Tag: MLB

Dodgers or Giants

I’ve been hyper focused on the Red Sox this season and I haven’t really given any thought to any of the other teams. Now that the Red Sox are in the ALCS (game one is tomorrow, Chris Sale is starting and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not) I should probably take a look at who else is left. The National League Division Series will end tonight. It’s game five between the Giants and the Dodgers.

These two teams had the best win/loss records in the majors this year. The Giants finished at 107-55, just ahead of the Wild Card winning Dodgers who were 106-56. I don’t want to get ahead of things for the Red Sox. The chances of beating Houston in a seven game series are pretty slim. Still… who do I want to see come out of the NL? The Braves are already into the NLCS but they just earned the right to get their asses kicked by whoever wins tonight’s game.

The Dodgers were the team we beat in the 2018 World Series. They did come back to win it all in what passed for a season last year. Yippee for them. It would be fun to face them again, but they have Mookie Betts now. Do I really want to face Mookie?

As for the Giants… they were the better team this year, but I am thinking it might be time for some payback. Allow me to explain how they insulted the Red Sox so thoroughly…

In 1903 there was no Major League Baseball. There were two major professional leagues that were not actually associated to each other. The National League was older and had more clout. The American League was newer and generally considered inferior. That year, an agreement was made to have the winner of each league play each other in what was to be called the World Series. The Pittsburgh Pirates were the NL champs, and the Boston Americans (who eventually became the Red Sox) won the AL. They played a best of nine series and Boston won in eight games.

In 1904 it was expected that there would be another World Series. Boston won the AL pennant again, and the New York Giants won the NL. The owner of the Giants refused to let his team participate because he thought the American League was not worthy, even though the American League team had won the year before. The fans were royally pissed off and over the off season the agreement between the two leagues was formalized and the World Series became an official thing.

So in 1904 the Giants screwed the Red Sox out of a World Series. The New York Giants moved to San Francisco and tonight they are playing the Dodgers, another New York expatriate, for the right to stomp Atlanta in the NLDS.

I don’t know about the rest of Red Sox Nation, but I’m still pretty pissed off about 1904 and I really like the idea of getting some effin’ payback.

Still… it’s way too early to think about any of this. Whoever wins tonight wins and moves on. The Red Sox need to focus on the Astros and not worry about anything going on in that other league.

Okay, in closing I should give Atlanta the benefit of the doubt. If I write them off now it pretty much guarantees they will win. I’ve mentioned tenuous connections to Los Angeles and San Francisco (all I really needed to focus on was that they are both originally from New York which makes me hate them almost as much as I hate the Yankees), so what about Atlanta?

Well this one is the most obvious. Atlanta is the reason my fellow Bostonians and I do not have a National League team of our own. Before they were in Atlanta, the Braves were in Milwaukee. Before they were in Milwaukee… they were in Boston. They left us. They slipped away in the night and left us without an NL team. I personally would have loved to have an NL team in town. I would have been a Red Sox fan first and foremost, but I would have rooted for the Braves too. I would have gone to Braves games when the Sox were on the road. Absolutely I would have. But no… they left… and I will never forgive them. The jerks.

ALCS Matchup is Set

Houston beat Chicago today. The American League Championship Series match up is set. We know who we’ll be playing, we just don’t know when yet.

The last time the Red Sox went to the ALCS they faced the Astros. That was 2018. It took five games to beat them. Then it took five games to beat the Dodgers for the World Series. I could handle seeing an outcome like that again.

Now they just need to announce the date and time for game one.

Playoff Bracket

I think the chances of the Red Sox advancing out of the ALCS are about the same, zero, as the chance they had of advancing out of the ALDS, but obviously I have no idea what I’m talking about. Clearly.

Bring on the Astros or the White Sox. I’m ready for game one!

The Red Sox Win the Division Series!!!

Holy shit, the Red Sox just won game four with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth, 6-5!

I was sure the Rays were going to utterly murderize us. I thought we’d be out in three and, can you believe it, they won it in four!

The Sox have moved on to the the AL Championship series. They will play the winner of the Houston/Chicago series (Houston is up two games to one).

How awesome is this?

Eighth Inning

The top of the eighth inning just started. The Red Sox have a 5-3 lead but the Rays have a runner on second with nobody out.

Am I panicking?

Hell yes, I’m panicking!

Panic!

Hold that lead!

Addendum: I haven’t even had time to click the publish button and it’s 5-4 with a runner on second and still no outs.

Shitshitshitshitshit

Game Four – Halfway There

Heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, the Red Sox are up 5-1. All five runs came in the bottom of the third. That was fun to listen to.

Now we are getting to the nervous point. Tampa Bay just scored for the first time in the top of the fifth. I am afraid of overconfidence. It was during the 2004 World Series run, when they broke the 86 year slump, that everyone in my family (I think, at least) started using the phrase “cautiously optimistic” all of the time, which probably annoyed the crap out of everyone.

It’s important though. Over confidence leads to the ball going through Bill Buckner’s legs. Cautious optimism leads to coming back from a three games to none deficit to beat the Yankees.

Cautious optimism, folks. Let’s hold that lead and put the best team in the AL away tonight.

The Red Sox Win Game Three

So the Sox won, but there is controversy… or not. I’m not sure. Traditionally the heartbreaking call goes against us, so I’m not sure what to do.

Top of the 13th, runner on first, bomb hit to right hits the wall on the fly, bounces off, hits the ground, hits the right fielder and lands in the bullpen. That’s clearly a ground rule double. Hitting the fielder is the only thing unusual, but it hit the ground. Had it gone off the wall then off the player then out it would have been a home run, I think, but hitting the ground makes it two bases. Period.

I don’t think that’s the question though. The question is where to place the runner who was on first. At the time the ball left the field, I believe the runner had already reached second base. So does he get two bases from there, or two bases from where he started.

If you had asked me this out of context I would have said he ends up on third. Two bases from the start of the play, but I would have asked if the umpires had any discretion in the matter. If they did then he scores. Fortunately for the Red Sox (or not, as it turned out) the umpires do not have any discretion on the call. Two bases from the start of the play. The runner on first advances to third. Period. End of discussion.

Tampa would have taken a 5-4 lead, the inning still would have ended when the next batter fanned, and the Red Sox would still have had a runner on base when Vasquez hit the walk off home run in the bottom of the 13th. The Sox would have won 6-5, but the runner was placed on third instead of being allowed to score, so the Sox won 6-4.

Either way, holy shit what a game!

Halfway Through

We are at the mid point of game three, heading into the top of the fifth. The Red Sox are holding a 3-2 lead over the Rays.

Am I feeling confident?

Aw, hells no!

It’s nice to have the lead though. I’m taking the good where I can get it. How about we tack on a few insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth. What do you say?

Addendum: I wrote the above while waiting for the chicken to finish cooking. I was proof reading when the oven timer went off. In the time it took me to dish out dinner and get back to my phone the Sox scored again. They did in fact tack on insurance in the fifth.