2020 ALCS: Good vs Evil

VORP Speed

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Ground Zero
Alvarado coming back strong would be huge.

Interesting to see how the pitching unfolds today. Rays just named Curtiss as starter. He’s an opener, so presumably it will Curtiss then Fleming. Astros haven’t named starter yet. Big 3 relievers for Rays all available.
 

InstaFace

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Dusty Baker is the Andy Reid of baseball.
That is a gross slander of Andy Reid. Reid only has one big managerial item he's a miserable failure at, not a whole platter, and if it weren't for facing off twice against the greatest coach and QB in the history of his game, he'd almost certainly have 3 titles. There is no sane analysis that doesn't put him in the top 5 of coaches in his league, and most would have him top-3.

Dusty Baker took a team that had averaged 104 wins the last 3 seasons, returned the same lineup, and "managed" them to a losing record. Baker also has a postseason failure that makes a couple of Reid NFC Championship losses look like works of towering genius. He is 3-9 all-time in postseason series, and two of those wins were that same year. The NLCS loss to the Marlins the next year was the baseball equivalent of fucking up running a lemonade stand. He is, by just about any measure, bottom-half in his profession, and at age 71 he's not getting any better.
 
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jon abbey

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I don’t get the Dusty Baker complaints (for this season), feels like he’s done a great job winning series with a very inexperienced pitching staff. They’ve knocked out two of the three division winners so far. I did think it was a mistake to burn Javier last night but everyone does desperate things in elimination games.
 

catomatic

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My take on all the Dusty Baker/Zach Greinke adulation is that way too much of that inning’s “success” rests on a mind-numbingly bad strike 3 call (Timmons) on a textbook checked swing (Arozarena). If he stays true to recent form and ties things up...
 

VORP Speed

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#Rays lineup:
Lowe 2b
Arozarena lf
Meadows rf
Diaz dh
Choi 1b
Margot cf
Wendle 3b
Adames ss
Zunino c

Curtiss p


I understand the Lowe approach, but still not sure I agree with it.
 

InsideTheParker

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Jul 15, 2005
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#Rays lineup:
Lowe 2b
Arozarena lf
Meadows rf
Diaz dh
Choi 1b
Margot cf
Wendle 3b
Adames ss
Zunino c

Curtiss p


I understand the Lowe approach, but still not sure I agree with it.
Actually, I don't understand why a guy who seems to have lost his sense of the strike zone is the lead-in to your best hitter. I guess the hope is that Meadows provides some protection?
 

VORP Speed

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Actually, I don't understand why a guy who seems to have lost his sense of the strike zone is the lead-in to your best hitter. I guess the hope is that Meadows provides some protection?
It’s psychotherapy. They are going overboard to make it clear to him that they have confidence in him, he’s their man, etc.
 

LogansDad

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Maaaaaaan, I capped myself at $60 for an Arozarena Panini/Bowman lot of about 15 cards last night and lost out in the last 2 minutes, not realizing one of them was a #/5 refractor. That one card is going for $500+ now. Fuck.
 

S. H. Frog

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That was awesome. Altuve dusted at second trying to stretch a liner off the thrid base bag.
 

E5 Yaz

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This would be the year and the damn team to come back from 0-3, so it probably happens.
I've had an uneasy feeling about that for two days. The Rays might never have another lead in this series
 

E5 Yaz

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Yeah, if the Rays can't find a way to take this game, it certainly feels like they are in a bit of trouble.
Hate to say it, but the Rays have the look of a team that got to just short of the finish line and have just stopped. Serious doubts they can get it going again.