Maxbialystock

Sac fly by JDM (even though I was hoping for a dinger)! Bogey advances on the throw home. Appeal play by Boone was/is strictly bush league, but that's the Yankees for you. Now a mound conference with the one and only Bobby big D Dalbec coming to the plate. Well, the conference helped--Dalbec K's on three swings and misses.

Just back from a terrific dinner with five of our kids plus spouses and I sure hope I don't hex this magnificent start by ERod with Vazquez behind the plate. In the 4th inning, I'd expect more than page 2 of commentary. Definitely good luck to have moonslav start the game thread. Solid singles by Devers and Bogey to kick things off.

You bet.

So do I. With family for Sunday dinner which means fewer posts. Agree this is a big game. Also agree Vazquez is good with Erod and that he is capable of a good game. My concerns are the bullpen and the hitting because I don’t think our pitching overall can keep the Yankees under 4-5 runs. That said, we fans are indeed fortunate that the 2021 Sox are definitely in the hunt this late on the season. The AL East as the best team in the AL and probably both wild cards. Credit to Cora, Bloom, and of course the team.

Fringe, shminge. Last night Houck's walk ratio per nine was over 16, not the 2.90 you assert.

That HBP was actually the fourth ball to Rizzo, so it wasn't "one pitch." Roble's first pitch was wild and cost a run, so you might have a point there. However, Robles is a high heat reliever. He loves fastballs and throws a lot of them. So why oh why throw a slider on his first pitch with a man on 3b? And, I'm sorry, but three different relievers stunk in a close game against the Yankees in a late September game that makes a real difference. So did Eovaldi Friday. I don't think this was just random fate intruding. The Yankees pitchers, meanwhile, seemed to know what they were doing and pretty much dominated the Sox hitters despite the August addition of Schwarber, the September addition of Iglesias, the return of Kike, the vastly improved hitting of Dalbec, etc.

I provided evidence--Hernandez's last 9 appearances plus being a lefty--for why he was a good choice. But, to be honest, looking at what happened, I doubt that anyone in the bullpen was going to help much. Brasier was OK only because the Yankees had a 5-2 lead when Brasier pitched the 9th.

Leave Houck in???? Leave Houck in!!!!????? Are you nuts? When he came in, he threw 8 straight balls and put two Yankees on base, after which his slider save him with a GIDP and a K. Then 2 outs in the 8th, followed by two walks. No manager in the world we have kept such an erratic pitcher on the mound in a close game like this. Plus coming up was lefty batter Rizzo, so bringing in lefty Hernandez made sense, especially when he had given up 0 runs in his last 9 appearances. In those 9 appearances, he had 13 K's and 5 BB's.

Agree. I also agree with Bellhorn04 that it's a good rule.

I do think the Sox are choking in this series, but you are dead wrong about this team, some of whom were prominent on the 2018 Sox, the best team in Sox history. Are you always this obtuse?

If you're there with a Yankee fan, you had every reason to be gracious. I have run into Yankee fans repeatedly over the years and always enjoyed it because I usually know a lot about their team(s). On one of the game threads someone said the best player on both teams is Judge, and I agreed with that. All that aside, I was truly pissed at Hernandez. He came into the 8th with 2 on and 2 outs and facing lefty hitter Rizzo, whom he promptly walks/HBP's, after which the game-winning grand slam by Stanton. I think Hernandez, like Houck before him and Robles before Houck, simply chocked. Big game, big crowd, tough opposing team.

Target. I love language and bon mots and will try almost anything. I did get pretty excited last night because I genuinely thought Robles, Houck, and Hernandez folded under the pressure of a big and close game. Maybe they'd never been in one before. Eovaldi had--he was great in the 2018 postseason--so I decided, no doubt unfairly, to blamed that bad start on Vazquez.

About the bashing. We all have done it, even you with your lengthy perorations on the lousy defense (which has been lousy). But very few of us have bashed Cora even though now and then anyone of us might gripe about a specific call he made. Every time someone asks what is the biggest reason for the Sox unexpected success this season, the resounding answer is Cora.

I think you mean "recency effect," which is a pretty neat word and aptly describes my commentary. That said, I have to ask you why the "recency effect" is inappropriate in late September when the Sox and Yankees--one of the best rivalries in sports-- are playing a huge series for both teams? To me this is the right time to be a bit fanatical and even, since the Yankees have dominated the Sox at Fenway for the past 2 days, disappointed. So, yes, I'm disappointed and probably even over-reacting, but I'd rather be that way than to say, "who cares? One game is much like another and there are really no big games or big series in a season."

I now have to admit this post was/is pointless. It really doesn't matter who is in the lineup for the postseason because the Sox pitching is not good enough and because other postseason teams will have pitching good enough to silence whatever bats Cora puts in the lineup. Yes, I still think the Sox can get a wild card slot thanks to the schedule. It's even possible for them to get lucky and win the wild card game, but it is very unlikely the Sox can beat anyone--especially because it will likely be the Rays--in the ALDS.

Mostly agree. At the end of the day, the manager is evaluated on wins and losses, so some blame is inevitable. Indeed, my very strong impression from both games is that the Sox were not mentally ready for this series. The hitting--with our best lineups all year long--could not handle the superior Yankees pitching. And the pitching--with the single exception of Pivetta--was abysmal. Last night the bullpen was a quivering bowl of jello. Robles' very first pitch was a WP which brought home the first Yankees run. Houck walked four Yankees and was lucky he didn't give up more runs. Hernandez was similarly terrified and gave up a leadoff walk and the game-winning grand slam. Barnes would have done no better, ditto Ottavino, ditto Richards, etc.

We won 7 in a row against mostly lousy teams. We lost 2 in a row to a team that, along with the Rays, Jays, Astros, and White Sox, are the pool of teams with pitching good enough to get to the ALCS. The Sox hitting is pretty good, but the Yankees pitching nevertheless cut them down to size. The Yankees hitting, on the other hand, hammered our ace in game 1, were in turn cut down to size by Pivetta, and then hammered our bullpen, all of whom (except Brasier, who pitched a meaningless 9th) showed their asses: Robles with his first pitch wild pitch that brought in the Yankees first run, Houck with his obvious stage fright and abysmal four walks, and Hernandez, also scared to death in a big game, with his walk/HBP, followed by a fast ball down the middle to the Yankees hottest hitter for a grand slam. The Sox, as you imply, can still get to the wild card because they have a favorable schedule. But even most loyal of Sox fans must recognize that this year the pitching just isn't there and the actually pretty good Sox hitting is no match for good pitching.

Houck walked Gardner after getting a 1-2 count. Then he walked Judge. So, no way, no how does it make sense to leave Houck out there.

Meh. No one in this bullpen is a sure thing, not when Whitlock is on the IL. The WEEI guys pointed out that Hernandez has been effective since he came off the IL. I agree he choked, but so did Robles and so did Houck. If Ottavino or Richards had gone out there with the pressure that was palpable, they were likely to do just as poorly.

Vazquez is sure to steal 2b. He's just so good on the basepaths.

I'm sorry, but Cora has to get credit for the good and the bad. Wins and losses are how managers are evaluated.

I was in Schweinfurt, Germany in 1978.

Right now the Yankees have good pitching and the Sox don't--although Pivetta was terrific.

So did Houck. At least Hernandez has the excuse of coming into a tough situation. Houck had 2 outs and no one on and promptly walked Gardner and Judge. Plus don't forget that Robles' first pitch was a wild pitch that brought in the Yankees first run. The entire bullpen choked--and that is exactly the right word. This is unfair second-guessing, but Vazquez has actually been better with bullpen than Plawecki. Maybe Cora should have

You talking about the 2005 or 2006 four game series in August?