oldtimer

Nothing cheap at all in these wins. Some great moments in the final game as well. Price as starter when I really wondered if he should come back this early from a heavy workload. He settled in and had an excellent start. Kelly coming in after pitching 2 the night before and striking out the side. Sale who i also wondered about as to why he didn't start. He threw at 95 mph and one at 96. He also struck out the side and for a bonus, got Machado to end it. Machado looked pathetic. Two homers by Pearce. Betts came out of a funk and homered. JDM ditto. So many great moments and no doubt who the best team in baseball was this year. It was proven on the field. Got to give guys confidence and a sense of pride in their many achievements.

This has been one heck of a thrilling season which will be concluding very soon. No matter what happens, and it does look like we will win it all, we have to thank ownership, front office management, the manager and his coaches and of course the players for these great results. This has been an example of a team effort, with everyone pitching in. JH made the money available to put tgether a solid team despite some prior spending mistakes. DD has traded away assests, but also got Cora and his coaches on board and a number of key seasoned players who have come through when it counts. The coaches abilities have shown up with better hitting and pitching results. Results count. Cora has the group playing aggressively and they seem to have one goal, and that is to win it all. Lots of guys have shown improvement this year and Cora keeps encouraging guys and they seem to respond. What a group of players! A mix of young home grown talent, experienced FA's and role players. All seem to accept their roles and volunteer to do more. This has been a great year for the team and I appreciate what they did and are doing. My dad would have loved this team but never got to see any as good as he passed in 1978.

That is true, a bad night coming at an inopportune time. I don't think he will live in infamy over it. Reset, next play.

I still am not in favor of throwing at anyone's head as it is just using reprehensible behavior to solve a problem. MLBB should really go after a repeat offender with more than fines. I would see a suspension of multiple days and loss of salary as being fair. Saying that, I am not against hitting a guy from the butt down.

I assume Pedroia will come back but I doubt if he can handle a full season on that knee.. We need to prepare for that eventuality. I would prefer a younger and improving player coming up either from our organization or through a trade. Dozier might be too expensive for us and we will probably get Holt back to fill in.

When you have an aggressive manager, you have to accept some bad with all the good. I'll take being up 3 games to 1 at this point.

Having some seasoned pros on a team is a big plus for the Sox. Moreland and Pearce of course but Nunez and Holt have also come through. DD has been smart with hs acquisitions.

The one that was crushed came out of his hand the wrong way and stayed flat and over the middle in. Kimbrel's command was not good in general. With so many pitches last night, he is probably cooked for at least game 5. Kelly probably is also as he went two very good innings. Barnes and Brasier should be available and possibly Porcello. Not sure what Sale's issue is. Could he have a tired arm?

Looks like he would make a perfect Yankee.

These Sox. Don't ever give up on them. Funny how the offense came not from the top of our ordeer, but from guys like Pearce, Holt, Devers, Moreland. The team is relentless and never out of it. Lets hope our top of the order guys come out of their mini-slump and take it to Kershaw. Funny how Price will start on 3 days rest.

Top of the order has done nothing. Beni has a chance to change that.

Decision making by Vaz trying to make a play when it wasn't there may have cost us 4 runs. I know things happen in an instant, but that was a bigg error.

iT WAS A TOUGH CHOICE FOR CORA

E-Rod should also be available. Strong young kid with very few innings. Putting Sale up runs the risk of not having a good choice for game 5.

His choice of lineup in game 4 is the next decision point. If Rich Hill pitches, we will start a right handed lineup. Without looking at batting order for now I would assume that the following guys will play: 1st Pearce 2nd Holt or Betts SS Bogaerts or Holt 3rd Nunez LF Martinez or Beni CF JBJ RF Betts or Martinez C Leon P Sale or E-Rod Probably Vaz is tired out. Can't see going back to Kinsler. Devers was a sucker for pitches out of the zone high. Moreland wasn't looking good at the plate at all. Swihart hasn't had a lot of appearances but certainly is more rested.

Well, a day has passed and we witnessed a marathon game in which both pitching staffs were dominant, both teams made critical base running and fielding errors and both teams must be totally exhausted. We witnessed an example of the old axiom, good pitching beats good hitting, as none of our regulars were hitters tonight. It took Nunez, Bradley and Holt to do the bulk of the hitting if bulk is the word to use. Every game needs a goat, and Kinsler certainly earned that title. He ran the bases like a drunken sailor and then committed the error that led to the loss. It was a tough game on our pitching staff as we tired a lot of guys and essentially lost Eovaldi for any future work in LA. I thought Cora pushed all the buttons he had so we just couldn't pull it off. Hard to say what impact this will have on the series as a whole. So what comes next? Hill against E-Rod or Sale? Who do we lineup? Lots of tired players to consider. It will be interesting.

It cost mre than the game, it totally burned up Eovaldi for future use in LA.

Really there were two baserunning mistakes in the inning. The first was JBJ leaving early and the second was Vaz not running hard to first which would have given him a double. It probably cost us a run between the two. We had a similar case in a prior game when Beni didn't run hard to first which cost him a base. Guys, run hard to first and see what happens.

Beni sits tonight with JDM in left. Whatever Cora does is fine with me.

I don't think I like the idea of electronic means of sign stealing.

Have you played ball or are you a coach to be able to evaluate his swing? I am 77 and still playing 3 days a week. Players in my league learned to go with the pitch to be effective hitters. I stand by my comment that Beni has a pretty swing and one of the best swings on the club. My only suggestion for him is to pull more often when the pitch is on the inside part of the plate.

Speaking of being good guy as was brought up in another string for Betts, and deservedly so, Brock Holt also has been doing good things in the community as well. Congratulations to Brock Holt on hitting for the cycle during the ALDS! Your fans at the Jimmy Fund are proud of you for making history! Each year, Boston Red Sox players serve as the Jimmy Fund Captain. Jimmy Fund Captains attend fundraising events, visit patients and build support for cancer care and research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Boston Red Sox infielder Brock Holt returns as the Captain for the 2018 season. Holt will encourage fans to step up to the plate and help strike out cancer by getting involved with such signature Jimmy Fund events as Rally for the Jimmy Fund presented by Chowdaheadz, John Hancock Fenway Fantasy Day, Jimmy Fund Little League, Boston Red Sox/Jimmy Fund license plates, and WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon presented by Arbella Insurance

Excellent post and so true.

I disagree with the characterization of Beni's swing as being as you say a hero type. He has had a really pretty swing from the day he came up. He also had an excellent eye and took walks and had a solid on base percentage. The best approach a hitter can take is to go with the pitch. If outside hit it the other way if on the inside part of the plate, pull. Several of Benis recent important hits have been pulled, such as the 3 run double down the right field line. I hope that he continues to take a balanced approach to hitting as he matures.

At 22 he is still learning and the age helps with his fluidity. I don't like his weight if it is 238 as listed. I hope they work with him in the off season to get him down to something like 215 or so. The power should still be there but he will have a longer career if he slims down.