Maxbialystock

Meh. You better believe Sale and Price wanted the ball in October. I want someone who can do something with. You know. Like the Astros pitchers. We knew this before the ALCS started. In fact, we saw this little scenario last year in the ALDS.

Actually. I think they kind of like Sale and Price.

He absolutely does look like himself. A has been who has way too much too much confidence in his fast ball and cutter.

This is why Price has struggled. He only wants to throw his cutter and his fastball, and they just aren’t good enough.

That is definitely Prices’s preferred first inning approach—all fast balls and cutters.

Right. That’s why Price was so great in the ALDS—because Leon brings out the best in him. Actually, I would be fine with Leon catching tonight, but I also think Cora doesn’t make moves without a reason.

Devers and Kinsler both. And Vazquez. Cora sends a message—we need to hit.

Such pessimism. Unfortunately, I agree with the pessimism and about the late hours. Jung is wrong about the bullpen, which actually surprised me. They had to go in early--5th inning--and pitched well for 4 innings. Kelly's run was totally and completely unearned thanks to a terrible play by Nunez. Where I agree with Jung is our lineup seemed a bunch of babies out there. Three stinking singles. The big excitement--the clutch rally--was entirely Verlander's doing. The whining to the ump was sickening--that's where the babies part comes in. Also, I could not believe the number of called strikes on fast balls. Our guys looked like they expected to play slow pitch soft ball. Beni, especially. Pitchers gave up 10 walks, which seems gigantic, horrible, etc. My guess is they were trying to avoid gopher balls and just missing. Sale's 4 walks and an HBP did lead to the 2 runs, but he seemed to steady in the 4th. Barnes 2 walks didn't hurt him. Workman's two walks didn't hurt nearly as much as the two dingers but I thought the game was over by the 9th anyway. Our lineup was just totally on its ass. I'm not saying the Sox can't come back, but am saying this is an ominous start against a very good team. As much as I like Cora, who has been terrific this year, including the postseason, I'm thinking maybe we need that manager from the Durham Bulls, who took a bunch of bats and threw threw them in the shower. In the end, it is a simple game--you throw the ball, you hit the ball, and you catch the ball. Sox could not do any of those last night at the MLB level.

Hitting the bigger problem. 3 singles!!?? Both runs were gifts.

Actually, I shouldn't complain. I'm only watching on TV--for free--and can change channels any time I want. But what about the loyal fans who paid top dollar to come to this ALCS game? They're watching Sox fold like a cheap tent and doing it in one the 3 or 4 worst ball parks in MLB (and by that I mean sightlines). I know the Astros have good pitching. The whole world knows. But 2 bare singles by the highest scoring team in MLB this years? If Verlander hadn't had that inexplicable cold spell, the Sox would be shut out with the 9th coming up.

No one's saying the Sox can't win a game, but many of us are saying this game is the pits. You disagree? You like Nunez at 3B? Our inability to hit? Workman? Sale going 4 big innings? The one good thing by the Sox tonight was when Cora pinch hit in the 5th for Leon. Moreland looked awful at the plate, but still got the walk.

Sadly, I agree with this. Horrible, horrible hitting. Both runs off Verlander were gifts. Sale struggled, but only gave up 2 and until the 9th (when Workman gave up the dinger on a really stupid fast ball right down the middle) the bullpen had gone 4 giving up 0 earned runs. Unfortunately, Nunez has yet to master the very difficult task of actually taking the ball out of his glove without looking at it and without dropping it. Just a miserable game by the lineup. A small criticism too of Cora--getting thrown out for complaining about something that in fact was not wrong and brought on by Beni's whining on the 3d strike when the entire known universe knew he deserved to K.

Sale has given up, what, 1 single? His problem has been control and now pitch count. He threw twice as many pitches in the first 3 innings as Verlander and will do very well to go 5 tonight. Verlander could go 9.

Nice K by Sale, great CS by Leon. Others said it before the game, but it is nuts to complain about his hitting when he is this good behind the plate.

1 out in the 3d and he's already at 63 pitches.

Wrong. He did look very good in the 1st when he actually threw strikes. When did you develop the theory that you can keep walking and hitting guys and still be doing fine? Sale only gave up that single in the 2d, but it followed two walks and an HBP. He is struggling.

A lot of not good things so far. Great 1st by Sale who had his slider and changeup working and kept the fastball away from the center of the zone. But then Bogie had two straight fastballs right down the middle and hit into a double play. Awful. Then Sale gives up 2 walks, an HBP, and a single drive in 2 in the 2d, followed by Verlander, now with his control back, makes the bottom of our order look like, well the bottom of our order. Now another walk by Sale after throwing behind the hitter. Awful. If he is cold, why is he in short sleeves when no one else in MLB does that in cold weather?

Come on. You know better than that. The Yankees did set the MLB record for dingers, but for any given at bat the odds still greatly favor the pitcher not giving up one. Sanchez had 2 dingers in 18 at bats in the ALDS. Terrific. But even he had 9 to 1 odds. Plus the fact that the Yankees got zero dingers in the Bronx. And the fieldable grounder by Torres was what Kombrel wanted. It just turned out to be so weak it was a tough but by no means impossible play. Nunez did not have to barehand it. Had Torres been safe, the score would still have been 4-3. You want lucky? How about Vazquez opposite field dinger in the 4th? Sabathia would tell you the Sox got really lucky with that home plate umpire. Oh, don’t forget the Yankees hitting no dingers the final two games. Given how Sale struggled in September, he was incredibly lucky to go 5.2 innings in game 1. But Kimbrel getting a save with a 3 run lead? The odds had to be very much in his favor. It’s a sad truth we are all going to have to live with—Cora was not an idiot for leaving Kinsler in there.

Sox have the best record, 108 wins, but are underdogs in the ALDS and ALCS. Fine with me. Worthy adversaries. Adds to the anticipation, especially for tonight. Ain’t it great?

Scaled back is likely and not necessarily bad if the slider and changeup are working.

And Cora has already shown an affinity for the early hook. Price left in the 2d inning in game 2.

I'm with Kimmi: go, Price! Horrible postseason record, but it can't go on forever. I do hope he learned something from Sale's start vs. the Yankees because Price has a pretty good changeup, slider, and, I think curve, but I think he uses his fastball and cut fastball too much. My impression of Sale in game 1 of the ALDS is that the first inning showed him not to rely in his fastball. Subsequently, he seemed to me to throw most of his fastballs out of the zone, almost as waste pitches. The guy is a seasoned pro who has had a very good season and the second highest WAR on the team after Sale. He leads the Sox in quality starts. A month ago he went 6.1 vs. the Astros at Fenway and gave up 2 runs. So we are not talking about a miracle here, only the art of the possible, maybe even probable.

Glad you're still here. Sorry about the ALDS because I still think the Yankees had a heckuva team this year--just not, in this one series, the best rotation. The NY Times postmortem picked team batting average (.249) as the culprit and said that the Sox pitchers tried very hard to keep the Yankees hits "in the park," which is actually what happened in the two home losses--zero dingers in games 3 and 4. The Yankees have that great bullpen, but they couldn't overcome the damage done to the rotation in games 1, 3, and 4 when they collectively gave up 14 runs in 8 innings. Which school was yours? CWS two years running is pretty darn good. It's also, I think, a pretty darn good tournament--including the regionals--but gets little coverage (unlike the LLWS).

I rarely, probably never second guess GM decisions simply because I know so little about what's out there. As for managers, I believe in having a lucky manager.

Pretty darn good synopsis. More than that, a recipe for success. You put a lot of trust in Sale, but, my goodness, that is one determined and very professional pitcher. He loves that upper 90's fast ball, but against the Yankees he showed he can do well without it. Plus you recognize the Astros are solid.