so it worked out that this went 5 for Price's sake, as well as Mookie & JD chipping in. but man i'm still pissed we lost game 3 lol
When I read this, I had renewed hope. This was the post that woke me up yesterday morning and realigned my senses againSox could be world champs in about 34 hours
I have a lot of respect for how you’ve been slow rolling g this.Win #1
Win #2
Win #3
Win #4
DAMAGE DONE!
When it took 18 innings and a terrible throw for the Dodgers to win a must win game, I figured it was over.When I read this, I had renewed hope. This was the post that woke me up yesterday morning and realigned my senses again
Quoting because you were so right!
Thanks; we all have similar stories I'm sure.Very well done and appreciated hearing the genesis of your passion for this team.
Now that the Sox have won I’m comfortable thinking of Game 3 as one of the best World Series games of this centuryWhen it took 18 innings and a terrible throw for the Dodgers to win a must win game, I figured it was over.
Orel HershiserChris Sale threw the first and last pitch of the year for the Red Sox. Has that ever happened before?
Lol. TremendousIs the best case scenario still going home down 3-2?
Valenzuela started the Dodgers' first game. Bumgarner did it in 2014. Hershiser start the second game. He threw a 3 hit shutout.Orel Hershiser
2003 Josh Beckett started opening day and then threw a complete game shutout against the MFYs for the Marlins to clinch the World Series.Chris Sale threw the first and last pitch of the year for the Red Sox. Has that ever happened before?
This one may have ended up by mistake Albany, instead of Cooperstown, though.Jon ShestakofskyVerified account @Shesta_HOF 10m10 minutes ago
These @RedSox #WorldSeries artifacts are headed to Cooperstown
-G3 home plate ump Ted Barrett's ball/strike clicker
What was really impressive was how much Cora changed his bullpen usage over the course of the postseason.Back to Cora, two huge things.
He got 31 total innings from Sale from August forward and managed around it.
Kimbrel was a wreck in October, 5.90 ERA and extremely lucky with his defense saving him multiple times.
He very deftly handled both of these situations with the assets he had.
Price, Eovaldi, Kelly, Barnes and Brasier helped him a lot but no small task what he pulled off.
I was thinking 1st game of the World Series and last out, sorry, too excited last night.Valenzuela started the Dodgers' first game. Bumgarner did it in 2014. Hershiser start the second game. He threw a 3 hit shutout.
That is a better question. Why were you excited? Never mind none of my business.I was thinking 1st game of the World Series and last out, sorry, too excited last night.
I'm still stunned that Roberts sent Madson in there for game 2What was really impressive was how much Cora changed his bullpen usage over the course of the postseason.
He entered the postseason with Barnes as his key high lev guy, a bunch of unknowns beyond that, and Porcello as the starter most likely to be doing double duty. Brasier started throwing well and he rode him, Barnes, and Porcello for a bit. But as Brasier and Porcello started looking more hittable in the HOU series while Kelly was lighting it up and Eovoldi dominated in his starts, he completely changed up and used Kelly for more innings than Brasier/Barnes combined in the WS while also suddenly using Eovoldi in four straight games in relief. No fixed roles (beyond Kimbrel), no worries about bruised egos, just ballsy calls about who was throwing well and who was going to best help him win games.
Contrast that with Dave Roberts and his insistent usage of Ryan Madson in high lev situation and high lev situation.
What was really impressive was how much Cora changed his bullpen usage over the course of the postseason.
He entered the postseason with Barnes as his key high lev guy, a bunch of unknowns beyond that, and Porcello as the starter most likely to be doing double duty. Brasier started throwing well and he rode him, Barnes, and Porcello for a bit. But as Brasier and Porcello started looking more hittable in the HOU series while Kelly was lighting it up and Eovoldi dominated in his starts, he completely changed up and used Kelly for more innings than Brasier/Barnes combined in the WS while also suddenly using Eovoldi in four straight games in relief. No fixed roles (beyond Kimbrel), no worries about bruised egos, just ballsy calls about who was throwing well and who was going to best help him win games.
Contrast that with Dave Roberts and his insistent usage of Ryan Madson in high lev situation and high lev situation.
I'm stunned that Andrew Friedman and his cadre of analytical geniuses still haven't really picked up on the concept of starters as 'rovers' that was used against them by the Astros a year ago and the Sox this year. They did bullpen game 7 of the World Series last year with both Clayton Kershaw and Alex Wood, and Kershaw came into game 7 of this year's NLCS to close out the Brewers, but the only other time was Roberts' weird decision to bring Rich Hill in to pitch the eighth down 6-2 in game 6 of the NLCS in what was not a win-or-go-home situation for the Dodgers. How differently would Saturday's game have played out if Hill was being relieved by Ryu or Kershaw (or both)? Or if Roberts aggressively used both Kershaw and Buehler last night? Maybe the Sox still win 2-1, or maybe whoever came in to pitch the ninth instead of Chris Sale (who would not have been used based on what we are reading today) gives up the tying run or gets walked off. Between these non-moves and LA's lineup decisions in games 1 and 2, it really felt like the Sox were playing a team led by some old-school baseball types and not what is supposedly one of the more analytically-minded front offices in the game.I'm still stunned that Roberts sent Madson in there for game 2
Looking forward to NESN broadcasts reminding us of Machado's .182/.208/.182 World Series line out of the cleanup spot during every Sox/Yanks series for the next 10 years.They only had two guys have decent series' at the plate.
Freese: 5-12, 1 3b (gift), 1 hr, 2 r, 1 rbi, .417/.500/.833/1.333 (should have been 4-12)
Turner: 8-24, 2 2b, 0 hr, 2 r, 0 rbi, .333/.385/.417/.801
That's it. Puig was ok I guess (.250, 1 homer). Muncy had his moment. That's it. As a team they hit .180/.249/.302/.550. Putrid.
The Sox weren't exactly killing it either, of course. But...
Benintendi: 6-18, 6 r, 1 rbi, .333/.368/.389/.757
Nunez: 3-10, 1 hr, 1 r, 1 rbi, .300/.300/.600/.900
Martinez: 5-18, 1 hr, 2 r, 5 rbi, .278/.381/.500/.881
Pearce: 4-12, 3 hr, 5 r, 8 rbi, .333/.500/1.167/1.667
As a team: .222/.303/.386/.690. So not great, but a heck of a lot better than what the Dodgers hit. And they strung their hits together. Sox averaged 5.6 runs per game; LA averaged 3.2.
2014 BumgarnerI was thinking 1st game of the World Series and last out, sorry, too excited last night.
The Red Sox top 4 weren’t they something like 0-40 at one point ?2 games in this series ended with the Dodgers batters going 0-16 and 0-20 (1 bb). Plain and simple, their batters were overmatched by a dominant staff.
There's also:2014 Bumgarner
1991 Jack Morris (complete game 10 innings in game 7)
1983 Scott McGregor (complete game in game 5)
1967 Gibson (complete game in game 7)
1966 Dave McNally (complete game in game 4)
1963 Koufax (complete game in game 4)
I went back to 1960.
Pretty sure he lost it in the twilight sky (which can be bad every evening for 20-30 minutes until it gets dark-dark) - the lights at MLB ball parks are positioned so that the outfielders are not looking right into them on balls hit from home plate (check this out the next time you are at a game). Also, he did not try to "shield his eyes" from any bright light in his eyes, he just lost it once it got above the roof line and "disappeared" into the twilight sky - I have been there, done that - it is a sinking feeling for an outfielder when that happens!Lost in lights. Smoltz or Buck said there’s like a 30 minute time for games that start then that’s difficult.
I know you said World Series, but for my money, ALCS Game 4 is the game from this run that we'll be talking about in a decade. Houston was the better opponent, and that game was absolutely bananas from start to finish. From Mookie-woulda-caught-it to 3 ties and 4 lead changes to Steve Pearce suplexing himself into the Astors dugout to the final out coming on a do-or-die catch on a liner with the bases loaded, that game was baseball adrenaline. Add in some pathos and it's in the league of 2004 ALCS Games 4 and 5.Now that the Sox have won I’m comfortable thinking of Game 3 as one of the best World Series games of this century
Illustrating the above (taken with Freese still standing on third base):Pretty sure he lost it in the twilight sky (which can be bad every evening for 20-30 minutes until it gets dark-dark) - the lights at MLB ball parks are positioned so that the outfielders are not looking right into them on balls hit from home plate (check this out the next time you are at a game). Also, he did not try to "shield his eyes" from any bright light in his eyes, he just lost it once it got above the roof line and "disappeared" into the twilight sky - I have been there, done that - it is a sinking feeling for an outfielder when that happens!
That looks like a dark enough sky to not lose a ball in it, but maybe the picture is deceiving. The ski was much brighter than that where I live, but where I’m at in NorCal is a good 200 miles west of LA. For perspective, Reno NV is actually west of LA. Whatever, we won.
Keep in mind the sky is brighter to the left of the picture (west) where JD would have been looking.That looks like a dark enough sky to not lose a ball in it, but maybe the picture is deceiving. The ski was much brighter than that where I live, but where I’m at in NorCal is a good 200 miles west of LA. For perspective, Reno NV is actually west of LA. Whatever, we won.
There's an interesting (well, maybe only interesting to me, being a lighting designer) section in George Will's book on baseball (which I highly recommend) about how the challenge in lighting a baseball field is that the lights need to be focused not just on the field of play, but also high enough in the air to light a pop fly all the way to its apex, and done so evenly so that there are no dead spots where a ball in flight could disappear.Pretty sure he lost it in the twilight sky (which can be bad every evening for 20-30 minutes until it gets dark-dark) - the lights at MLB ball parks are positioned so that the outfielders are not looking right into them on balls hit from home plate (check this out the next time you are at a game). Also, he did not try to "shield his eyes" from any bright light in his eyes, he just lost it once it got above the roof line and "disappeared" into the twilight sky - I have been there, done that - it is a sinking feeling for an outfielder when that happens!
Now, imagine 1918. It's 2018. The next title would be in 2104! That brings home just how long that gap was. Hopefully, our next title will be in 2019.Thanks; we all have similar stories I'm sure.
We've gone from a cursed franchise to four titles in fifteen years.
Just unbelievable.
My goodness, that piece... amazing. What a team. What a team.Tom Verducci's article on the series
"
- An epic, 18-inning loss in Game 3 could have spelled the end for baseball's winningest team. Instead, it revealed the true greatness of the Red Sox, who resolutely pulled together and claimed their fourth World Series title in 15 years. "
https://www.si.com/mlb/2018/10/30/boston-red-sox-season-ages-ends-world-series-title-game-5
Looking at that photo, I had what felt like almost a sudden 'Oh yeah ...!' kind of realization that the Red Sox played in and won a World Series at iconic Dodger Stadium. When we're in the middle of the emotional maelstrom of playoff baseball, it's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day storylines and lose sight of how cool it was for the Sox to have played the Dodgers in the Series.
Truly.^Fantastic must read by Verducci.
Got a little dusty in here reading that. Thanks.Tom Verducci's article on the series
"
- An epic, 18-inning loss in Game 3 could have spelled the end for baseball's winningest team. Instead, it revealed the true greatness of the Red Sox, who resolutely pulled together and claimed their fourth World Series title in 15 years. "
https://www.si.com/mlb/2018/10/30/boston-red-sox-season-ages-ends-world-series-title-game-5