2018 Boston Red Sox Thread | Page 49 | Syracusefan.com

2018 Boston Red Sox Thread

jncuse said:
Organist pulls out the old Hartford Whalers goal celebration theme -- Brass Bonanza. Love it.

I assume some of the older Boston posters may remember the old Adams Division Battles.
Expand...
Nothing was as brutal as the battle of Quebec
 
That was satisfying. I feel bad for Pedroia, though. Hope he can get back to his standard for us.

I’m remembering back just weeks ago, before the playoffs started and people in the media were ranking all the AL teams’ chances, and the Sox were not expected to do so well. Mostly, probably about bullpen expectations. They squashed that. Brazier was awesome, and Kelly really killed after a scary second half of the season. And Greg Gagne should be forwarded a playoff share for the Kimbrel pitch tipping notification. Big.
 
This 11-3 playoff run is just amazing when you analyze it.
They beat 100 win Yankees 3-1
103 win Astros 4-1
92 win Dodgers 4-1
7-1 on the road.
4-2 at home.
538 has them as a top 10 team alltime.
DqoqcRxXQAAqQ5h.jpg

Only the 1998 Yankees are from the post strike Era.
I know our Expos fan in this thread must be pissed about 1994. As I think that Expos team was loaded and could have been on this list.
 
Alsacs said:
This 11-3 playoff run is just amazing when you analyze it.
They beat 100 win Yankees 3-1
103 win Astros 4-1
92 win Dodgers 4-1
7-1 on the road.
4-2 at home.
538 has them as a top 10 team alltime.
DqoqcRxXQAAqQ5h.jpg

Only the 1998 Yankees are from the post strike Era.
I know our Expos fan in this thread must be pissed about 1994. As I think that Expos team was loaded and could have been on this list.
Expand...

The most impressive stat is the 7-1 on the road against top caliber competition. And in the one loss it took more than seven hours to beat them.
 
bpo57 said:
The most impressive stat is the 7-1 on the road against top caliber competition. And in the one loss it took more than seven hours to beat them.
Expand...
An Ian Kinsler error away from a sweep.
Obviously, things would have played out differently with the pitchers’ sequence and availabilities, but...
 
On a completely random note, was that Johnny Sacks sitting behind home plate last night?
 
Alsacs said:
This 11-3 playoff run is just amazing when you analyze it.
They beat 100 win Yankees 3-1
103 win Astros 4-1
92 win Dodgers 4-1
7-1 on the road.
4-2 at home.
538 has them as a top 10 team alltime.
DqoqcRxXQAAqQ5h.jpg

Only the 1998 Yankees are from the post strike Era.
I know our Expos fan in this thread must be pissed about 1994. As I think that Expos team was loaded and could have been on this list.
Expand...

I never care about historical rankings b/c I have no idea how you would ever begin to rank a 1911 Athletics team against a 1970 O's team, but it's interesting nonetheless. I think the thing that is the most impressive about this particular team is that really the wins came as much from guys not named sale/JD/Mookie/Price etc. as they came from those big names. It's one thing for a random dude like Lemke to have a big series but to go 11-3 and not really have huge postseasons from Sale/Kimbrel/mookie/Beni (yes a bunch of big plays but a .613 ops)/X is pretty amazing.
 
Alsacs said:
So Hanley’s money comes off the books but that goes towards Martinez next year.
The Sandoval contract comes off after next year.
Should be interesting what Dombrowski does but if they finish this off it will be all good.
Expand...

It's very interesting. Some thoughts I'll randomly post on the postseason and the upcoming offseason.

1. Not sure Roberts was that bad or that Cora was that good.
I'm a Roberts apologist b/c how could you not be as a sox fan. I also don't think he was particularly good in the series. Removing Baez for Wood was not great, Kike in the three hole was bizarre and I think I agree that they removed Hill and Buehler a bit earlier than necessary. But it's also about the guys who are called on making plays. I mean, Moreland had a .600 OPS post all-star break and was dealing with hammy, but he hits an absolute bomb in game 4 that completely changes the game. Joe Kelly was brutal since June but was lights out in the WS. Devers gets some good BABIP in the postseason and Kimbrelwas saved by multiple plays, not the least of which is Beni's diving catch against the stros. Love Cora, don't think Roberts was great, but think the criticism he's getting is a little overboard.

2. This postseason was a validation of Dombrowski
The ends don't always justify the means and so the WS doesn't excuse anything Dombrowski might have done to get here, but I think a lot of media and fans tag him with being in constant GFIN mode and ruining the farm system to try and win a title. But Dombrowski has put together some nasty rosters in Detroit and now with the sox. And it's not just big name guys -- eovaldi, pearce, eduardo nunez, moreland, brasier, valzquez -- or even free agents -- it was his call to give JBJ another shot, he didn't give up on guys like ERod, Steven Wright, Brian Johnson, Joe Kelly, etc. The man has put together three straight division winners and now has a 108-win team that has a series title. Pretty crazy.

3. Baseball is about building a 40-man roster
There is always so much talk about stars free agents, etc., but Wright/Velazquez/Johnson threw a combined 240 innings (roughly), Brasier became their most reliable crunch time reliever, they used Jalen Beeks to get Steve Pearce (and Beeks was solid for the Rays, by the way), and Holt and Nunez had huge moments in the postseason. Just a lot of guys required to make a run through 162 games and then win in the postseason.

4. Interesting offseason decisions
Be nice to be rid of Hanly's money but it's basically already spent. Stupid Sandoval is still there. Hate to lose Eovaldi but can you really make a run at him? Would Price, if he really hates boston and the boston media, consider opting out even at a huge loss financially? Does Dombrowski decide to move a kid like Chavis or Dalbec to try and bolster the MLB roster? Should be interesting to watch.
 
I think the red sox were one of the better all time teams..however, i think that attributing any of that to how they did in the post season is confirmation bias. the san diego padres of this season could have won the world series if they were given a bye into the playoffs. playoff baseball is essentially random.

i mean if the sox lose game 4 and the series gets tied 2-2..and it goes 6 or 7...does it really change how good they were?
 
STEVEHOLT said:
I think the red sox were one of the better all time teams..however, i think that attributing any of that to how they did in the post season is confirmation bias. the san diego padres of this season could have won the world series if they were given a bye into the playoffs. playoff baseball is essentially random.

i mean if the sox lose game 4 and the series gets tied 2-2..and it goes 6 or 7...does it really change how good they were?
Expand...
They lost 1 game to two 2 100 win teams.
That had never been done before.
Plus the Red Sox became the first team in MLB history to win multiple clinching games started by Cy Young winners. They clinched the ALCS over Justin Verlander and the WS over Clayton Kershaw.

What makes the post season run impressive was the Yankees had gone 7-0 in playoff home games and Boston went 2-0.
Houston had gone 10-1 in the last 11 playoff home games last year and Boston went in there and went 3-0.
They went 7-1 on the road.

If the Sox had just gone the distance with everyone it takes away their alltime historical claim but going 11-3 over two 100 wins and the best team in NL is damn impressive and helps the claim.
I think the best teams of last 25 years are the 1994 Montreal Expos, 1998 New York Yankees, and 2018 Boston Red Sox.
 
billsin01 said:
It's very interesting. Some thoughts I'll randomly post on the postseason and the upcoming offseason.

1. Not sure Roberts was that bad or that Cora was that good.
I'm a Roberts apologist b/c how could you not be as a sox fan. I also don't think he was particularly good in the series. Removing Baez for Wood was not great, Kike in the three hole was bizarre and I think I agree that they removed Hill and Buehler a bit earlier than necessary. But it's also about the guys who are called on making plays. I mean, Moreland had a .600 OPS post all-star break and was dealing with hammy, but he hits an absolute bomb in game 4 that completely changes the game. Joe Kelly was brutal since June but was lights out in the WS. Devers gets some good BABIP in the postseason and Kimbrelwas saved by multiple plays, not the least of which is Beni's diving catch against the stros. Love Cora, don't think Roberts was great, but think the criticism he's getting is a little overboard.

2. This postseason was a validation of Dombrowski
The ends don't always justify the means and so the WS doesn't excuse anything Dombrowski might have done to get here, but I think a lot of media and fans tag him with being in constant GFIN mode and ruining the farm system to try and win a title. But Dombrowski has put together some nasty rosters in Detroit and now with the sox. And it's not just big name guys -- eovaldi, pearce, eduardo nunez, moreland, brasier, valzquez -- or even free agents -- it was his call to give JBJ another shot, he didn't give up on guys like ERod, Steven Wright, Brian Johnson, Joe Kelly, etc. The man has put together three straight division winners and now has a 108-win team that has a series title. Pretty crazy.

3. Baseball is about building a 40-man roster
There is always so much talk about stars free agents, etc., but Wright/Velazquez/Johnson threw a combined 240 innings (roughly), Brasier became their most reliable crunch time reliever, they used Jalen Beeks to get Steve Pearce (and Beeks was solid for the Rays, by the way), and Holt and Nunez had huge moments in the postseason. Just a lot of guys required to make a run through 162 games and then win in the postseason.

4. Interesting offseason decisions
Be nice to be rid of Hanly's money but it's basically already spent. Stupid Sandoval is still there. Hate to lose Eovaldi but can you really make a run at him? Would Price, if he really hates boston and the boston media, consider opting out even at a huge loss financially? Does Dombrowski decide to move a kid like Chavis or Dalbec to try and bolster the MLB roster? Should be interesting to watch.
Expand...
This is a solid take but Beeks got us Eovaldi. What an outstanding trade even if Beeks turns into a reliable 4-5 guy.
 
NailstheCusefan12 said:
This is a solid take but Beeks got us Eovaldi. What an outstanding trade even if Beeks turns into a reliable 4-5 guy.
Expand...

That’s right — it was for eovaldi. I’m totally fine with that trade too. I think he’s actually done well on the trades. Replenishing the farm hasn’t been great but that can be cyclical at times too.
 
billsin01 said:
That’s right — it was for eovaldi. I’m totally fine with that trade too. I think he’s actually done well on the trades. Replenishing the farm hasn’t been great but that can be cyclical at times too.
Expand...
The only one that hurts is the Travis Shaw trade. He might not have had a position here but Thornburg has been useless. Crazy that his two bullpen trades (Thornburg and Carson Smith) didn’t help us win.
 
Alsacs said:
They lost 1 game to two 2 100 win teams.
That had never been done before.
Plus the Red Sox became the first team in MLB history to win multiple clinching games started by Cy Young winners. They clinched the ALCS over Justin Verlander and the WS over Clayton Kershaw.

What makes the post season run impressive was the Yankees had gone 7-0 in playoff home games and Boston went 2-0.
Houston had gone 10-1 in the last 11 playoff home games last year and Boston went in there and went 3-0.
They went 7-1 on the road.

If the Sox had just gone the distance with everyone it takes away their alltime historical claim but going 11-3 over two 100 wins and the best team in NL is damn impressive and helps the claim.
I think the best teams of last 25 years are the 1994 Montreal Expos, 1998 New York Yankees, and 2018 Boston Red Sox.
Expand...

I think the 2004 Red Sox are one of the great teams of all time. Caught fire in late July, swept a decent Angels team in three, pulled off the greatest comeback of all time in the ALCS breaking an unbelievable curse and smoked the Cardinals in four in the WS. That was pretty impressive.
 
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