Baseball Thread

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It's hard to believe that two years ago the White Sox had one of the worst MLB records ever and now have they have a shot at going to the World Series. I wouldn't mind the Padres but they usually mess up in the end. I'd like the Rays as well.
 
Dodgers hang on to win game 3 and take a 2-1 series lead. Another tough, close game. Yamamoto was fantastic. Got nervous when Diaz was out there but he managed to get the job done. Still not comfortable with every run being scored via home run even though they've gotten away with it so far.
There was nothing close about this game other than some luck favoring the Braves in a couple spots. This was absolutely their worst performance since the postseason started.
 
It's hard to believe that two years ago the White Sox had one of the worst MLB records ever and now have they have a shot at going to the World Series. I wouldn't mind the Padres but they usually mess up in the end. I'd like the Rays as well.

Have you heard The Good News?

20260812T1610-POPE-WHITE-SOX-GAME-1824678.jpg
 
Dodgers beat the Braves and go on to the NLCS. Dodgers finally got some runs without dingers. Even with all of the walks, Glasnow limited the damage. Diaz might be back to his old self, closed that one out easily.
Braves were a good team but clearly outclassed by the Dodgers.
 
A Red Sox World Series title wasn't in the pipeline this year, but the Yankees getting bounced out the playoffs is always a good consolation prize.

TYD
TNYD
A Red Sox WS title won't be in the pipeline for years until 1. John Henry dies/sells the team, 2. they get rid of the fucking analytics nerds that tell pitchers to only throw as hard as they possibly can to get max spin rate and teaching hitters to only swing for the fences for max launch angle. Until then, the Sox will be middling and mediocre and not a threat at all to compete.

I do however think being a Red Sox fan gives me quite a bit of clarity for the problems the Yankees and Yankee fans are feeling. Everyone's blaming Jazz Chisholm, or Boone, or Cashman, and while there's some truth to blaming all of these people, what ultimately has been the Yankees downfall and will continue to be under the Hal Steinbrenner/Boone/Cashman/Aaron Judge era is this: The Yankees are fucking soft. They've got unbelievable talent up and down the lineup, from Judge to Ben Rice, Cole, Cam Schlittler, etc. etc. But do they have any leaders in the team? In the organization? Aaron Judge is a nice guy, Boone is a nice guy. Do they have a Posada or Mariano Rivera or Bernie Williams? Guys that are ultra competitive and have that killer instinct? Because I don't fucking see it. You have a team of really talented nice guys that fucking cave in the biggest moments. So until that changes, the Yankees will not win the World Series in the foreseeable future.

I've been a Red Sox fan since the mid-90s, so basically became a fan just as the Yankees became a dynasty. I fucking hated them. I still hate Posada, Gary Sheffield, A-Rod, Joe Torre, all those teams. But not only did I hate them, but I feared and respected them. I don't respect this soft ass Yankees squad. They're talented sure, but they're not winners. They don't have "it". And I think that's kinda sad that as a Red Sox fan, that Yankees team last night might as well have been a carbon copy of the Rays. A fine, good team that I feel nothing one way or another towards.
 
A Red Sox WS title won't be in the pipeline for years until 1. John Henry dies/sells the team, 2. they get rid of the fucking analytics nerds that tell pitchers to only throw as hard as they possibly can to get max spin rate and teaching hitters to only swing for the fences for max launch angle. Until then, the Sox will be middling and mediocre and not a threat at all to compete.

I do however think being a Red Sox fan gives me quite a bit of clarity for the problems the Yankees and Yankee fans are feeling. Everyone's blaming Jazz Chisholm, or Boone, or Cashman, and while there's some truth to blaming all of these people, what ultimately has been the Yankees downfall and will continue to be under the Hal Steinbrenner/Boone/Cashman/Aaron Judge era is this: The Yankees are fucking soft. They've got unbelievable talent up and down the lineup, from Judge to Ben Rice, Cole, Cam Schlittler, etc. etc. But do they have any leaders in the team? In the organization? Aaron Judge is a nice guy, Boone is a nice guy. Do they have a Posada or Mariano Rivera or Bernie Williams? Guys that are ultra competitive and have that killer instinct? Because I don't fucking see it. You have a team of really talented nice guys that fucking cave in the biggest moments. So until that changes, the Yankees will not win the World Series in the foreseeable future.

I've been a Red Sox fan since the mid-90s, so basically became a fan just as the Yankees became a dynasty. I fucking hated them. I still hate Posada, Gary Sheffield, A-Rod, Joe Torre, all those teams. But not only did I hate them, but I feared and respected them. I don't respect this soft ass Yankees squad. They're talented sure, but they're not winners. They don't have "it". And I think that's kinda sad that as a Red Sox fan, that Yankees team last night might as well have been a carbon copy of the Rays. A fine, good team that I feel nothing one way or another towards.
That's exactly what made the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry so compelling in the 2000s that it's not even close to today.

In the 2000s, the Red Sox had: Terry Francona, Pedro Martinez, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield, Curt Schilling, Johnny Damon, Jason Varitek, Trot Nixon, Nomar Garciaparra. All of these players who could get the job done and tried to play hard, didn't give up and contributed to a few WS titles.

In the same era, the Yankees had: Joe Torre, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams, Hideki Matsui, Jason Giambi, Roger Clemens and Aaron Boone. Players that helped the team reach multiple WS titles because they were designed to dominate.

Since the 2000s came and gone, both teams have undergone a lot of shuffling and the rivalry just seemed to have simmered. Your very post described exactly the reasons why. The rivalry just doesn't have something to look forward to, without players to make it worthwhile to watch. Both fanbases are getting raped in ticket prices so I guess the real winners are the owners.

The Yankees at least has players. Red Sox has fucking nobody and when they do have somebody, they fuck up.
 
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The fact the Yankees sox rivalry is irrelevant shows you that star power in this sport is completely gone. From Pedro Manny, arod and Jeter to who?

I think that's a problem across all sports, for a bevy of reasons.

But yeah, when maybe the most "fierce" sporting rivalry in America (I know it is for me) can only garner apathy, sports are in a tough spot. At least college football is more about the program than any one player. Same for the Red Sox vs Yankees but it certainly helps when the star power is there. It puts butts in seats and eyes on the tv screen.
 
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