The MLB Thread

[Trumo]

I only got to watch the first 2 innings and perhaps a couple of pitches at the top of the 3rd, before we had a power cut. It was maybe 30 minutes before power came back and truthfully it was a bit of a blessing as otherwise I have had to stay up to watch the whole game!

 

And what a start that was - great for the Red Sox but an absolute nightmare for the visitors. I doubt the Cardinals will look as dreadful again as what I saw, but they were just shellshocked. The catcher and pitcher both leaving that ball for each other summed up their start perfectly. Although the umpiring decision at second base on Pedroia was a shocker too. Thankfully the umpires got together and saw sense to reverse the decision. It didn't look out in real time, and the initial call looked even worse on the replays. I heard the commentators say that the umpires will be allowed to refer to video on such calls from next season, and with the stakes so high that has to be a good thing. If nothing else, it will stop the managers looking foolish when they charge out to argue with the umpires.

 

Big Papi nearly got another Grand Slam, but for a great catch by Beltran in pretty much the exact place where Detroit's Hunter went over the wall and into the bullpen (and the cheering cop!). It came at a cost though because Beltran suffered a rib injury and was out of the game.

 

Having seen the highlights online, the Cardinals clearly tightened up defensively which you would expect of a side good enough to make it to the World Series, and the Red Sox won't have things go such much their own way in the upcoming games.

[moof]

I think I kinda got a bit hooked last night. Never seen the fuss before but now I get it.

[RedKnight]

Buchholz's health could be the deciding factor in this series. Not fit enough to start game three and a doubt for game four, that means Peavy (terrible in game 4 of the ALCS) goes in game three and possibly Doubront (erratic during the regular season) might go in game four. Worrying, especially going against Wacha tonight and then off to a National League park with no DH.

[neko]

that was brilliant....

 

[RedKnight]

What a gif.

[RedKnight]

Sox lost 4-2. Pitching duel between Wacha and Lackey went to the 7th with Boston leading 2-1. Unfortunately the usually brilliant Breslow had a horrow show. First the Cardinals had a double steal, then Breslow gave up the tying run with a hit into left field. Gomes throw to the plate was mishandled by Salty then Breslow, eager to make up for the hit, tried to throw to third to cut off the runner but overthrew, it went into the stand and that made it 3-2. The Red Sox gave it away with that 7th, shouldn't have lost it and now they have to go to St. Louis tied 1-1 and the *ugh* no DH rule in National League parks. 

[RedKnight]

Controversial end to game 3 as the Red Sox literally throw away the World Series by making the same mistake twice. And then the umps win the game for the Cards by calling obstruction. 2-1 down and that's probably it for the Red Sox.

[Trumo]

As I understand it, the umpire's call was correct by the letter of the law. Regardless of whether that was a controversial way to end a game or not, Middlebrooks should never have been put in that situation by Saltalamacchia in my view. That's 2 almost identical wayward throws to the 3rd baseman in 2 games.

 

What I'm not sure about is that the guy who was tripped up and ended up getting the walk off winning run was coming round 3rd when Salty picked up and threw the ball. Couldn't he have just waited and tagged the runner as he was coming home (or done that weird 'kiss chase' thing they do sometimes)? Or is there some sort of rule whereby once one guy is out at any particular base, the next guy can't be out at that base in the same play? Perhaps somebody can explain that bit.

 

While I happen to be keeping an eye out for a team from the AL, it seems to me that the NL format makes more sense for the game as a whole. There is no designated hitter to bat in place of the starting pitcher, and that makes it closer to cricket where everybody including the bowler has a bat. The AL format can mean 2 players from a team could be sitting on their arse for long spells.

[RedKnight]

Series tied 2-2! A Jonny Gomes three run homer and a massive TOOTBLAN by Cardinals pinch runner Wong, at the end of the game, means that if the Cardinals want to win, they have to win back in Boston. Props to John Lackey coming out of the bullpen to pitch the 8th inning and relieve the pressure on the rest of the bullpen, same to Felix, who didn't even think he could do the role a month ago. Breslow's done as a reliever for this series though, his confidence has gone. Game 5 tomorrow night, where my bowels will do battle with my nerve to see who will give up first.

[Trumo]

I stayed up to watch the whole thing as it was an earlier start for us (the clocks went back an hour this weekend), and I'm sure I'll be feeling it later on even though I'll try and do the same tonight. This World Series has been defined by mistakes so far, and this time it was the Cardinals that paid for theirs, even though Red Sox made a few errors of their own.

 

Although the series is now level, John Farrell still has a few issues to deal with. Some of the guys are unable to do anything with the bat at the minute, reliever Breslow seems to have lost confidence and it's putting pressure on the relievers and closers behind him. Red Sox are having to rely on a few individuals to get anything out of the games.

 

It was noticeable how there was a control shift which helped Red Sox put those runs on the board in the 6th. Before that, the hitters were trying to slow the game down by wearing down the Cardinals' starter, but they were getting almost no hits or offering any threat. The Cardinals relieved their pitcher when they thought they were in prime position to close the innings, only for the reliever to get owned by Gomes. After that, despite giving up one more run, all the pressure was on the Cardinals. The last out was a direct result of that pressure, as stupid as it was to get out that way.

[RedKnight]

Red Sox win 3-1 and lead the series 3-2. An absolutely dominant pitching performance from Jon Lester who went 7 2/3 innings on 4 hits with 1 earned run. Next game back at Fenway on Wednesday where Jon Lackey will try and pitch the Red Sox to the World Series.

 

The only shocking things that happened tonight was that the game only took 3 hours and there were no errors or controversial calls. 

[Trumo]

The only shocking things that happened tonight was that the game only took 3 hours and there were no errors or controversial calls. 

 

Watched the whole thing again last night, and both starting pitchers were excellent I thought. There were no errors from anybody and there was no controversy, just a very compact display by both sides. Like you, I thought the game just seemed to flow very nicely and that's why it only took about 3 hours. I'll be getting a proper rest in tonight, then watching again on Thursday morning.

[moof]

I don't know what I'm gonna do when the series is over. I've been loving it.

[RedKnight]

THEY DID IT! CHAMPIONS! SHANF! PEDEY! KOJI! NAP! LACKEYLESTERBUCHHOLZTAZAWAELLSBURY AND BIG FREAKING PAPI!

 

 

 

FUCKING AMAZING!!

[Paco]

3 world series in 10 years after 90 odd year wait for the first one.

 

Can fsg bring us a premier league title? It only took them 2 years to bring first world series to biston. They ve already been here 3 year albeit this is a foreign game to them.

 

Also can anyone draw comparisons between our squad and red sox?

 

Ortiz is the msin scorer like sturridge or suarez.

 

Bogaerts is like sterling - a rookie come through the ranks.

 

Pedroia is like gerrard. An all rounder who has seen it all

 

One thing to add is that fsg bolstered the starting pitcher ranks by bringing in peavy after all star break which lessened the burden on lester and lackey in bucholz injured absence.

 

I d expect to see fsg get us whatever we need to maintain our push fir top 4 in jan

[Trumo]

I am fucking knackered now. 3 out of 4 days with only 3 hours of sleep, and it would be worse had the clocks not gone back last weekend. Still, I saw the Red Sox win 3 out of 3 and clinch the World Series.

 

And it was a dominant performance to do it. The Cardinals' hitting never got going. Sure they were regularly scoring singles, but the hitters couldn't take advantage of having men on base to drive home the runs. The opposite was true of the Red Sox. Have such a big lead before turning to the bullpen really demoralised the Cardinals and put the crowd in party mode early. There was also a comedy moment to rival the Wainwright/Molina fiasco from game 1, failing to tag Ellsbury when he was trying to steal 2nd. They prevented the steal but they really should have got him out.

 

Big Papi was awarded the series' MVP, justifiably so. His stats throughout the series were outstanding. He was also responsible for the moment when I think the momentum shifted towards the Red Sox, namely his team talk in game 4 which helped the team tie the series. From that point on, the Red Sox were definitely the dominant team.

 

The trophy presentation really sucked though. Are they all like that? The MLB commissioner presented the trophy to Henry, Lerner and Lucchino first, and it was only moments later that Farrell and Cherrington got to lift it. The players got to it much later.

 

Still, it's their 3rd World Series in a decade and no doubt the groundswell of feeling following the Boston marathon bombings was an additional motivational factor for the team. That they've done it after finishing rock bottom in their division last year is a huge credit to the efforts of everyone involved.

[Allan]

Fair play to the Red Sox. I had doubts about their rotation coming into the post season, but in the main, they've done what they could to hand a lead over to the bullpen, which is pretty much all you can ask of a starting pitcher in the playoffs. Peavy still can't pitch in the post season, mind.

 

Looking forward to seeing what goes on in the off season, as the free agent pool isn't the strongest this year, so most big moves will be via trade.

 

Now the wait for Spring Training begins...

[Cardie]

The trophy presentation really sucked though. Are they all like that? The MLB commissioner presented the trophy to Henry, Lerner and Lucchino first, and it was only moments later that Farrell and Cherrington got to lift it. The players got to it much later.

 

It's an American sports thing, the owner is up their picking up the trophy at the super bowl as well (usually with the coach and mvp, presume it's the same in the nba/nhl

 

 

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[neko]

I was very nervous last night, and had my doubts that the Red Sox could overcome the perceived gap in pitching.

 

What happened was a miracle of great teamwork and spirit overcoming any shortfalls in talent....very pleased (and relived) they finished it in six.

 

Ortiz was awesome, but Lester's two wins over Wainwright was the key for me.

[Trumo]

The commentators last night were talking about the problems the Cardinals had before last night's game. Their plane to Boston had suffered mechanical failure and so the team (and their families) were stuck sitting in the plane on the tarmac for about 7 hours while they waited for a replacement plane. Of course, they arrived in Boston much later than planned and thus were unable to get enough preparation time in before the game. I doubt they'll use it as an excuse but it's certainly a factor in explaining why they didn't seem to be up for it last night. Perhaps it just wasn't meant to be for them.

[RedKnight]

Still trying to take it all in. I won't lie, I was really confident in them winning yesterday afternoon and that scares me because my natural pessimism usually rules all. The last time I was really confident of winning a big game was 2007 in Athens, and that taught me a valuable lesson. 

 

It's been a great season though, after suffering through the shit storm of the 2011 collapse and the year of Bobby V, it's just terrific to see the players come through; especially the pitching staff. Jon Lester proved that he can be the team's ace in the big games, John Lackey completed a remarkable (and unthinkable road to redemption), and Buchholz, Doubront and Peavy  filled out the rotation admirably. The bullpen is a real success story too, losing both Hanrahan and Bailey, and having Koji become the closer was both a stroke of luck and genius. Guys like Workman, Breslow, Tazawa, Miller and Morales all provided great support throughout the year.

 

The funny thing about spring training is that no one but Red Sox fans gave the team a hope of even making the post-season. Everyone was all on the Blue Jays and Rays so it feels could to stick to all the doubters. People who were sneering at the Victorino contract have been made to eat their words as Shanf has been phenomenal in the field, winning a gold glove, and providing great batting support. 

 

The likes of Pedey, Big Papi and Ellsbury (I'm gonna miss him) were all their usual excellent stuff and Drew proved that players with that surname can be valued in Boston. I wouldn't be surprised to see them give him a qualifying offer but I think he moves on, and he does so with a championship. 

 

Then you have the likes of Nava, who was terrific all through the regular season, and Bogaerts, who did what everyone thought he could, in the post season, providing real feel good stories. Bit part players like Gomes and the Legend of Mike Carp did well platooning and Gomes came up big in the post-season. Salty's bat, and eventually glove, put him out of the team in the World Series but Ross finally got his reward for suffering all the concussion problems he had in the regular season. I'm not sure what sort of offer Salty gets in the off-season but his at-bats and mistake in the World Series might have hurt him. 

 

Cherington deserves huge credit for reshaping the team. This possibly could have come a year earlier if Lucchino hadn't insisted in meddling and bringing in Bobby V but Ben got on with it and he's now got his reward too. Getting back to signing players that fit the team and Boston itself rather than pursuing superstar free agents has served them well, just like it did in 2004 and 2007. Best thing is the majority of this team stays together plus the Sox have a stacked farm system, nothing is certain in baseball but the Sox have set themselves up for good production there for the next decade. Credit to Farrell too, he almost Grady Littled a couple of times but I think it's in the clubhouse and with the pitchers (along with Juan) where he's been most valuable.

 

From the moment this team started they were just fun to watch, irrespective of how deep they went in October. That they finished the season as champions was just the cherry on top. Absolutely delighted for them and the city of Boston. 

 

RED SOX WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS! EAT IT, AMERICA!

[RedKnight]

 

The trophy presentation really sucked though. Are they all like that? The MLB commissioner presented the trophy to Henry, Lerner and Lucchino first, and it was only moments later that Farrell and Cherrington got to lift it. The players got to it much later.

 

 

 

I thought you'd have loved seeing the rich guys getting the trophy. GO RICH GUYS WHO BOUGHT MY TEAM!

[RedKnight]

That's a joke btw.

[moof]

Erin Andrews is ace. Sexy bint. She only fucks sports stars though.

[RedKnight]

Don't lower the tone.