OK, Yankee fans, as hard as it may be to do so, it’s time to give props to the Red Sox for what may be one of the best seasons of all time record-wise. SU’s observations:
- Full disclosure: I watched very little of the playoffs after the Yankees were eliminated but I saw enough. The Red Sox beat the Yankees, Astros and Dodgers – they did not have any gimmes and were dominant.
- David Price has gotten the playoff monkey off his back. He was big in the World Series. Conversely, Clayton Kershaw has once again shown that he is mediocre in the post-season – the only blemish on his remarkable career. And it’s a significant body of work so not an aberration.
- SU says look for this in 2019: both the Red Sox and the Dodgers abused their relievers and starters. Lots of warming up and sitting down, pitching several days in a row, pitching more innings than they are used to. This will be an issue next season when these same pitchers have arm issues, Tommy John surgery, etc. Something to look for next season.
- Alex Cora pushed all the right buttons. We will see if the trend continues next season. SU says these things even out and he is not likable.
- The Dodgers were like the Yankees. All or nothing. No clue how to hit in situations to get a run home, move a runner along. The Red Sox put the ball in play and have a circular line up.
- It just makes SU more annoyed that the Yankees traded for Stanton. So unnecessary and where is the pitching going to come from in 2019 for the Yankees? Manny Machado? Does he ever hustle? Don’t sign him. Bryce Harper? Same thing – unless he can pitch, SU says stay away. The problem is not home runs; the problem is starting pitching and hitters who put the ball in play.
- Brian Cashman will have a busy off-season – don’t screw it up.
The NY Giants are officially unwatchable. I cannot watch Eli try and throw from the pocket and get sacked over and over again, or throw 5-yard passes over and over again. Team is going nowhere – see what the youngsters can do at QB. I am not saying it’s his fault but he cannot be productive on a team with a porous offensive line. No point and no chance.
Finally, while the Knicks are losing, don’t lose hope – you have to play the youngsters and see what you have. Also, Caris LeVert is a stud on the Nets (and ex-Michigan). The guy can play and the Nets are fun to watch.
Any love for Boston this morning?
Sports Update Intergalactic 
Agreed. The Red Sox season speaks for itself. I have to admit that during the season (and even the playoffs) they never seemed to me to be as good as their record. Of course, the season is long enough that the record should be a pretty good indication and it held up against some legit playoff competition.
The game continues to evolve and the Red Sox seem a step ahead of the rest of the league. Rosters are full of the types of players that were favored by sabermetrics a generation ago. Hitting and pitching changed. Lineups are full of homerun hitters and strikeout pitchers. But, of course, hitting and pitching need to change again to respond to this and the Red Sox seem to be ahead of everyone in doing so.
I’ve had limited exposure to Machado over the years. Always thought he could hit and played good defense. That’s about it. Maybe he benefited from playing out of the spotlight on weak teams. But in a couple of weeks of nationally televised games, he really made the least of an opportunity to showcase himself. You have to wonder how many millions he cost himself. It’s strange to think about it but he probably would have earned a larger contract had he finished out the season as an Oriole. And no, the Yankees should not pursue him. They shouldn’t pursue Harper either.
Agree that the Red Sox deserve props but the stars really aligned for them this year, especially in the post-season- lots of contributions from the role players (e.g. Pearce, Nunez, Devers, Holt, Bradley, etc.) and about six fly balls off of Kimbrel which could have been game-changing home runs- unlikely to be repeated next year. As for Cora (unlikeable is a kind term), remember he was 5 feet away from Sanchez hitting a walkoff grand slam in game 4, and his game 5 starter Sale having pitched in relief in game 4 already- it’s a fine line between being a genius and a goat.
The Red Sox certainly proved to be the best team in the league this year. The core is still young and I am sure they will continue to spend on their needs. Seems like everyone wants pitching and I expect the Red Sox to once again spend big $s.
Most interesting comment from John Smoltz during game 5. He said the Sox game plan was to expand the strike zone and throw a lot of high fast balls as a counter to the Dodgers “Launch Angle” HR hitters. Seems to make a lot of sense and is an important trend to watch. DeGrom owed a lot of his success this year to that approach. It should be an interesting off season and spring training can not come fast enough given the state of the other NY sports teams.
The “launch angle” adjustment is a great example of what I was saying about the Red Sox being ahead of everyone else. A generation ago, the way to get hitters out was with low strikes. But for the past decade we’ve seen an influx of power hitters who make their living launching those low strikes. And the Red Sox have pitchers getting these batters out with high strikes. Yes, the kind of strikes that power hitters used to dream about have become the way to get batters out. The game will always evolve but it seems that the Red Sox are ahead of the rest.
Of the 3 teams which played the Sox in the playoffs I feel the Yankees were the most competitive. Yes, they got blown out in Game 3 but the Yanks certainly dominated in Game 2 and actually outhit them in Game One. 2 impact starters are needed and 1 contact hitter, unless Clint Frazier is that guy. I do like McCutchen and having them both in the lineup means some small ball can be displayed. Gardner should get a chance but rotating these 3 to see who rises to the top is needed.
Stanton was mediocre at best, but let’s see how he hits in his second year here. Sometimes you need a year under your belt. Andujar and Torrez are contact hitters so all is not so bad. it’s the Starters which we need to improve….. that’s all. Again, let’s see how Stanton performs. Winning 100 games when both Stanton and Sanchez, even more so should have better seasons.
And what happens if we win 103 games next year and the Sox win 107? It would almost be like the Knicks at their peak in the 90’s only to have to go through Jordan to get to the Promise Land. Two solid pitchers and we are right where we need to be. I’m confident the under achievers will bounce back. No one had a stellar season offensively except possibly for Andujar…. but we really don’t know that. Having 2 Rookie of the Year Candidates on the same team along with Frazier coming back… Walker hopefully remains and then our big boppers I say we are right where we need to be. Maybe a Frazier-Bird trade for a solid pitcher is in order.
Though a more mobile QB may give their receivers some more time all that scrabbling for your life will catch up to them being more susceptible to the interception. Eli’s successful years as well as Tom Brady or mediocre Joe Flacco had a solid offensive line. What happened to Brady in the Super Bowl against the Giants? Their offensive line were horrible. They only scored 14 points and Brady was running for his life most of the game. It’s all about the OL…
yup best team won, no complaints. While I always root for Kershaw and his postseason results are mediocre, there is no doubt he is not 100% if throwing fastball 90-91, not enough difference with slider. Hopefully he comes back next year at 100% throwing 95-96. Will be interesting to see if he goes free agent. My guess is he stays put but they give him a nice extension. Also, Kenley Jansen giving up homers in back to back games shows he was not fully recovered. No excuses, everyone has injuries (e.g. Sale) and someone else has to step up if you are going to win. BoSox stepped up, Dodgers didn’t. Please no Machado to Yanks, I cant have another AROD who I must hold my nose to root for—dirty player who can’t get up to hustle in the WS.
I kept looking for Fox to go to the split screen from one of those late 80’s sitcoms showing Dave Roberts on the phone on one side and Bobby Cox on the phone on the other. (Maybe the call would end with Tim McCarver calling on the other line asking if Roberts could track down Joe Buck’s number for him.) Roberts’ moves were reminiscent of the Braves of the 90’s when there were minimal “go with the hot hand” maneuvers. He obviously has the Bobby Cox “Manage the Playoffs the Same as the Regular Season” manual on his nightstand, originally written when Cox was with the Blue Jays and then updated with additional chapters in 1996 including “Why you should keep your fastest player on the bench in key late innings situations (because you are perturbed he plays for the Falcons)” and “Jeff Blauser, our best AAA shortstop”. Roberts only out-of-the-box move appeared to be getting Freese into the everyday lineup. I am still befuddled by some of his decisions with his pitching staff (including yanking Hill too early and keeping Kershaw in too long), and especially felt that Matt Kemp should have started in LF while in LA over Chris Taylor – who looked overmatched in every game. Go with experience and someone who may have been hungrier for a title.
Congrats to the Red Sox who played as a team and were absolutely outstanding scoring runs with two outs.