The Official 2021 ALDS Thread

[YastrzemskI]

Our Ace Chris Sale was pummeled in the first.

 

Our pen was sensational. Shout out to Hauck.

[YastrzemskI]

Monumental effort from the boys in game 2. Series tied 1-1 headed to Fenway Park on Sunday. Proud of the boys with the exception of Chris obviously. My question is who starts game four?

[MADSTORK]

Our pen was sensational. Shout out to Hauck.

 

You must have missed Barnes in the 9th

[moonslav59]

Monumental effort from the boys in game 2. Series tied 1-1 headed to Fenway Park on Sunday. Proud of the boys with the exception of Chris obviously. My question is who starts game four?

 

My guess- ERod.

 

Other choices: Pivetta, Richards, Perez- or pen game.

 

I doubt Houck can go many innings 3 days from today.

[Larry Cook]

Sale threw only sliders and four seamers today,

 

Without the change up, he might as well be tossing batting practice!

[YastrzemskI]

You must have missed Barnes in the 9th

 

He is struggling no doubt about it. But he battled and Cora stuck with him. He had enough of a cushion to try and figure things out. Didn’t allow a run but yes it was a dog and pony show. No harm done.

[Maxbialystock]

My guess- ERod.

 

Other choices: Pivetta, Richards, Perez- or pen game.

 

I doubt Houck can go many innings 3 days from today.

 

Houck 5 innings tonight and pivetta 4.1 last night. Gotta be ERod Monday night. Of course Sale could start as Cora’ s version of rope a dope. If game 5, I see houck

[Maxbialystock]

My guess- ERod.

 

Other choices: Pivetta, Richards, Perez- or pen game.

 

I doubt Houck can go many innings 3 days from today.

 

Maybe someone needs to remind the pitcher about nobody holding the runner close at 3B.

 

To me, that one was on Cora/coaches and the pitcher/catcher.

 

Yes

[Maxbialystock]

Shout out to kimmi for saying Sox in 4 during last nights game.

[Nick]

Houck threw 25 sliders (four swings-and-misses), 22 four-seam fastballs (three swings-and-misses), nine sinkers (five swings-and-misses) and five splitters.

 

Geez, I may not be a math genius but that looks to me like 4 pitches. Houck may not go 6 innings but he can sure outlast E Rod and Sale at times. But let's give E Rod $10M raise.

[Maxbialystock]

You must have missed Barnes in the 9th

 

Actually, you forgot to check the box score, which show that Sale pitched 1 inning and gave up 5 runs, and four different Rays pitchers gave up 3, 3, 2, and 6 runs. Barnes gave up 0 runs in 1 inning, exactly what Brasier and Robles did.

 

No question Barnes is struggling, but he ain't quitting and his manager has him on the postseason roster.

[Bellhorn04]

Actually, you forgot to check the box score, which show that Sale pitched 1 inning and gave up 5 runs, and four different Rays pitchers gave up 3, 3, 2, and 6 runs. Barnes gave up 0 runs in 1 inning, exactly what Brasier and Robles did.

 

No question Barnes is struggling, but he ain't quitting and his manager has him on the postseason roster.

 

STORK simply confirming again that he's a complete idiot.

[Maxbialystock]

Houck threw 25 sliders (four swings-and-misses), 22 four-seam fastballs (three swings-and-misses), nine sinkers (five swings-and-misses) and five splitters.

 

Geez, I may not be a math genius but that looks to me like 4 pitches. Houck may not go 6 innings but he can sure outlast E Rod and Sale at times. But let's give E Rod $10M raise.

 

I only saw the sliders and fastballs and maybe a sinker or two. I saw no splitters. That does not mean you are wrong.

 

Indeed those few sinkers and splitters could explain how Houck went 5 innings against a pretty good Rays lineup.

 

If Eovaldi starts and wins game 3 at Fenway, moonslav is probably right that ERod will start game 4 and, wait for it, Houck game 5 on Wednesday at the Trop with 5 days rest.

[Maxbialystock]

The Sox are now 2-1 in the postseason against the Yankees and Rays and despite having just 1 viable starter, Eovaldi. ERod lasted 1.2 innings and Sale 1.

 

This Sox team is all about hitting and the bullpen and an amazing manager.

 

I think the next 3 starters, if needed, are Eovaldi (obviously), ERod (only one available), and Houck (5 days rest).

 

Once again, hats off to Kimmi who, in the middle of the talksox caterwauling Thursday night when the Rays were winning, predicted the Sox would win the ALDS in 4 games. That is now possible.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

STORK simply confirming again that he's a complete idiot.

 

Actually, he is a troll who just happens to be an idiot.

[moonslav59]

Houck threw 25 sliders (four swings-and-misses), 22 four-seam fastballs (three swings-and-misses), nine sinkers (five swings-and-misses) and five splitters.

 

Geez, I may not be a math genius but that looks to me like 4 pitches. Houck may not go 6 innings but he can sure outlast E Rod and Sale at times. But let's give E Rod $10M raise.

 

We don't have to choose between ERod and Houck, and if we did it would be the first unanimous choice on this site.

 

The choice may come down to $19M/1 for ERod vs $27M x 6 for Stroman or $30M x 3 for Scherzer.

 

Now, the choice is not so easy.

[moonslav59]

Shout out to kimmi for saying Sox in 4 during last nights game.

 

She said it before the series, too.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

The turning point in the game was when Houck struck out Arozarena so badly that he threw his bat across the infield. And it wasn't because his fingers were greased with butter from the popcorn. Sitting that guy down in such a confounding way deflated the Rays' instant offense and suddenly shifted the confidence from one dugout to the other.

 

The turning point in the series or even postseason may be the Martinez home run. Not because he's incapable of a game-winning blast, but because of how he did it. First, JD looked at a low-and-away slider that was called a borderline strike. That put him in a 1-2 hole. Next, Whisler followed directions from every pitcher's book on the two-strike section of the JD Martinez page: throw another slider, only slightly off the plate. But JD took it.

 

Did a sore ankle prevent JD from lunging, thus forcing him to be more selective? Next pitch was a hanger he did not miss... and maybe a new approach.

[moonslav59]

There were times, this year, where the SP'ers carried the team for pretty long stretches, while the bats were cold and the pen was imploding or doing so-so.

 

I'm not sure I would assume some of the starters are doomed to repeat what they did their last outing or two.

 

That being said, I'm not sure if I'd have enough faith to go with Sale or ERod, again, but we may just have to go with one.

 

Moving Houck into a starter role might work well, but he's been doing a fantastic job in our pen.

Pivetta might be an option, but he struggled his last outing, too.

Perez? LMAO!

 

We'll go with Eovaldi for the all important game 3. It was great to split the first 2 games without Eovaldi, but just being able to use him once, this series, really hurts.

 

Who starts game 4?

 

ERod's on 3 day rest? But after such a short game, that may not matter. Then again, maybe nothing matters, and he IS doomed to have an awful game- maybe not.

 

Sale on 2 day rest? I can't see that.

 

Pivetta? He pitched more than Sale on Thursday and did not doo very well.

 

Houck on 2 days rest? I can't see pushing him that hard.

 

Perez? No freaking way!

 

Pen game? Maybe the best bet, and maybe the reason they carried 1-2 more pitchers than I felt were needed when playing 6 games in 11 days.

 

My guess is they start ERod but have the quickest hook imaginable.

 

[notin]

Our Ace Chris Sale was pummeled in the first.

 

Yes, that half of the glass is empty…

[YastrzemskI]

There were times, this year, where the SP'ers carried the team for pretty long stretches, while the bats were cold and the pen was imploding or doing so-so.

 

I'm not sure I would assume some of the starters are doomed to repeat what they did their last outing or two.

 

That being said, I'm not sure if I'd have enough faith to go with Sale or ERod, again, but we may just have to go with one.

 

Moving Houck into a starter role might work well, but he's been doing a fantastic job in our pen.

Pivetta might be an option, but he struggled his last outing, too.

Perez? LMAO!

 

We'll go with Eovaldi for the all important game 3. It was great to split the first 2 games without Eovaldi, but just being able to use him once, this series, really hurts.

 

Who starts game 4?

 

ERod's on 3 day rest? But after such a short game, that may not matter. Then again, maybe nothing matters, and he IS doomed to have an awful game- maybe not.

 

Sale on 2 day rest? I can't see that.

 

Pivetta? He pitched more than Sale on Thursday and did not doo very well.

 

Houck on 2 days rest? I can't see pushing him that hard.

 

Perez? No freaking way!

 

Pen game? Maybe the best bet, and maybe the reason they carried 1-2 more pitchers than I felt were needed when playing 6 games in 11 days.

 

My guess is they start ERod but have the quickest hook imaginable.

 

 

If I’m Cora I start ERod with a quick hook if things begin to go south. There is no way to cover up Sale and ERod throwing like sh!t. If we don’t win the World Series we can point straight to the starting pitching.

[notin]

If I’m Cora I start ERod with a quick hook if things begin to go south. There is no way to cover up Sale and ERod throwing like sh!t. If we don’t win the World Series we can point straight to the starting pitching.

 

While the SP has been ineffective, the Sox did get shutout in game one. Can’t blame the SP there…

[moonslav59]

If we don’t win the World Series we can point straight to the starting pitching.

 

How do you know that?

 

Our starters could do great in the next few games, and our pen blows a game or two, or the bats go silent.

 

Yes, the first three games of the post season has seen 2 bad starts, but we were also shut out one game, and the pen has not been great every game.

[YastrzemskI]

How do you know that?

 

Our starters could do great in the next few games, and our pen blows a game or two, or the bats go silent.

 

Yes, the first three games of the post season has seen 2 bad starts, but we were also shut out one game, and the pen has not been great every game.

 

Moon.. two of our starters have given us absolutely nothing. That is our biggest issue going forward. Notice how everyone is trying to figure out what the heck we need to do to navigate game four. ERod and Sale have put Cora in a vise. I think that this team is strong enough to deal with ONE struggling SP but two? Sure anything can happen.. that bats could go silently into the night etc etc.. but as it stands, man.. I’d rest a lot easier if we see at least ERod OR Sale figure things out. I don’t expect both of them to get right just like that vS a team like the Rays. Cora has his hands full.

[dgalehouse]

I hope we put put an end to this nonsense that Houck doesn't have the arsenal to be a starter.

[dgalehouse]

I wonder if , at some point in the later part of the season, MLB worked the juiced ball back into business. The ball seems to be jumping off the bats.

[dgalehouse]

The Sox win last night was the only win by the visiting team so far in the play in and playoff games.

[moonslav59]

Moon.. two of our starters have given us absolutely nothing. That is our biggest issue going forward. Notice how everyone is trying to figure out what the heck we need to do to navigate game four. ERod and Sale have put Cora in a vise. I think that this team is strong enough to deal with ONE struggling SP but two? Sure anything can happen.. that bats could go silently into the night etc etc.. but as it stands, man.. I’d rest a lot easier if we see at least ERod OR Sale figure things out. I don’t expect both of them to get right just like that vS a team like the Rays. Cora has his hands full.

 

I'm not saying recency carries no weight. I'm terrified that we may need to go with Erod and maybe Sale again. Of course, it's our biggest worry, right now. Nothing is even close. My point has always been this can all change on a dime.

 

My point was that no matter how many times the champions of recency bias are proven wrong, they never seem to learn any lessons from those losses. If ERod pitches 6 shutout innings and the pen blows the lead, we'll be hearing our pen is "our biggest issue." If the bats go silent, tomorrow, and we lose 2-0, we'll be hearing how being shut out twice in the series means our offense is the "biggest issue" going forward.

 

If we went by recency bias, Robles would have been DFA'd long ago. Brasier, LMAO!

 

It was not all that long ago, ERod was coming off a very nice 16 game stretch. He's had 2 bad starts, and it's a 100% certainty he will suck his next start. Did we not learn anything from a season full of prompt reversals and sudden meltdowns or hot streaks?

 

Just read the first TB game thread and see how many people made definitive judgements about this team based on the shortest of short sample sizes, then yesterday's game suddenly has Sox fans thinking maybe we can win in 4.

 

I never said I "expect" one of the two to "get it right" let alone both, but it's not even a 60 or 70% certainty ERod will suck in game 4, but it sounds like many here think it is a 99% certainty.

 

I'm scared as hell he will suck his next start, and yes facing the Rays makes it even harder, but I will not be surprised if he does well enough to keep us in the game.

 

It sounds like many here will be in shock.

Edited October 9, 2021 by moonslav59

[moonslav59]

The Sox win last night was the only win by the visiting team so far in the play in and playoff games.

 

If no other road team wins, we advance to the next round!

[dgalehouse]

If no other road team wins, we advance to the next round!

 

The Red Sox are going to advance to the next round regardless of what anyone else does.