The Official 2021 ALCS Thread

[YastrzemskI]

If our bats stay this hot, maybe nothing else matters. This has been spectacular!

 

Our D has even looked passable. Even Schwarber is making plays at 1B.

 

Of course, if our pitching can pull it together and guys like ERod and Pivetta can keep it up, there can be no stopping us!

 

Arroyo needs to get it together. He made a nice grab and throw at the end of game two but he’s been bouncing the baseball on routine plays to first that have no business being nice plays by Schwarber. It’s an error waiting to happen and I’m tired of Schwarber having to bail him out. You can only get away with crap plays like that for so long.

[Maxbialystock]

Arroyo needs to get it together. He made a nice grab and throw at the end of game two but he’s been bouncing the baseball on routine plays to first that have no business being nice plays by Schwarber. It’s an error waiting to happen and I’m tired of Schwarber having to bail him out. You can only get away with crap plays like that for so long.

 

Good reminder. I was pissed every time Arroyo bounced one, but delighted when Schwarber caught it because doing so screws up all those negative nellies who claim Schwarber is borderline useless in the field.

 

No excuse for Arroyo's bad throws.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Boston's October pitching indeed leads the AL in postseason ERA, WHIP, BA, and Ks... but is maybe only better than Houston, Tampa and New York because they've all had to face Red Sox' batters.

 

This Red Sox' postseason offense could turn out to be all-time great, but still has a ways to go to match the historically underrated 2007 World Champs.

 

2021 Sox 5-2: .925 OPS, .318 average, 30 XBH

2007 Sox 11-3: .911 OPS, .313 average, 60 XBH

 

Half-way there...

[moonslav59]

Good reminder. I was pissed every time Arroyo bounced one, but delighted when Schwarber caught it because doing so screws up all those negative nellies who claim Schwarber is borderline useless in the field.

 

No excuse for Arroyo's bad throws.

 

Move Schwarber to 2B and let Dalbec join the rake parade!

[moonslav59]

Boston's October pitching indeed leads the AL in postseason ERA, WHIP, BA, and Ks... but is maybe only better than Houston, Tampa and New York because they've all had to face Red Sox' batters.

 

This Red Sox' postseason offense could turn out to be all-time great, but still has a ways to go to match the historically underrated 2007 World Champs.

 

2021 Sox 5-2: .925 OPS, .318 average, 30 XBH

2007 Sox 11-3: .911 OPS, .313 average, 60 XBH

 

Half-way there...

 

Amazing how Kike has driven so much of those numbers, but wow, 2007 was a slugfest, too!

[Maxbialystock]

If our bats stay this hot, maybe nothing else matters. This has been spectacular!

 

Our D has even looked passable. Even Schwarber is making plays at 1B.

 

Of course, if our pitching can pull it together and guys like ERod and Pivetta can keep it up, there can be no stopping us!

 

Pretty fair overall assessment.

[moonslav59]

Unreal PLayoff OPS Numbers...

 

1.606 Kike

 

1.112 JD

1.032 Devers

 

.996 Bogey

.973 Verdugo

.911 Schwarber

 

.714 Vaz

.667 Renfroe

 

.577 Arroyo

 

Pitching

IP Pitcher ERA

15.2 Eovaldi 3.45

8.2 Pivetta 3.12

9.0 Houck 4.50

6.2 ERod 5.40

6.1 Whitlock 1.42

3.2 Robles 7.36

3.2 C Sale 14.73

3.1 Brasier 5.40

3.0 Ottavino 0.00

2.2 Taylor 0.00

1.0 Barnes 0.00

0.2 DHern 27.00

0.2 Perez0.00

0.1 Davis 0.00

0.1 Richards 0.00

0.1 Sawamura 27.00

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Unreal PLayoff OPS Numbers...

 

1.606 Kike

 

1.112 JD

1.032 Devers

 

.996 Bogey

.973 Verdugo

.911 Schwarber

 

.714 Vaz

.667 Renfroe

 

.577 Arroyo

 

Pitching

IP Pitcher ERA

15.2 Eovaldi 3.45

8.2 Pivetta 3.12

9.0 Houck 4.50

6.2 ERod 5.40

6.1 Whitlock 1.42

3.2 Robles 7.36

3.2 C Sale 14.73

3.1 Brasier 5.40

3.0 Ottavino 0.00

2.2 Taylor 0.00

1.0 Barnes 0.00

0.2 DHern 27.00

0.2 Perez0.00

0.1 Davis 0.00

0.1 Richards 0.00

0.1 Sawamura 27.00

 

So, basically, Sale has been twice as bad as Robles, while DHern and Hiro have been twice as bad as Sale. And it appears Sale will start Game 5...

[moonslav59]

So, basically, Sale has been twice as bad as Robles, while DHern and Hiro have been twice as bad as Sale. And it appears Sale will start Game 5...

 

ERA in small sample sizes are not good gauges.

 

I'm not sure even Cora knows who starts game 5. (It might be Pivetta or Houck.)

[moonslav59]

Nice to see Joc Pederson bite his old team in the ass.

 

Go Braves!!!!

[YastrzemskI]

Nice to see Joc Pederson bite his old team in the ass.

 

Go Braves!!!!

 

The Dodgers have not been impressive vS the Braves so far.

[Maxbialystock]

Astros team OPS vs. lefties in the postseason is .957. but I'm sure ERod will be fine. Sale was--for 2.2 innings and 1 run.

[Maxbialystock]

The Braves centerfield looked slow and sloppy on the soft liner that went by him for a double and 2 Dodger runs in the 7th.

[Maxbialystock]

The Dodgers have not been impressive vS the Braves so far.

 

Wrong!!!! Scherzer the Magnificent held the Braves incredible lineup to 2 measly runs in 4.1 innings, and his manager will be putting him in for some pretty important citations when this is over with.

Edited October 18, 2021 by Maxbialystock

[notin]

Statistically, no, this Dodger team isn't any better than last season's.

 

However, I have a feeling they are going to steamroll the Braves this time around.

 

Care to revisit?

[YastrzemskI]

Wrong!!!! Scherzer the Magnificent held the Braves incredible lineup to 2 measly runs in 4.1 innings, and his manager will be putting him in for some pretty important citations when this is over with.

 

Braves up 2-0 in the series. The Dodgers have their hands full.. they can’t hit.

[d-money]

Braves up 2-0 in the series. The Dodgers have their hands full.. they can’t hit.

 

 

Braves are capable of blowing a 2-0 lead. They better keep the pedal to the medal.

[d-money]

Oh s*** i forgot. The Braves blew a 3-1 lead last year. I forgot about that.

[YastrzemskI]

Oh s*** i forgot. The Braves blew a 3-1 lead last year. I forgot about that.

 

They’re out for revenge. They deserve more respect than they get. The Dodgers are the ones with the 200 mill pay roll.

[Nick]

They’re out for revenge. They deserve more respect than they get. The Dodgers are the ones with the 200 mill pay roll.

 

$262M to be exact.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

ERA in small sample sizes are not good gauges.

 

I'm not sure even Cora knows who starts game 5. (It might be Pivetta or Houck.)

 

Revolving bullpen doors in the postseason make it impossible to save anyone two games in advance -- at least, in the starting pitcher-deprived American League. Pivetta (tentatively scheduled for Game 4) and Houck could both be used extensively before Game 5. We shouldn't be surprised if Martin Perez gets involved on the mound sometime this week in Boston.

 

The only guy who won't is double-secret agent Brad Peacock, not because he isn't even activated, but due to a Fox ban seeking to avoid 41 hours of stretching and long-tossing for injury replacements on primetime while truant co-eds get louder and drunker at Fenway.

[Bellhorn04]

Care to revisit?

 

Yes. I'm surprised but not shocked. Nothing much should be shocking in baseball.

[Bellhorn04]

The Braves scored their 5 runs last night off Scherzer, Urias, Graterol and Jansen. That's earning it.

[redsoxrules]

That's you get for switching things up when playoff time gets here. Managers try to get cute and bring in their starters in the game. It's mind blown so far on how many SP has made it through 5IP in these playoffs. You can count them in one hand

[oldtimer]

The Braves scored their 5 runs last night off Scherzer, Urias, Graterol and Jansen. That's earning it.

 

The only significant difference between the American and National leagues is the use of the DH. That should mean teams more run scoring in the American league and greater valuing of each run in the National. It appears both the Braves and Dodgers have superior pitching staffs when compared to the Astros and Sox. In addition, both teams have more speed than the Sox and steal given any opportunity. If we get that far, then be prepared for their base running. We are a relatively slow team that needs to string together hits or crush the ball. One difference between the teams in park configuration. Fenway is the weirdest of the 4 and is the only one likely to see colder weather during the series.

[Maxbialystock]

Braves up 2-0 in the series. The Dodgers have their hands full.. they can’t hit.

 

I was being facetious in the remark about Scherzer.

 

The Braves won just 88 games in the regular season to the Dodgers 106 and Giants 107, but they are playing good ball and have an insane postseason ERA of 2.04.

[moonslav59]

This just shows how in baseball, anyone can win (or lose).

[Maxbialystock]

The only significant difference between the American and National leagues is the use of the DH. That should mean teams more run scoring in the American league and greater valuing of each run in the National. It appears both the Braves and Dodgers have superior pitching staffs when compared to the Astros and Sox. In addition, both teams have more speed than the Sox and steal given any opportunity. If we get that far, then be prepared for their base running. We are a relatively slow team that needs to string together hits or crush the ball. One difference between the teams in park configuration. Fenway is the weirdest of the 4 and is the only one likely to see colder weather during the series.

 

The slowpoke Sox stole 40 bases this year, and the speed demon Braves 59--so they stole 19 more bases in 162 games or 1 more every 8 games.

 

That said, I agree both teams will be hard to beat in the WS because both have good pitching and hitting. With the DH, the Sox scored 829 runs in the regular season. Without the DH, the Dodgers scored 830 and the Braves 790.

[jacksonianmarch]

The Dodgers head home with a chance to turn the tide on the series. The Braves did their job in securing their home field advantage. Remember last year, the Braves were up 3-1 on the Dodgers and lost the series

[Maxbialystock]

This just shows how in baseball, anyone can win (or lose).

 

So true. When you round off, all ten of the postseason teams won slightly less than 6 out of 10 games or slightly more than 6 out of 10 games.