Is this Yankees vs. Rangers, circa late nineties, all over again?

Scoscia-Ball vs. 2-Run-Homer

2-Run-Homer wins

Is this Yankees vs. Rangers, circa late nineties, all over again?

It is my recollection that the Rangers just weren't very good (bad pitching in particular). I wouldn't say the same of the Angels.

I think that the Red Sox are able to run out a good postseason team with top of the line pitching and three good arms in the bullpen. The Angels can match these qualities, but their lineup doesn't matchup with the Red Sox, which makes the difference.

IIRC the Rangers were very good for their division. No 84-win squeakers. Of course, in each of those seasons they had an MVP winner. Also IIRC the Yankees won those ALDSes because they were simply better, and better constructed for lower-scoring playoff baseball.

The pull-quote for this game doesn't note it, but almost as important to the outcome of the game was Guerrero's baserunning blunder. Fangraphs WPA for the game says that that single blunder reduced the Win Expectancy by 17%, from 41% to 24%.

I said in the Chatter thread something to the effect that if Manny had made that blunder, the Internet would literally explode with outrage. But it's Vlad, who has no discernible personality, so no one cares.

Series over. Same thing we've seen seven times in a row.

Honestly, if the Angels had lost, say, 7-5 with a back and forth game, I'd be optimistic. But this the same reel we've seen in every game since 2004. They spent a season convincing me that they were the team that could beat the Sox. They spent three hours convincing me I was wrong.

Go Tampa.

Fangraphs WPA for the game says that that single blunder reduced the Win Expectancy by 17%, from 41% to 24%.

Fangraphs is dumb. Does fangraphs take into account the Angels 6,7,8,9, and 1 starting hitters were a combined 0-20? Sure, it looked awful, but the only way Vlad scores a tying run there is an out. If he stays on second, he really stays on second. Maybe there's a bad throw, or a bad hop. He was not going to score if he'd stayed on second base.

Yeah, the contact against Masterson was very weak. A double play was a highly likely outcome if Vlad had stayed at second, rather than the grounder to short for the forceout at second that ended the inning after Vlad was gunned down.

While I disagree with Shredder's take that the series is over, I will agree that Vlad's base running was not as egregious a mistake as the booth guys were suggesting. There's a reason the second out is the one that's excluded from the don't make that out at third saying.

Chip and Shredder are right, Kendrick would have grounded into a 6-4-3, so big whoop with Vlad trying to leg out an extra base, dunderheaded as it was.

The game was close for the most part, but all appearances of momentum and possibility are with Bahstin.

As we have been reminded six thousand times this year, the Sox are 1-8 vs. the Angels in the regular season - so this ain't over by a long shot.

Nice try though boys

The joke is on Boston though. Teams that win the first game in the ALDS have only won 12 of the 26 series since some random year I've chosen to suit my point.

Post hoc ergo propter hoc. I use the latin because I'm an ass.

I think the key is to panic and give-up. That'll show 'em. Who 'em is, is really up to you.

"Shooter McGavin: Stay out of my way, or you'll pay. Listen to what I say.

Happy: Why don't I just go eat some hay? I can make things out of clay, or lay by the bay, I just may! What do you say?"

The headlines almost always recognize the wrong player(s). How does one homer win a game more than 7 IP with only 1 run allowed?

Aw, let him go. It's not like Bay's gotten too many headlines up until now.

It's a Boston paper. They are DESPERATE for anything to prove to their readers that the FO didn't make a historic-level blunder with the Manny trade.

Not that Bay isn't a nice player. But the FO ambition to stock the entire team with clones of Trot Nixon is not leading anywhere.

"Not that Bay isn't a nice player. But the FO ambition to stock the entire team with clones of Trot Nixon is not leading anywhere."

Nixon was a platoon player. Bay is a two-time All-Star and former ROY.

The two don't really have anything in common.

I thought it was a good aggresive baserunning play by Vlad. If Youk, the DB, doesn't make a heck of a play in recovering after the dive then the Angels are in great position to tie it.

Jacoby, was nasty last night. Obviously, Lester was too.

Nixon was the mainstay of their offense for several years and a gutsy "dirty-uniform" player along the lines of Youkilis and the very overrated Pedroia. My guess would be that the Sox get stomped by the Rays in the ALCS, since the Rays don't have a complex about them, unlike the Angels who seem not to have noticed there's no Manny.

Nothing against Bay, or indeed Youkilis/Pedroia. But they're not Manny. Or Nomar. Or Pedro.

The two don't really have anything in common.

They have one thing in common.

They have one thing in common

Fear and supplies?

Nothing against Bay, or indeed Youkilis/Pedroia. But they're not Manny. Or Nomar. Or Pedro.

Grandpa, could you please bring your colostomy bag back inside with you? You're scaring the dog.

Bay hit a big HR to give the Sox the lead and Lester and friends held the line. I dunno, giving Bay part or all of the headline doesn't seem out of line to me. It was his first playoff game and he came up huge.

Lester was awesome. He is a joy to watch pitch. He's physically much stronger than he was last year (take a look at his neck sometime, it's the size of a linebacker's) and he's throwing 2-3 MPH harder than he did last year.

A thoroughly enjoyable game.

Reminded me of Game 2 of the 2004 ALDS, when the Angels led 3-1 until the sixth when Varitek hit a two-out, two-run homer off of Colon. Pedro pitched a gutsy seven innings, and Boston broke it open late.

The Sox were off and running from there.

They have one thing in common.

Neither was brought into the organization by Dan Duquette.

They have one thing in common.

A need for each other anytime, anywhere.

I thought it was a good aggresive baserunning play by Vlad. If Youk, the DB, doesn't make a heck of a play in recovering after the dive then the Angels are in great position to tie it.

I was reminded of something Bill James wrote about the 1983 ALCS:

"The White Sox lost five runners in the four games; the Orioles lost one. Of the five runners they lost, four were in scoring position before being cut down.

"And if you keep talking about your baserunning being the edge in the playoffs, Tony, that's going to keep happening to you.... teams that live by the extra base, die by the extra base....

"Why does this happen? I wrote down Tony Kubek's words at the time of the biggest mistake, Dybzinski's trying to go first to third in the 7th inning of Game Four, without first insuring that third base was available for occupancy. 'The White Sox,' Kubek said, 'are a very aggressive baserunning team, and they have probably been going from first to third on that play all year. It's just that Roenicke played the ball very alertly, and then the cutoff man threw behind him.'

"Precisely. On the nose. You do that all year, and all year it helps you win games, and then you do it against the Baltimore Orioles, and it helps them win ball games. Steve Henderson wouldn't have picked that ball up like that. Dave Edler or Manny Castillo or whoever the Mariners would have had at third base; he's not going to fire behind you."

Substitute the Angels for the White Sox, and the Red Sox for the Orioles, and that's pretty much what happened last night. You don't have to substitute anyone in for the Mariners; suffice it to say that if Richie Sexson or Bryan LaHair was trying to field that ball, Vlad makes it to third easily.

Neither was brought into the organization by Dan Duquette.

Heh. I appreciate the contrarian positions that karlmagnus brings up; esp in some of the HOM threads that I've read. And I agree that Duquette sometimes doesn't get his due here, but the Henry/Werner/Epstein bashing is getting tiresome.

"The White Sox lost five runners in the four games; the Orioles lost one. Of the five runners they lost, four were in scoring position before being cut down.

I think the problem here is with the definition of "scoring position". Last night for the Angels, if the 6-9, 1 hitters were up, the concept of scoring position didn't exist.

Sorry Wally, I got sidetracked onto H/W/E bashing. My real intent was dirt-dog bashing, which I think I haven't overindulged in so much.

And I agree that Duquette sometimes doesn't get his due here, but the Henry/Werner/Epstein bashing is getting tiresome.

Duquette's recognition would be more obvious here if Duquette's most vocal BTF champion didn't bring out the contrarian in people. I (and many others) recognize that Duquette deserves a LOT of credit for the 2004 championship (half? little less than that if you think that his departure helped change the "atmosphere," little more than that if you note that more of the best players on the 2004 team were brought in by Duquette than by Epstein. Whatever floats your boat. Duquette certainly deserves more than none of the credit for 2004 and less than all of the credit, and any other assessment depends on what assumptions you make). But Karlmagnus is to Duquette as Tim McCarver is to Derek Jeter: the subjective shilling makes posters here want to argue the other side out of general irritation.

John Lackey struck out Bay twice swinging with the curve, got the first pitch over for a strike looking for a curve in the third PA, and then threw a fastball. And then the fastball ended up over the fence.

The only reason you should be throwing a fastball after Bay looking so helpless against the curve is for show, out of the zone. Lackey ###### up. I put the loss on him completely. You can't expect to give up runs to Boston in the playoffs and win the game.