World Series 2018--Red Sox vs. Dodgers

Green (Tongued) Monster

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MLB has it covered. See, they've been worried that the games took too long and ended so late that they were losing younger viewers, so during the regular season they tried a couple things, like a pitch clock and counting mound visits, that shaved a pinch of time off. Nothing major. But for the playoffs, they really went all in to grab the kids, with the Migos spot and the "Let the Kids Play" commercial. Then they decided to start the games later, ignore every single way to keep the pace up and in fact allow way more latitude than ever (thus ensuring games that are four hours on average and end on a different day than they started), and sweeten the pot by forcing viewers to tolerate in-game commercials for the first time. It's like it was MLB's goal to alienate the young viewers they covet as well as the eyeballs they already have. Incredible. I want to sweep because I hate the Dodgers and also get off on postseason runs where the Sox just push people around, but mostly I want to sweep so I only have to deal with these in-game commercials two more times. They enrage me.
Sorry for the rant--GO SOX!
Does that Migos commercial bother anyone else as much as it does me? Repeatedly saying "Is you ready" & "home squad ready" over and over is fingernails on a chalkboard. If this is their plan to draw a younger generation, good luck. I am only 37, but get the hell off my lawn.
 

Cesar Crespo

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I am surprised at how so many have written this series off before a game is even played in LA. The games will have a completely different feel in LA with their home crowd and better line up. I would bet this goes back to Fenway, hopefully with the Sox up, not LA.
I haven't written the series off but I think the Redsox are the better team and that the NL is inferior. I'm also not concerned about being on the road or the LA crowd. How much did the crowd play a factor in the Yankee series?

And don't take this as an insult, but you are one of the most pessimistic people on the board. You've been waiting for the wheels to fall off forever.
 

TheoShmeo

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Some hubris in this here thread. I'm a big proponent of "jinxes are for dummies, it's fine to say 'no-hitter' if a potential one is in progress, and what we say here has no effect on the field"...but acting like the Dodgers are cooked is nonsense. They win a couple games in LA (they're a good baseball team!) and this Series is a SERIES again.

That said, I'm beginning to believe it will not come back to Fenway. We'll just see how tomorrow goes.
Not many posters are actually saying that. I think most on the optimistic side fully get that the series isn't exactly over; they just like the Sox chances.

There's reason for confidence. The body of work over a full season, how hot this team is right now, the balanced contributions they are getting, their manager's excellent decision making and that they have handled some of the best starters in baseball all stick out.

For those reasons, I'm with you and think this thing ends in LA.
 

HangingW/ScottCooper

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The Red Sox have thoroughly outplayed all three of NYY, HOU, and LAD (so far) in all aspects of the game. Hitting, fielding, pitching, running and coaching.

Roberts does seem to be overly dogmatic with his lineups and I believe to the detriment of run production. In short, however, I don’t think he is doing anything else I find overly questionable and I also don’t think having different hitters for games 1 and 2 would have changed the outcomes.

Edit: but I’d much rather have AC.
Taking Baez out in Game 1 and not putting in Baez in instead of Madson in game 2?
 

Rovin Romine

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Great rant but truly how many games have been 4 hours this postseason?
I think the better question is: if you have to get up for work/school the next morning, how many games have ended at a reasonable time - say, resulting in at least 7 hours of sleep?

For east coast fans, not so many.

For the Sox, these are the ending times (from B-ref):
WS3 - ?
WS2 - 11:21
WS1 - 12:09
ALCS5 - 11:39
ALCS4 - 1:09am
ALCS3 - 9:01
ALCS2 - 10:51
ALCS1 - 12:12 *sat night
ALDS4 - 11:35
ALDS3 - 11:21
ALDS2 - 11:36 *sat night
ALDS1 - 11:13 *fri night

That's a grand total of one post season game young Sox fans could see live. Even on the weekend nights, 11:30 isn't always the best for kids - but such would only boost the total to three games.

It evokes west coast trips during my Jr. High days - sneaking out of bed to turn on the radio in my room, and even then, I'm sure I didn't always make it through the game.
 

Sin Duda

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Not many posters are actually saying that. I think most on the optimistic side fully get that the series isn't exactly over; they just like the Sox chances.

There's reason for confidence. The body of work over a full season, how hot this team is right now, the balanced contributions they are getting, their manager's excellent decision making and that they have handled some of the best starters in baseball all stick out.

For those reasons, I'm with you and think this thing ends in LA.
Speaking of confidence, after watching the highlights of Game 2 last night, I recognized something I hadn't seen before, particularly in Joe Kelly and Nathan Eovaldi. Each of them had an expression of confidence and assuredness on their faces that was unmistakable. All of us, especially those of you who have played baseball at a high level, know that confidence is probably the #1 trait a ballplayer needs to have to complement his physical skills (exhibit A: Dustin Pedroia). We heard it in Nunez's voice after Game 1 as he described his readiness to pinch hit. All ballplayers have confidence of course, or they wouldn't be able to perform on the grandest stage. But I believe they completely buy into what AC is telling them. He was a ballplayer and he knows. He has guided them this far and their confidence in themselves and their teammates continues to build with each victory. They know they are going to win. On to the City of Angels!
 
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uk_sox_fan

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I understand the argument against starting games before Californians et al get off work but what gets me is that Saturday and Sunday games are at night as well. Tomorrow we're being preempted by Kansas St - Oklahoma (I mean WTF cares?) and Sunday I just don't see why NFL regular season takes precedence over the World Series. Don't bid on it if you want to show something else in the premium slot.
 

Lose Remerswaal

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I think the better question is: if you have to get up for work/school the next morning, how many games have ended at a reasonable time - say, resulting in at least 7 hours of sleep?
Zero disagreement from me, just that such a good rant shouldn't have highlighted a Four Hour complaint when your ending time display would have been sufficient
 

ricopetro6

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I haven't written the series off but I think the Redsox are the better team and that the NL is inferior. I'm also not concerned about being on the road or the LA crowd. How much did the crowd play a factor in the Yankee series?

And don't take this as an insult, but you are one of the most pessimistic people on the board. You've been waiting for the wheels to fall off forever.
not really...pointing out that this series is not over is hardly being a pessimist. Just listening to so many media heads writing this series off before a game is even played in LA is kind of annoying.
 

BigJimEd

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I understand the argument against starting games before Californians et al get off work but what gets me is that Saturday and Sunday games are at night as well. Tomorrow we're being preempted by Kansas St - Oklahoma (I mean WTF cares?) and Sunday I just don't see why NFL regular season takes precedence over the World Series. Don't bid on it if you want to show something else in the premium slot.
Why do you say the afternoon is the premium slot?
Evening is still prime time for TV. Sunday night is TVs biggest night with the most viewers of any time frame.
 

mwonow

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I am surprised at how so many have written this series off before a game is even played in LA. The games will have a completely different feel in LA with their home crowd and better line up. I would bet this goes back to Fenway, hopefully with the Sox up, not LA.
Would you really? Bet that the Sox will win 0 or 1 of 3 in LA? If so, I hope you're getting some odds. Personally, I'd take the over on .333 over the next three games...
 

Al Zarilla

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It seems like Puig has a lot of balls drop in front of him for singles. I've read he's playing deep, but he's not making plays, is he?
He fooled a lot of people early in his career into thinking he was a great fielder because of his arm. But his range slipped significantly this year. Maybe just an anomaly as he’s only 27?
 

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not really...pointing out that this series is not over is hardly being a pessimist. Just listening to so many media heads writing this series off before a game is even played in LA is kind of annoying.
I don't understand why this is annoying at all. From an objective perspective, beating this Sox team 4 out of 5 games is an extremely tall task. My guess is they'll actually play the games, and obviously, anything can happen. But the Sox are in a very strong position at this moment and I don't get what's wrong about pointing this out.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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He fooled a lot of people early in his career into thinking he was a great fielder because of his arm. But his range slipped significantly this year. Maybe just an anomaly as he’s only 27?
Is playing deep a typical thing for Puig or is it simply something he did in Fenway, where there are some quirks that might make him take a more conservative, keep-everything-in-front kind of approach? The corner in particular can be tricky with how quickly it gets quite deep. Approaching it from a deeper position makes cutting off a ball down the line easier.

If the Sox continue to drop hits in front of him at Dodger Stadium because he's playing so deep, I'd be more inclined to believe it is him trying to compensate or cover for reduced range.
 

Savin Hillbilly

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The wrong side of the bridge....
He fooled a lot of people early in his career into thinking he was a great fielder because of his arm. But his range slipped significantly this year. Maybe just an anomaly as he’s only 27?
FWIW, according to both DRS and UZR, his range slipped significantly this year....back to his career norm of average-ish. It was last year's Gold Glove-caliber performance that was the outlier, by those yardsticks at any rate.
 

EllisTheRimMan

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Taking Baez out in Game 1 and not putting in Baez in instead of Madson in game 2?
I tend not to second guess reliever usage through the lens of results based outcomes. When it's obvious before the results are known (Like, I dunno... Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS) then I form a strong opinion. I just don't know enough about Baez and Madson to have much insight prior to the moves backfiring. That said, Madson has sucked so I would expect him to get only low leverage for the next 2 games, at least... if he does get into a high leverage situation tonight, for example, I'll feel confident in second guessing the move before he throws his first pitch.
 

gedman211

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If you put your best reliever in for the highest leverage situation, you insulate yourself against second guessing to a large degree, no matter the outcome. Cora would've ridden Baez in both games. We've seen it with his use of Barnes, and we saw it last year with Hinch/Cora's use of McCullers.
 

Cesar Crespo

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If you put your best reliever in for the highest leverage situation, you insulate yourself against second guessing to a large degree, no matter the outcome. Cora would've ridden Baez in both games. We've seen it with his use of Barnes, and we saw it last year with Hinch/Cora's use of McCullers.
Cora's bullpen moves are constantly 2nd guessed in the game threads. I'd guess every team's fans complain about their bullpen and its usage regardless of how it's used.
 

Al Zarilla

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Is playing deep a typical thing for Puig or is it simply something he did in Fenway, where there are some quirks that might make him take a more conservative, keep-everything-in-front kind of approach? The corner in particular can be tricky with how quickly it gets quite deep. Approaching it from a deeper position makes cutting off a ball down the line easier.

If the Sox continue to drop hits in front of him at Dodger Stadium because he's playing so deep, I'd be more inclined to believe it is him trying to compensate or cover for reduced range.
FWIW, according to both DRS and UZR, his range slipped significantly this year....back to his career norm of average-ish. It was last year's Gold Glove-caliber performance that was the outlier, by those yardsticks at any rate.
I saw Puig’s UZR stats this year vs last also. He did slip. I didn't see him play much this year regular season but I did watch all of the Dodgers playoff games. Eye test Puig does look like the numbers (not good). Bellinger, when they play him in center, looks OK, but his regular season UZR numbers are a little below average. In fact, none of the Dodgers’ outfielders UZR numbers (adding in Taylor, Pederson and Kemp) are very good. We are so spoiled by our outfield, although Beni’s advanced fielding numbers aren’t that good, eyetest to the contrary.

One of the guys on MLBN tried to make the Fenway RF dimensions responsible for Puig not knowing we’re to play. He looks to his left and sees the Pesky pole at 302 feet; not too far to his right he sees 380 feet on one of the bullpens and he gets all fouled up. Dodger Stadium, perfectly symmetrical, coming up.
 

Just a bit outside

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Is playing deep a typical thing for Puig or is it simply something he did in Fenway, where there are some quirks that might make him take a more conservative, keep-everything-in-front kind of approach? The corner in particular can be tricky with how quickly it gets quite deep. Approaching it from a deeper position makes cutting off a ball down the line easier.

If the Sox continue to drop hits in front of him at Dodger Stadium because he's playing so deep, I'd be more inclined to believe it is him trying to compensate or cover for reduced range.
They showed them getting index cards about where to line up defensively. That can’t be all his decision.
 

DJnVa

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I am surprised at how so many have written this series off before a game is even played in LA. The games will have a completely different feel in LA with their home crowd and better line up. I would bet this goes back to Fenway, hopefully with the Sox up, not LA.
I might be wrong but it seems you wouldn’t mind the Sox lose so you can come back here and post how everyone should’ve listened to you.

Even though no one thinks this is over and your entire premise is wrong
 

ricopetro6

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I might be wrong but it seems you wouldn’t mind the Sox lose so you can come back here and post how everyone should’ve listened to you.

Even though no one thinks this is over and your entire premise is wrong
yes, you are wrong
 

DeadlySplitter

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what a complete disaster this game was in terms of the outlook for hte series.

just horrific performances from several key players. we have his work cut out for him now to wrestle this back, because this was absolutely the worst case scenario that played out tonight.
 

Mystic Merlin

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what a complete disaster this game was in terms of the outlook for hte series.

just horrific performances from several key players. we have his work cut out for him now to wrestle this back, because this was absolutely the worst case scenario that played out tonight.
They would've been better off losing like 3-0 in a regulation game. Three of our purportedly best players, Xander, Mookie, and JD were complete dogshit in this game.

Eovaldi is the least deserving player on either team of an "L" in this game.

Kinsler had what could be the worst stretch of baseball I can recall in terms of the variety and magnitude of his fuckups. He got picked off (bailed out only by the fact there wasn't a definitive angle), overran third base to almost get tagged out, and basically ran into the catcher on the sac fly. And, of course, he caught a cleat on the grass and fucking panicked on the throw, costing the Sox the final out and the game.
 

reggiecleveland

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This was a big screwup by cora. He made bold moves to win, that didn't work. But they were gambles and they didn;t work Then he burned the best pitcher for over 90 pitches in mismatch. The dodgers hat their bats in the lineup, and a heroic as he was Pedro 99 wasn;t going to pitch a lineup with Vaz, Sandy, Kinsler, Nunez and a pitcher to victory. Just pure stubbornness to use up Evoldi until when game 7? If Hembree blows it you come back with your ace, and actual hitters in the lineup game 3. They are in trouble and I hope Kinsler doesn't join the villains of the past that blew a world series, but he may have.

Game 4 Big advantage Dodgers
Game 5 Advantage Dodgers, since Sale is shaky.
 

JohntheBaptist

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He really was a one-man chaos agent. I am still stunned he got thrown out at home.

That was really rough. I really don't buy game-to-game momentum in baseball but tomorrow is big because Hill is a guy the Sox should get to. I'll start to worry if they don't because they need a nice comfortable win, the roster ripple effect without at least scoring the win in exchange here really stings.
 

gedman211

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Chin up fellas!
Game 4: Edro starts, Price for an inning if needed
Game 5: Sale starts, Evo or Porcello for an inning if needed
Game 6: Price starts, Sale or Porcello for an inning
Game 7 Evo starts, all hands on deck

That was an epic game. Cora did a tremendous job, but the bats came up limp. 538.com has us at 75%
 

Devizier

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Pshaww!
Chin up fellas!
Game 4: Edro starts, Price for an inning if needed
Game 5: Sale starts, Evo or Porcello for an inning if needed
Game 6: Price starts, Sale or Porcello for an inning
Game 7 Evo starts, all hands on deck

That was an epic game. Cora did a tremendous job, but the bats came up limp. 538.com has us at 75%
I'm with you here. That was a great game. The Dodgers are good, and they're trying to win too.
 

uncannymanny

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Adding to that, even given everything else, if Kinsler makes that throw they’re basically home free. What a shit night for him.
 

joe dokes

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Chin up fellas!
Game 4: Edro starts, Price for an inning if needed
Game 5: Sale starts, Evo or Porcello for an inning if needed
Game 6: Price starts, Sale or Porcello for an inning
Game 7 Evo starts, all hands on deck

That was an epic game. Cora did a tremendous job, but the bats came up limp. 538.com has us at 75%
I'm there. EdRo is good. All the relievers are available except eovaldi and porcello. It tooka historically grwat game from Buehler, historically bad games from Betts and bogaerts, and a near-ft Myers lineup at the end to keep LA in it.

It was one game. One great game. Just as game 6 in 75 was one great game.

Other than if bogaerts is hurt (a big if, to be sure) , there is literally no reason to treat game 3 as some sort of atomic bomb to their chances. The dodgers won a game.
Whoop de damn do.
 

scotian1

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Let's not forget that under normal circumstances Nunez would have scored on Leon's double, In the bottom half, if he had been able to stop himself from falling into the stands, Muncy would not have been on 2nd and it might have been an easy force at 2nd for Kinsler on the Puig ball. Or at least would have Barnes batting. As Ned Martin used to say; "If ifs and bits were candies and nuts we'd all have a wonderful Christmas."
 

Remagellan

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Pshaww!
Chin up fellas!
Game 4: Edro starts, Price for an inning if needed
Game 5: Sale starts, Evo or Porcello for an inning if needed
Game 6: Price starts, Sale or Porcello for an inning
Game 7 Evo starts, all hands on deck

That was an epic game. Cora did a tremendous job, but the bats came up limp. 538.com has us at 75%

I agree with the chins up, but we’re not seeing Eovaldi again until Game 7. He threw 97 pitches last night. That’s essentially a start. Maybe they could bring him in for an inning in Game 6 if they have Porcello rested and ready for a Game 7 start, but you wouldn’t want to risk a bullpen game if a fully rested Buehler is waiting to start Game 7 on the other side.

Win tonight, win tomorrow, and then let’s see where we are.
 

HomeRunBaker

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I agree with the chins up, but we’re not seeing Eovaldi again until Game 7. He threw 97 pitches last night. That’s essentially a start. Maybe they could bring him in for an inning in Game 6 if they have Porcello rested and ready for a Game 7 start, but you wouldn’t want to risk a bullpen game if a fully rested Buehler is waiting to start Game 7 on the other side.

Win tonight, win tomorrow, and then let’s see where we are.
This is the WS, Evo has shown he can pitch consecutive days then throw 97 pitches after just one day off from that b2b. Having two days off will make him a full go for an inning in both G6 & G7. The reason we hadn't seen Cora use him much past 5 innings during the season isn't due to his arm not being able to handle it but rather due to his dropoff in effectiveness on the 3rd time through the order. Fangraphs had a piece on this when we acquired him.

This isn't the 162-game regular season where you need kid gloves. We just saw Price get hot in the pen the day prior to his start and it not affect him. Evo will be ready to go if we play any more games in Boston.
 

Ed Hillel

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Dodgers announced starter is TBD, which means they are probably going Kershaw if we go Sale. But we should do it anyway. Then go Price short, Porcello short, and Eovaldi for 7. I will take short rest versus short rest matchups the next three games versus having Pomeranz/Edro start. Dodgers might go Hill game 5 instead of Ryu, but that’s fine. Porcello didn’t throw many pitches, so him short versus Ryu full at home isn’t super scary.
 

RedOctober3829

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We’re OK. This team has had tremendous fortitude all year long. Everyone is talking like the Red Sox are the team down 2-1 here. I’d rather be in this position than down. Figure out the pitching and hope the bats score 10 runs.
 

LynnRice75

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The game was long and frustrating. I congratulate the Dodgers for taking 18 innings in a basically do or die home game in which we played poorly to squeak out their one and only win of the series.
 

joe dokes

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I agree with the chins up, but we’re not seeing Eovaldi again until Game 7. He threw 97 pitches last night. That’s essentially a start. Maybe they could bring him in for an inning in Game 6 if they have Porcello rested and ready for a Game 7 start, but you wouldn’t want to risk a bullpen game if a fully rested Buehler is waiting to start Game 7 on the other side.

Win tonight, win tomorrow, and then let’s see where we are.
If evo pitched game 4 he wouldn't have been available til game 7 anyway.

Dodgers announced starter is TBD, which means they are probably going Kershaw if we go Sale. But we should do it anyway. Then go Price short, Porcello short, and Eovaldi for 7. I will take short rest versus short rest matchups the next three games versus having Pomeranz/Edro start. Dodgers might go Hill game 5 instead of Ryu, but that’s fine. Porcello didn’t throw many pitches, so him short versus Ryu full at home isn’t super scary.
I am not in favor of Sale tonight on short rest. Relatedly, I am pretty surprised at the complete lack of faith in Rodriguez.
 

JMDurron

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I’m more concerned about the potential emotional and physical hangover from the game than the fact that the Dodgers won. Objectively, one loss is no big deal.

But...between the awful approach at the plate from multiple players, possible injuries in the IF, the critical screw ups possibly sticking in the minds of guys like Kinsler, the general physical toll of the game length, and the inability to actually score runs against their bullpen, I worry about a hangover effect. These guys are still human, even though they’ve been ridiculously resilient all year. Winning tonight will require a level of resiliency they haven’t had to achieve before.
 

Ed Hillel

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I believe Ed Rod has dog nuts and will pitch great tonight. There, I said it.

I was initially worried we'd get a Pomeranz start, aka forfeit.
Has this been announced? I mean it seems an obvious choice if not going Sale, but I’d feel a lot better once I hear a name other than Pomeranz.
 

bosockboy

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I’m guessing EdRo backed by Pomeranz. 4/5 EdRo, 1/2 Pomeranz. This also puts Bellinger/Muncy/Pederson on the pine assuming Roberts sticks to that.
 

Sandy Leon Trotsky

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I dunno.... I think EdRo will pitch a gem tonight and have us up 3-1.... but in a way I'd like the Sox to win in Fenway.