njMark wrote:Okay I still don't understand how to post a pic here but long story short, fucking nerds ruining baseball with their graphs and pie charts. Severino has been shit since the break, the figurehead in the dugout needs to tell the geeksquad that's really in charge how to make baseball decisions.

Lolololol

Someone needs to explain to me how Angel Hernandez is still employed much less working playoff series. He's behind the dish tonight folks so hold on to your butts.

Tequila Cowboy wrote:Someone needs to explain to me how Angel Hernandez is still employed much less working playoff series. He's behind the dish tonight folks so hold on to your butts.

Might be his suit against MLB claiming he's passed over for post season and crew chief assignments because of race. Looks like he's being given enough rope

Not only did Christian Yelich almost win the Triple Crown this year, he still finds time to be on SNL and be engaged to Ariana Grande. Pretty damn impressive

whatwouldcooleydo? wrote:Not only did Christian Yelich almost win the Triple Crown this year, he still finds time to be on SNL and be engaged to Ariana Grande. Pretty damn impressive

Spoke too soon re: Ariana Grande, I suppose

From the This Ain't The City Of Brotherly Love Dept.:

It's been a fun post-season so far, that's for sure. Lots of ups, downs, great plays and key moments. Looking forward to the denouement. Don't know much about this Milwaukee team but they seem deserving and LA is of course one of the storied franchises w/ a star-studded lineup. The Sox will have their hands full either way, but if it wasn't hard it wouldn't be worth doing.

beantownbubba wrote:It's been a fun post-season so far, that's for sure. Lots of ups, downs, great plays and key moments. Looking forward to the denouement. Don't know much about this Milwaukee team but they seem deserving and LA is of course one of the storied franchises w/ a star-studded lineup. The Sox will have their hands full either way, but if it wasn't hard it wouldn't be worth doing.

I seriously doubt it will be hard. I can't seeing it going past 5 against either team. Milwaukee does it with analytics, some strong hitters and an absurd bullpen particularly Josh Hader. Their starting pitching should be completely ordinary by virtually every measure but it excels. They've never seen the likes of the Red Sox boppers before though. LA is talented but not quite the right mix which makes them play inconsistently. Part of that is actually having completely different looks against lefties and righties, it's a strength but it can be exploited. Buehler is their ace but he's young and he proven beatable in his last start before today. Kershaw is starting to figure out who he is with diminished velo but he's as capable of pitching a absolute gem as he to giving up too many early runs. Currently the Red Sox don't seem to have any weaknesses. That could change of course but I'd be shocked if either team challenged them much at all.

No way I'd have pinch hit for Hader if I was Craig Counsell....particularly with no one on base when his spot came up.

As always, anybody but the Dodgers, so GO SOX!

I'm sure Yankees fans would agree:

Winning Ruined Boston Sports Fandom
Red Sox fans can no longer find meaning in futility—they now have to settle for mere greatness

John A Arkansawyer wrote:I'm sure Yankees fans would agree:

Winning Ruined Boston Sports Fandom
Red Sox fans can no longer find meaning in futility—they now have to settle for mere greatness

Who is this guy? I admit that he seems to more or less get it in parts of the actual text but the highlighted bit is all wrong: it was never about futility; it was about the "tragedy" of coming so close so often only to have defeat snatched from the jaws of victory in some incredibly poetic and "creative" way.

And JFC, Boston definitely has an inferiority complex compared to NYC. But Washington? Seriously? Philly's history??? WTF? Los Angeles? Where? One hears the NY thing all the time, mostly because it's true though totally boring and cliched by now. But the others? Not once. Not ever. And it would be hard to fathom any reason for those alleged feelings.

When the Celtics were winning every year, there was little to no "masshole factor" because basketball was such a secondary sport and, you know, black people. But w/out doubt the recent exploits of the Pats and Sox have changed the atmosphere significantly and mostly for the worse. Being Goliath is neither fun nor pretty. But even w/ the recent change in fortunes and attitudes there's still a lot of underlying anxiety and belief that the roof's caving in at any moment. See, or hear, if u can stand it, sports talk radio

But he's right that this year's edition of the Bosox is fun to watch and easy to root for. Go Sox!

beantownbubba wrote:

John A Arkansawyer wrote:I'm sure Yankees fans would agree:

Winning Ruined Boston Sports Fandom
Red Sox fans can no longer find meaning in futility—they now have to settle for mere greatness

Who is this guy? I admit that he seems to more or less get it in parts of the actual text but the highlighted bit is all wrong: it was never about futility; it was about the "tragedy" of coming so close so often only to have defeat snatched from the jaws of victory in some incredibly poetic and "creative" way.

I'm pretty sure this guy is someone other than the person who wrote the headline, which, being a headline, is pretty likely to get it all wrong.

Having grown up in the Boston area during a time of absolute futility on the part of the New England Patriots, I find modern-day Patriots fans to be spoiled, obnoxious & delusional. Part of it is the unrealistic expectations the team's success has created among the fan base. A larger, and more annoying aspect, is the outright arrogance of the fans. I suppose some of it is spillover from the man front & center of it all, Bill Belichick. Then there's the whole "Patriots Way" and "Do Your Job" horseshit that the team's PR department pumps out as nauseam. The sport of football, and it's 24/7 coverage, certainly brings out the Monday morning quarterback in many people. Patriots fans seem to believe they possess an elite level of football acumen because, you know, they've "studied" at the feet of the genius Bill Belichick for almost 2 decades now. Things obviously change, but I've never considered Boston, or all of New England for that matter, to be a football-rich region. And yet, here we are. Or maybe it's essentially what beantown alludes to above. If you give Massholes a platform bouyed by success, you are bound to be inundated with obnoxiousness. I am "one of them" and I find it off-putting. I can only imagine how others view Patriots fans.

The last two-ish decades of success across the Big 4 teams in Boston has made the sports fans spoiled in general. I mean shit, the narrative this season was how great it was that the "beleaguered Red Sox have FINALLY made it back to the post season". Oh no, they hadn't been in 5 years? After winning three World Series in the previous nine seasons? BOO HOO.

Zip City wrote:The last two-ish decades of success across the Big 4 teams in Boston has made the sports fans spoiled in general. I mean shit, the narrative this season was how great it was that the "beleaguered Red Sox have FINALLY made it back to the post season". Oh no, they hadn't been in 5 years? After winning three World Series in the previous nine seasons? BOO HOO.

Who said it was their first postseason since 2013? They won their 3rd consecutive AL East title this year.

If anyone wants to see fans with high expectations for their team, look to New York Yankee fans. Their only analogue in American sports is probably Alabama football fans.

Bill in CT wrote:

Zip City wrote:The last two-ish decades of success across the Big 4 teams in Boston has made the sports fans spoiled in general. I mean shit, the narrative this season was how great it was that the "beleaguered Red Sox have FINALLY made it back to the post season". Oh no, they hadn't been in 5 years? After winning three World Series in the previous nine seasons? BOO HOO.

Who said it was their first postseason since 2013? They won their 3rd consecutive AL East title this year.

If anyone wants to see fans with high expectations for their team, look to New York Yankee fans. Their only analogue in American sports is probably Alabama football fans.

I misspoke. I meant they hadn't won a title in a whopping five seasons

Zip City wrote:The last two-ish decades of success across the Big 4 teams in Boston has made the sports fans spoiled in general. I mean shit, the narrative this season was how great it was that the "beleaguered Red Sox have FINALLY made it back to the post season". Oh no, they hadn't been in 5 years? After winning three World Series in the previous nine seasons? BOO HOO.

Cubs fandom has become just as spoiled. Daily rumblings about firing people and trading guys like Kris Bryant are part of the daily slog through Cubs related media. It’s fucking exhausting. That said it’s not unique to Chicago or Boston or anything else. People have lost all perspective on sports and I don’t understand how people with those kind of expectations even enjoy it anymore.

Tequila Cowboy wrote:Cubs fandom has become just as spoiled.

where does this total lack of perspective come from? From 2010-2014 they lost 87, 91, 101, 96, and 89 games respectively.

Not directed at the Cubs fan up in here, as you all seem to get it, but the Cubs fans you guys often reference sound entitled as fuck. I imagine they collectively sound like this guy

I don't think Cubs fandom is even 5% as entitled as Boston fans. Between the Sox, Patriots, the Pierce-era (and now current) Celtics, etc., they've been insanely spoiled by great sports teams. I mean "Titletown USA"? Fuck right off

Zip City wrote:I don't think Cubs fandom is even 5% as entitled as Boston fans. Between the Sox, Patriots, the Pierce-era (and now current) Celtics, etc., they've been insanely spoiled by great sports teams. I mean "Titletown USA"? Fuck right off

All they have is pro sports

Congratulation to the Red Sox and their fans. They were impressive.

A great end to a great season. I don't know where this Sox team ranks among all the great teams in baseball history but I'm pretty sure John Henry was right when he called this team the best in Red Sox history. A very talented and well-balanced team w/ all the intangibles. And fun to watch, too.

I think at the beginning of the season that the team's performance would depend on how the B's bounced back from 2017:

Betts: MVP caliber season
Bogaerts: All Star caliber season
Benitendi: All Star caliber season
Bradley: Incredible defense all year, a very good second half at the plate and that out of nowhere performance in the ALCS.

I wish Pedroia could have been more of a part of the season on the field but other than that and continuing concerns about Sale's durability, it was pretty close to a perfect ride.

Dedicated to Ryan Madson

By the end of this clip, you will have seen a noted musician do one of the most disgusting things ever done on television:

Parade Day!

cortez the killer wrote:
Parade Day!

...I think I'm going to be sick!