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5GoldGlovesOF,75

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Everything posted by 5GoldGlovesOF,75

  1. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    He led the staff in victories! After a lost Covid season! He won two of our last three must-wins on the same weekend a week ago! We got this.
  2. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    They strike out the most, so make less contact... which is probably a good thing against the Sox F-fense.
  3. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    The Rays never hit their ceiling in away games. I tellya; I got a million of 'em.
  4. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Right -- poor hitters that make less contact than everyone else will keep scoring the most runs because... they must be clutch. So... if this Tampa Way continues right through the postseason and adds another banner to title town, does it end all debate about, what: below-average feet racing into above-average feats... 111 times (is that a large enough sample size)? Or does anyone else here feel a market correction is about due? Or will it turn out that opponents actually pitched to Franco, because he's only a 20-year old rookie? The heavily-favored Rays sure seem to be counting a lot on rookies.
  5. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    No fans either (according to football-only talk shows). We crack us up.
  6. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I don't know if the Red Sox will hit enough off Tampa's staff for an upset, but I doubt the Rays will hit enough vs. the best clubs in the big leagues to go all the way. The Rays are worse hitters than all but one team in the tournament, the Brewers. Tampa's OPS is behind Houston, Boston, Chicago, SF, LA and Atlanta. Tampa's batting average is also lower than those same six clubs. Rays' batters also strike out more than all postseason teams. They were second in runs to Houston, but scored less in the second half (even with Franco full-time).
  7. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I just heard AJ Hinch talking about this topic on MLB radio. His point was that whenever a manager's decision fails, all second-guessers assume that the alternative would have succeeded -- and not only is that impossible to know for sure, but unlikely to happen based on the info driving the change... which is why it was made in the first place. Hinch mentioned the smartest in-game managers as Cash, Counsell, "and AC up in Boston."
  8. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    From what I just read from John Tomase, the Rays are better in every facet of the game and won't lose a single game in this series. And yet, while considering how many Red Sox veteran players have World Series rings compared to the Rays -- I count 10 to ZERO -- I'm wondering: how many teams in history were ever such an overconfident favorite that it could start rookie pitchers in the first two games of a postseason series... and neither one of them had a nervous breakdown or at least faltered on the mound?
  9. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Lowe has a little higher overall WAR, and a little lower negative dWAR. He hit 5 homers vs. Boston, so I'm sure they'll have a plan to keep him in the yard. Arozarena can be a force on the bases and is more of a threat to hurt the Sox in different ways.
  10. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
  11. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    The Rays have tight D and legions of 95 mph arms, but the Red Sox can win this short series if pitchers focus on Tampa's two elite players: Franco and Arozarena. Don't let those two beat you; the rest of the Rays batters that led the AL in Ks but who always seemed to come through are simply overdue for a market correction this postseason. Research of Tampa's four main power guys -- Lowe, Zunino, Cruz and Meadows -- shows that all are virtually worse hitters in the following categories (listed by bb-ref as "Clutch"): Late & Close, RISP w/ 2 outs, and Tie Games. Other regulars like Diaz, Wendle, Margot and KK are .240-.250 guys and nothing special. But Wander Franco is... .395 in Late & Close, .423 RISP w/ 2 outs, over 1.000 OPS in both... 3.5 WAR in half a season... vs. Boston in 16 G: 15 R, 16 RBI. Dang yo. Randy Arozarena led the Rays in Ks, but also in hits and OBP. He's a 20-20 man who ripped 10 longballs in last year's playoffs. Cora and the staff must have a plan to attack these two game-changers...
  12. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Final WC words on Boston's elimination of New York, rigor mortis version: for Yankee fans making excuses, complaining how Stanton's two shots off the Monster would've been homers in any other park... ... Red Sox fans' immediate and forever-after responses should be: 1) Stanton's actual HR past the Pesky pole wouldn't have been out in most parks (while Plawecki's double off the bullpen was gone in the Stadium); and 2). if the Wall wasn't there in '78, no one would have ever heard of Bucky Dent... Yaz was drifting back to catch the pop-up and just ran out of room.
  13. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I'm not trying to be too old school here, but batting average means as much to me as OPS when it comes to actually hitting with men on base. Of course I see the value in extra base hits clearing the bases, and I'm not faulting anyone for keeping a rally going by taking a walk. But there's also value in comparing batting averages when a guy actually puts the ball in play. Is Joey Gallo a better "hitter" than Kike, because he has a better OPS, .808 to .786? Gallo batted .199, Hernandez .250. In about the same amount of at bats, Gallo has over a hundred more strikeouts. Kike has 40 less walks, but 28 more hits. The old adage "walks are as good as hits" is a fallacy, because baserunners can only move up one bag on bases on balls. But a lot of guys can go first to third or second to home on singles.
  14. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Nate struck out Stanton in his second at bat on a high fastball; this was how the Sox got him out in the first half of the season. I was surprised/disappointed that catchers didn't target the same area his last two trips. Instead, Stanton got lower pitches he could extend on... maybe Braiser and Whitlock just missed their spots.
  15. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Maybe, but sometimes you just gotta ride the hot hand -- like in the first century of organized baseball before Earl Weaver invented analytics (he kept track of individual stats vs. each pitcher and team). I won't get into concepts like "crunch-time" or "rising to the occasion", but managers have been sticking with guys on hot streaks (until they cool off) forever. There's never an uproar when they leave a hot batter up in a statistically "bad" match-up... but how many of us just hate it when a skipper benches someone who only the day before went 4-for-4 or slugged 2 HRs?
  16. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    BB-ref doesn't differentiate arms in 2 Outs, RISP (at least, I couldn't find it)... but here are Verdugo's overall career splits: .299 vs RHP, .271 vs LHP. He may be worse vs. bullpen specialists, since here are his career splits vs. starters: .285 vs. RHP, .300 vs. LHP (granted, the latter is in half as many ABs, but it's still a stat worth reconsidering as far as starting him).
  17. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    What about this weekend? This is, after all, a 2021 thread... Personally, I'd keep Houck in long relief through the playoffs. But the real guy in charge -- the one who's actually winning -- keeps taking him out earlier than I want.
  18. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    ... or we hope Verdugo is locked into another level, like he claimed he was after last night's swings. If JD is out, we lose our top hitter with 2 Outs, RISP: .349. Our next best batter with 2 Outs, RISP is Verdugo, at .321.
  19. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I'd guess the X pedigree of "winner" may now be even more attractive to his agent, in regards to opt-outs and other clubs looking soon to import championship culture. His heroics last night, however, were most likely less a recency and more just a reminder of Bogie's skills.
  20. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Here in New England, there are two TV channels that talk "sports". One features two gamblers handicapping football lines all day, while the other blabs about Brady and Beli 365 days a year. So to get any Wild Card coverage, I'm watching the Yankees channel replay their postgame wake and clubhouse interviews with the losers. I'm just wondering how ESPN, in its next Aaron Judge Special, will spin his eloquent summary: "We just got kicked in the nuts..."
  21. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Savoring this W this morning. Didn't expect much gloating on this classy site, but there's nothing wrong with basking. I love the way Cora adapts his postseason bullpen -- even in regular-season games with "playoff" implications -- and doesn't go by the book to sink or swim with defined role-players who can no longer be trusted. I never expected the Red Sox to rebound this fast from the low point that was 2020, but I'm not fooled into thinking they're any kind of favorite for any ensuing round, either. The only thing I was sure of from the preseason on is that the Yankees weren't nearly as good as the rest of the universe predicted. That the Sox could knock them out and prove it, is the highlight of the season... so far.
  22. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Sox batters had 7 hits, Yanks had 6, with 2 homers apiece. Sox batters struck out 9 times, Yanks fanned 11 times... ... but here's the key stat (for everyone who gave the visitors the edge because of pitching): New York walked 7, Boston walked 0. That's none, zilch, nada. Zer 0. No free passes.
  23. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    This win made my season. Last year's last place Red Sox just eliminated The Greatest Team In The History Of Never! And the next time we play NY, all media outlets will show Bogie/Schwarber HRs, Dugo's clutch hits, and the Kike/X-man relay to nail Judge -- over and over again... no they won't; they'll just show Bucky Dent and Yaz pop out.
  24. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Start spreading the LOSE -- you dork, you dork.
  25. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    ARod just made excuses for Cole gagging, blaming it on Cashman for loading up the batting order with swing-and-miss hitters.
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