2018 ALCS - Houston Astros vs Boston Red Sox

The highest win total was in the 1998 WS (Yanks 114, Padres 98, total 212). But the Yankees get most of the credit for that record. These teams totaled 211 wins, but they're both legitimate powerhouses.

Short of Osuna falling down an escalator and breaking everything, I can't root for either team in this matchup, just hope that the winner gets smoked like the '54 Indians in the WS.

(with that bullpen I suspect HOU will win)

HoStros in 5

Hoping for the Sox to win because: 1. Osuna shouldn't play in the majors ever again, 2. Mookie Betts I mean c'mon.

But really I think this Astros rotation/bullpen combination is too much.

I like both teams. I can't stop liking Altuve and Verlander and Bregman just because Osuna's there. What I'd really like to see is marquee match-ups like Sale/Verlander actually turn out to be marquee match-ups, instead of both starters being gone by the 5th.

this should be a great series. I think the Astros are the better team, especially when taking bullpen into account. Astros in 6

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

I just don't know the AL. Feel like the Astros adding Cole should do it but Boston had a great year.

Voted Astros in 7

Houston won 103 and did not have the Orioles completely tanking in their division. Red Sox are really good but I think the Astros are a bit deeper in pitching, both in rotation and bullpen. Boston have had a great year at the plate and their lineup is very deep.

It's a great matchup on paper and could make for some good games.

i hope it goes 7 but i think 6 seems about right, i'm leaning Astros.

every time sox/stros played this year it felt like playoff baseball. this is going to be a great series. to me the astros feel like they have just a bit more of the killer instinct. and yeah i think they have the pitching edge. stros in 6, maybe even 5. so hard to say though.

I might watch this series and root for Boston just cause that little guy on the astros annoys the fuck out of me

you're watching wrong, pal

Rooting for Houston. Boston can fuck off

Altuve can still F off tho

My dad’s rooting for Boston though

Tigers fans watching Justin Verlander vs. J.D. Martinez pic.twitter.com/0q58QTvvGl

— Jon Tayler, Smiling Politely (@JATayler) October 14, 2018

OTM

Don't think I'd go with Sale for much longer--lot of pitches, and when he misses, he's way out there.

Dr. Who's theme for the replay review at Fenway.

Betts, Martinez, and Bregman the top 3 MVP candidates--k3vin k. just kicked over his TV.

gotta sell the game

'2 of the top three 3 have been eliminated! stay tuned!'

Dustin Pedroia: sounding board with chronic knee problems

Verlander making them look like the White Sox.

Justin, Justin...0-2?

Verlander making them look like the Red Sox.

have a good TBS feed, but listening to the excellent radio team of Scaimbi & Mendoza

Verlander and Maldonado are just not working well together.

pitch framing much more valued than blocking pitches these days, it seems

Thought Verlander caught a break on those last two strikes to Benintendi.

that was ball four to benintendi

You're all outta here.

yeah, dumbfuck Bregman, they wanted you to hit you leading off

go Sox

Bregman the new Pedroia

is Angel Hernandez behind the plate?

Joe Kelly seems like someone who would punch a loaf of bread for not being fluffy enough

— Jeff Sullivan (@based_ball) October 14, 2018

Joe West obvs on Sawx payroll

lol Joe West got drilled at second base.

Joe West with dead cat like reflexes pic.twitter.com/KOwwGI5K28

— The Sports Quotient (@SportsQuotient) October 14, 2018

thought it might just vanish into his body like a black hole

<3 tony kemp

Astros looking good

that was just a weird ass game

Will Price make it through three innings?

that's one

Terrific game through 8 but yeah, it was weird. Two aces who had nightmare innings. The difference was at third - Bregman is just on a different level from Nunez (or Raffy, had he been playing). Until the ninth of course, but somehow it felt over before then.

I like David Price, so I hate seeing this.

we're edging towards last year's template: every ace gets shellacked

Altuve with zero hits against the Red Sox so far... if he was hitting true to form, they'd be winning right now.

Maldonado is a pretty blatant Achille’s heel.

had no idea superteams could have crap catching

I suppose the best catcher left is Grandal.

Someone knows why Stassi is not in the active roster?

TBS a much better broadcast team than the rest.

O_O

Yet another great game!

good game. porcello's 8th was everything i like about him.

Kimbrel really is bringing the Chapman 2016 postseason shivers.

Sale's stomach

https://nypost.com/2018/10/15/chris-sale-hospitalized-with-illness-as-red-sox-earn-split/

this game may go six hours

these fuckin games

Ron darling is about 100% more insightful than the regular suspects at NESN

Hit it to third.

maybe we can do a shift where bogaerts moves over to back up third on every play

Darling seems more natural/at ease/regular season-like with Anderson than he did with...was it Joe Simpson?

Who is the guy in the booth who just said there's never been a player in the history of the game who lied about whether or not he'd been hit by a pitch?

There's a pretty tasteless Osuna joke just waiting there for anyone who wants to make it.

Might as well finish the game, pal.

Lol yeah why pull him there

Darling has been below-par in past years compared to his Mets work.

and that was former Mets great Joe Smith yielding the gopher a few innings ago to Pearce.

Osuna was struck regularly in the 8th, like a gong

(Noel Coward ref that wouldn't fly now)

stealing signs seems a little different from felonious hacking into a rival's computer system and being jailed for it, but do go on

Guess who isn’t surprised?

— Chris Correa (@chriscorrea) October 17, 2018

What a great play by Gonzalez.

that was a dinger

or maybe not

That would have been the catch of the post-season

Good call--and I don't even care if Betts was a foot into the stands. If that's not interference, nothing is. Now they can follow up by showing that idiot the door.

i agree with the call, but the fan is innocent. he didn't reach into play and i think it's reasonable to put your hand in the way rather than letting the ball hit you in the stomach

yeah I would have done the same.

ALTUVE

man pitcher cant find the plate already walked one home i wldnt be swinging til theres two strikes

worst at bat ever

Kimbrel...

I don't know that I've ever seen three better plays than Betts, Reddick, and Benintendi in the last couple of innings of a game. What a finish.

they should play the last innings first if it's going to take 4:33 to play nine

Every single outing for Kimbrel has been interesting, but somehow, someway he gets it done #redsox

— Pedro Martinez (@45PedroMartinez) October 18, 2018

I want to report this tweet

official time of game: four hours and 33 minutes. second-longest nine-inning game in playoff history. tied for the fourth-longest nine-inning game in *baseball* history, counting the regular season

— Jeff Sullivan (@based_ball) October 18, 2018

counterpoints to Pedro

also maybe it's time to stop treating kimbrel as the proven closer i don't know just a thought

— keithlaw (@keithlaw) October 18, 2018

if the Red Sox ultimately win the World Series they should make Craig Kimbrel pay for the rings

— Jeff Sullivan (@based_ball) October 18, 2018

does my dude have a Reagan/Bush '84 hat on pic.twitter.com/Lu5kzgAKds

— Grant Brisbee (@GrantBrisbee) October 18, 2018

btw

"no interference shall be allowed when a fielder reaches over a fence, railing, rope or into a stand to catch a ball. He does so at his own risk. However, should a spectator reach out on the playing field side of such fence, railing or rope, and plainly prevent the fielder from catching the ball, then the batsman should be called out for the spectator's interference."

so lousy call, utterly unsupported by the rule

Defense was the deciding factor in this game -- Benintendi's catch, Betts' throw, the interference non-call, Correa unintentionally trying for a "neighbourhood" play ...

so lousy call, utterly unsupported by the rule

It's borderline whether the fans reached out onto the field or not. But if the fielder leaves his feet to attempt the catch then you can't say he was "plainly prevented from catching the ball". Basically once the fielder leaves his feet, interference should automatically be ruled out.

also maybe it's time to stop treating kimbrel as the proven closer i don't know just a thought

For Keith Law, apparently small sample sizes don't apply to closers? Does he think that maybe Brasier should close based on his thirty something innings of above average performance? I honestly have no idea what Law is suggesting here.

Maybe I missed Law's tweet after Kershaw's disastrous G1 of the NLCS where he said that the Dodgers should stop treating him like the proven ace. Sometimes Law can be a real dick.

agreed but Kimbrel does seem pretty lost out there now, i mean when he's missing he's missing wide and far and it was luck that won that game for Boston.

Sure, his breaking ball isn't working for him at all and he's walking too many people ... but if a star hitter was looking lost at the plate, would he suggest benching him? We just saw this in the NLCS with Bellinger, did anyone think he shouldn't be playing? How many times did A-Rod look terrible in a series and the statheads turned out en masse to complain that he was being treated unfairly?

Kenley Jansen didn't pitch well during last year's playoffs and maybe he was just overworked or whatever, but it didn't change the fact that he was their best reliever and you just have to hope that your best players deliver when it counts (within reason).

"Riding the hot hand" (or whatever Law's alternate strategy is, because it's not like Boston has a lights out bullpen) is just as silly as ignoring the "proven closer". They had David Price warming up in the eighth to bail out Kimbrel if needed!

Maybe I missed Law's tweet after Kershaw's disastrous G1 of the NLCS where he said that the Dodgers should stop treating him like the proven ace.

Hahaha, I just saw Law's Kershaw tweet posted on the NLCS thread a little while ago. So yeah, apparently Law can't keep his own opinions straight.

i think the importance of closers is pretty overstated and if this guy has been scuffling to the point that he's almost losing games maybe they should reconsider his role! in the second half his ERA was well over 4, and w/15 walks in 21.2 IP....

i think w/a team like Houston you can't afford to get too sloppy. i mean i don't have an answer per se, Boston's pen is somewhat uninspired agreed. but i also think w/closers if they're showing struggles in the limited role they have it's kind of like a kicker who's missing field goals at crucial points in the games, they should have a shorter leash than other players. it's tough, since CK has shown he's ridiculously dominant when he's on.

Closers do seem to be the most easily replaced players, eg Astros last year.

Those two Law tweets, the Kimbrel and the Kershaw, are laughable taken together. (The Kershaw is another version of the announcer who enthusiastically relays that such-and-such has just set a new postseason mark for whatever--it conveniently ignores that Kershaw has now had 22 postseason starts.)

Here's the answer, everybody--let me now tell you what the question is.

i bow to the arbiter of the laughable

keith law is an idiot.

Jeff Sullivan has a warm take

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-fan-interference-call-was-probably-good/

Posnanski has a real detailed look at the interference play, with screenshots and Zapruder-like close-ups. Haven't had time to read it yet. It's behind the paywall, but here's his verdict:

And that brings us back to the beginning: Sometimes rules in sports are necessary even if they are unsatisfying. I think of the Kevin Bacon line in "A Few Good Men:" "I don't think your clients belong in jail, but I don't get to make that decision."

I don't think Altuve should have been called out, I don't think those fans should feel like they did anything wrong, and I don't think you can take away the very real possibility that Mookie Betts would have made that catch.

I don't get to make that decision. There's a rule. It was fan interference. As crazy as it sounds, Country Joe West got it right.

Here's the key photo for him--he's focused on the guy in gray, saying "I feel pretty sure he's ever so slightly out in the field of play. It's interference."

https://heardjustwhatiseen.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/posnanski.jpg?w=450

i think the call could have legitimately gone either way. but regardless of the legality, i feel like mookie was going to make the catch. because he's mookie. i'd probably feel differently if it had been nelson cruz in right field

All of that can be prevented with good camera placement, that the review system didn't think that such a situation would occur is kinda nuts.

in that fangraphs thing they show a good angle that was blocked by a security guard.

yeah, there should be coverage with a better angle than that.

i think it's reasonable to put your hand in the way rather than letting the ball hit you in the stomach

the fans were very much not doing this, they were trying to catch the ball as if they were in the game

hey fuckfaces you're not in the game! look i know you're in the very front row of the bleachers so you feel you are entitled to absolutely every fucking thing but would it kill you to get out of the way of the actual players? the ones who are like, so good at playing baseball that you paid through the nose to see them?? the ones who would make amazing catches if you would just GET OUT THE FUCKING WAY??

if they're the hated visitors?

My confidence level in Price tonight is at least 7%. But I'd love to be surprised.

well the Reagan/Bush '84 hat didn't help. between those guys and Osuna I'm kind of ready to hate the stros at this point tbh

xpost ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

"A very graphic metaphor by A.J. Hinch there..."--that made me laugh.

i wonder if they sell the r/b caps in the team store

btw if anyone has a feed that doesnt suck that'd be great

coming in great on mobdro app

morbro app

price’s beard is so bad

Now I kinda want the Astros fans to rob a catch from Mookie again, that's the perverse effect of Sox Nation on how I enjoy the game.

Ex-Tiger > ex-Tiger

googleassistant: more shit u don't need

chris guccione strikes

Bregman is the shortest 6 feet dude i've ever seen.

I thought that pitch by Verlander was borderline...Maldonado jerked it up--maybe a strike, but I didn't think it was as clear-cut as the announcers did. Loved Verlander's death-stare at the umpire.

maldonado did a poor job framing, but the strike zone tbs has had it as a clear strike

I won't lie: there's a big part of me right now thinking "Quit while you're ahead and get Price out of there." With some help from the ump, he looks good.

Brillant at-bat by Gurriel.

Next item on the pace of play programme: timeouts while Price is pitching.

It was. (x-post)

Think I'd take Price out now--the Guriel AB drove his pitch count up, short rest, the bullpen pitches last night, he's living on borrowed time. He's been great, and if you move on, he's got something to build on. I know he's got the bottom of the lineup coming up--that's the once conceivable rationale I can see for sending him out for the fifth.

"one," not "once"

He a horse tho.

RIP

Whoa!

shit

is price coming back in for the 6th? what could go wrong?

His beard, as mookie pointed out.

(xpost) "David, you get one baserunner..."

hahaha Mookie

Astros can't catch a break

Can we skip to Kimbrel allowing two walks?

Good we need drama.

Lol @ VHS

It's hard to repeat in baseball. I did think they would but not to be

Gotta say I'm just glad we get to see Mookie for another series.

Very happy for Price. He's had too good a career to be treated like a running joke.

weird to see the red sox celebrate somewhere that isn't yankee stadium

Not seeing Red Sox play all that much, got to say their outfield defense looked amazing in the series.

BoSox starting to lay claim to the 21st century in the AL...

may they be swept next week

^^

If it's the Brewers, that's who I'll root for. If it's the Dodgers, I'll root for BOS.

Same. Would be fully behindbghe dodgers if not for machado. *spits*

yeah if there's one more thing Boston fans need is another title

root vs the (M)ass Evil

do fuck off, Morbs, thanks so much

Yeah, jealousy is nagl.

Just for ha-ha's I looked for tickets: $500+ for standing room only. Guess I'm not going to the World Series.

But definitely going to the parade after the Sox win!

so weird to have a great Sox team that's actually pretty likeable

sorry, no, RSN is a pox upon the land

haha jealousy

so weird to have a great Sox team that's actually pretty likeable

this is the "likeable Yankees" mistake of 2017 all over again

but no big deal if you don't share my feelings. Hell, some of you still like Saturday Night Live.

Jay Jaffe:

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/david-price-sheds-an-albatross/

Who's the greatest defender who was ever asked to make a major position change for the World Series in the DH era?

https://www.mlb.com/news/red-sox-could-use-mookie-betts-at-2b-in-ws/c-299383740