MLB 2018: let the games begin!

[ghost of miles]

Went to sleep when it was in the bottom of the 12th and just now seeing the news... wow. Longest game in postseason history, right? 

[Dan Gould]

1 hour ago, Brad said:

I have to give you credit for going to sleep; I never could have done that.

He bet the house and emptied his bankroll, so to speak, and has nothing left for today.  All or nothing. I think it was worth the risk. He’s not afraid to make the bold move, to coin another cliche. Let’s hope it doesn’t cost them the series. 

Kinsler had a terrible game. Besides his base running and his failure to score, in the bottom of the 13th — whatever inning it was — he should have eaten the ball. In addition, in the top of the inning, the Sox had the bases loaded and couldn’t score and that came back to bite them. 

There's no need to eat it.  Puig was nowhere near 1B and Kinsler had at least half a second more to set and throw, more if he sets and rifles it:

 

 

But did Kinsler need to be so hasty with the throw? Puig was 45 feet from first base when Kinsler threw the ball. At his seasonal sprint speed, Puig was 1.6 seconds away when the throw -- which traveled about 100 feet -- was made. Kinsler had around a half-second longer to set and make the throw, which translates to 14 feet of Puig running at the pace he was going.

 

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Puig was 45 feet from 1B when Kinsler threw the ball. At his seasonal Sprint Speed of 28.3 ft/s, he was 1.6 seconds away.

Throw was about 100 feet away. A 70mph throw takes 1.1 seconds to reach its target. Kinsler had up to 0.5 more seconds, or about 14 more feet of Puig running

1:54 AM - Oct 27, 2018

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And Betts has to get his act together. 0h fer freaking EIGHT?  Some MVP.  He is getting no elevation on line drives, he skies out or hits harmless groundballs. Awful, and for nearly the entire post-season.

[Brad]

I know it’s a second guess but once he slipped I probably wouldn’t have thrown plus Puig is fast, isn’t he?

Regarding Muncy, the first batter of the inning, the umpire gave him ball four on a 3-2 count on a checked swing that was questionable. Cora and the bench were incensed and barked at the umpires. Had this been a regular season game, someone would have been tossed. As with almost all checked swing calls or no calls, it could have gone either way. I thought he was out however.  At any rate, it turned out to be an important moment.  

As Frankie Frisch, the Fordham Flash, said “Oh, those bases on balls.” 

Edited October 27, 2018 by Brad

[Matthew]

Hardly a classic game, way too much dead time where strikeouts, fly balls, and 3-2 counts ruled, but such is the game today. What is amazing, and so common no one says anything, but every pitcher was 95+ mph, back-in-the-day, that was very rare.  

[Dave Garrett]

32 minutes ago, Matthew said:

What is amazing, and so common no one says anything, but every pitcher was 95+ mph, back-in-the-day, that was very rare.  

Last time I looked at this list, it was pretty much Chapman all the way with a handful of other names interspersed throughout. Things have changed rather quickly. 

http://m.mlb.com/statcast/leaderboard#pitch-velo

Eovaldi has been tremendous, but with the velocities he is consistently hitting combined with his medical history, I have to wonder about his durability. Even so, he has certainly improved his standing in the free agent marketplace with his performance this postseason. 

[ghost of miles]

Rodriguez vs Hill tonight, presumably setting up a Sale-Kershaw rematch for Game 5.

[Brad]

11 minutes ago, ghost of miles said:

Rodriguez vs Hill tonight, presumably setting up a Sale-Kershaw rematch for Game 5.

It will probably be a bullpen heavy game and could feature some scoring. This is the game the Red Sox probably need to win. 

[Matthew]

Think it will be a high scoring game tonight. My call: 11-10 Dodgers. Book it Dano!

[Soulstation1]

1-0 either one

 nothing left In the tank 

[Brad]

Soulstation may be right.  This series is turning into a pitcher’s.  Either that or the hitters have gone to Laguna Beach. 

[Brad]

Cora waited one batter too late and this is not a second guess because I thought he’d change pitchers one batter before Puig. 

[GA Russell]

I posted a brief and unimportant comment when the game ended last night, but it has disappeared.  Is there a minimum length for a post to stick?

Edited October 28, 2018 by GA Russell

[Soulstation1]

4-3 LA

Edited October 28, 2018 by Soulstation1

[ghost of miles]

Not sure I ever recall seeing a bullpen fail as consistently as LA’s has so far this series. True that Madson has inherited eight runners and allowed every single one of them to score through the first four games? 

[Soulstation1]

Game / Series is over 

[Brad]

53 minutes ago, ghost of miles said:

Not sure I ever recall seeing a bullpen fail as consistently as LA’s has so far this series. True that Madson has inherited eight runners and allowed every single one of them to score through the first four games? 

Jansen failed last year and has failed in the last two games of this one when it mattered. 

[Dan Gould]

Well we are back to the much more pleasant experience of "go to bed in my natural pessimistic state, wake up to happy news."

And I went to bed the moment Vasquez's throw sailed into RF.  If I had stuck around for the 3 run blast I would have really been aggravated.

Anyway facing Kershaw with a margin for error is fine with me.   And while I might have avoided it, the Dodgers young flame thrower is lined up for a game 7, my only consolation there was the suspicion that he might not be quite so dominant in actual October baseball weather.

[Brad]

I hope you stay up for the clincher, be it tonight or Tuesday. 

[ghost of miles]

Can’t see Boston blowing this at all. They’ve played like the best team in baseball all year, so no surprise that they’re now only one game away from dispatching the Dodgers. The only thing that kept them from a sweep was an errant Ian Kinsler throw. 

[Brad]

In this World Series the Ballparks Play a Starring Role

[ghost of miles]

How Chris Sale helped turn Game 4

 

[Matthew]

6 minutes ago, ghost of miles said:

How Chris Sale helped turn Game 4

 

O.M.G.  It was bad enough hearing about Hunter Pence all the time, now Sales! *puke*

[Dan Gould]

4 hours ago, Brad said:

I hope you stay up for the clincher, be it tonight or Tuesday. 

Yeah I've done that for each of the clinching games not stopping now.

But we have in-law guests thru tomorrow so my cursing will continue to be kept to a dull roar.  Amusingly, I found out last night that my mother-in-law (not visiting) was insufferable watching Boston games. She managed to do it sans the cursing though.

[Soulstation1]

The Red Sox hitting with 2 outs and runners on base this series is incredible 

Edited October 28, 2018 by Soulstation1

[Dave James]

Would someone please explain what Dave Roberts was thinking when he pulled Rich Hill?  Just to clarify, that's the same Rich Hill who had just thrown 6+ innings of one hit ball with seven strikeouts when he got the hook.  

 

Edited October 28, 2018 by Dave James