MLB 2018: let the games begin!

[Aggie87]

Just read Betts' description of the play.  He said he jumped and "went over". That means the contact was not over the field to me but in the stands, and it should have been ruled a 2 run HR. In a game the Astros lost by 2 runs.

I get that the Astros pitching isn't producing like it has been. I get that perhaps their best player is hobbled with a knee injury and has to play DH. 

It's tough enough to overcome that against a quality team like Boston, but to have to fight against questionable calls too is difficult. 

Regardless, Betts and Bradley have impressed me. They are carrying the Sox in this series. 

 

Edited October 18, 2018 by Aggie87

[Patrick]

Another illustration that for ultimate success team needs to be talented, and lucky. To me, it's a HR. If Houston can overcome this misfortune, that much sweeter. If not, hopefully sufficient levels of humility/gratitude to Nature from Bosox fans if they prevail.

[Aggie87]

Boston sports radio agrees it was a HR even.

https://weei.radio.com/articles/column/reimer-jose-altuve-fan-interference-replay-review-embarrassing-low-point-mlb

[Dan Gould]

5 minutes ago, Aggie87 said:

Boston sports radio agrees it was a HR even.

https://weei.radio.com/articles/column/reimer-jose-altuve-fan-interference-replay-review-embarrassing-low-point-mlb

Uh, yeah, not exactly, A guy who hates baseball and Joe West opined that it should have been a homer. That's not "Boston sports radio".

Look, 'Stros fans, I was prepared for an overturn because I live my life being pessimistic in all things. My pessimism is all over every yearly thread including the times the Sox won it all.  

It's all part of the game.  I'm pretty sure your team has put it behind them already.

[JSngry]

It would have to be Joe West, wouldn't it....

[Matthew]

16 minutes ago, JSngry said:

It would have to be Joe West, wouldn't it....

Feakin' Joe West! It's always Freakin' Joe West!

[Brad]

This morning I’ve watched the replay a few times, read a few articles and looked at a few photos (including of one fan placing his hand on the wall to be in a better position to catch the ball) and I still think it was fan interference but it was also a close call and since West made the out call, there would have to have been strong evidence to overturn the call. Had the call gone the other way I don’t think it would have been overturned. 

I read that many said that the call may have cost them the game as it would have been 2-2. That is hard to say because you can’t assume the Red Sox wouldn’t have come back.  Each game has its ebb and flow and you can’t view events in isolation. 

However, it’s understandable why Astro fans would be upset.  

Coming back from 3-1 is not impossible and I expect the series to go back to Boston. 

I would certainly like to see a Red Sox Dodgers series; two great traditional teams, with great history and two great ballparks. I’ve never been to Chavez Ravine but love the atmosphere and the organ. Went to Fenway many times when I was in law school.  Great place to watch a game. 

[JSngry]

20 minutes ago, Brad said:

 I would certainly like to see a Red Sox Dodgers series; two great traditional teams, with great history and two great ballparks.

I'm LOL-ing at this one! "traditional teams", wtf does that mean in 2018? Do they still wear flannel?

I think it means "teams that I remember from when I was a kid". Considering the recurring studies that show the sport to have a, uh...,not exactly young fan base, you may be right. Teams that even old people have to call "sir".

I wish MLB would place more emphasis on the "tradition" of being able to do shit like bunt, go the other way, or just being able to pitch a game in such a way that you can win a game without having your best stuff and still go 8-9 innings. That's "tradition" to me, the game itself, not the teams.

But brand loyalty does make money.

[Dan Gould]

Instead of traditional teams I would have said "historic" franchises.  No one or hardly anyone remembers the 1916 World Series. It would be a modern-day first between two franchises that have had their ups and downs but never met on the ultimate stage.

And I hope nobody is jumping the gun. The Dodgers have to win one on the road, no guarantees. And the Sox are relying on David Price tonight and may not even have Sale back unless they reach the World Series.  Astros can easily force game seven if their two best starters do the job and the bats feast on lefties as they have to date.

Cora will surely manage like its the seventh game if he has a whiff of a win in the next game or two.

Edited October 18, 2018 by Dan Gould

[jlhoots]

Brooklyn Dodgers - that's historic or traditional or whatever you want to call it - not Los Angeles, sorry!

[Dan Gould]

C'mon its one franchise!

[JSngry]

Kinda like the Royal Family, right?

I'll give it the Dodger & Red Soxs - no matter what else, they've more or less kept the unis more or less consistent. That counts for something in terms of "tradition". Cubs too (although I can go back not THAT far back and find some questionable exceptions...).

Bring back stirrup socks. Those things ROCK.

 

[Brad]

Okay, historic, I agree.  Historic as in being two of the teams in the American League and National League as they existed in 1900. Even though they are now the LA Dodgers, they’re still the Dodgers. You’d be surprised at how many fans they still have in NY. 

[Matthew]

32 minutes ago, JSngry said:

I'm LOL-ing at this one! "traditional teams", wtf does that mean in 2018? Do they still wear flannel?

I think it means "teams that I remember from when I was a kid". Considering the recurring studies that show the sport to have a, uh...,not exactly young fan base, you may be right. Teams that even old people have to call "sir".

I wish MLB would place more emphasis on the "tradition" of being able to do shit like bunt, go the other way, or just being able to pitch a game in such a way that you can win a game without having your best stuff and still go 8-9 innings. That's "tradition" to me, the game itself, not the teams.

But brand loyalty does make money.

Can't tell you how many times I've seen the last out be some fool trying to steal third base, trying to stretch a double into a triple, or some equally dumb play. So many occasions in the past couple of years I've wondered: "what was he thinking????"

[ghost of miles]

I think it's a good gamble for Cora to go with David Price tonight.  If the Astros manage to hold on, you've got game 6 with Sale starting and a potential game 7 with Eovaldi on the mound back at Fenway.  Hard for me to see Houston being able to take three in a row under those circumstances.

And once again, Jackie Bradley Jr. is an offensive hero, and once again the Boston bullpen narrative is completely upended--the bridge to Kimbrel does pretty well, and then Kimbrel nearly blows it.  If Bregman's liner gets past Benintendi last night in the bottom of the 9th, the game is tied and possibly even won for Houston.

Edited October 18, 2018 by ghost of miles

[Dan Gould]

1 hour ago, ghost of miles said:

I think it's a good gamble for Cora to go with David Price tonight.  If the Astros manage to hold on, you've got game 6 with Sale starting and a potential game 7 with Eovaldi on the mound back at Fenway.  Hard for me to see Houston being able to take three in a row under those circumstances.

And once again, Jackie Bradley Jr. is an offensive hero, and once again the Boston bullpen narrative is completely upended--the bridge to Kimbrel does pretty well, and then Kimbrel nearly blows it.  If Bregman's liner gets past Benintendi last night in the bottom of the 9th, the game is tied and possibly even won for Houston.

Game is over if Benitendi misses. No way guy from 1st doesn't score while JBJ is tracking it down. He might not have had an extra jump on 3-2 but still ... it was do or die and Benitendi did it.

And does anyone know that Sale is good for Game 6 even? When I hear that he still has trouble keeping solid food down that doesn't sound like a man ready to pitch at the MLB level. It could end up being E-Rod in game six if there is one and hoping for Sale in Game 1 next Tuesday.

[jlhoots]

3 hours ago, Brad said:

Okay, historic, I agree.  Historic as in being two of the teams in the American League and National League as they existed in 1900. Even though they are now the LA Dodgers, they’re still the Dodgers. You’d be surprised at how many fans they still have in NY. 

And I suspect some that still hate 'em because they left.

[Brad]

10 minutes ago, jlhoots said:

And I suspect some that still hate 'em because they left.

Initially, yes.  People hated O’Malley and the Dodgers because they left but over time it became obvious that they had no choice; the city didn’t believe them and didn’t offer them attractive stadium options. 

Some poor souls became Yankee fans but most continued to follow the Giants and Dodgers from afar until the Mets came into being and most became Mets fans.  The heritage of the Dodgers and the Giants are reflected in the Mets caps: Dodger Blue and the Giants “NY” logo  

The Giants also have a following as well and after recent Giants WS championships, some of the Giants have come to NY to meet with old followers.  

 

Edited October 18, 2018 by Brad

[Dave Garrett]

10 hours ago, Aggie87 said:

Just read Betts' description of the play.  He said he jumped and "went over". That means the contact was not over the field to me but in the stands, and it should have been ruled a 2 run HR. In a game the Astros lost by 2 runs.

I get that the Astros pitching isn't producing like it has been. I get that perhaps their best player is hobbled with a knee injury and has to play DH. 

It's tough enough to overcome that against a quality team like Boston, but to have to fight against questionable calls too is difficult. 

Regardless, Betts and Bradley have impressed me. They are carrying the Sox in this series. 

 

I agree with all of that, as well as the sentiment expressed earlier that you have to be both talented and lucky. Unfortunately, the Astros have not had much luck in this series, and have suffered from way too many uncharacteristic mistakes and failures to execute. Correa, who has otherwise been tremendous on defense, doesn't touch the bag last night while trying to turn the double play, so instead of the inning being over, the runner is safe and eventually scores. More wild pitches and passed balls than I care to remember, and too many runners left on base when scoring opportunities have arisen. 

The starting pitching hasn't been what it should've been with the exception of Verlander - Morton hadn't pitched in a game in something like 16 days, and the rust was apparent. And the bullpen, which everyone expected to be our ace in the hole, has looked quite mortal. McCullers walking in a run last night was a low point, and Maldonado clearly hasn't spent a sufficient amount of time catching McCullers to be comfortable handling his signature breaking ball. If I'm Hinch, I don't pull Pressly last night and bring in McCullers in a high-leverage situation to get the last out of the inning, especially since most of the damage Boston inflicted came with two outs. 

Given everything that happened, I guess it's a bright spot that we still managed to get into a position to win the game in the bottom of the ninth. Hard to fault the hitting that kept pulling us back into the game, after the bats had been largely silent the previous two games. But this time the Red Sox had both the skill and the luck that we seemed to be short of, and Benintendi makes that tremendous game-saving catch to decisively swing the pendulum toward Boston. 1-3 is a lot different than 2-2, and although it's not an impossible hill to climb, if the Astros don't rediscover their mojo quickly, I don't see this series going past game 6. 

[Dave Garrett]

8 hours ago, Brad said:

Okay, historic, I agree.  Historic as in being two of the teams in the American League and National League as they existed in 1900. Even though they are now the LA Dodgers, they’re still the Dodgers. You’d be surprised at how many fans they still have in NY. 

It's often overlooked that Dodger Stadium is the third-oldest MLB stadium after Fenway and Wrigley, so it's at least approaching "historic" as a legitimate designation (granted, there's a significant gap between the latter two and Dodger Stadium in terms of age). Baseball's probably the only sport in which the 60 years that have elapsed since the Dodgers and Giants relocated to the West Coast is still considered to be recent history by more than a few people. 

[Brad]

31 minutes ago, Dave Garrett said:

It's often overlooked that Dodger Stadium is the third-oldest MLB stadium after Fenway and Wrigley, so it's at least approaching "historic" as a legitimate designation (granted, there's a significant gap between the latter two and Dodger Stadium in terms of age). Baseball's probably the only sport in which the 60 years that have elapsed since the Dodgers and Giants relocated to the West Coast is still considered to be recent history by more than a few people. 

Pretty soon both teams will have been in California longer than in NY.  Both teams were established in 1883 so they played 75 years in NY and have played 61 years so far in California. The people who remember them playing in NY is dwindling. Although my Mother was a Giants fan and my Father a Dodger fan and I was born in 1950, because we lived overseas in the 50s I never saw them play in NY, except against the Mets in the 60s. 

Edited October 19, 2018 by Brad

[paul secor]

29 minutes ago, Brad said:

Pretty soon both teams will have been in California longer than in NY.  Both teams were established in 1883 so they played 75 years in NY and have played 61 years so far in California. The people who remember them playing in NY is dwindling. Although my Mother was a Giants fan and my Father a Dodger fan and I was born in 1950, because we lived overseas in the 50s I never saw them play in NY, except against the Mets in the 60s. 

I can only remember seeing them play on television. I was a Giants fan and remained one until they traded Willie Mays to the Mets. I have a good friend about my age who saw both the Dodgers and the Giants play at Ebbets Field and the Polo Grounds when he was a kid.

[ghost of miles]

If Boston holds onto this lead in the bottom of the 9th, they’ll finish the American League portion of the postseason 5-0 on the road. That would be truly remarkable, and certainly indicative of a World Series champion caliber team. 

[Dan Gould]

[Brad]

Cora singled out a commentator on MLB Network for ripping David Price as a terrible post-season pitcher. That person was Evan Roberts of WFAN in NY, who co-hosts a daily show between 10-1.  He’s trying to get Cora to come on this morning. He’s talking about it on Twitter, @EvanRobertsWFAN, and fans of other teams are asking him to rip some of their players.