Fan_since_Boggs

The Twins have now lost 16 postseason games in a row, which is a record. 13 of those losses came against the Yankees; 3 losses came against the A's. I don't know how it is even possible to lose 16 postseason games in a row. You would think that within that span of time, one starting pitcher would have great stuff and carry you to at least one victory. How does that not happen in a span of 16 games? The other amazing thing is that the losing streak spans different managers and different players--the losing streak goes back to 2004.

Man this is going to be an epic clash of two titans. I was wondering if an ALCS or NLCS or World Series ever had two teams face off with as many as 210 wins? The other interesting thing about the ALCS, it is pretty much the World Series. That is, both teams are better than the two remaining NL teams and thus the winner of the ALCS should win the World Series pretty easily. With that said, maybe I shouldn't count out the Nationals--I suppose Max Sherzer and Strasburg could pull a Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling (from 2001). I said during the regular season that the Nationals were the dark horse to win a championship this year.

If Tanaka pitches game 3 (Tues), wouldn't he be on regular rest for game 7 (Sunday)?

Who pitches game 4 for the Yankees? Paxton on short rest? Confused.

I'm guessing the Astros turn to J.Urquidy in game 4, not the best option, but better than Miley. Miley isn't going to be used in any meaningful situation. He only comes in in blow out games when the Astros need to burn some innings.

This does signal some kind of shift/rebuild is going to take place. There is speculation that Martinez might opt out--that would be a big help. Kick in millions and move David Price's contract. Trade Betts. You probably keep Sale, hoping he will excel next year and then trade him at the deadline. Get under the luxury tax penalty and spend the next 2-3 years rebuilding. If you decide to go into a multiyear rebuild mode, you probably move Bogaerts too.

If the Red Sox don't plan to reset and instead just want to avoid the draft pick penalty, they would have about 20m to spend. If they dump Bradley, that 20m turns into 30m. 30m is a lot of money for a team that already has a championship caliber offense. I see the Red Sox dipping into free agency for a closer -- probably W.Smith -- andn then using either Dalbec or Chavis in a trade package for a cost controlled SP. At the end of the day, the Red Sox's hopes next season rest on the arms of Sale, Price, Eavoldi, and Rodriguez. The Red Sox will need the starting staff to perform at a pretty high level, something they didn't do this season.

True but 10m goes a long way when you are trying to improve your bullpen. For example, 10m, plus a little more (most likely), will secure a closer like W.Smith. Would we rather have Bradley Jr. or a quality closer? I'll take the closer. I also think Duran is ready to be a ninth hitter next year at the major league level. I've heard all of the arguments against Duran, but my immediate expectations are low--I see Duran as a ninth hitter. The Red Sox should get quality defense from Duran in CF and small ball tendencies--a singles hitter who can steal bases with his blazing speed. And Duran should continue to get better over the next few years in terms of line drive production (doubles rather than singles) and patience at the plate. The Red Sox offense can carry a ninth hitter as Duran continues to develop.

The other point I wanted to make: I live in the NYC area and tune into NYC sports radio quite often and Cashman has received a lot of criticism over the last 15 years or so for his handling of the Yankees starting rotation. And many of these criticisms are justified. To be sure, Cashman has a history of making some questionable decisions when it comes to starting pitching, and that spotlight continues to shine on Cashman especially after the Astros acquired Grienke and the Yankees did nothing.

A guy I wonder about is Gio Urshela. He is a great hitter all of a sudden? In the larger picture, I sometimes wonder if the baseballs aren't the explanation and that we are simply going through another steroids period where they have perfected masking PEDs from drug testing. If we are going through another PED period, that would explain the HRs as well as the injuries.

While I'm not crazy about the Guardians owner, I like Francona and want to see him win another World Series. But I like the Astros, too. They eliminated the Yankees two years ago and I like how they went out and acquired Grienke, and then finalized the deal in the last few minutes (clever). I wouldn't mind seeing the A's win with B.Beane finally getting that elusive World Series championship. The teams that I will be rooting against: Yankees (obviously), and the Twins (they always roll over and die for the Yankees).

To gain a better understanding, this might be worth reading: https://nypost.com/2019/07/31/brian-cashmans-pitching-trade-history-has-its-share-of-disasters/ The article reviews some of Cashman's trade deadline deals, but it is worth noting that many of his offseason SP acquisitions have been called out, too. And sometimes a GM can blow it by failing to act. For example, the Astros acquired Verlander while Cashman was twiddling his thumbs. The Red Sox acquired Eavoladi last year at around the same time the Yankees acquired Z.Britton. I think the 2019 trade deadline will be remembered as another example of Cashman's failure to acquire an SP that could help the Yankees win a championship.

Cashman does some things very well, no doubt about it. On the other hand, he is very fortunate to have the Yankees money and power behind him. It would be very interesting to see how he would do with the Oakland A's, for example. While Cashman does some things very well, many critics have called him out on his inability to adequately evaluate starting pitchers. This goes back at least as far as J.Vazquez and continues to the present day with his weird handling of the S.Gray situation, his failure to sign Corbin, his decision to pay Happ 17m per year, and, among other questionable moves, his failure to improve the Yankees starting rotation at the trade deadline. This year, in particular, there is an exclamation point behind such criticism because the Yankees are locked into the playoffs but need help in the starting rotation and Cashman couldn't get it figured out.

The 2004 Yankees: the only team to lose a series after being up 3 games to 0. It happened on the biggest stage in baseball, the ALCS (more people watch the Yankees & Red Sox in the ALCS than the World Series). That makes the 2004 Yankees the biggest losers in the history of sports. Interestingly, Brian Cashman was the architect behind the team. The great Brian Cashman!

I don't agree. The Red Sox won it all last year with an historic season. You can't win a championship every year and the Red Sox have fallen off this year--it happens. Yankees fans haven't tasted a World Series game this decade. The Red Sox completely pulverized the Yankees last year in the playoffs. That was the first time the Yankees played the Red Sox in the playoffs since 2004, when the Yankees proved to the world that they were the biggest losers in the history of sports. I don't think Yankees fans are laughing; I think they are crying and they need a championship to wipe away their tears. They are nervous as crap as we get closer and closer to October because, deep down, they know they don't have the starting pitching to pull it off this year.

I think your analysis will be proved correct. The Yankees had a real shot to win a championship this year, but Cashman blew it when he failed to upgrade the starting rotation. Maybe he would have acted if the Astros acquired Grienke 24 hours earlier, I don't know, but I do wonder if the timing of the Grienke trade (last minute) was part of the Astros strategy. As we all know, the Astros are an incredibly smart organization. Once the Astros acquired Grienke, and the Yankees were left with nothing, the contrast between the two organizations became very clear. Sure, the Dodgers didn't do anything either, but the Dodgers were looking for bullpen pieces, not rotation help and the Dodgers believe that they have the young arms in the farm system who can help in the bullpen in October. I think they plan to move Maeda to the bullpen in October as well. Want to have a good laugh? Project the Yankees starting rotation in October and then compare it to Verlander, Cole, and Grienke. Depending on who they play in the first round, the Yankees could be one and done in the playoffs. If the Yankees get lucky, maybe they make it to the ALCS, but the Astros will destroy them, similar to how the Red Sox totally destroyed the Yankees in the playoffs last year. There will be a lot of upset Yankees fans this October. Can't wait.

You have no idea if the Red Sox plan to reset, stay just under 237m, or blow by 237m.

Speculation. You don't know this for certain. Chavis is a young guy with power who can play 2b and has already produced in the major leagues. He has some trade value and could perhaps be part of a deal that brings back a decent cost-controlled starter.

Looking ahead, I would like to see the Red Sox sign W.Smith for 2020. They have the resources for him, and then use Chavis as a trade chip for a SP. Dalbec takes over 1b and Hernandez and Chatham battle it out at 2b, freeing up Chavis for a trade. We are looking at an awesome offense for 2020: Betts RF Devers 3b Bogaerts SS Martinez DH Benintendi LF Dalbec 1b Vazquez C Hernandez/Chatham 2b Duran CF The difficulty: getting the pitching staff back on track.

No team has done it yet, at least not for a full season, but I was thinking about the idea of going to a 6 man rotation next year. If it will help Sale perform as a top starter and keep him healthy, the Red Sox should do it. Some combination of B.Johnson and Houck (or maybe S.Wright) could be the 6th starter. With Porcello gone, I don't know who the fifth guy is, but I would use M.Chavis as a trade chip in the offseason for a SP. (1)Sale (2)Rodriguez (3)Eavoldi (4)Price (5)??? (6)Johnson/Houck or Wright Again, I would only go to a 6 man rotation if the Red Sox believe that easing up on guys like Sale and Eavoldi will make them better pitchers and improve their health.

Soon-to-be 25 year old Clint Frazier has 7 HR, .250 AVG, and a .757 OPS with 200 AB in AAA. Not too impressive for a guy who can't help you with run prevention on defense.

Who is happier, the 2007 New York Giants or the 2007 New England Patriots? The Patriots only lost one game that year. . . . It's all about championships.

I think his k rate toward the end of 2018 was lower than his k rate in some of his preceding seasons (I refuse to look at it again). Some say FIP is a great predictor of future performance and his FIP with the Yankees was not impressive. Some numbers suggest decline, some don't. Cashman made the best call he could, and he got it wrong. That's the point, Cashman got it wrong. He has a history of making poor judgments with starting pitchers.

Shutdown Sale for the rest of the year. If Sale can have a big season next year, together with one of the best offenses in baseball, the Red Sox are right there again with the best teams. Sale is so integral to the future hopes of the Red Sox.

It's all about championships. This is even more evidence that Brian Cashman has failed at his job. I'll take a few last place finishes and championships OVER first place finishes (every year) and no championship. To win a championship, you sometimes have to trade some of your future away to get over the top. Dombrowski was willing to do that; Cashman was not.