cp176

I did not read your entire post yet Max due to tiredness but I will soon. This is a different Red Sox team. All of the things that some feel transcend the realm of statistical proof are evident with this version of the Red Sox. Focus, mental toughness, clutch performances, etc. etc. etc. ! They are good but they also believe in each other and expect to win something they have learned to do over the last few years. Down 4-0 but looking in that dugout - no negative reaction. Take another look at that Dodgers dugout when the Sox tied it up - Game over!!! I did read some of what you wrote - Of course the Dodgers have had a will to win they have run into a team whose will to win overwhelms them. The Red Sox are that good and the Dodgers aren't. Much of this series has been over coached by both teams. Last night was a clear example once again - Dodgers had a warrior on the mound in Hill. He knew what he was doing and how to do it. Roberts should simply have said screw the odds and stick with the winner. To Cora's credit, he didn't get over the top involved. Just enough. This is my favorite Sox team - no ********, just play,celebrate when you should be celebrating.

What I really liked about all of this was Cora saying that at some point in time it all boils down to having the will to win. What is that you think? Can a will to win be quantitatively measured? This game is numbers oriented but it really is all about the people playing. They believeand expect to win and they do partly because they think they can. I loved watching Sale go off in the bullpen.

Machado is why there are those unwritten rules in baseball. MLB won't stop him so at some point in time someone is going to. He is going to get drilled big time and once again mlb will act too late and the new age fan will bitch and moan that there should not be such archaic rules and approaches to this game. Let's see, what would someone we all know say - do your job!

My eyesight is so screwed up - I did not see that play quite like you did. He should have made it though.

Can I help answer that one please Slasher - my answer would be of course not. It was a glaring error but there was a whole shitload of other stuff that happened in that game. Buck's stats that year tell me that without his contributions we might not have been playing that game anyway. I always was and always will be a Bill Buckner fan. There are HOF who put up poorer stats than Buck over his 20+ years. Sorry I bucked in on that one! lol

One of the few times we really agree. I'm not sure that that is a good thing for you. I don't see things quite the same as some others here. Kinsler should have made that play although it wasn't just a chippie. Someone mentioned that LA will be real pumped for this next one. I think that the Sox will match any intensity that they have. Pretty sure they know what is at stake here. i'm pretty sure that they know what kinsler has meant to this team too.

Old adage that good pitching beats good hitting is correct sort of. this wasn't just good pitching it was great and that is what it takes to beat this Sox team - great pitching.

Whoops I made an error there. Yup it either ends in LA or we go back 3-2. I'm still going with the better team. Sox in 5. In addition to the bases, what else is it about this pageant show that you don't like? There are lots of the things that I don't personally care for but the actual product on the field is pretty damn good. That game last night was historic.

Man you really don't like those plastic bases do you. lol

I agree with you. Sox are a great team not a perfect team.

Sox are are up 2-1 right? This is a great baseball team. When your top 4 go 0-28, it puts a lot of pressure on everybody. They'll be back out there in a couple of hours. 3-1 going back to Boston.

still just a guess

unanswerable - classic comeback I guess is would they be doing any worse?

Does anybody out there really think that Cora isn't super focused on winning this game tonight? He has his reasons for playing who where but it kind of seems to me as though in each of these playoff games he is willing to do anything to win now - worry about tomorrow when it arrives. Think we would all be well served just to have faith in whoever he puts out there right now. His track record has been pretty good.

Another great post as far as I am concerned. This team separates itself for me with respect to the others in that they carry no observable baggage. I love stories like this. It is great to have super talent but talent alone doesn't always get it done. Quality people of good character can often hold their own if not better against superior talent. It is a great team in all respects.

don't be so hard on yourself lol

Pretty close I'd say!

i regret responding to your comment a little because I do think that you know enough about baseball to know that if we had not had Buckner playing for us on his broken down wheels it is likely we would not have been playing for a title in '86. I realize what a heartbreak it was for fans but I can't even imagine how deeply that one play must have affected him. Billy Buck was one hell of a baseball player who had a career that we can only hope that young Mr. Devers can come close to matching.

I brought this up for a different reason though. I hope by now everyone has seen this article. There are lots of things far more important in life than the games we play and certainly the things we tend to argue over here. We don't hear enough about the good that some of these people do. What I admire most about Mookie is that he did not want or expect any recognition for his genuine act of kindness. Regardless of his skill on the field, this truly sets him apart from others. You want a role model, there he is. He looks like a gentleman, he acts like a gentleman, he cares about real things. Being possibly the best player in the game today is somewhat fitting because he certainly is among the better people. You win with people who act and do things like Mookie Betts. 2 to go for the face of this franchise.

Hey not to change the subject but to change the subject, I must have missed all of the posts on here talking about what Mookie and his cousin did following the game the other night. Feeding the homeless and just hoping no one would find out about it. This is just one of the reasons this kid deserves the keys to the city. I love him as we all do but this makes him extra special. I would sign him for whatever it takes and for the number of years that it takes. These are the types of people not just players that you can't afford to lose. Understand though I'm one of those guys who thinks JH can afford to sign him as well as most of his friends.

I don't know how bad the guy is beat up but it would be out of character if Cora sat him to rest him. He has been pulling out all of the stops to win every game in these playoffs. Sitting one of the best hitters in the game thinking that you can afford to because of the 2-0 just doesn't seem like something they would do.

I think that I must have missed something. I think that I watched every inning of both games. I saw JD hobbling around for a little while but it didn't seem to slow him down. I didn't think that it looked bad. Maybe we'll find something out tomorrow. 2 games left in the season - I think he goes if he can. His bat means too much for him to sit. Maybe I'll be surprised.

Hope that Rafael Devers can someday become the player Billy Buck was. It is sad that people still don't think of what he did for us and every team he played for as opposed to this one moment in time. With respect to Devers it is also a little sad that the concern over his fielding is even being discussed when he has looked so good out there. He'll make his mistakes but this discussion is happening because a few of us were talking about how good he has looked. Go figure!

just 2 more to go !!!

Another damn good idea! A spending minimum.