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Post by sibbysisti on Sept 22, 2016 22:20:24 GMT -5
Mentioned early in the thread that the key to the series was keeping Britton on the bench. Well, he didn't even warm up from what I saw. Great job from the offense, SP, RP, and taking advantage of mistakes.
Edit: Britton did pitch the ninth inning last night in a non save situation, his only appearance in the series.
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Sept 22, 2016 22:40:49 GMT -5
Uehara might be my favorite Sox pitcher ever. Every pitch he throws is a strike. That puts tremendous pressure on the batter. There is no waiting around. No working the count. The ball is coming and it's a strike. Koji is great and fun to watch, but again, I gotta go with Pedro.
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Post by patford on Sept 22, 2016 22:54:39 GMT -5
Uehara might be my favorite Sox pitcher ever. Every pitch he throws is a strike. That puts tremendous pressure on the batter. There is no waiting around. No working the count. The ball is coming and it's a strike. Koji is great and fun to watch, but again, I gotta go with Pedro. Not best by a long shot. Just favorite.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 22, 2016 23:20:28 GMT -5
Koji is great and fun to watch, but again, I gotta go with Pedro. Not best by a long shot. Just favorite. I know what you mean. I've watched the Sox for a long time, and I think the most fun I've had watching a pitcher is Pedro, but Uehara, particularly in 2013, was as fun to watch as any non Pedro pitcher. The difference was that you only got to laugh at the poor batters for one inning with Koji and you got to pity the poor batters for 9 with Pedro. The other difference of course was that Pedro had so many ridiculous weapons to operate from that you really pitied the helpless batter. You were watching a supreme artist from a different planet than everybody else. With Koji you laughed at the batter because he knew that the splitter was coming and there was not a damn thing he could do about it. And then if Koji threw his 89 MPH fastball, the batter reacted as if it were 100. The other thing about Koji is that he'd be done with his inning so fast you didn't have time to take a bathroom break. He didn't even allow you to bite your nails or pace the floors worrying about the game. It was over before you knew it. Dempster said this teammates called him the ninja. Perfect name for him.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Sept 22, 2016 23:26:06 GMT -5
The Red Sox have done everything right the past 8 days. Hanley is taking everybody by the hand pretty much. The hitting has been consistent and the pitching has been solid. I was glad to see Bogaerts get a day off and I hope Betts and Bradley get one soon. Hopefully one gets one on Sunday and the other gets one on Tuesday so that they get two days off.
Now a serious problem - if the Red Sox clinch the division title on Tuesday night and NY and want to pop champagne, will NESN pre-empt the party to show the David Ortiz Championship Era special they want to show? Just curious. I am very much looking forward to the show, but I'd be kind of annoyed if they cut away from the celebration to air the special.
Ah, such problems!!!
I love the way the Red Sox tore the heart out of the Yankees for four straight games, and I love the way they not only destroyed the Orioles' chances of 1st place, but also made their wild card bid a precarious situation. I really can't stand Buck Showalter, so this was really awesome.
I'm hoping that the Sox are doing more than hitting a hot streak, but are simply gelling to the point that they carry this into October (I don't mean winning every game obviously, but I'm talking about maximizing their immense talent and potential.)
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Post by larrycook on Sept 22, 2016 23:30:34 GMT -5
Nice win tonight!
I thought that after he gave up the tater, price buckled down and started finishing his pitches and did a great job!
Let's keep it going in Tampa!
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Post by bluechip on Sept 23, 2016 5:40:06 GMT -5
This team is certainly clicking at the right time. It feels like the team is playing to its talent level.
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Post by ancientsoxfogey on Sept 23, 2016 6:07:43 GMT -5
Koji is great and fun to watch, but again, I gotta go with Pedro. Not best by a long shot. Just favorite. After you finish this discussion you can begin talking about whether or not the MVP should go to the best player or the one deemed "most valuable."
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nomar
Veteran
Posts: 10,830
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Post by nomar on Sept 23, 2016 7:44:44 GMT -5
A strong finish could put Mookie at 10 bWAR. Basically meaningless, but would be cool.
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Post by tjb21 on Sept 23, 2016 7:52:36 GMT -5
2 sweeps against Baltimore.
They have to be demoralized.
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Post by FenwayFanatic on Sept 23, 2016 8:00:54 GMT -5
Os are not making the WC game. It might be Detroit or Houston, or both. I dunno... Yankees were hot, got eviscerated by the Sox, then got hot again. Maybe the Red Sox just make these teams look bad. Gausman and Tillman aren't 100% and there are a lot of starts coming up for Miley/Jimenez. The Yanks also have a tough schedule coming up. I think the Jays hang on for one spot and the Tigers or Astros get the other.
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Post by sibbysisti on Sept 23, 2016 8:03:57 GMT -5
2 sweeps against Baltimore. They have to be demoralized. Yeah. I feel so badly for poor Showalter.🎃 He must be ready to jump off a crab shack.🦀
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Post by jimed14 on Sept 23, 2016 9:04:53 GMT -5
First time the Red Sox have swept back to back 4 game series since 1968. I'm not even sure how often they play two 4 game series in a row but it's definitely not often these days.
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Post by sox fan in nc on Sept 23, 2016 9:24:53 GMT -5
Now, with the division all but sewed up, who do we root for for the 2 WC's. Anything can happen in a ALDS series. Tor, Balt, Detroit, Seattle. I don't want Seattle due to the travel. Although Detroit scares me a bit, Kinsler is out for a bit. It kills me to do it, but I may hope Baltimore gets in.
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Post by jimed14 on Sept 23, 2016 9:26:02 GMT -5
Now, with the division all but sewed up, who do we root for for the 2 WC's. Anything can happen in a ALDS series. Tor, Balt, Detroit, Seattle. I don't want Seattle due to the travel. Although Detroit scares me a bit, Kinsler is out for a bit. It kills me to do it, but I may hope Baltimore gets in. We seem to do pretty well against NY and Baltimore.
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Post by Canseco on Sept 23, 2016 9:29:45 GMT -5
When it comes to the playoffs, I just get out the blinders and stick with tunnel vision. Yes, there are probably more or less favorable matchups, but the Sox will have to go through the best to win it all regardless. Just line those bastards up in whatever order, and let's rumble.
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Post by FenwayFanatic on Sept 23, 2016 9:31:06 GMT -5
I think Detroit and Baltimore are the weakest of those four especially given the state of the O's rotation.
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Post by soxfansince67 on Sept 23, 2016 10:22:56 GMT -5
They need to keep the pedal to the metal - continue to build momentum, continue this resurgence (or arrival?) as a complete team that finally has all of the pieces in sync. Then ride that momentum into and through the playoffs. I really like their affect - seriousness - and focus right now. This "team" has formed from a collective of talented individuals right before our eyes...a thing of beauty to behold.
A nice "to do" list for the last nine games....get Pomeranz on some sort of positive track...confirm the reemergence of ERod and Clay. A few more sparkling wins for Porcello and big games from Mookie to solidify their chances at the big awards. Get Leon and Xander back on track offensively. And keep providing some strategic rest dates for the regulars.
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Post by ryan24 on Sept 23, 2016 10:33:42 GMT -5
They need to keep the pedal to the metal - continue to build momentum, continue this resurgence (or arrival?) as a complete team that finally has all of the pieces in sync. Then ride that momentum into and through the playoffs. I really like their affect - seriousness - and focus right now. This "team" has formed from a collective of talented individuals right before our eyes...a thing of beauty to behold. A nice "to do" list for the last nine games....get Pomeranz on some sort of positive track...confirm the reemergence of ERod and Clay. A few more sparkling wins for Porcello and big games from Mookie to solidify their chances at the big awards. Get Leon and Xander back on track offensively. And keep providing some strategic rest dates for the regulars. Agreed. Lets not get ahead of ourselves. Seems to me I remember a team that had a 14 game lead and lost it. I also remember a phillies team many moons ago that had a 6 game lead with 9 to go and lost. Everything looks real good right now with 9 games to play and our two best starters scheduled for 4 of those starts. No doubt some strategic rest is needed.
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Post by FenwayFanatic on Sept 23, 2016 10:55:13 GMT -5
The strategy of resting one core guy a night seems to be working well.
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Post by bosox81 on Sept 23, 2016 10:57:15 GMT -5
I hope Price and Porcello get a chance to get some rest too. They have piled up a lot of innings so far. In the case of Porcello, rest might affect his Cy Young candidacy, but I'd still rest him if the team has a decent cushion.
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Post by jimed14 on Sept 23, 2016 11:21:07 GMT -5
I hope Price and Porcello get a chance to get some rest too. They have piled up a lot of innings so far. In the case of Porcello, rest might affect his Cy Young candidacy, but I'd still rest him if the team has a decent cushion. I don't think skipping starts would be a good idea. I'd agree that they could take them out of games earlier. Some pitchers pitch far worse with extra days of rest.
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Post by geostorm on Sept 23, 2016 11:26:29 GMT -5
All I know for certain is that if the Red Sox are in the ALDS, I've just picked up 3 tickets for whatever their second Home game is, from the Sox noon playoff ticket release, today!
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Post by sibbysisti on Sept 23, 2016 11:55:03 GMT -5
I hope Price and Porcello get a chance to get some rest too. They have piled up a lot of innings so far. In the case of Porcello, rest might affect his Cy Young candidacy, but I'd still rest him if the team has a decent cushion. They get four days rest between starts, sometimes five when there is an off day. Any more jeopardizes their timing. As jimed14 noted, limiting their innings, if circumstances permit, is a better option.
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Post by bosox81 on Sept 23, 2016 12:13:30 GMT -5
I hope Price and Porcello get a chance to get some rest too. They have piled up a lot of innings so far. In the case of Porcello, rest might affect his Cy Young candidacy, but I'd still rest him if the team has a decent cushion. They get four days rest between starts, sometimes five when there is an off day. Any more jeopardizes their timing. As jimed14 noted, limiting their innings, if circumstances permit, is a better option. Perhaps. But at least with Price, he has a history of underperformance in the playoffs and maybe it has to do with how many innings he pitches in the reg. season. All I'm saying is, it might not hurt to find out if rest is the remedy.
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