Maxbialystock

Agree with cp176 that Farrell wasn't as awful as many claim, but I sure have to take my hat off to DD for letting him go and going after Cora, who all season long has been a big factor in this season's success. In the postseason, if anything, he got better, which was hard to do. Last night to me was the throwaway game, the one the Astros were sure to win because they had to win and because Verlander was on the mound. With Sale out and Price on short rest, I would have gone with ERod, but out Price came and it really was a different Price. He did not begin with blazing fastballs near the center of the zone. He did keep the ball low. He did throw a lot of changeups (but nary a slider). And he mostly kept that stupid cut fastball out of the zone. I don't think Cora told him to do all that, but credit him with giving Price another shot. The simple fact that he gave Price the ball had to make Price feel pretty good. Very few of us thought dumping HanRam was a bad idea. Also, a shout out to iortiz, who had tons of confidence when many of us did not. I personally believed the hype about the Yankees, who earlier in the season I likened to an oncoming freight train, and then about the Astros, the flawless reigning champions. Well the freight train ran off the tracks and the flawless aren't quite so perfect. An added note about the Astros and Astro fans. Boy, talk about a sense of entitlement. The entire Astros world seems to believe that the interference call was a gross injustice, almost as if Betts had claimed into the stands, taken the ball out of a fan's hands, and then claimed he caught it. To me there was no question the fan hit Betts glove when he was about to catch the ball. I don't mind admitting that where his glove was at that moment was very much a judgment call which the cameras could not help with. However, I also think it's a stupid rule to draw the line at the wall/fence because I think fielders should have more leeway than that. In this case, Betts himself never came close to leaving the field of play, so everything he did should have been protected/allowed. I also found it laughable that the Astros manager claimed Betts was one or two rows into the stands. And they said all those things after the game had ended, which means they truly believe the Sox scoring 8 runs had nothing whatsoever to do with the outcome. Talk about blinders. After last night's game, Verlander did his share of whining too--Devers home run in his judgment was a cheap shot, a lucky dinger, a 330 pop fly that ended up in the stands. Hey, Justin--no crying in baseball. And did he have a good word about the opposing starter, who threw 6 shutout innings? Of course not. Sore loser.

The Sox have won three WS in this century--the John Henry era so far--and lost none. The pitching is nowhere near as good as it was in 2013, but the lineup is, in the words of the Astros manager, relentless, and the pitching and defense can surprise you. A lot of unknowns with the Dodgers and Brewers because we don't play them often and not at all this season. So one presumes the scouts have been doing their jobs. We do know that both teams have pretty good pitching and so-so hitting and that the Sox just took 4 of 5 from a team with very good pitching and pretty good hitting. Playing in their ballparks will be tricky because JDM is our best postseason hitter and Cora will be very reluctant to lose one of his regular outfielders. Too bad Mookie doesn't play 2b any more. Wouldn't that be a fix? I've been rooting for the Brewers out of sheer enmity for the Dodgers, but weather-wise Milwaukee can get chilly even with climate change.

Amazingly, this wasn’t too far off the mark. He has kept the ball lowe and mostly thrown cutters out of the zone and fast balls on the edges. Lots of changeups, but not a single slider so far. And it worked for 2 innings.

Baloney. 1st AB tonight he got fat fast ball he popped up. 2d AB same exact pitch, but no swing, but he did swing at two marginal pitches. No patience. None.

Horrible at bat.

Here's a thought. Anyone else remember the ALCS in 2004 and the one in 2007? Both years the Sox were exactly where the Astros are right now, down 1-3 in games. Then both times the Sox took three straight. I think Houston has that potential, so every Sox fan who is inclined to worry now officially has a sound basis for doing so. I have spoken.

Pretty good target, agreed. Don't see 5 and could be 3 or less. Since I'm one of the more renowned pitching coaches in MLB history, I have free advice for Price. He should do these three things: use his breaking stuff--slider, changeup, curve if he has one, to get the outs; use his fast ball and cutter as waste pitches; try to keep the ball low in the zone.

You are of course both right. We should be paranoid, but the Sox have also been fantastic in this postseason. Here's one reason for continued anxiety. Sox ERA so far is 4.13. In 2013 it was 2.59. In 2007 it was 3.29. Clearly, our pitching won't hack it. But guess what the team ERA was in the 2004 postseason? 4.47. And guess what the Astros--you know, best pitching staff in MLB by a country mile--is this postseason? 4.21. So there is hope.

I would have started ERod tonight and am fascinated Cora did not. I'm sure he's right, of course. This ALCS has been really tricky for Cora to manage: starters who can't get started; closer/stopper who leaks a lot; offense that works but in unexpected ways (especially JBJ); injuries to key guys (Wright, Sale, Moreland); defensive issue at 3B; going against two 100 win juggernauts, both of whom were favored to beat the Sox. Tonight is all of the above and more. Sale is out. Price pitched Sunday and gave up 4 walks, a dinger, and 4 runs in 4.2 innings and threw 80 pitches. The bullpen has been worked hard, especially Kelly, Barnes, Brasier, and Kimbrel. ERod, Hembree, and Workman should all be ready, and tomorrow is an off day. My real point is that Cora seems very good at improvising. And boy is he decisive. ERod pitched to one guy, walked him, and was gone. Brasier took over, finished that inning unscathed, and got 2 outs in the 7th before Barnes came in for the final out. Then, lo and behold, Kimbrel, THE RESTED ONE, came in for a 2 inning save with a 3 run lead. Maybe the first time ever, especially in a Sox uniform. But he walked 3 guys, gave up 2 hits, and even got another HBP--and the last out, the game-winner, was a Bregman hard liner that Beni made a great play on--thank goodness for the glove on the right hand. To me Cora has the rare ability to be decisive even when he leaves someone in. He fully assimilates the current situation--and the overall context of the game and the series--and simply knows what he wants to do at any given moment. So I see tonight as simply more of the same. The lineup is intact and gives Cora some options. It all begins with Price of course. And it helps that there are still two games at Fenway if needed.

You're citing the NY Post, the very outfit that reeks with hatred of the Sox? You also have a problem reading things carefully. Some examples-- 1. The attack on Joe West which is based on his lack of agility. There can be times when the 2B umpire needs to be both agile and perspicacious, granted, but what you need for that RF ump is a good set of eyes, experience, and a willingness to make a call--all of which Joe has in abundance. The core of the argument about that call isn't about what Joe saw because he saw what actually happened--the Astros fan touched Betts glove and caused him to miss a grab. What remains in doubt, agreed, is where was the the glove, in the stands--more on that in a moment--or in the playing field. And I would argue no ump in the history of MLB would have sprinted all the way out there to eyeball that play definitively in terms of where Mookie's glove was. In other words, at least half of that stupid article is about a non-issue, the agility of Joe West. 2. Then there's this little gem: "Betts' glove closed a fraction too soon--perhaps because of contact from a fan." Perhaps????!!!!! Obviously the Post columnist did not watch the replay because that part of it was never in doubt--Betts timed his jump perfectly and his glove was in exactly the right place and open to receive the ball--until he was closed by the fan's hand as he tried to catch the ball. 3. Or consider this curious construction from Houston manager Hinch: “There’s no mechanism for me to change their mind, change their interpretation, change the fact that I thought the ball was a row or two into the stands,” I point especially to the phrase "the fact that I thought." Clearly, he badly wants to get the word fact in there even though what he has is a supposition. He only thinks--because he has no way of knowing--the ball was a row or two into the stands. Also, "a row or two into the stands is an obvious exaggeration. Were that the case, how in the world did Betts recover so quickly to retrieve the ball now on the field and throw it to the infield? Also, why didn't he crash into the wall is his glove was a row or two back in the seats?

It was a judgment call because of a stupid rule that gives fans first rights to a playable ball. Clearly the fan trying to catch it hit Betts glove, and just as clearly he was about to make a terrific catch but the fan contact closed his glove. I might understand the controversy if Betts ended up in the stands or almost in the stands, but he was so far out of the stands he was able to quickly grab the ball and throw it to the infield. What really torques me is that it's now about the controversy with nary a mention of Betts making a great play.

Read it on ESPN, who interviewed Astro fan who caught the Altuve dinger, but was the attacked by Betts who climbed into the stands, took the ball, and claimed he caught it. A travesty that Joe West and the guys in New York think it was actually fan interference. MLB should be investigated.

It was stupid by Correa. Just stupid.

His fast ball is very hittable.

FWIW, I agree with rationale for leaving Porcello in.

With ERod starting, no long reliever.

ERod is not on short rest.

Not so. In fact, both of Reddick’s hits Have been off low pitches.

Porcello is fooling no one tonight.

Could be. Certainly awful for a hitter like JDM.

Sounds like a hobby horse you are riding--but there can be little doubt that the best way to beat those big shifts is to go to the opposite field and not to try to hit over them. Thus the Sox also seem to be hitting fewer dingers. I wonder is there are collaborative stats about the Yankees who, if anything, seemed to finish the season hitting more home runs. Did they go to the opposite field less than other teams?

The "thought" that it hit the wall first means to me you are imagining it. No way, no how did it hit the wall first. First, the slow motion I'm seeing shows the ball going directly into the glove. Second, the glove is not positioned in a way that would allow the ball to be caught coming off the wall. Way too much "thought" has gone into this thread.

The amazing thing about this postseason so far is that the Sox have played only 100 game winners--Yankees and Astros--and have won 4 of 6. In fact, if memory serves, both the Yankees and Astros were heavily favored to beat the Sox. The pitching has not been great, but it has been good enough. Same goes for the hitting, especially if you discount the 16-1 thrashing of the Yankees in game 3 of the ALDS. Last night was a highly contested 3-2 game until the 8th when Osuna took a walk on the wild side. Maybe he was studying Kimbrel to get that motion just wrong. I'm not sure Morton will bomb tonight, but think the Sox will continue to be a tough team to beat and a good bet to win tonight.

The best part about Eovaldi last night was that he started out throwing heat, heat, and more hit. Five straight pitches at 100 mph or more. Then he started throwing more and more breaking stuff which was just as good if not better than the high heat. And that's what got him thru 6 innings and 2 runs. About the walks. I think we have to tolerate a certain amount of them because the alternative this season has been lots of dingers by the other team. The Sox won the ALDS with two straight wins in Yankee Stadium in part because they kept the ball in the park in both games. And how did Workman give up that 3 run dinger vs the Astros? By throwing a middle of the zone fast ball on his first pitch to that batter. And you better believe the Astros can hit. Their postseason team OPS is .859. Agree with cp176 that the announcers and the known universe are all rooting for the Astros. I think their ideal WS was going to be the Dodgers and Yankees, and the Sox spoiled that dream.

Great win of course. Beyond question the hero has to be Eovaldi who pitched a great, intelligent game. Devers maybe should had that double, but he also got a key single in the 8th to keep things alive. The most amazing part of this ALCS is that the Sox bullpen has outpitched the Astros bullpen. Less amazing is Cora’s magic touch continues. To be clear. I was one of the pessimists after game 1. So these two wins, both hard fought, are all the more amazing. In my defense, none of the commentators gave the Sox much chance either. Tonight hung on not one but two HBP’s unless we expected our bullpen to hold that 1 run lead.