World Series 2018--Red Sox vs. Dodgers

DeadlySplitter

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also from what I've gathered, Urias is recovering from major shoulder surgery, and can't go back-to-back days right now.

very talented kid, but that is a killer limitation in a postseason series. he was not on the roster for the NLDS, put on for LCS. not sure about that move from the Dodgers.

EDIT: I guess he was in for games 1 & 2, maybe for a batter in one of them. regardless he can't exactly get Eovaldi'd right now.

in the end, besides letting us see Madson in two favorable PH situations, I think Roberts was fine. we just torch shit bullpens, the Dodgers are the ones who assembled this crap. Ryu can't go in relief apparently, that's their loss of flexibility.

With Baez unavailable I would have left a lefty in against Vaz and force the worse hitter to come through, then we have to PH lefty-on-lefty or a bad side of a switch-hitting catcher. but it's clear none of their lefties besides Urias are scary at all.
 

Oppo

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I dont understand a ton of the flak Roberts is getting either. We blew Eovaldi with Game three, but they torched their entire pen. Baez and Urias had pitched in every game of the series before last night. 18 innings takes a toll on everyone, we had to get to their spent pen, and that is exactly what happened. Not a lot of good options when everyone in your pen is gassed. They just got beat.
I agree with this post. If the Sox lost last night, Cora would be getting the same flak for mismanaging the bullpen. The majority of decisions are questioned in hindsight.
 

gedman211

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The righty 1st baseman is key. He can field a throw several feet inside the baseline only if he has the bag with his right foot, stretches towards 2ND with his left, and backhands the catch. Steve Pierce doesn't look like he does much yoga. He did a normal stretch, which places his target very close to the baseline.
 

Savin Hillbilly

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The wrong side of the bridge....
It's also one play where it's a big advantage if you have a left handed throwing first baseman...he sets up a target for the catcher that's pretty far to the infield side of the runner. If Pierce does that the throw has to be perfect (which it wouldn't have been).
Right, and it seems like it would be particularly tough for a righthanded player because he has to stretch across his body in the opposite direction from his momentum toward the bag. It's like trying to play Twister with a moving mat. It would be a much more natural play for a LH 1B.

Anyway, the other posters may be right that Bellinger had the throw beat. It certainly would have been a bang-bang play. Fortunately, the only lasting damage was to Edro's dignity.
 

Apisith

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Players make managers look smart, or in the case of Roberts, dumb.

Cora left Kelly in for Grandal. If Grandal gets a hit there, they take the lead. Cora presumably did that because the pitcher’s spot was coming up in the top of the 9th. If Kimbrel came in for Grandal, he would have had to be relieved by someone else or he would have had to bat. Cora couldn’t risk that because it was still a tie game at that point. Kelly came through and made Cora look smart.
 

ricopetro6

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Right, and it seems like it would be particularly tough for a righthanded player because he has to stretch across his body in the opposite direction from his momentum toward the bag. It's like trying to play Twister with a moving mat. It would be a much more natural play for a LH 1B.

Anyway, the other posters may be right that Bellinger had the throw beat. It certainly would have been a bang-bang play. Fortunately, the only lasting damage was to Edro's dignity.
he definitely had the throw beat
http://s1088.photobucket.com/user/theplayer111/media/IMG_0736.jpg.html
 

CR67dream

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Honestly, between the JD Sux, Fire Cora, MLB wants the Dodgers... The game threads are a joke.

Enjoy this, people. It's been an awesome ride
The game threads are supposed to be mostly a joke. They have always and forever been a place where the stupid, knee jerk reactions are vented, and that is the way it will always be. They were started to keep that sort of thing off the main board, which is being undermined by discussing them here. Everybody needs to knock that shit off, now.

For the record, I don't get the level of ridiculousness there either. Pre-'04 there was a reason that people had a hard time with each failure. 2003 was as bad a blow as the franchise had ever taken. Times have changed, and the entitlement to uninterrupted excellence that I see just makes me shake my head.

But they are game threads. Leave that shit there. When SemperFi brings that shit here post game, let him have it, but no discussion of game thread nonsense should ever be dragged here.
 

John DiFool

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I dont understand a ton of the flak Roberts is getting either. We blew Eovaldi with Game three, but they torched their entire pen. Baez and Urias had pitched in every game of the series before last night. 18 innings takes a toll on everyone, we had to get to their spent pen, and that is exactly what happened. Not a lot of good options when everyone in your pen is gassed. They just got beat.
Esp. given how slow Cora's hook was with Eduardo before Puig's blast.
 

PedroKsBambino

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So just a few small ruminations on my understanding of the runner’s lane interference play last night. If nothing else the Red Sox in the playoffs over the last several years have involved some pretty funky rules and rules interpretations.

For RLI you need two elements. Runner out of the lane except for his final approach into first base to touch it, and interference. I don’t think runner out of the lane is controversial here.

So that leaves interference. The runner must interfere with the throw or act of fielding. This is sort of like the word “prevented” in the spectator interference rule we all just learned about. It requires the umpire to judge that the play would probably have been successfully completed but for the interference.

But here’s the crucial part. In making that determination the umpire is not allowed to consider that the throw might have been affected by the runner being in the wrong place. This is counterintuitive and different from the rules in high school. We saw an example of this in a Yankees game last year where the catcher had no lane and tried to throw the ball above the runner and the first baseman had no chance to catch it. No RLI.

So, the ump must take the throw as it comes. And then determine whether there was a realistic chance of getting the out on the throw that was made taking into account fielder placement, runner proximity to the bag, and location of the throw. Traditionally, in MLB they seem to give the benefit of the doubt to the team that is batting, which seems a little backward to me.

So, there was definitely hinderance of Pearce’s ability to make the play but is it realistic to assume the out would have been made? I don’t think so. I think the interference here affected the throw not the act of fielding by the the first baseman but it’s fucking close and reasonable minds totally can differ.

If the runner is not where he is supposed to be and he’s blocking your throw you have to drill him to get the call. So long as the first baseman is in position and the batter wasn’t about to touch first base, that’s the best way to show interence because that play always looks like the first baseman would make the play. But the runner causing the fielder to make a bad throw that then would have required a spectacular play by the first baseman is perhaps unfairly not RLI in MLB.
It’s not quite true that the umpire can’t consider impact on the throw, though—that is not part of the rule.

What is true is the rule focuses on the receiver not the thrower. So, I think the umpire would need to say the receiver was hindered in seeing the throw and thus being able to field it by the runner being inside the line. Which probably was the case here

Also, interference isn’t just a question about Bellinger having the throw beat—it is also about causing the error which enabled advancement
 

54thMA

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That's how I feel. I am surprised how emotional I am about this series.

I guess thus has been such a fantastic team, so likable it is unimaginable for them to not win.
I'm a huge sports fan of the local teams; Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins, Celtics, baseball is the only sport I get emotional about.

I think part of the reason is it's the one sport I played on a number of levels, Little League, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Legion, College, Yawkey League, Park League, I think the main reason is it reminds me of my Grandfather, Dad and Uncle, none of whom are still with me.

I was a Red Sox fan as a kid, but it went to another level in the Summer of 75, my Uncle Peter from Arizona came out to visit that Summer, he was here for two months, he and I attended about a dozen Red Sox games that magical Summer leading up to IMO the greatest WS ever played.

My grandfather died a year after the 1975 Wolrd Series, my Mother is convinced losing that 1975 World Series is what did it.

I'll never forget the phone call my Uncle Peter made to me the day after game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, he went on this 10 minute rant about Grady and Aaron Boone, he died that December, my Mother is convinced losing that 2003 ALCS did him in too.

Luckily my Dad lived long enough to see 2004, 2007 and 2013.

He died two weeks after the Patriots/Falcons Super Bowl, my Mother...…………..well you get the idea...….;).

So it's during games like last night after the Red Sox won that game that I get emotional thinking of the three of them and how much baseball meant to them and to me, it's the fabric that bound us all together.

And I love this team so much; they are nails, I love how it's not the big names that are doing this, it's the role players who are carrying the load, that makes it all the more sweeter.

Close this out tonight and win it for the fourth time this century.
 

Tyrone Biggums

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Just close this out tonight and have Eovaldi and Price as co WS MVPs
 

Major Major

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These are arguably our 7 biggest names. This is their production in the postseason. You hear a lot of platitudes about "team" in the playoffs, but boy is it true of these guys. One hell of a TEAM.

Betts .207/.303/.276 (.579 OPS)
Bogaerts .218/.290/.309 (.599 OPS)
Benintendi .269/.333/.346 (.679 OPS)
Martinez .283/.397/.457 (.853 OPS)

Price 4.26 ERA/1.32 WHIP
Sale 4.40 ERA/1.33 WHIP
Kimbrel 5.91 ERA/1.59 WHIP
 

ledsox

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These are arguably our 7 biggest names. This is their production in the postseason. You hear a lot of platitudes about "team" in the playoffs, but boy is it true of these guys. One hell of a TEAM.

Betts .207/.303/.276 (.579 OPS)
Bogaerts .218/.290/.309 (.599 OPS)
Benintendi .269/.333/.346 (.679 OPS)
Martinez .283/.397/.457 (.853 OPS)

Price 4.26 ERA/1.32 WHIP
Sale 4.40 ERA/1.33 WHIP
Kimbrel 5.91 ERA/1.59 WHIP
Nice work. That says a lot. "Pass the baton". I think Moreland or Pearce said it's become kind of a mantra and that Nunie says it best. I want to know how he says it. But man, what a TEAM.
 

Boston Brawler

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If I could dream a scenario, Price goes 8 comfortable innings and we have Eovaldi close it out in the 9th. He deserves that final out more than anyone.
 

bosockboy

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Those 28 hrs of Game’s 3 and 4 is hard to fathom. Lose an 18 inning gut punch on a blown ground ball in spite of what Eovaldi did, get down 4-0 late the next night, then just put their head down and found a way to get it done. I’m just in awe, not sure any of us have seen that kind of resilience in sports.
 

Earthbound64

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Went back and watched the replay of Machado running down the line on Devers' play, listening to the Fox broadcast (as opposed to during the game when I was listening to WEEI).

Zoomed-in close-up of Machado stepping on Pearce's heel, and after a long pause, Joe Buck says "Machado was just trying to beat it out."
Even assuming Buck didn't see Machado blowing a bubble gum bubble as he jogged down the line, the mental disconnect is just astounding.
Truly a terrible announcer on a horrible network.
 

sueh1

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While this is more of a P&G point, not worth a thread. I'm surprised there aren't more famous Hollywood people in the stands, I thought they'd be crawling with them, even more so than at a Yankees game.
 

AB in DC

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I genuinely don't understand what the point is of making anything reviewable if you don't make everything reviewable. It all seems super arbitrary.

edit: Also Vaz should have held the ball, regardless of whether it was interference or not. He has 0 chance of making that throw.
Second game in a row where a normally plus defender rushed a poor throw and cost the team a run.

I'd expect that from someone like Devers, but not from Kinsler or Vazquez.
 

EllisTheRimMan

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I would send Pom.
I’m literally laughing
Esp. given how slow Cora's hook was with Eduardo before Puig's blast.
He owned it in the presser. Cora said he was kicking himself for leaving him in to give up the Puig dinger. The Sox lose and we are tied 2-2 then I am sure he would be getting the Roberts' treatment from the media and the fans. I know I was calling for EdRo to be pulled before pitching to Puig.
 

BaseballJones

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The Red Sox are up 3 games to 1 over the two-time NL champion, star-studded Dodgers, while posting a series batting line of .218/.311/.340/.650. While, at one point, scoring just two runs over a 27-inning span.

They're doing this in large part to:

- Incredible two-out hitting.

And

- Their pitching staff putting up a 2.86 era, 1.05 whip, and 9.2 k/9.

Kelly, Price, Barnes, Eovaldi, and Porcello combined:

26.1 ip, 16 h, 6 r, 5 er, 8 bb, 24 k, 1.71 era, 0.91 whip, 8.2 k/9.
 

Cesar Crespo

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The Red Sox are up 3 games to 1 over the two-time NL champion, star-studded Dodgers, while posting a series batting line of .218/.311/.340/.650. While, at one point, scoring just two runs over a 27-inning span.

They're doing this in large part to:

- Incredible two-out hitting.

And

- Their pitching staff putting up a 2.86 era, 1.05 whip, and 9.2 k/9.

Kelly, Price, Barnes, Eovaldi, and Porcello combined:

26.1 ip, 16 h, 6 r, 5 er, 8 bb, 24 k, 1.71 era, 0.91 whip, 8.2 k/9.
The Dodgers batting line is .177/.241/.266/.507. That's like a team full of Sandy Leon.
 

reggiecleveland

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These are arguably our 7 biggest names. This is their production in the postseason. You hear a lot of platitudes about "team" in the playoffs, but boy is it true of these guys. One hell of a TEAM.

Betts .207/.303/.276 (.579 OPS)
Bogaerts .218/.290/.309 (.599 OPS)
Benintendi .269/.333/.346 (.679 OPS)
Martinez .283/.397/.457 (.853 OPS)

Price 4.26 ERA/1.32 WHIP
Sale 4.40 ERA/1.33 WHIP
Kimbrel 5.91 ERA/1.59 WHIP
Funny the team is kind of slumping and still up 3-1. If they were mildly hot they would be pounding people.
 

InstaFace

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This team was supposed to roll over and acknowledge the Division to the Yankees.
This team would never win a game in NY, let alone two, in the Division Series.
This team would never beat or win a game in Houston especially after dropping the first game at home.
This bullpen would never be able to hold back the monster lineups of NY and Houston.
David Price will never win a playoff game.
This team, blah, blah, blah.
FFS, how can anyone doubt these guys anymore? Seriously. They lined up to let Cora know they could and would be available to pitch today. Yes, they dropped a heartbreaker last night. In ways they never lose games. I think all it did was piss them off, to be honest with you. They were pissed off heading into NY too. How'd that game turn out? Same thing tonight. They are gonna rip the hearts out of Dodger fans, show them to the fans still beating, then stomp on them, and then piss on them like they were Dorns contract..
In a thread full of right-ness (and not a little righteousness), this may be the rightest post in it.
This team is like the Patriots of the last 8 years or so. It's possible to beat them in an isolated instance, but they will keep coming and coming, full of confidence, preparation, and intent to grind you down.

Only thing in baseball that I've seen that's even comparable is the 2004 Sox, and these guys somehow have even more talent.
 

DeadlySplitter

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also a reminder that the postseason is truly short sample size. we've seen Mookie & X have this type of stretch, it just feels worse since there's so few games in October.

JD's overall numbers are fine, but arguably Mookie still has been more valuable with near-perfect defense. a lot of numbers this time of year are noise.
 

sheamonu

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Tonight this can be the first team to repeat as champions on the 100 year anniversary of a prior title. Every year my family heads back to the States for about three weeks in July/August. In that three week period this year there were easily a half dozen moments - from Mookie’s slam to the Yankee sweep and beyond that marked this team as special, this year as unique, these players as exemplary. There are no guarantees but you can’t help but feel that it is only right that this deal gets closed. Win.
 

EllisTheRimMan

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This team was supposed to roll over and acknowledge the Division to the Yankees.
This team would never win a game in NY, let alone two, in the Division Series.
This team would never beat or win a game in Houston especially after dropping the first game at home.
This bullpen would never be able to hold back the monster lineups of NY and Houston.
David Price will never win a playoff game.
This team, blah, blah, blah.
FFS, how can anyone doubt these guys anymore? Seriously. They lined up to let Cora know they could and would be available to pitch today. Yes, they dropped a heartbreaker last night. In ways they never lose games. I think all it did was piss them off, to be honest with you. They were pissed off heading into NY too. How'd that game turn out? Same thing tonight. They are gonna rip the hearts out of Dodger fans, show them to the fans still beating, then stomp on them, and then piss on them like they were Dorns contract..
This post needs more love. Finish them!
 

Mr Jums

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Also, not to keep harping on the home plate strike zone but I mean...



Like, come on...



There are some mistakes on both sides but unless my brain is completely biased it certainly appears like there are more Dodger strikes called outside the zone and Red Sox balls called inside the zone (there are a LOT of green triangles inside the strike zone). And yet even with that, and the poor hitting and everything else they're up a great position up 3-1. End it. End it tonight.

Edit: Wrong graphs posted because I'm smart
 

rajendra82

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I'm a huge sports fan of the local teams; Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins, Celtics, baseball is the only sport I get emotional about.

I think part of the reason is it's the one sport I played on a number of levels, Little League, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Legion, College, Yawkey League, Park League, I think the main reason is it reminds me of my Grandfather, Dad and Uncle, none of whom are still with me.

I was a Red Sox fan as a kid, but it went to another level in the Summer of 75, my Uncle Peter from Arizona came out to visit that Summer, he was here for two months, he and I attended about a dozen Red Sox games that magical Summer leading up to IMO the greatest WS ever played.

My grandfather died a year after the 1975 Wolrd Series, my Mother is convinced losing that 1975 World Series is what did it.

I'll never forget the phone call my Uncle Peter made to me the day after game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, he went on this 10 minute rant about Grady and Aaron Boone, he died that December, my Mother is convinced losing that 2003 ALCS did him in too.

Luckily my Dad lived long enough to see 2004, 2007 and 2013.

He died two weeks after the Patriots/Falcons Super Bowl, my Mother...…………..well you get the idea...….;).

So it's during games like last night after the Red Sox won that game that I get emotional thinking of the three of them and how much baseball meant to them and to me, it's the fabric that bound us all together.

And I love this team so much; they are nails, I love how it's not the big names that are doing this, it's the role players who are carrying the load, that makes it all the more sweeter.

Close this out tonight and win it for the fourth time this century.
The biggest question is has your mother called to see how you are feeling?
 

In my lifetime

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While this is more of a P&G point, not worth a thread. I'm surprised there aren't more famous Hollywood people in the stands, I thought they'd be crawling with them, even more so than at a Yankees game.
My sons would tend to disagree with you.

49782.jpeg 49773.jpeg
 

Humphrey

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I keep expecting to see Spike Lee with his Do the Right Thing Dodger gamer on. Glad he's more loyal to New York than I thought.
 

JMDurron

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Glad to know the powers of "unhinged Chris" can be used for good, not evil.

This reminds me of the legendary Jason Heyward rallying speech to the Cubs in Game 7 of the 2016 series. It's cool when a player who hasn't been contributing much on the field can still find a way to spark the team.
I didn't think of the Heyward comparison, but when the FOX feed briefly showed Sale yelling in the dugout during the game last night, this was the first thing that came to mind:

 

BillLeesJumpShot

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I'm a huge sports fan of the local teams; Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins, Celtics, baseball is the only sport I get emotional about.

I think part of the reason is it's the one sport I played on a number of levels, Little League, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Legion, College, Yawkey League, Park League, I think the main reason is it reminds me of my Grandfather, Dad and Uncle, none of whom are still with me.

I was a Red Sox fan as a kid, but it went to another level in the Summer of 75, my Uncle Peter from Arizona came out to visit that Summer, he was here for two months, he and I attended about a dozen Red Sox games that magical Summer leading up to IMO the greatest WS ever played.

My grandfather died a year after the 1975 Wolrd Series, my Mother is convinced losing that 1975 World Series is what did it.

I'll never forget the phone call my Uncle Peter made to me the day after game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, he went on this 10 minute rant about Grady and Aaron Boone, he died that December, my Mother is convinced losing that 2003 ALCS did him in too.

Luckily my Dad lived long enough to see 2004, 2007 and 2013.

He died two weeks after the Patriots/Falcons Super Bowl, my Mother...…………..well you get the idea...….;).

So it's during games like last night after the Red Sox won that game that I get emotional thinking of the three of them and how much baseball meant to them and to me, it's the fabric that bound us all together.

And I love this team so much; they are nails, I love how it's not the big names that are doing this, it's the role players who are carrying the load, that makes it all the more sweeter.

Close this out tonight and win it for the fourth time this century.
Very well done and appreciated hearing the genesis of your passion for this team.