ALDS Roster and Discussion

[oldtimer]

The Astros are just better than us. When a team is superior, you need a starter to step up and carry your team to a few victories in a short series. Bob Gibson did this. Josh Beckett did this. Sale didn't do this, and, as a result, the Red Sox are going to lose.

If Sale is dominant in game one, giving the Red Sox a victory, and is waiting for the Astros in game 5, the Red Sox would only need to win one more. Sale was our only hope. He was a disaster and now the better team will prevail.

This is why Dave Cameron was right when he argued that the Red Sox shouldn't trade Moncada and Kopech for Sale. The Red Sox gave up too much for a short term upgrade. Dombrowksi "went for it" but that strategy carries significant long term risks. If Sale doesn't deliver a championship, you lose the deal by a wide margin.

They will need to manage Sale differently next year, cut down on his innings earlier in the season so that he doesn't experience a Sept and Oct swoon. They still have two years to win with Sale, but Moncada and Kopech will likely outperform Sale in the long term, and, perhaps even in the soon-to-be near term.

Honestly, the top three candidates for the Cy Young award this year all bombed in their starts in the playoffs. In addition, Pomeranz bombed as well. Sale definitely has been off but the playoff territory also has shown that other top pitchers just don't do well. Our best performance this year to date has come from Price. Sale got us to where we are. The problem is with him swooning, we don't have a lot of other options. Weak offense and less than stellar defense and relief pitching. We are a good team but not a great one. After the season is over, further discussion about how to improve will ensue.

[mvp 78]

Series OPS
1.338 Devers
1.314 Ramirez
1.005 Moreland
.833 Vazquez
.791 Betts
.732 Benintendi
.600 Bradley
.347 Pedroia
.346 Bogaerts