2024 Championship Series Gameday Thread

Hard disagree. The Yankees made the playoffs 8 times out of the last 10 years and 25 times out of the past 30 years. Sure, I'd put the Dodgers and Astros a tier above the Yankees, but the Phillies missed the playoffs ten consecutive years from 2012-2021.

It's also curious that he didn't mention Judge's .133/.564

They're not?

Is winning 90 or more games a season not an example of year-after-year competitiveness?

Excluding the incomplete 2020 season the Yankees have exceeded 90 wins six out of their 7 most recent seasons. Prior to that they had their four years of mediocrity where they still were in the mid 80s in wins. That bridged them from the prior 17 seasons in which 16 of them they exceeded 90 wins, and the one they didnt still resulted in a ring.

Would I trade the past seven completed seasons of the Sox for the Yankees? No, I would not because 2018 happened and flags fly forever, but the Yankees could well be on their way to rectifying that in 2024.

It's easy to make an argument that the Sox were the most successful team in baseball the first two decades of the century. I'd buy that argument as the World Series victories weigh heavily.

I think it's quite arbitrary to draw a line at 2001 just to exclude the dynasty the Yankees had just barely on the other side of the line if you want to do the championships argument.

If the Yankees dont exemplify consistency over the past 30 years then who does? If you want to use it over the past 10 then the Dodgers and Astros have been more powerful.

Theo Epstein always said that the goal was to win 95 and make the playoffs 8 years out of 10, and then take their chances in the postseason figuring sooner or later theyll win it all.

Isnt that what the Yankees basically do? They give themselves a chance just about every year? Championships can be fickle. Sox fans should know that better than anybody, 5 in 15 years, none for 85 despite major opportunities, and them boom, 4 in 15 years, sort of what the Yankees have gone thru in the past 30 years, 4 in 5 years, one 9 years later, then an extended period of frustration. Hell, even during the Patriots dynasty they won thrice in 4 years, nothing the next 9, and then thrice more in 5 years.

Teams can be boom or bust in their team building, see history of the A's, but the Yankees have been the model of consistent excellence for years and I'm not even talking about their old dynasties. Basically, it's what the Sox are now trying to accomplish, sustained winning.

Theo is right playoff baseball is a crapshoot, I love the 4 World Series and won't use the Yankees as the goal but we also won 89+ games 15 times in the 21 years from 1998-2018 even with that quite odd 2011-2014 stretch where we finished last place on both sides of a World Series. We had elite players, signed them to big contracts and ran high payrolls, and got to October enough things broke our way 4x. I'd like to get back to those days and make the playoffs a bunch again, more titles should come if we do that instead of what we've done the last 5 years.

Dodgers have vastly better player development than the Yankees, though. They've constantly drafted well and developed players the past 15 years and haven't grossly overspent in free agency, and using their payroll flexibility to make the Nick Punto trade. They've gamed the system well with Shohei and they'll easily make a huge profit off the deal. It is the same gamble the Sox made with Daisuke and didn't work out. Most of the big ticket items for the Sox haven't gone well over the past 20 years.

Yeah, ultimate result. I'd like to be competitive year in, year out. $100M player dev machine. Splash for championship window. Still think that's the operating parameters for the Sox and there hasn't been a good window/match since 2018, along with an extended string of busts with high draft picks/IFA. That's turned around, the Sox have money to spend, but we're in a very tough division and the new playoff system is far more chaotic than previous Sox runs.

Until there's a threat of the Red Sox leaving Boston, I am pretty zen about the whole thing.

Take off your homer glasses and try a little objectivity.

The Red Sox FO has been preaching sustained excellence as their best chance to win championships in the future or have you not been listening?

They want a team that can win 90 plus and make the playoffs virtually every year so that they give themselves as many chances as possible to win the post season tournament crapshoot, which is what the Yankees have done for 30 years and what the Dodgers and Astros have done even better over the past decade.

Your arbitrary line drawing at 2001 is silly. So 2004 is recent and 1998 - 2000 isnt? C'mon. At this point the Giants 3 of 5 and the Sox 4 of 15 are well into the rearview mirror just like the Patriots dynasty is now in the dustbin of history.

The Nationals, Braves, Dodgers (perhaps twice), Astros, Ranfers, and possibly a NY team will have won more recently. What the Red Sox have become over the past six seasons is not what other franchises strive to be.

The Red Sox could conceivably build a powerhouse soon and win 15 straight division titles and come up empty in world series trophies or they could fail their rebuild miserably, but then put together an amazing isolated season and win a World Series like they did in 2013. The Red Sox FO has made it clear they prefer the first methodology and will take their chances rather than going through boom and bust hoping to catch lightning in s bottle, and I happen to actually agree with their goal.

But I'm not going to pretend that consistently making the playoffs and winning 90 plus per year for an awfully long time like the Yankees have done isnt something they're shooting for. I'm sure the Yankees would love 4 of 15 like the Sox did from 04 - 18 just like the Sox prior to that wanted to replicate the dynasty the Yankees put together from 1996 - 2000.

Was it Larry Lucchino who told the press how many days the Red Sox had spent that year in 1st place (although not at then end)? That was pretty well received by the press and fanbase if I recall correctly.

This Yankee talk about all their 90+ win seasons that came without a World series appearance brings back memories.

You can handwave it but the Red Sox 2021 run is better so far than any Yankees playoff run of the 2020s (though that looks likely to change this year).

as I said, it looked likely to change. They hadn’t matched the ‘21 sox at the time of my post

The Guardians signed Matthew Boyd mid-year (June 29th) for the pro-rated minimum - per Spotrac he’s cost them $373k. He gave Cleveland 8 starts of 2.72 ERA, and has a 0.77 ERA in the playoffs thus far.

For half the full league minimum. Craig, buddy. 😐

Just gross