Fan_since_Boggs

Good points. Some managers over-think situations and take out an effective reliever (that is, a reliever who is in the game and getting outs) too soon. Cora does have this tendency IMO.

So people still don't think that Schwarber will get a 100 million dollar contract in the offseason? When I watch his at bats and impact on the offense, I keep thinking he will want to be paid and that someone will pay him. True, he is pretty much a full-time DH and that will hurt his contract value, but he is also young enough that teams will not shy away from a long term deal.

And so maybe they are saving E-rod for gave 5 (if there is a game 5). Maybe they prefer Pievetta on short rest or perhaps feel more confident going with E-Rod in game 5 than Pivetta. I thought they would go with E-Rod in game 4 and Sale in game 5 but maybe they don't trust Sale right now. The key is to win with Eavoldi, take your chances with Pivetta and the bullpen in game 4, and trust E-Rod to have a big game 5 (if it goes that far).

I don't know if spending all that dough on Seager makes sense, and he will cost a fortune. And with Judge needing to be resigned at the end of the year, along with Tallion, maybe Gallo, the Yankees aren't going to spend on Seager. More importantly, the Yankees actually have a couple of quality shortstops in their system. Peraza isn't far away. In fact, it wouldn't be outrageous for Peraza to be the Yankees starting SS on opening day. It would be an aggressive promotion but not unheard of. Maybe the Yankees look for an older veteran SS to hold down the position for a few months until Peraza is ready.

It sounds like Pivetta will likely be the starter for game 4. https://nesn.com/2021/10/nick-pivetta-most-likely-will-get-ball-red-sox-rays-alds-game-4/ I find this surprising, why Pivetta over E-Rod? Pivetta threw more pitches than E-Rod in game 1. I guess they want to save E-Rod for game 5? Maybe they don't have any confidence in Sale at this point? I take the position that if the Red Sox lose game 3, the series is over, the Rays will win. I see game 3 as a must win since the Red Sox best SP is on the mound. Edit: I might be inclined to go with a bullpen game in game 3 and move Eavoldi to game 4.

I would think that Rodriquez pitches on Monday. If the series goes to 5 games, some combination of Sale and Houck for game 5. The Red Sox can definitely win this series if Eavoldi shows up big time in game 3. If the Red Sox win game 3, you would think that one of the two--E-Rod or Sale--will have a comeback game and pitch well. But expecting both of them to do it is probably a long shot.

How about trading Vazquez in the offseason and going with Wong and Plawecki? Vazquez is such an atrocious hitter, I'm assuming Wong can produce the same numbers offensively that Vazquez produced this year and Wong is a really good defensive catcher with excellent athleticism. It sounds like the Red Sox have a 7 million option on Vazquez? Do they pick it up and trade him or do people think this is a crazy idea?

It was a tough year for Yankees fans who were dreaming about a championship. Not only did the Red Sox prove that they are a better team right now, but the Red Sox minor league system is now top 10, whereas the Yankees have a weak minor league system. The Red Sox will obviously be the better team going forward. And the Yankees will reach a cliff after the 2022 season when Judge is free agent, Sanchez is free agent, Tallion is a free agent, Chapman is a free agent, Gallo is a free agent. The Yankees will need to sign these players and yet they are already saddled with the contracts of Sticky Fingers Cole and Stanton. While Stanton had a big year, I'm not sure how great he will be going forward as he gets older. And Cole proved to the world that he isn't quite as dominant without the sticky stuff. The Yankees need to make a big push for a championship in 2022 and then begin a massive rebuild when they reach the cliff after the 2022 season. Problem is, it is starting to look like the Yankees won't even be able to make a big push for a championship in 2022, they are too far behind the Rays and Red Sox, and maybe the Blue Jays too. The smart thing? The Yankees should begin a rebuild right now, but I doubt Cashman does that and so the Yankees will reload for 2022, but will come up short again, and then they fall off the cliff in 2023. Also, in a few years, watch out for the Orioles--they are putting together a superb farm system and their prospects will eventually change the fortunes of the organization. Moreover, the Orioles will get the first pick in the 2022 draft, and that draft is loaded at the top.

Yeah Duran makes a lot of sense, just in case the Red Sox need one of those Dave Roberts moments. And if Sale and E-Rod can't pitch, why bother putting them on the roster. It is interesting that Ottavino is on the outs (a 7.00 ERA in Sept) -- the same exact thing happened when he was a Yankee. By the time the playoffs rolled around, the Yankees lost confidence in Ottavino and didn't want to use him in a big game. At least Ottavino is consistent..... The Yankees won the Ottavino trade--he hasn't been a good enough pitcher for the money and Frank German sucks.

The lineup for Tuesday (against Cole) if JD can't go: Hernandez CF Schwarber DH Bogaerts SS Devers 3b Renfroe RF Verdugo LF Dalbec 1b Arroyo 2b Vazquez C If JD can play, I guess you move Schwarber to 1b, JD to DH, and Dalbec to the bench.

Now that we've lost confidence in G.Richards, I wonder if Pivetta can fill that role as a dominant one inning reliever. I'm assuming he isn't going to be in the playoff rotation. . . . Playoff rotation: Eavoldi, Sale, E-Rod, Houck. Yeah, Pivetta goes to the bullpen.

Who is starting for the Yankees on Sunday? Cole?

So Sale is pitching tomorrow, that is locked in? If Sale goes tomorrow, I guess that means Eovaldi for the wild card game, right (assuming there isn't an additional game to see who wins the wild card)?

He already had two strikeouts that inning, I'm feeling pretty good about his ability to get a third out. Managers can sometimes overthink things, and maybe that's what happened when Cora took out Houck for the lefty. I liked Houck's stuff that inning, it was crisp, hard to hit. I guess I'm relying on the eye ball test to some extent but relievers just can't be successful when they have a walk ratio as high as Hernandez's and so I'm not trusting him in that spot.

I'm not convinced by that because: due to Hern's outrageous walk ratio, I'm not convinced he can get Rizzo out and so ultimately I'm expecting him to face off against Stanton. If the Red Sox turned to a quality left-handed reliever in that spot, the argument for bringing that reliever in is much more reasonable. Hern is always fighting his control--I have no confidence in him especially in a big spot, big game against quality hitters.

Maybe this loss showed that Cora needs to take the leap and treat G.Richards as his shutdown reliever, the guy who can come in in a big spot and get the job done. If the Red Sox make noise in the playoffs, you would expect some reliever to step up as a shutdown guy. It aint gonna be Hernandez, that's for sure.

Houck 2.90 walk ratio per nine. Hernandez 6.89 per nine. The former is a major caliber pitcher, the latter is fringe. There is no way I'm bringing in a fringe pitcher in that spot with Stanton on deck.

It's not as "nuts" as you think when you consider that Cora went to a fringe reliever, a guy who has walked 30 batters in 39.2 innings for a stunning walk ratio of 6.89 per 9. It you have a better reliever to bring in, I'm open to it, but going to Hernandez was dumb with Stanton on deck and a really good chance that Hernandez wouldn't retire Rizzo. I would stick with the guy who is struggling to find the zone, but getting outs, over a new reliever who will inevitably struggle with his command. At the end of the day, though, maybe we are just dealing with a situation where the back of the bullpen isn't strong enough.....If that is the case, we could argue that Cora isn't to blame--he simply didn't have the horses to finish off the game.... I hated the move, though, the walks suck but Houck doesn't give up a lot of hard contact and so I would have stayed with him.

I'm winning or losing that game with Houck. I was annoyed when he took him out and said so at the time (not after the fact). I like Houck and would stick with him there, showing full confidence in him. For me, Houck is the kind of pitcher who can walk 6 batters in a game (when he is off his game) and yet not give up any hard contact. I wasn't pleased with the decision to take Houck out of the starting rotation. But if the Red Sox are going to do that, then I would use him as a three inning reliever, I wouldn't take him out of games any earlier unless he imploded. Thus, again, I'm keeping Houck in that game and letting him pitch in the ninth as well. The only question is Francona. Cora and Francona are the two best Red Sox managers.

Houck will walk some people, he didn't have great control, but he is also incredibly hard to hit, to square up and make solid contact against. Thus, he is the pitcher you want in that situation. The bases aren't loaded yet, and even if he walks Rizzo, Stanton has to go against a guy who is super-tough on right handed hitters. I would be shocked if he is the manager of the year. He didn't handle the Red Sox post-trade deadline slump very well in my opinion and the Red Sox batters haven't been all that responsive to his repeated requests to stop expanding the zone. I like the rule too but how hard is it for Cora to think ahead and conclude that if Hernandez, who has shaky control and walks too many batters (a problem that has plagued his entire career), doesn't execute pitches against Rizzo he will face Stanton with bases loaded? It was a dumb decision at the time and the results weren't all that unpredictable. A manager can make a terrible decision, it happens from time to time. Some people seem to think that Cora is perfect and never makes mistakes.

Problem is, you can't count on Hernandez, he is always wild, walks too many batters. I don't know how you ever take Houck out of that game, he is better than Hernandez and with Stanton looming on deck you don't want the lefty in the game even through Rizzo is at the plate. That loss is 100% on Cora. I'm pretty confident that the Red Sox win the game if they keep Houck in the game. It's not like Houck threw too many pitches and was getting tired. I believed he could have finished off the inning and the game. Sometime managers blow it, they overthink it, and make terrible decisions. It happens. If it happens too often, the manager should be replaced. I'm not saying Cora should be replaced, but he needs to make better decisions than this, and he usually does make better decisions than this.

Schwarber's patience at the plate is having a positive effect on the other players. The Red Sox hitters began demonstrating greater patience once Schwarber entered the lineup. The Red Sox must bring him back next year, and they probably will.

Good call on Iglesias. You were right and I was wrong. He has really helped this team.

He seems like a hyped prospect to me. I was hoping they would trade Jimenez at the deadline but alas he is still here--maybe no one wanted him.

Here is something I would like to know: what is the Red Sox record and team ERA with Hernandez in CF versus with someone else in CF? It just seems like they play better and are a better defensive team with Kike in CF.