Beaneater

I agree 100%. Morales is the last and final person out of our 'pen in that spot. Farrell could have gone with either of the big guns, Taz or Breslow, or failing that, maybe Workman. If he was dead set on it being a lefty, I'd much rather have seen Doubs out there than Morales. Honestly, I'd be happy enough to hear that Morales is off the WS roster. He's lost right now. I have a lot of hope for the guy. I see him being another Andrew Miller -- big lefty arm with astounding stuff but needing to get his mind in the right place. That has worked out great for Miller, and I hope it can work out for Morales. The WS is not the time for that tinkering, though. Not that replacing him on the roster with Thornton is a huge confidence-inspiring move either...

OK, how did we do in the LCS series? One out of two isn't bad, unless you're a parachute packer I guess. I am feeling pretty good about this line explaining why I thought the Tigers would lose to the A's in the ALDS: We saw pretty much all the Tigers' failure modes. Starting pitching wasn't going to be a problem, but they lost due to defense, base-running, bullpen, and (to some smaller and unquantifiable degree) coaching. And lack of beards. OK, just one prediction left to go. Go prove me right, Sox!

I read somewhere that the Tigers players were giving each other "goodbye and thanks for a nice season" hugs in the dugout during the 8th inning. If that's true, well, it's just one more intangible that the Sox have. This team could be down 7-0 with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, with an 0-2 count on John MacDonald and they'd still be thinking, "Alright, just get on base!" Down by a mere three with at least three outs to go? Shoot, that's no time for consolation hugs! That's time for planning your walk-off HR celebration!

Just got a chance to watch a few of the highlights. What a hit by Vic. That curveball was pretty nasty. True, Veras left it a bit higher than he would have liked, but it wasn't a real hanger. It had some bite and it looked like broke close to a foot. Vic just waited on it and put the barrel right on it. I understand Hunter's frustration because maybe that's not a homer everywhere, but I don't think there's a ballpark in America where Peralta (come on, it's Peralta!) actually goes back and makes that play. So it's a 3-2 or 4-2 lead instead of 5-2. It would have held up anyway. Helluva play by Drew in the 7th. Good thing it was Cabrera running! Or should I say "running". I agree with YOTN. Each round has been less stressful for me, and honestly at this point winning the WS will be gravy for me. Losing to the Rays would have been agonizing. Losing to the Tigers -- eh, I have MI ties and I'd have been happy enough to root with them for the Tigers in the WS. Losing the WS -- are you kidding me? We made it to the World Series!!! Not that I'm planning or expecting to lose the WS, but the ride has been so good thus far that I can handle it ending now.

Why indeed? With all due respect to Gomes, Nava is better. Nava is a righty killer. Gomes is deadly off the bench late in the game. There is just no reason at all for Nava not to be starting, other than a hunch which might just be indigestion. Put the best team on the field, Farrell!

Why indeed? With all due respect to Gomes, Nava is better. Nava is a righty killer. Gomes is deadly off the bench late in the game. There is just no reason at all for Nava not to be starting, other than a hunch which might just be indigestion. Put the best team on the field, Farrell!

Bold prediction: we won't have to wait until the 9th inning for our first hit tonight. Please win tonight!

I'm all for this. Like Bellhorn said, we've been dominated by the starters. There's no reason that has to continue. Time to score some early runs and make the Tigers uncomfortable for once.

What's up with Rossy catching? The game starts at midnight where I am, so I won't be watching. I'll be expecting UN mojo to be delivering me a win tomorrow morning.

As the LCS round gears up, it's time to see how the predictions held up: 4 out of 6 isn't bad, and the Pirates and the A's made life pretty difficult for the Cards and Tigers. My LCS and WS winners are still alive. Just a quick look at the first pages of this thread indicates that no one has nailed all the winners so far. A lot of us picked the A's. With Verlander seemingly back in form, it's easy to wish that the A's had won. The Tigers are looking pretty impressive right now... then again, the Tigers are probably looking at us and saying that the Sox look pretty impressive too. Almost time to break out a new bucket of Rolaids!

True enough. They were the last team I would have expected gifts from. However, the science of statistics tells me that since we got so many gifts from the Rays, we won't get any from the A's/Tigers. That is what statistics says, right?

Fixed it, as they say, for you. I'm stunned at how poorly the Rays played during the whole series. Wild pitches, bobbles, airmailed throws, mental mistakes, you name it. I guess it's a testimony to the level of talent on the Rays' squad that it was even that close. I'm guessing that we're not going to get as many gifts in the next series, no matter who we play.

At least Kimbrel is well-rested for the beginning of his off-season activities.

Oh ho, that won't stop me! SWEEP TODAY!!! YAAAAAAHHHH!!!!

I don't get to watch the games, alas. I do happen to be somewhere where the internet is semi-fast enough that I can watch (a few) highlights afterwards. So certainly I don't have anything like a full idea of how the game went. I rely on Talksox to let me know some of the fine details, and I appreciate your analysis of Lackey's battle with the ump. I just want to say that I'm not suggesting that the Sox won because of luck. They did get some breaks, but the Rays played like crap and created a lot of their own bad luck. Maybe they win by 1 or 2 instead of three if the breaks turned out differently. Who knows? I'll take this opportunity to mention an article I saw a week or so ago on espn.com or si.com (too lazy to look it up again). The author gave a potential Achilles heel for each playoff team. For the Red Sox, it was team defense. I was stunned. The Sox have better-than-average defenders at most positions, and way-better-than-average at some positions. It's the Rays who have been looking like the Astros out in the field. Anyway, all that to say that we're currently smacking the Rays in all aspects of the game, so I'm not trying to say that we're winning through luck. I'm looking forward to the Sox trashing the visiting locker room at the Trop so badly that it will still smell like beer and awesome at the beginning of next season.

UN, it's a really tough one for me. I know that 2011 is not happening again; that's a given. I can also see that giving him a huge contract à la Crawford is not a winner. My head knows that he's not worth what he/Boras are probably going to be looking for. But I definitely get attached to guys. I know, I know, you root for the name on the front of the uniform and not the back, blah blah blah. But there are some players for whom it would just be wrong to see them wearing a different jersey. Pedroia, obviously. Papi, obviously. Lester. Ellsbury is getting close to that territory for me. On the other hand, I got used to seeing Damon, Nomar, Manny, Mo, etc. in different jerseys. On the other other hand, a guy who consistently gets it done in the postseason is worth something, too. Uh oh, now I've opened myself up for the dreaded SSS beatdown...

As a Little League pitcher, I once dominated the best team in the league (the Yankees, naturally, with a roster stuffed full of "12-year-olds" who shaved and had driver's licenses) for 5 innings until my coach yanked me for the final inning and the reliever blew our lead. I doubt Price can match that. I got a trophy for Most Improved Hitter one time, too. Boo yah! Look, I can understand not having anything gracious to say. Price knows that in all likelihood his "effort" on the mound just ended the Rays' season. It's not easy to swallow, especially the part where Ortiz says "I'm going to hit 2 HRs tonight" and then goes and hits 2 HRs. Or the part where his defense lets him down more than a couple times. Or the part where, honestly, the Sox benefitted from quite a bit of luck throughout the night. So, fine, you've got nothing good to say. So shut your yap, say something like, "I tip my cap to the other team; no further questions," and for heaven's sake don't get on Twitter. TedWilliams101, you need to change your sig. Just add "rid of" after the word "Get" twice, and it'll be cool. Brennan, I'm feeling the same way you are. I love Ellsbury, and I can't stand the thought of him dropping Texas-league doubles on us.

Smugly self-quoting to demonstrate my Nostradamus-like insight...

It really is incredible. The hitters absolutely know the pitch is coming in at ~90 mph in the strike zone, and yet there's nothing they can do. Man, I'm glad he's on the Sox.

Koji is so filthy.

OK, thanks.

BTR, what's the Escobar = bigot story?

So how is Ellsbury going to score this time? I'm guessing catcher's interference, SB, balk, and suicide squeeze.

It's just Pedey, driving in Ellsbury all night long.

Oh, thanks for clearing that up!