Maxbialystock

Nearly perfect? We didn't need that,but did need Porcello to pitch his average game. Instead he gave up 5 runs and 3 dingers in 4.1 innings. Porcello was awful.

Porcello swooned, pure and simple. 5 runs and 3 dingers in 4.1 innings.

Could not agree more this is on Porcello. The Guardians for the most part sat on his fastball. I remember excoriating Moncada because he can't hit the curve, but there's a couple of others who have problems with a curve, especially a good one.

This series could be over before it gets started because Price to date has never been a money pitcher in the playoffs.

Three dingers, all off fastballs, and Porcello is in shock.

I said that before the dinger. Porcello is clearly over-relying on his fastball, which ain't all that great anyway.

I have my doubts about Porcello. I don't think 2 runs will win this thing.

Actually, his arm isn't all that accurate. Every so often he will make a great, dead-on throw, but mostly he is off target when going home.

Porcello let those K's in the first inning go to his head and here in the second threw nothing but fastballs to give up the hard double and hard hit single. Now, finally, he is mixing in a breaking ball or two.

MLB has easily the largest attendance of all professional sports in the USA and probably the largest TV audience for the same reason. Every team plays an unreal 162 games in pretty big ball parks. Unlike the NFL, they don't have the concussion issue. The NBA is the only one of the three that is truly international, but MLB still gets the bigger crowds in the USA. I honestly don't see how MLB is broken.

Can the playoff roster be adjusted after the ALDS and/or ALCS? I ask because the Guardians don't have many lefty pitchers--no starters and maybe 2 relievers. Consequently, I would probably favor lefty bats among the last 1 or 2 Sox slots. I think most everyone agrees with 4 starters and 7 relievers--11 pitchers overall. Plus 4 outfielders (Young, Benintendi, JBJ, and Betts), 2 catchers (Leon and one of Vazquez, Holoday, Hanigan--I favor Vazquez), and 1 DH (Ortiz). That leaves 6 infielders: Bogaerts, Pedroia, Ramirez, and 3 among Holt, Shaw, Hill, and Hernandez. Worth noting is that all three regular infielders hit from the right side. Of the four remaining, three--Shaw, Holt, and Hernandez--hit from the left side and Hill is the only righty hitter. I think Holt is in because of his versatility in the field. I think Shaw is too despite his 2d half struggles at the plate. Hill could be the final pick because of his experience and the fact that he is a righty hitter. And Hernandez could be the pick because he hits from the left side, has a higher OPS than Hill, and is more versatile than Hill.

Meh. I think it will again boil down to pitching as it did in 2013 when the Sox ERA in the postseason was 2.00. I think Lester and Lackey in 2013 were better than Porcello and Price in 2016, but I like ERod and Buchholz now more than Buchholz and Peavy then. That Uehara was better than this one, but I like this bullpen if Kimbrel can get his head out of his ass. As for competition, I think the Tigers of 2013 were better than anyone we face in the AL this year. Losing 5 of the last 6 does bother me, so right now I am listening to the optimists who say the 3 days off this week will wipe that out. First two are in Cleveland with perfect baseball weather.

While I'm sympathetic to the view the Sox are in trouble, I have difficulty putting that all on Farrell. The real problem in 4 of the 5 losses is that either Price blew it--the loss to the Yankees, or the bullpen did it--both losses to the Jays and one loss to the Yankees. In one game, granted, he put it a subpar lineup, but that was right after clinching the ALE and was understandable. The simple fact is that the hitting--even with the "good guys" in the lineup--is fading and the bullpen is fading even faster and the Sox don't have the great starters to make up the difference. This especially applies to the bottom half of the order and specifically to JBJ and Leon.

Interesting. Thanks for providing it. This is the 2d time we've seen this, putting Holt way up in 2d place to get a lefty bat in there early and a total of 5 in the lineup against a lefty starter. The one thing I don't like about this lineup is HanRam following Ortiz, which makes it way too easy for the Jays to give Ortiz and IBB or simply to pitch carefully (and walk him anyway). Ramirez caught fire in September, but has cooled off. If you are a righty with a good slider, you own HanRam.

I don't want to come across as two-faced, but I would vastly prefer that Kimbrel contribute in the playoffs. The lesson of September--truly a great month for the Sox--is the emergence of the bullpen who time and again came in early and late to keep the Sox competitive. To me it was not one guy, but several. I pick on Kimbrel because he gets the big bucks and is THE CLOSER. And I do think Kelly, Uehara, or Ziegler could close. But I would really rather Kimbrel close--effectively--because he has the best stuff when hitters can't sit on his fast ball or just plain wait for him to walk them. I'm pissed off at Kimbrel, but, believe me, I am not rooting for to fail.

Do you two really want to defend Kimbrel? My point remains: right now he is suspect. As for the character assassination, I was just observing that he seems to need to put on a show when he goes out on the mound--unlike other Sox pitchers. Plus, as I keep reminding one and all, he apparently doesn't do windows. That is, he is all about saves and nothing else. Right now the Sox three relievers who would do as well or better closing--Uehara, Ziegler, and Kelly. Fortunately all three are also willing to be set up men for Kimbrel. Until Kimbrel started to go bad in September, really, late September and early Oct, those four gave Farrell some pretty good options. I think they still can but Kimbrel is suspect.

I would not pick Mookie because I honestly don't think he is feared at the plate. But he is beyond question a five tool player who has had a very, very good year: OPS over .900, 113 rbi's, 122 runs scored, 31 dingers, 26 SB's, and an insane 14 assists vs. 1 error in the outfield. He has the second highest WAR in the AL behind Trout. So, despite my reluctance, he would be a darn good pick.

Porcello does not lead the AL in ERA or K's, so I really wouldn't pick him for the Cy Young.

He just blew a save with a 3 run lead. He stinks period.

Here we go again. Already with the excuses for Kimbrel. Again. It's not a save situation. It's not an important game. Vazquez is the real problem. Simple fact is that Kimbrel's control is tenuous, or at least it has been in September and October. He walked a guy, then a sac bunt, then a wild pitch. By the next batter, the one who had the rbi, he was throwing nothing but fastballs even though he has shown that his fast ball by itself is hittable. He's lucky the sac fly wasn't a double off the wall. I think Ziegler, Uehara, and Kelly would all be better closers, but Kimbrel will almost certainly keep the job because he is incapable of doing anything else besides close. Plus, when his curve is working, he can mow hitters down. But let's not kid ourselves. Right now our closer is suspect. Someone else pointed out that smart opposing hitters should take pitches, and that's exactly what the Jays leadoff batter did in the 9th--assume Kimbrel couldn't throw strikes. And he couldn't.

Both Happ and Rodriguez have thrown a lot of pitches--80 and 86--in four innings. Each as given up 4 walks.

Both pitchers with control problems from the cold and wet. Big single by Young.

I'm guilty too. I was mad as hell last night, then thrilled by the comeback, then somewhat frustrated with the bullpen even though they gave up no runs. I think last night's was a pretty important win for the Sox because I thought they were headed for six losses to end the season.

Well, the important thing is to give our guys some rest. Of course, I also have feeling that they will get plenty of rest after the ALDS series because right now everything stinks. In the 5th a leadoff double who simply never advanced, not even to 3b and in the the 6th a one out triple that also never advanced. The Jays on the other hand look tough and determined even though it's cold and wet at Fenway.

Interesting analogy, comparing a major league manager to a dog barking (or, in this case, not) barking in the night. Also interesting is that your chief complaint is that Farrell doesn't do enough, but in almost the same sentence you complain loudly that he made too many changes in the lineup for last night's game.