When the Red Sox had their Impossible Dream season in 1967, did fans say "that was great, but it doesn't make up for a decade of sucking"?
I don't think so.
Kimbrel was in rough shape in the 2018 postseason.
But Barnes, Brasier and Kelly were at their best, and Cora's ploy of using starters for 1-inning stints couldn't have worked any better.
I get what you're saying. The thing about blowing late leads the way the 2022 team did is that it really seems to pinpoint closer as a specific weakness.
Red, this is a very lightly moderated message board, and I think most of us like it that way. That's why there have been no suspensions. We have to try to police ourselves a bit here. Nobody wants you or moon to get suspended or to make big changes in what you say here. We just want to stop the incessant back and forths and the personal stuff. The simple rule is: talk about what the other person said, but don't talk about the other person.
Restgate, eek.
Looking back on that, it appears that the guys Cora was trying to ease into things at the start of 2019, Sale, Price and Porcello, did indeed have serious health/decline issues, so I'm not sure any approach would have worked.
The Mariners play in a pitcher's park, the Sox play in a hitter's park, so that has an impact on WAR. You'd have to go through pitcher by pitcher to see what's really going on with their numbers.
Projections are just for funsies anyway.