5GoldGlovesOF,75

The thing is, not with the season on the line. I don't know if there are proportionate stats that reflect this, but in the postseason you're facing the very best competition in baseball in each year; and since most title teams are led by top pitching and defense, as a batter you're usually hitting against the toughest combination of arms, legs and hands in the league. Postseason ARod: .259 .365/.457/.822. Postseason Jetes: .308 .374/.465/.838. Pretty close, though #2 actually has a edge in all categories. But perhaps the most telling stat -- the one that speaks to your valid context as most fresh in our minds as fans -- are the plate appearances: ARod 330, Jeter 734. In over twice as many times up when it mattered most, Jeter was better.

I see where you're going... again, at least at the amateur sports level (and I would imagine the pros), I know there are guys who don't want the ball in certain moments; in baseball, they don't want to be on the mound, in the batter's box, or don't want the ball hit to them. Most would never admit it, but I've heard some say it (I may have once in awhile, too, only half-joking). But back to the majors: if you asked a million Yankee fans if they'd take Jeter or ARod in a clutch moment, how many do you honestly think would pick Alex? I know a lot of Yankee fans, and for them, the answer would be not one.

Fair point. I should've said most the players I know (literally half a century of teams, so far). And I can appreciate the stance that, for the most part, this discussion is really about good players or guys that are already considered among the best by their peers. The question exists: why do some good players perform better than others in certain situations? Matt Barnes throws 100 miles per hour, and has significant value as a proven MLB reliever. But why don't we trust him in the 9th inning? As for analytics, I consider myself someone with experience both as a player and as a fan who analyzes stats. I don't consider myself great at either, however; I like WAR, especially when comparing players and teams from different seasons and eras. But I also don't swear by WAR; it is just one more tool to use, but has made fandom more interesting (even if I could never calculate it). I'm still old school enough to claim that pitching wins can still count as much as ERA, because I've listened to old-timers (my step-father was a pro catcher) and I've played behind aces who lay them in there with a big lead, and buckle down in a one-run game.

Sorry, but I disagree with your opinion. All I can say is I agree if you watch the game and study the game, there are probably many ways to look at this supposedly mythical term that somehow became accepted jargon in all competitive sports at all levels for over a century. But if you play the game, you'd know there is not even a debate. You can still tell all the players they're wrong, and even show them data to prove they're wrong, but you'll never change their minds... ... or those of a large percentage of fans. Ask Red Sox fans how confident they were after Game One of the 2018 ALCS when Cora announced -- with the Sox down 0-1 -- that he'd be starting David Price, the highest paid pitcher in history, in Game Two. Price had just been crushed in the ALDS vs NY, and was still winless in career playoff starts (btw, he gave up 4 earned and didn't last 5 IP, but Boston prevailed). Then also ask fans how much more confidence they had in Eovaldi starting GM 3 in Houston; especially after he was lights out in Yankee Stadium the previous week. To Price's credit, he then made adjustments and had the best 11 days of his Red Sox career. Many articles about Price used words and phrases like "relief" and "monkey off his back"... were all these professional writers and observers really talking about a monkey that doesn't exist?

I became aware of Kaline about the same time as you, when I started collecting baseball cards as a kid in '68. What I remember is looking at Everyready batteries and wondering if they were endorsed by the Tiger (they were all printed with the word "alkaline")... then, when I realized it might be a coincidence, I wondered why Everyready didn't recruit Kaline as a spokesman?

Like I tried to say in my first post of the day... You don't have to have played competitive team sports lately, just take a look at game threads from the past few decades (from fans of any team). Not even stat geeks -- of which I include myself -- can deny that there are certain batters or pitchers that most of us would rather see up there, out there or in there in a tight spot... and they're not always the most popular players with the best numbers. Maybe a few examples: on the 2013 Sox, Nava hit .300 and Salty had an .800+ OPS as the regular leftfielder and catcher, but Gomes .240 and Ross .216 were in there more during crunch-time in the postseason; also, Jim Leyritz will always be a legend in NY for his "timely" home runs.

Dewey says it better than me. I was ready to just quote the Supreme Court (in recognition of porn)... but it definitely goes beyond stats -- even though I love that Pat Tabler baseball card. For Reggie, it was more consensus than just his Mr. October nickname; MLB writers twice voted him World Series MVP, once for Oakland, once for NY, plus he blew out his leg stealing home with the pennant-winning run that sent the A's to their first WS. I can't stand the guy, but he played on 11 first-place teams. He stepped up, even in something seemingly inconsequential as the 1971 All-Star game, with his 600-foot asterisk pinch home run in Detroit (it hit the light pole on the roof or it's still going). Btw, Frank Robinson was named MVP, because his "clutch" HR put the AL ahead, but Jackson turned that game around. And you can bet it mattered to the guys in the dugout, since it was the only ASG the AL won in a 20-year span; ya, the NL had a nice 19-1 run from '63 through '82.

That is good news, and great steps toward a recovery. As for the next free agency class, I just don't think the MLB biz will recover from whatever season is played, if any, to go back to the way things were. Kajillion dollar long-term sports contracts could soon join wedding receptions in banquet halls and cruise vacations in the ranks of nostalgia... ... especially, with no definitive treatments nor vaccine threatening the 2021 season. Hate to say it, but the timetables that scientists and medical experts are citing right now put next year in doubt -- when we should all be prepared for more partial openings and intermittent shutdowns in sports seasons, school years, etc. etc.

I actually never disliked him for steroids, only because he was better than the thousands or who knows how many others that also did them. But yelling "I got it" on a pop-up while running the bases, or slapping the ball out of Bronson's glove -- stunts like that would get you drilled at any level, from high school on up. If I had to pick my top team to win one game, ARod wouldn't make it, based solely on performance in most of the games he played in that mattered most. Other guys that Red Sox fans (and LA, KC etc) love to hate -- like Reggie Jackson and Pete Rose -- would be in my line-up. Rose had a higher batting average and OPS in 14 postseason series than he did in his regular-season career. And he wasn't just lucky to be on many teams with great pitching, like Reg. It exists.

For the sake of contributing to a thread, and not necessarily sparking an argument, I'd like to weigh in on 4. For those who have played the game most of our lives, and not just on a professional level, we all know there are certain guys who for some reason are more effective, more reliable performers than the rest of us "in the clutch". Now, the definition of clutch is obviously debatable, and I'm sure there are stats that number-crunchers can offer (such as "late, pressure" categories). But the whole concept is also subjective -- to me, my favorite clutch David Ortiz moment came in the first inning, when he homered to give Boston a lead in Game Seven of the '04 LCS; it was right after Johnny Damon was gunned out at the plate, and it instantly silenced a blood-thirsty Yankee Stadium crowd in a pennant-clincher. The Sox never trailed. Considering current politics, I hate to use the phrase "game-changer"... but guys on the bench all know a guy on every team. It's usually the best player who gets the best rep -- but not always -- and that's where the qualitative data supersedes the quantitative. George Brett was better than ARod; anyone who watched the postseasons in the 1970s and 80s could tell you that. Brett's manager never batted him eighth in a playoff lineup in a season when he was the reigning MVP.

Well thought-out, and probably the only hope. But I'd guess the players, union, etc. would only go for this under a one-time tournament-type situation, like a WBC or Olympics (which may work better for TV anyway). Longterm wouldn't work, because of both physical and mental health issues. The first thing I thought of under this scenario is the first thing I imagined the players thinking: "wait -- no wives, girlfriends or groupies???"

These two states obviously make the most sense from a baseball standpoint... but unfortunately, not in a realistic sense. Hate to bring politics into this... but FLA and AZ are two of the few places in the world whose leaders haven't ordered statewide shut-down mitigation... despite what scientists all over the universe are convinced is our only chance right now. I'm not going to get into the logic and logistics about staying open for business where thousands of elderly retired Americans (those most susceptible to succumbing to the virus) go to live out their lives.

Actually, the Blue Jays' domed stadium with built-in hotel may be one of the perfect neutral sites to quarantine teams and then host mini-series exclusively for TV. Transportation would be a concern, though; we can't have 50 guys from all over North America driving to Canada in separate SUVs.

Looking at this logically... Toronto just banned all public events until June 30. Since they're a big league city, that means the MLB won't be starting until at least July. But here's the thing: until there's a cure or vaccine, how can any park or city anywhere open any venues that promote crowd attendance? All it would take is one unknowing carrier coughing in the concourse, food line, beer line, bathroom -- or at cramped Fenway, in any row or section -- and then the plague begins anew. What I can envision is what people in China have been telling me is proposed there: sports with no crowds, for TV viewing. Players on basketball or soccer teams would be quarantined for two weeks first, then play in neutral sites, with no homefield advantage. Could this work for baseball? It'd be better than no baseball... and after all, most of us remote spectators are already used to watching with remotes.

T... thanks for the compliments on the missus (an amazing "person")... unlucky (or lucky) for you she's too busy this year to teach another online course in Allied Health at UConn.

I've played a lot of left field in my years. In a split second, you just react -- there's really no time to think do-or-die, game-on-the-line, even season-on-the-line (an Astros' win ties the series, with Verlander and Game Five in Houston looming next)... ... but that's exactly what was at stake on Bregman's liner. That's why I consider Benintendi's catch the most important in Red Sox history (during my lifetime). Instead, we get the Verlander commercial: "good-things-come-in-threes" -- right before and after Devers flips his 3-run jack to the Crawford Boxes to win the pennant.

That was bad enough -- Kimbrel had me drinking a growler a game (my brother-in-law is a brewer; still essential!). But the game that had me hyperventilating was Game 4 in the ALCS vs Houston: Kimbrel opened the 8th, Sox up 8-5. What could go wrong? First batter -- Kemp rips one down the RF line -- luckily, Mookie makes a perfect throw to nail him at second (Bogie slaptag on the helmet). But then... Kimbrel hits Bregman, Springer doubles, Altuve grounds out to SS, run scores 8-6. It gets worse. Houston 9th vs. Kimbrel: with one out, Reddick walks, Correa walks, McCann elevates... and just misses a walk-off, caught by Betts. Then Kemp walks to load 'em up. Bregman swings at the first pitch, a soft sinking liner -- BENI!!!!!! Kimbrel got credit for the save...

Notice how the subtitle of Verducci's article said "slowing down the game" was the reason for Manfred's crackdown on sign-stealing? Nowhere in the title or subtitle is the word "cheaters". "About six teams last year were commonly understood to have installed in-house cameras in centerfield that were trained on opposing catchers’ signs, according to one general manager. Several other teams were under heavy suspicion. The sign stealing forced most teams to adopt multiple sets of signs even with the bases empty. Those signs were changed often, even within at-bats, which slowed the pace of play." I have no evidence, but would have to imagine that all analytics departments constantly analyze game video, and that trying to decipher signs would be a regular function of the office (and those that don't, would not be doing a thorough job to get an edge). That said, this article is from a year ago -- a year later than the allegations against the Red Sox state. Even so, MLB has spent too much time and money investigating the Sox, so I expect harsh penalties to at least justify that time and money. This isn't, after all, Project Bluebook or the Warren Commission. Or... is it?

Calling Doctor Howard, Doctor Fine, Doctor Howard! At least they made good beer (but hoppy).

Alex Speier in today's Boston Globe wrote an informative piece looking at how once-elite pitchers performed after TJ. I think the best model Sox fans can hope for is John Smoltz (which is ironic, since he was so brutal in Boston at the end of his career). But Smoltz is one guy who was great before and eventually after surgery: "Smoltz was squarely in the middle of a Hall of Fame career when he blew out his elbow at age 32 in spring training of 2000. Just over 13 months later, he returned to the Braves rotation, but struggled to a 5.76 ERA in that role. After a month on the sidelines, he returned as a reliever, a role in which he excelled over the next 3½ years (ages 34-37 seasons) before a return to the rotation at age 38. Certainly, the Sox hope Sale’s future lies in the rotation, but the impact Smoltz made out of the bullpen in the four seasons that followed his surgery was considerable, with two All-Star berths and a top-three Cy Young finish. In that vein, Smoltz offers evidence of how a great pitcher can remain elite after Tommy John surgery in his 30s, even as the initial decision to move him to the bullpen in 2001 points to the physical challenges of a return to a starting role." Smoltz eventually transitioned back into a starter, with three more very good years at ages 38 through 40. Another power pitcher -- Yu Darvish, now age 33 -- was named by Speier as being inconsistent. Others mentioned in the article with success after TJ were more pitch to bad-contact guys like Carpenter, Hudson and Wainwright.

It already is, now that there's a possibility that Sale doesn't even pitch for Boston until 2022. We have no idea how his elbow responds with a grafted tendon from his wrist (or somewhere else), but even without surgery it was unreasonable to expect Sale's continued dominance as a workhorse through his 30s. He was already breaking down by the end of the last few seasons with various issues. Like I said, of course we all want him back as a starter (the more innings pitched, the more batters retired, the higher the WAR value)... but at his salary, is just any level of effectiveness acceptable? As fans, we may have to accept that shorter stints -- whether as closer, opener or set-up man -- may be the only way we'll ever see an elite Chris Sale again. Even if a team is mediocre, a great reliever can help boost its status: taking the pressure off the rest of the bullpen, and also allowing starters to pitch with confidence.

Lackey post-TJ: age 34-38, avg. W-L 12-11, 3.57 ERA, 193 IP. I think the best Lackey post-surgery stat that Red Sox fans would be happy to see with Sale is this: postseason games started -- 11... 5 wins, 2 losses, 2 rings.

Dennis Eckersly became a full-time closer at age 33, and pitched until he was 43. In that time he saved an average of 34 games per year, pitched in 58 games a year -- and here's the key: had an average of 61 innings pitched per year. In his first five seasons exclusively as a reliever -- through age 37 -- Eck was a four-time All-Star with four Top 6 finishes in the Cy Young and MVP, each of which he won once. Boston players and fans cheered when sore-armed Chris Sale strutted out of the bullpen to strikeout the last three batters of the 2018 World Series. Of course we'd all like to see him do that for seven innings per game again like in his prime, but closing (or opening or power-relieving) may be the only way he can ever again become elite...

Detect a pattern? Shutdown for seven months, then can't throw a bullpen without pain... good thing the Sox wasted another 10 days just to make absolutely certain his elbow still hurt. More likely, all involved just agreed this was the optimum time, considering the possibility there won't be a season this season... ... but don't expect to see Sale back in action until 2022, depending on when he has surgery -- right now, sore elbows aren't really a priority in the medical world. I know a guy who recently blew out his ACL and docs won't even schedule his reconstructive op yet.

I'll run that report from a news agency based in France by all my Chinese students still living in forced quarantine, some 1,000 kilometers in opposite directions from Wuhan...