrator for both leagues, MLB is driving this game while maintaining a multi-dimensional game. The ONLY thing the NL gets out of its Pitcher Hits format is 14:15 of the highest bunting teams. However the bunt is a pretty boring baseball play and at 0.008 of all PA's even for the NL teams it is simply there because the Pitcher has a spot in the batting order in the NL!

 

My view of it is that both MLB and the NL have work to do. MLB cannot mandate that NL give up its Pitcher Hits format. The NL owners must come to their senses about that. However, MLB must IMO confront the Overload directly.

 

And worse than that for NL the better teams and more of them are in the AL and its now not even close!

 

Finally I have one last thing to offer on this topic. Manny Machado, now that he is in the NL should stay there. He is the perfect NL player from head to toe both in his attitude toward the game, his posture and his demeanor on the field and his performance within the game. He is an oversized, overblown, lazy blowhard. Stay where you are Manny. Please God AL GM's just leave him there TO ROT!

Edited October 30, 2018 by jung

[Yaz Fan Since 67]

This series has settled the DH question for me. The NL must adopt it. A team like the Sox shouldn't be penalized by being forced to bench a player like Benintendi. Not when folk are paying top dollar for tickets to see the pitchers strike out weakly.

 

Yep. Watching ERod not running to 2nd as he was obviously saving himself for his pitching duties, then seeing the Dodger pitcher wail at pitches reminded me of how much better the AL rules are.