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Post by FenwayFanatic on Oct 8, 2013 23:51:49 GMT -5
Big ups to Peavy, Breslow, Tazawa and Uehara #rig huge #rig. Also how impresive is Xander? Tough game, tough environment and he walks twice and scores twice. I'd think long and hard about him playing 3rd in the next series. Just start him at short vs lefties. Problem solved.
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Post by burythehammer on Oct 8, 2013 23:54:29 GMT -5
I really enjoyed all the beat writers rushing to twitter to defend the exact opposite move that they defended last night. All of a sudden Mcgee's reverse splits are being qualified, hm what a coincidence.
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Post by burythehammer on Oct 8, 2013 23:55:24 GMT -5
Big ups to Peavy, Breslow, Tazawa and Uehara #rig huge #rig. Also how impresive is Xander? Tough game, tough environment and he walks twice and scores twice. I'd think long and hard about him playing 3rd in the next series. Just start him at short vs lefties. Problem solved. You might wanna take a look at Oakland and Detroit's starting rotation.
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Post by FenwayFanatic on Oct 9, 2013 0:08:32 GMT -5
Just start him at short vs lefties. Problem solved. You might wanna take a look at Oakland and Detroit's starting rotation. True, I was talking more about in general, in the long run, fingers crossed for the WS. I like Will at third and Drew at SS vs righties, then bringing in Bogaerts against lefty relievers like JF did tonight. I am really glad it worked out not only for obvious reasons, but because it has to make JF more likely to make that move in the future after what happened tonight. Then against guys like Kershaw, I doubt it would happen but it would be nice to start Bogaerts. Drew would be close to an automatic out against guys like that.
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Oct 9, 2013 0:13:39 GMT -5
Friendly reminder - If Farrell doesn't pinch hit Bogaerts for Drew against the lefty, we may not have won that game. Ha! Get the idea Farrell was covering his behind there by doing the right thing in that game and properly pH for Drew with Bogaerts, plus using Gomes to PH for Salty vs a lefty? It would have been nice to see him use his head a dozen other games (or more) when not making those same moves could have helped the team instead of catering to his favorite players egos. I'm reasonably confident that Cherington had a long conversation with Farrell within the last 24 hours. Seriously. The thing is, Farrell doesn't need theoretical examples of how post-season managing is done. He saw Tito in 2007. Everything he did wrong yesterday, he did right tonight. He needed 3 1/3 innings of relief and he used his three good relievers exclusively, results: 3.1 1 0 0 0 7, with the hit not leaving the infield. He pinch-hit righties against McGee, whose reverse splits aren't nearly as big as the splits of the lefty hitters involved (even when you adjust for the inherent difficulty of pinch-hitting). I actually think that this augurs well for the future. Farrell seems able and willing to listen to reason (if I'm right) and learn from experience. And of course it doesn't hurt that the decisions were reinforced by great success. (You can also guess that Xander spent some time looking at video of McGee to prepare for this possibility, and that Cherington asked Farrell what the point of doing that had been, if he wasn't willing to pull the trigger and do it.)
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Oct 9, 2013 0:17:39 GMT -5
So, has anyone come up with Duck Boat Dynasty as a nickname for this team? Of course, that's premature ...
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 9, 2013 0:26:25 GMT -5
I don't know if Cherington spoke to Farrell as Eric said, but I give credit to John Farrell for not being stubborn. He finally realized that Drew against the lefty was not a good idea and that Bogaerts deserved a shot and wouldn't be overawed. If you make a mistake fix it, and that's what Farrell did.
And somebody's gotta say something about Breslow. He's been under the radar all year and he's been fantastic. He's kind of the 2007 Okajima of 2013, setup man supreme.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 9, 2013 0:41:29 GMT -5
What's good for the Sox is that Detroit and Oakland are going 5 games. Oakland is using Colon and Detroit is going with Scherzer.
This means vs Detroit:
Game 1: Lester vs Sanchez Game 2: Lackey vs Verlander Game 3: Buchholz vs Scherzer Game 4: Peavy vs Fister
This means vs Oakland:
Game 1: Lester vs Gray Game 2: Lackey vs Parker Game 3: Buchholz vs Colon Game 4: Peavy vs Straily
I'd much prefer Oakland in this scenario given that their starters aren't as good as Detroit's. The good news is that either way these are right handed starters and that renders Nava, Salty, and Drew relevant again, and I don't think Detroit is knee deep in lefties out of the pen.
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Post by pedroelgrande on Oct 9, 2013 0:51:18 GMT -5
Tim Britton ?@timbritton
Xander Bogaerts: "I can drink...but I won't."
This kid...He's pure.
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Post by Oregon Norm on Oct 9, 2013 0:58:59 GMT -5
Need to give some props to Middlebrooks. Some good at bats tonight including a single and a walk. Even on the strikeout when he fought McGee tooth and nail through eight pitches he was tough, just before Ellsbury's single.
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Post by thelavarnwayguy on Oct 9, 2013 1:45:05 GMT -5
Just catching up with this thread now. I grant that Drew would probably position himself better than Bogaerts but that play showed decent range for Xander. I don't think Drew was even more likely to get to that ball. Drew is solid and steady, but almost never spectacular. Not saying Xander is an outstanding defender but maybe his offense is so good he gets type cast as a negative defender. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up about average, maybe even a little above average for range the first few years.
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Post by thelavarnwayguy on Oct 9, 2013 1:50:19 GMT -5
Almost anyone probably draws at least one of Xander's 2 walks but he does get pitched to carefully and the bat speed is there against any fastball. He seems to be adjusting very well and this augers very well for next year.
But we look like we are going to really miss Ellsbury. Which doesn't surprise me in the least. He's a play maker. A guy you want on the team in situations like these. He helps the team win close, low scoring games in particular. He's a winner.
The exact opposite of Salty. Don't mean to be a hater but I would much rather have Ross out there especially against left handers. Ross looked great in bringing that game home at the end.
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Oct 9, 2013 2:09:17 GMT -5
I don't think Detroit is knee deep in lefties out of the pen. The Tigers have Drew Smyly and former Sox farmhand Jose Alvarez, the A's have Sean Doolittle, Brett Anderson, and (as yet unused) Jerry Blevins, and may add Tommy Milone as as a long man for the ALCS (they went with three catchers and 11 pitchers this series, but have yet to use Kurt Suzuki). When the time comes, I'll break down the guys on whichever team we're playing.
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Post by nhdave on Oct 9, 2013 3:23:47 GMT -5
Thank god, wanted no part of David Price coming off his alcohol fueled (just a guess) Twitter rant... Although it would have been nice to see ripped by the fenway crowd.
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danr
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Post by danr on Oct 9, 2013 3:57:47 GMT -5
After watching Buchholz last night, I would like to see him swapped with Peavy. Peavy is a better pitcher right now.
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Oct 9, 2013 6:02:25 GMT -5
What's good for the Sox is that Detroit and Oakland are going 5 games. Oakland is using Colon and Detroit is going with Scherzer. This means vs Detroit: Game 1: Lester vs Sanchez Game 2: Lackey vs Verlander Game 3: Buchholz vs Scherzer Game 4: Peavy vs Fister This means vs Oakland: Game 1: Lester vs Gray Game 2: Lackey vs Parker Game 3: Buchholz vs Colon Game 4: Peavy vs Straily I'd much prefer Oakland in this scenario given that their starters aren't as good as Detroit's. The good news is that either way these are right handed starters and that renders Nava, Salty, and Drew relevant again, and I don't think Detroit is knee deep in lefties out of the pen. Scherzer pitched in relief yesterday. Detroit is pitching Verlander tomorrow. Oakland reportedly is deciding between Colon and Gray.
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Oct 9, 2013 6:09:08 GMT -5
After watching Buchholz last night, I would like to see him swapped with Peavy. Peavy is a better pitcher right now. He was a better pitcher over a one-game sample. Peavy wasn't great down the stretch, and last night doesn't suddenly readjust everything. Based on this logic you might as well swap Peavy with Lackey too, since he could start on Sunday on regular rest. Don't let the final line fool you - there was some good contact early on that was caught. It wasn't like he dominated. Only certainty is Lester on Saturday and in Game 5 as long as it's not 3-0 heading into Game 4 or something. My guess is that the rest of the rotation stays the same.
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Post by hammerhead on Oct 9, 2013 6:30:07 GMT -5
Farrell had a tremendous game. Riding Breslow was huge, pulling Peavy at exactly the right time, using Taz for one big out, and Koji for the 1+ inning save. For all the crap he got in game 3 he deserves credit for game 4.
Hopefully Pedroia and Napoli have big ALCS's they have done nothing in the series. I know Pedey had the SF , but he's had a lot of opportunities. Napoli seems to be in one of his epic funks.
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Post by brianthetaoist on Oct 9, 2013 6:30:51 GMT -5
OK, I'm going to go against what I said at the time and call the whole game a totally mismanaged game by Maddon. It's a great example of a guy managing himself into a box and getting kudos for deftly handling the crisis of his own making. See, I don't doubt that the short hook and bullpen game was Maddon's plan all along, but it all started with the choice to go with Hellickson in the first place. If he had just chosen the better pitcher (Archer) none of this would've been necessary. But instead, he got all cute, and the problem with a bullpen game is it's nearly inevitable that at least one of the bullpen guys is going to be off that night ... which is what happened.
The only caveat to all of that is that there may be a good reason Archer couldn't start that I haven't seen, like an innings limit or something like that.
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Post by Oregon Norm on Oct 9, 2013 6:41:03 GMT -5
Farrell had a tremendous game. Riding Breslow was huge, pulling Peavy at exactly the right time, using Taz for one big out, and Koji for the 1+ inning save. For all the crap he got in game 3 he deserves credit for game 4. Hopefully Pedroia and Napoli have big ALCS's they have done nothing in the series. I know Pedey had the SF , but he's had a lot of opportunities. Napoli seems to be in one of his epic funks. Again, the idea behind building a team is to have a number of players who can hurt you. Using a four game sample to evaluate individual performances doesn't get you anything. Don't believe me? Run a four game window across any season and the variability in those performances will blow your mind. There's almost no knowing who gets "hot" next. The Sox had the resources they needed to pull out the series. On to the next challenge.
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Post by hammerhead on Oct 9, 2013 6:47:09 GMT -5
uhh ok?
except Napoli is extremely streaky and is prone to prolonged slumps. Is this one? maybe
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Post by larrycook on Oct 9, 2013 7:36:31 GMT -5
Farrell had a tremendous game. Riding Breslow was huge, pulling Peavy at exactly the right time, using Taz for one big out, and Koji for the 1+ inning save. For all the crap he got in game 3 he deserves credit for game 4. Hopefully Pedroia and Napoli have big ALCS's they have done nothing in the series. I know Pedey had the SF , but he's had a lot of opportunities. Napoli seems to be in one of his epic funks. Again, the idea behind building a team is to have a number of players who can hurt you. Using a four game sample to evaluate individual performances doesn't get you anything. Don't believe me? Run a four game window across any season and the variability in those performances will blow your mind. There's almost no knowing who gets "hot" next. The Sox had the resources they needed to pull out the series. On to the next challenge. Great team win for the Sox. Regardless of who we play in the next round, we need Pedey's bat to come alive. I know his thumb is about to fall off,but if he can get some timely hits,it would be huge for us. Napoli is definitely in a slump. It could last for days or weeks or for the rest of the season. We are going to need Lester and Lackey to bring their A game for games 1 and 2. We are in for a really tough series regardless of the foe.
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Post by FenwayFanatic on Oct 9, 2013 8:11:40 GMT -5
I would like to see more Mike Carp this next series.
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Post by jmei on Oct 9, 2013 9:03:51 GMT -5
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Post by gregblossersbelly on Oct 9, 2013 9:16:44 GMT -5
What's good for the Sox is that Detroit and Oakland are going 5 games. Oakland is using Colon and Detroit is going with Scherzer. This means vs Detroit: Game 1: Lester vs Sanchez Game 2: Lackey vs Verlander Game 3: Buchholz vs Scherzer Game 4: Peavy vs Fister This means vs Oakland: Game 1: Lester vs Gray Game 2: Lackey vs Parker Game 3: Buchholz vs Colon Game 4: Peavy vs Straily I'd much prefer Oakland in this scenario given that their starters aren't as good as Detroit's. The good news is that either way these are right handed starters and that renders Nava, Salty, and Drew relevant again, and I don't think Detroit is knee deep in lefties out of the pen. Scherzer pitched in relief yesterday. Detroit is pitching Verlander tomorrow. Oakland reportedly is deciding between Colon and Gray. I'm sure Scherzer will pitch Game 2 if it's Detroit. Verlander won't be ready until Game 3. Hope the winner has jet lag
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