Red Sox (Tolle) vs Dodgers (Yamamoto): 8/1/26, 9:10pm

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

....

[Maxbialystock]

4 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

I really hate putting too much value on one game or even one series, but this game came about as close as ever in convincing me a team is damn good.

Very well said because last night we saw pitching, defense, and semi-miraculous hitting.  

As I keep reminding everyone, if you are right, Breslow and Tracy have made a difference.  

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

58 minutes ago, notin said:

Actually last year baseball-reference credited him with 2.6 oWAR and 2.8 dWAR…

Notin arrives with receipts in hand.

[Maxbialystock]

1 minute ago, Maxbialystock said:

Very well said because last night we saw pitching, defense, and semi-miraculous hitting.  

As I keep reminding everyone, if you are right, Breslow and Tracy have made a difference.  

And it's the players who provide all the excitement.  

[FredLynn]

25 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

Fred has no interest in numbers.

I’m not a slave to numbers. I use my numbers and if they conflict with what I see on the field then the player fails the sniff test. I don’t believe the WAR numbers are accurate (offense) for Rafaela last year. They don’t pass the sniff test and will be disregarded. 

[FredLynn]

5 minutes ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

Notin arrives with receipts in hand.

His OPS+ last year was 96-below average. Yet his oWAR was calculated at slightly above average to average. The OPS+ figure more closely aligns with what I saw on the field. And don’t forget-from Aug 1 on he tailed off significantly.

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Maxbialystock said:

Very well said because last night we saw pitching, defense, and semi-miraculous hitting.  

As I keep reminding everyone, if you are right, Breslow and Tracy have made a difference.  

And of all things, the game was won on a GIDP.

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, Maxbialystock said:

And it's the players who provide all the excitement.  

I've seen young teams come and go without ever jelling.  This really looks like a real team.  I can see a few holes, but I don't want to mess with the chemistry.

[notin]

2 hours ago, FredLynn said:

How did that happen? His OPS+ was below average. It makes me question how bWAR is calculated and its validity. 

First of all, is 2.6 oWAR. good, bad or average?
 

Second, OPS is based on percentages and division.  WAR trends towards  being cumulative.  587 PAs help.

[notin]

2 hours ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

Notin arrives with receipts in hand.

Well, Ive had my butt handed to me by SoxPhan and Hugh recently…

[Maxbialystock]

2 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

I've seen young teams come and go without ever jelling.  This really looks like a real team.  I can see a few holes, but I don't want to mess with the chemistry.

Agree.  Rotation is young.  Lineup and bullpen aren't.  Completely agree with chemistry.  

[Maxbialystock]

Swept the Dodgers in Chavez Ravine.  Not too shabby. 

[Maxbialystock]

3 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

And of all things, the game was won on a GIDP.

Huge bunt single by Duran made that possible.  

[Maxbialystock]

4 hours ago, FredLynn said:

I’m not a slave to numbers. I use my numbers and if they conflict with what I see on the field then the player fails the sniff test. I don’t believe the WAR numbers are accurate (offense) for Rafaela last year. They don’t pass the sniff test and will be disregarded. 

The sniff test???????????  

That ain't cutting it.  

[moonslav59]

35 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

Agree.  Rotation is young.  Lineup and bullpen aren't.  Completely agree with chemistry.  

Line-up is not really old, though, except for Willson.

[moonslav59]

20 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

The sniff test???????????  

That ain't cutting it.  

Part of offense is baserunning, and Ceddanne not only stole 15 bases, he ran the bases very well.

fangraphs gave him a +2.9 on BSR. That made up for the below 100 OPS+ according to them.

[Maxbialystock]

19 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Part of offense is baserunning, and Ceddanne not only stole 15 bases, he ran the bases very well.

fangraphs gave him a +2.9 on BSR. That made up for the below 100 OPS+ according to them.

What you provide from fangraphs is the polar opposite of the "sniff test."  

[Behindenemylines]

On 8/2/2026 at 1:18 PM, Maxbialystock said:

I would not limit this game comparison to this season.  The Dodgers are hands down the best team in MLB and Yamamoto is their temporary ace until Skubal joins them and Ohtani returns.  The game was played in Dodger Stadium (Chavez Ravine).  

So forget this season and go back 8 seasons to 2018 for a comparison when the Sox beat the Dodgers 4 games to 1 in the WS.  

The two dingers by Rafaeli--the Sox only two hits until the 8th inning--were out of this world.  

Meanwhile the Dodgers were getting 9 hits, including a dinger, but scoring just 2 runs in 6 IP against Tolle. The Dodgers had him on the ropes in the 2d inning when with 2 runs in and runners on 2d and 3d Tracy gave Ohtani an intentional pass to 1b followed by Pages grounder for the 3d out.   Tolle pitched 4 more innings without giving up another run.  Along the way he was helped when red hot Freeman GIDP'd.   

Then Slaten, Guerrero, and Chapman gave up 1 hit and 0 runs to nail down the win (thanks to the 8th ibnning run).  Slaten==yes, Slaten--gets the win.  

While the players have to get the lion's share of the credit, I think Breslow gets credit for building an unprecented Sox team (great pitching, good fielding, and so-so hitting) and Tracy for being an effective manager.  The Intentional pass to Ohtani in the 2d was huge.  Saving Whitlck for tonight was also neat.  Sticking with Duran and his crucial bunt single in the 8th made it possible for Wong's GIDP to bring home the winning run.  

Pitching, defense, timely hitting, and small ball when needed. The Sox have finally bought in.

[Maxbialystock]

14 hours ago, Behindenemylines said:

Pitching, defense, timely hitting, and small ball when needed. The Sox have finally bought in.

I think pitching, defense, and small ball (specifically, the bunt) can be counted on.  But timely hitting comes and goes.