To follow up on the respective bullpens this series:
BOS: 12 IP, 1 R, 1 ER
SAC: 15 IP, 9 R, 8 ER
In a series where our run differential was +4 overall, that was the difference. Great job by all and sundry in the Sox' bullpen.
It's true that both Crochet and especially Chapman are built like dump trucks. Without having done any research, I'm starting to like that build in a pitcher, both for endurance in a single game and durability over the course of a season. Not that there aren't freaks like Pedro who weighed 58 pounds but could pitch all day and twice on Sunday.
Being hot is worth something. But as I recall we played a really hot but fundamentally not that great Rockies team in the 2007 World Series....
That said, we can beat the Yankees. We could have beaten the Jays or the Tigers or the Guardians too if it had shaken out that way.
For sure Gio's got to rest today. I'm not really talking about any strategery to finagle a certain seed, just saying that if I could wave my magic wand, I'd probably take Cleveland in round 1 as the easiest option.
Agree. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of a series in Cleveland. Sure, we might get our butts handed to us-- that's always a possibility. But every other possibility seems significantly more formidable.