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5GoldGlovesOF,75

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Everything posted by 5GoldGlovesOF,75

  1. I still think Sale's issues are more physical than we know. Jordan Lupus hit a grand salami off an 0-2 fastball above the frickin strike zone -- could that have ever happened pre-TJ? Since that Tampa start, no one has been saying Sale needs to find his waste pitch, but maybe there's a reason for that... Sorry, just being a realist (not a pessimist).
  2. Ha, that was the other fluke -- that despite how bad the rest of the lineup was, the Cards thought it was a good idea to keep pitching to Papi.
  3. This is a good order. In '18, Altuve and Correa weren't 100 percent, but we all have our nagging issues... ...like JD and Rafie this October. Just look at their postseason OPS so far: JD 1.200, Devers 1.067!
  4. Maybe; I said "a case could be made." Bregman is arguably better all-around -- though I hope he's not Brooks Robinson again like he was in the '18 LCS. Maldonado was Houston's catcher in the ALDS. Vaz is at least a better hitter in late-and-close...
  5. The 2013 Red Sox had the most wins in the majors. They finished first and weren't underdogs in the postseason (even though we knew Detroit's Cy Young rotation would be tough). Bell's right that the surprise was with how quickly they turned around from '12. The new guys made positive contributions, but Boston still had plenty of star players and bounce-back pitchers. The only fluke was Koji having a better season than any even Mo Rivera ever had.
  6. A case could be made that the Astros have better all-around players at every position except centerfield and catcher. The pitching staffs as currently constituted are almost impossible to compare because the Red Sox starters (except Nate, so far) are also basically closers and in-betweeners. But can Dusty hang with AC? Maybe Cora has necessitated a new phrase for the chronology of playoff pitching usage -- where in any game the starting rotation can become the ending rotation.
  7. Yikes. Thanks for the perspective. A lot of fans griped about Sale's albatross contract, but it's less than half of Cole's. Sale was a seven-time All-Star and Cy Young finalist, which is still two more great years than Cole has had (including '21)... Eeegads.
  8. The underdogs are still playing with house money. Which would be more surprising: a four-game sweep that Boston loses... or Boston wins?
  9. Especially to the Astros, who led the majors in putting runners on base and in driving them in.
  10. Maybe the last time a slim majority of posters were right with any Chris Sale speculation was voicing concern he was damaged goods when Dombro signed him large and long. There were a few who thought he'd come back in the second half to make 10 starts in '21; they're technically correct, since he had 9 in the regular and soon 2 in the postseason.
  11. in the middle of that, Boston's roster was also decimated by a Covid outbreak. During that span, the Sox somehow managed to tread dirty water by going 7-8.
  12. Good notation of the rotation. As the de facto ace, Eovaldi is also now positioned to be the stopper, with one more day of rest. His next start would presumably be Game 6 a week from tonight, also in Houston... but Nate could also be available for an inning in relief in Game 5 Wednesday (Thursday is an off-day). Cora and his coaches probably want to use Houck as long man tonight (giving the Stros opposite looks of lefty-righty killer sliders), so they can then rest Tanner for another relief stint for either Sunday or Monday. Ideally, Game 2 will mainly feature an Eovaldi-Whitlock show.
  13. While we can only surmise about the actual health of current players, we do know that Valdez and Garcia beat a Red Sox lineup twice each five months ago. A lot can change by the Fall, two seasons after the Spring, including the condition of pitchers' arms. The White Sox, a step behind the Red Sox in offense all year, knocked around both Valdez and Garcia just last week. Meanwhile the Boston batting order has definitely changed since Memorial Day. Some hitters have even morphed or peaked in October. For example, Verdugo has thrived in this postseason environment -- eight hits in five games, tied with Kike and Rafie with six RBIs, making big plays -- he stays in my lineup. Of course, if a guy like Martin Perez makes the ALCS roster, it can only be because he threw the best of all Red Sox vs. Houston last June, with 7 2/3 shutout innings (pre-sticky stuff ban).
  14. When Conigliaro, Rice and Evans couldn't play in the big games in '67/'75/'78, the Cardinals, Reds and Yankees sent them all "Get Well Later" cards.
  15. ... or if he's conservative, drill his batter in the kneecap with it.
  16. I'm ok with the crowd doing damage to eardrums -- but totally against waving hankies of any color; those spinning seals are almost as bad as the non-Marcus simians banging paws on the wrestling mats draped over the rightfield foul line in Stankee Yadium. Someone noted the other day that the apparent younger and louder crowd at Fenway this postseason is a generational phenomenon. Postadolescents have grown accustomed to the Red Sox succeeding in October -- which is the opposite of the nervous older types sitting on their hands in the box seats awaiting the worst that Fox used to show exclusively when it still clung to the fatalistic fan narrative relished by now-nostalgic New Yorkers.
  17. ... stark-raving decibel drunkards posing as college students beginning Monday.
  18. I'm like Lindsey Graham: I'm out! Until I'm back in...
  19. Don't let us win four out of seven.
  20. Tomase, who picked the Rays in three in the ALDS, now says the Sox can definitely beat the Stros. His thinking is that both teams can bash, and the hottest hitters will win, since neither team's starting pitching is guaranteed to be a positive factor (especially if McCullers isn't 100 percent). Maybe fans should be prepared for a potential scenario where Boston gets cremated in at least two games... and still wins the pennant. What was the score of Game 3 in the '04 ALCS when New York went up three games to none?
  21. I can't believe Bloom didn't listen to me and trade for Richard Rodriguez -- who didn't even make the Braves' postseason roster! Can we pick him up off the waiver wire now? So, obviously there were no sure relievers out there -- or in there, anywhere; even top guys like Hader and Hendriks this October. At least I didn't want Kimbrel back, and knew Bloom wouldn't go near that $17 mil contract (someone on MLB radio said the White Sox would be taking Kimbrel's option and trading him this winter... wonder which prospects Chicago will have to add to make that happen). Anyway, kudos to the posters who wanted the Red Sox to acquire Hansel Robles at the deadline.
  22. All great points, especially how decisive Dombro was to lock up Cora before other clubs, like the Yankees, did. It seemed similar to how fast Lou Gorman hired Butch Hobson to replace Joe Morgan back in the 1990s -- remember Lou noting they had to promote Butch, because other teams were asking about him. And then Hobson completely flopped as big league manager... or at least his teams did. One of the differences in the Cora re-hire, at least, is that all the star Red Sox players were clamoring for his return -- and all parties involved have responded accordingly.
  23. But not a lot of "big" misses, and that's why I just don't see Bloom ever putting the franchise in the position to miss big on free agent acquisitions. I'm not referring to extensions for homegrown players, which I believe are important when considering the fanbase. But I seriously doubt the Red Sox will offer a Cole or David Price contract... or even an Anthony Rendon-type (an All-Star, but not necessarily elite player). Dombrowski gets a lot of heat for the Price and Sale deals, but those weren't really out of line for top free agent starting pitchers and big market clubs at the time. The Sox have certainly got their money's worth on JD, whose agent wanted twice as much as he eventually signed for (late, just before Spring Training '18).
  24. Last offday before ALCS... and acknowledging the Sox wouldn't be here if the Mookie trade went down differently, the way some of us (me) wanted it: ... if the Dodgers gave us pitching prospect Josiah Gray, then who would've Devers homered off of in Washington to break up a scoreless tie in Houck's perfect half-game? ... if LA gave up Gray instead of Verdugo, then which leftfielder would be leading Boston in postseason RBIs right now? ... if San Diego made the Betts deal instead, and the Padres gave us pitching prospect Luis Patino, then who would've Vazquez walked off in Game 3 of the ALDS? ... with Mookie in SD, giving the Giants an easier path to the World Series -- and Mike Yaz playing for a ring in Fenway -- who would his grandpa root for?
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