Major League Baseball 2018 Season Thread

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Managerial hirings today:

Brad Ausmus by Anaheim (last employed by Detroit, 2014-2017)
David Bell by Cincinnati (first time manager)

[MRP]

Sox take game 1. Kimbrel looked the best he has all post-season. And Mookie Betts wasted no time getting free tacos for everybody from Taco Bell.

-M

[Hiromi]

Apparently Kimbrel's problem was that he was tipping his pitches, which he allegedly fixed in game 5 of the ALCS, and has been back to dominant form since

[MRP]

Apparently Kimbrel's problem was that he was tipping his pitches, which he allegedly fixed in game 5 of the ALCS, and has been back to dominant form since

Well that and tonight he threw with command, throwing his first 7 pitches for strikes, something he hadn't done in the post-season, tipping pitches or not. Yes, tipping pitches was an issue as it let batters lay off some pitches instead of swing and miss, but Kimbrel was still lacking command in the earlier rounds. It is something he struggled with when he went too long between appearances in the regular season too, and there were long gaps between appearances in the earlier rounds. Getting more regular work to keep sharp in addition to not tipping his pitches both contributed to his dominance tonight I think, and hopefully moving forward that holds true as well. Finding out he was tipping pitches gave him something concrete to work on and focus on his mechanics, which I think also helped right the command issues he was having. He wasn't throwing strikes often enough in earlier rounds, too many 2 and 3 ball counts adding to his pitch counts, and when he did throw strikes they were getting too much of the plate, and if the hitters knew what was coming, that made for a poisonous combo.

-M

[Scott Taylor]

Game 1 was pure home field advantage at its best. But even so, Boston looked like the better team without that factor.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

Sox take Game 2. Red Sox are now 14-2 in World Series games since 2004.

[Hiromi]

Bad news for the Dodgers now that both their aces have been outpitched

[signalman112]

Twins new manager is Rocco Baldelli, comes from the Ray coaching staff.

https://www.si.com/mlb/2018/10/25/mi...manager-search

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Now THIS is interesting....

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred thinks World Series winner should visit Trump White House

If the Red Sox should win, and they're managed by Alex Cora who's already stated his dislike of Trump because of the administration's piss poor response to Hurricane Maria which devastated his native Puerto Rico, that could result in some friction.

[Hiromi]

Be even more interesting if it's the Dodgers given their organization is in super hot water with the DOJ right now over trafficking illegal aliens into the country

[MRP]

man,into the 17th inning tied at 2...

-M

[WestPhillyPunisher]

The Dodgers are on the board with a 3-2 win in 18 innings, thanks to a home run by Max Muncy, making that the longest World Series game ever. No rest for the weary as game four is tonight.

[Deathstroke]

I fell asleep in the 11th inning. I woke up at 3:24 am and saw that the game was on. But since I wasn't fully awake my first thought was that they were showing a replay of the game. Then I remembered that the game was on Fox and they don't show replays like that. My next thought was "They're still playing?"

I got up and about 5 minutes later found myself in the appropriate place for when that freaking homer was hit...the bathroom.

Disappointing end to the game for me for sure. I can't imagine how the people who stayed up for the entire game must've felt.

[Hiromi]

Boston has erased a 4-0 Dodgers lead and leads 5-4 with the bases loaded in the top of the 9th

edit: And now it's 8-4

9-4 going into the bottom of the 9th, and the Dodger have just torched their bullpen again after an 18 inning game yesterday/this morning

Dodgers now find themselves in a 3-1 hole

[MRP]

Boston has erased a 4-0 Dodgers lead and leads 5-4 with the bases loaded in the top of the 9th

edit: And now it's 8-4

9-4 going into the bottom of the 9th, and the Dodger have just torched their bullpen again after an 18 inning game yesterday/this morning

Dodgers now find themselves in a 3-1 hole

Any momentum the Dodgers had after that marathon win last night just went out the window.

Sale versus Kershaw rematch tomorrow night with both bullpens being fairly spent. We'll see how it goes.

-M