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5GoldGlovesOF,75

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Everything posted by 5GoldGlovesOF,75

  1. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Very pops up in an awful lot of grading systems, for baseball cards, comic books, and other PSA items unrelated to prostate levels. An assigned grade of "very good" is better than "good" -- which usually isn't, since it's just above "fair". The most overrated grade is "very fine", which makes something sound almost "near mint"... when it's usually nothing better than "fine"... ... and for anyone who is married or in a serious relationship, I don't have to tell you the true meaning of that cursed, four-letter "f-word".
  2. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Hope not, but nobody knows the stress his ligaments and tendons endured during the heat of the moments. And we never will, until players eventually fade out of the picture, are cut or retire. Imagine Cora pretending there was nothing wrong with Devers, whose arm was literally wrapped and couldn't swing a bat unless he spun his entire body around in the batter's box.
  3. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Almost.
  4. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    A lot of us have been saying -- for any pitcher -- that continued use will eventually lead to a less effective outing... and the more relievers that are used in a game, the better the chance that at least one just doesn't have it that day. We love Pivetta for last weekend, but be prepared for maybe something less than stellar vs. Houston... because his arm may never be the same.
  5. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I agree with most of this. The Rays are so innovative out of necessity that they can trade a veteran starter like Rich Hill in the middle of a pennant race -- and after losing their ace for the season with an injury. But I bet some of Hill's ex-teammates wish he was still around to give them five innings in one of those games last weekend.
  6. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Agree with the need, but I'm increasingly thinking a Cole-type or even Sale-type contract for production done with baseball's most delicate body part (above the waist) is way more of a risk than a Betts-type contract to a position player who is just short. I doubt Bloom or any other GM/CBO will ever again try to compete with the two-team market of NY and LA. There's just more value long-term in loading up on a bunch of maybes, year to year. The innings that a Martin Perez can give a club -- unless he's the visage of abject horror -- are now part of the big picture plan of saving other arms for the autumn.
  7. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    He may see a few of the bus drivers Friday night. We shouldn't underestimate postseason experience, especially for those pros who have actually won it all. The Rays were big favorites in the ALDS, but had zero players with World Series rings. Boston has at least 10: Schwarber, Kike, Vazquez, X, Rafie, JD, Eovaldi, Braiser, ERod, Sale, and maybe Barnes. Plus, Manager Cora. Houston has 5: Gurriel, Altuve, Correa, Bregman and McCullers... and possibly, Marwin, if he makes the roster. Dusty Baker won one as a player, but never as a skipper.
  8. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    These new findings reveal once again he was just part of an organizational paradigm (albeit a vital cog in the wheel). Manfred and the MLB still scapegoated him as poor handler of pitchers.
  9. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Freeman is a great opposite-field hitter and he didn't try to pull Hader; with a guy who throws that hard, the goal is always to be on time with as much sweet spot as possible, then let science take over.
  10. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    My thinking is changing to reflect the changing approach towards starting pitchers. I've heard and read quotes indicating that the way the pitching staff won the WC and ALDS was planned by Cora and the Sox by limiting starters' innings... all season, since Spring Training. Now, how does that reconstruct history of 2019's infamous "restgate"?
  11. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Well, maybe not so random, before umps were inspecting caps and gloves...
  12. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Wondering about the Astros' pitching, now that their ALDS #1 starter, McCullers, may have arm problems. The start of June seems like forever ago when Boston lost 5 of 7 to Houston. The lasting memory from those pre-Sticky Stuff Ban days were the horizontal frisbees that broke five feet thrown by nearly every Astro starter. In those head-to-heads, the Red Sox could only beat Greinke and Odorizzi but lost twice each to Framber Valdez and Luis Garcia (both were hit pretty hard by the White Sox this past week). Make of this what you wish: The June Astros crushed Eovaldi (5 ER in 5.2 IP on 11 hits, 3 BBs) and ERod (6 ER in 4.2 IP on 6 hits, 3 BBs)... but were blanked by Martin Perez (0 runs in 7.2 shutout innings on 6 hits, 1 BB).
  13. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Astros will be formidable. Both teams can hit, and both teams' pitching can be hit. Here's the reason Houston has to be favored in a best-of-seven: Defensive Efficiency, which bb-ref defines as "percentage of balls in play converted into outs" -- according to this metric, the Astros are the best fielding team in the AL... while the Red Sox are the worst in the majors. Teams can have one great game playing for the Wild Card -- or even one great ALDS weekend -- but such discrepancies tend to get exposed and exploited in a longer series. Hopefully, the Sox can stay focused on D (and hit the cutoff!).
  14. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    That would require a live scouting report, sponsored by and for the board. But Cora would expect you to pay attention to details, not just they have better starters, we have better in-betweeners...
  15. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    It was 17 pitches actually; Meadows fouled off the first three, took three, then fouled off 10 in a row before missing. Had to be an outlier, because ERod got the last two outs on a combined three pitches (though anti-nibblers will say that was his outlier).
  16. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Sale's elbow must be barking. It's hard to believe that he can't pitch or they won't use him -- in the postseason, for Sox sake -- because he can't "find" his change-up. For a change-up to be effectively deceptive, it's supposed to be thrown with the same delivery and arm action as the fastball; the only difference is how it's gripped (which is what causes the drag in velo). Posters-who-are-pitchers, help me out here... does a change-up put any additional stress on the elbow joints? Certainly, not like curves, sliders, gyros, etc.?
  17. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    They're not going to crash. What's more likely is Bloom improves the depth, the Sox' record improves, but unpredictable bad hops or bad calls go the other way and they won't go as far. It happens.
  18. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Whatever the planned rotation for the ALCS, it will inevitably change due to 2021 strategies. In Boston postseasons under Cora, there are almost no more "starters" or "relievers"; just pitchers.
  19. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Playoff Cora. The manager never throws a pitch, but ours threw out the book that strongly advises living or dying by the anointed closer and set-up men. Barnes and Ottavino were a big part of the club's early success, but alarmingly unreliable in the second half. The turning point pitchers out of the bullpen in the three ALDS wins turned out to be Houck, Pivetta and Whitlock -- two starters and a reliever who was injured down the stretch. We saw Cora win with the same approach in the 2018 postseason. He doesn't adlib, either. Kevin Cash had the best pitching staff in the American League, but the Red Sox were better in the ALDS because Cora was more cutthroat with his moves.
  20. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Kike and Vaz were heroes once again, but Sox fans should never, ever forget who stopped the rampaging Rays: Garrett Freakin Whitlock. With our nerves frazzled by every single pitch through the second half of the game, it's easy to overlook just how dire the situation was that unfolded in the top of the 8th: Tampa had just came all the way back to tie it up on three straight rips off Braiser... and had the go-ahead run on second base with no outs in Arozarena (possessed by the ghost of Lou Brock and the arrogance of Rickey Henderson). The next batter up was Wander Franco, the scariest human in the entire postseason. Whitlock literally stopped the Rays in their tracks. He threw 15 pitches in two innings and retired the following in order: Franco, Lowe, Cruz. Choi, Diaz, Meadows. Garrett Whitlocked the door.
  21. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Houck has nothing tonight, guys. But the gold-shoed ringers should only get up twice more. They are absolutely the key at bats in the rest of the game. Which pitchers will get them out? Braiser? Whitlock? I got no other candidates. Sick Robles? Nottovino? Nate....?
  22. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    A pop-up for a double after Sox slam three outs to the warning track. Ya, that's baseball, but I'd of taken my chances with Houck staring the inning clean. Cora went for one more lefty match-up and now we need to limit their best hitters to one run here.
  23. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Great job, ERod. Now bring in Houck and win the series.
  24. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Schwarber remembered: ERod never covers in time.
  25. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    He never makes a mistake. Bichette is 50-50 he'll throw it away, and Torres won't even make half the plays. Franco's so young he could be Yankee, Dodger or Red Sox before he hits his prime.
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