MLB 2018

[NogbadTheBad]

I do agree though Cora probably wishes he'd taken Rodriguez out before he pitched to Puig.

[ronmac]

I though Cora's managing of his pitching staff in Game 4 would have caught up to him in Game 5. Little did I realize that Roberts' questionable effort would mitigate that.

[Poisoned Youth]

You guys are funny.

[progeezer]

You guys are funny.

Thank you.

There's a reason that the first 4 letters of analytics are what they are.

[Lou]

Sox have put on one of the best displays of 2 out hitting this entire series. Its been impressive!

[moecurlythanu]

That's why "the book", ie the Brian Kenny Advanced Metrics Starters Are Bad Use Your Bullpen No Matter What is insipidly stupid and has replaced Common Sense and trust what you see experience. Hill was pitching what , a 1 or 2 hit shutout? He's pitching great, he's in a groove, and it's stupid to take him out until you see real evidence he's faltering. This pitch count crap has gotten out of hand. Managers are outthinking themselves in some goofy effort to prove they are smarter than the next guy. That move probably cost LA the Series. Sometimes you just have to trust your eyes and experience instead of the "Book", which may have been written by some nerds who are holed up in some interior windowless cubby hole looking at numbers all day and have never actually played the game.

Bolded for emphasis.

[ronmac]

So many factors come into play, it's not easy to pin it down to a single one. One could argue that the two biggest factors in how this WS finally turns out were the two errors in Game 3 that extended the game and hosed the pitching staffs.

[Poisoned Youth]

So many factors come into play, it's not easy to pin it down to a single one. One could argue that the two biggest factors in how this WS finally turns out were the two errors in Game 4 that extended the game and hosed the pitching staffs.

Game 3 you meant to say (since you mentioned it earlier as well), and I agree with you.

[ronmac]

Game 3 you meant to say (since you mentioned it earlier as well), and I agree with you.

Corrected.

[Poisoned Youth]

WOOOO!

[Gruno]

Fun series!! Wished it would have gone a game or two longer. Congrats to the Red Sox!

[NogbadTheBad]

Pretty dominant last game, Price looked great throughout and the bats had enough to get the runs needed, JD looked a bit lost as an outfielder. Go Sox! Carpark was quieter than usual this morning

[ronmac]

gag

[NogbadTheBad]

[DocProgger]

Bad memories of 04 and 13 for me....

Kershaw postseason:

9-10 4.32 152 IP/73 ER

That's more ER than any single regular season he's had.

Even worse on the biggest stages:

LCS. 3-5 4.61
WS. 1-2 5.42

8 postseason HR allowed in elimination games, most all time.

More than enough evidence that for whatever reason, he's not an elite level pitcher in the postseason clutch. He will never be in that Koufax/Gibson territory.
For that reason, his postseason numbers knock him off 1st ballot HOF status for me. He's had 7 stellar regular seasons but from what I've seen, I don't think he'll reach those elite level numbers again.

[per anporth]

I don't know how much that gap between great & truly elite in postseason baseball is wholly mental/psychological.

In some way or another, it has long been clear that David Price had a major mental block that severely affected his postseason pitching. And yet, probably at some point when he did that bullpen warmup session in the ALCS, that block disintegrated, or was overcome. From then onwards, he was more or less telling Cora every day that he was good to go - he was actively seeking to pitch, in whatever situation (possibly rather than encountering daemons whenever he was called on to pitch).

For what it's worth, I suspect a shift from focusing on himself & his own travails, to focusing on supporting his team mates - as in all that he did to support Eovaldi after Game 3 - may have been at the root of the transformation.

And then there's a guy like Kelly, an average to decent bullpen arm (or, at any rate, a guy with an electric arm, but someone who hasn't figured out how to translate that basic ability into becoming an overpowering *pitcher*), who has been transformed during this postseason into what looks uncannily like the best relief pitcher amongst all the playoff rosters.

One particularly pleasing takeaway from all of what transpired was the image of Machado, sunk to his knee, striking out to Sale for the final out.

[NogbadTheBad]

I don't know how much that gap between great & truly elite in postseason baseball is wholly mental/psychological.

In some way or another, it has long been clear that David Price had a major mental block that severely affected his postseason pitching. And yet, probably at some point when he did that bullpen warmup session in the ALCS, that block disintegrated, or was overcome. From then onwards, he was more or less telling Cora every day that he was good to go - he was actively seeking to pitch, in whatever situation (possibly rather than encountering daemons whenever he was called on to pitch).

For what it's worth, I suspect a shift from focusing on himself & his own travails, to focusing on supporting his team mates - as in all that he did to support Eovaldi after Game 3 - may have been at the root of the transformation.

And then there's a guy like Kelly, an average to decent bullpen arm (or, at any rate, a guy with an electric arm, but someone who hasn't figured out how to translate that basic ability into becoming an overpowering *pitcher*), who has been transformed during this postseason into what looks uncannily like the best relief pitcher amongst all the playoff rosters.

One particularly pleasing takeaway from all of what transpired was the image of Machado, sunk to his knee, striking out to Sale for the final out.

This.

[Poisoned Youth]

In Cora We Trust

[ronmac]

To me, the best part of the series was Machado decreasing his value by exposing his assholiness on the national stage.

[Dave (in MA)]

One particularly pleasing takeaway from all of what transpired was the image of Machado, sunk to his knee, striking out to Sale for the final out.

[Dave (in MA)]

What a thrill it was to see John Henry exuberantly break out into a near-smirk when his team won.

[Gerhard]

To me, the best part of the series was Machado decreasing his value by exposing his assholiness on the national stage.

Indeed! I know it won't happen, because he has too much talent, but I would love it if no teams offered him a contract next year.

[ronmac]

Indeed! I know it won't happen, because he has too much talent, but I would love it if no teams offered him a contract next year.

I only hope that my favorite team doesn't offer him one. It would be nice to see him remain in the NL, too.

[Poisoned Youth]

I would not be surprised if Machado stays with the Dodgers, however they'd have to do some maneuvering considering Corey Seager is their franchise shortstop.

[Dave (in MA)]

Machado

The Ndamukong Suh of baseball.