You can not rationalize a loss by saying “we played well or we had a lead twice or this player pitched well or hit well.
Bottom line is, without a legit Closer and Barnes pitching the 8th your going to lose more than you will win.
Record vs winning teams is 7 games under .500.
Playoff Teams in general usually play .500 ball vs each other which gives you a 50/50 chance of winning come playoff time.
Pitching wins in The postseason which has been proven. Until a 9th inning arm emerges your chances of repeating are slim
Oh boy Bellhorn, don't you start with this worn and tired refrain. You know what comes next. i could start softly with my belief about where your best hitter should be which might gradually morph in to all of the ridiculous sighnings that can be directly attributed to Ben Cherington.
Then the Sox are crazy not resigning him then with those numbers. So you think they wont make the Play-offs? I agree the Trade had to made at that point. Remember if it wasn't for a great Bennintendi catch, Kimbrel was close to being a Goat in last years Play-offs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsAZhmoKiVM
Last edited by OH FOY!; 06-20-2019 at 08:15 AM.
I generally prefer to disagree with you, but will not argue that repeating last year is anything but guaranteed. It's even a longshot at this point.
At the same time, however, I believe the Twins series was a watershed event, including the loss, which was anything but a bad loss. And I said that after the game and well before last night's game. Price asked not to go back out for the 6th, and Cora and the bullpen responded beautifully even though the Sox lost in the 17th. The proof was how the Sox demolished the Twins in game 3.
Last year's team is back, and they are ready to keep winning.
If Uehara in 2013 form were available, I would be more enthusiastic about getting a great closer, but, honestly, Kimbrel poisoned that well for me last year. He was and is an overpaid prima donna who folded like a cheap tent in the postseason. Brasier and Kelly and even Eovaldi (normally a starter) were a whole bunch better. This year Kelly is just one more earthquake in LA, Brasier has struggled, and Eovaldi is on the IL. So, basically, we need Cora and his pitching coach to be clairvoyant for the rest of the season in terms who comes in for a given inning. That bullpen has already carried a lot of water this season because the rotation has been inconsistent.
Oh, in case you missed it, I pointed out exactly how Cora was masterful in the middle game (17 innings) of the Twins series and will be happy to repeat that for you.
Maybe because I'm older--my Sox fandom began in 1949, 55 years before the end (2004) of the Curse--I am not spoiled by the humoungous success of the John Henry era in Boston. Thus to me our Sox cup runneth over with four WS wins in 14 years.
So, me, right now I'm pretty darn happy with this team and this manager. That winning streak and taking 2 of 3 vs. the Twins was no fluke. this is a solid team with no big weaknesses, not even our underpaid and over-maligned bullpen.
Last edited by Maxbialystock; 06-20-2019 at 08:59 AM.