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Old 10-21-2013, 04:13 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts
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Oh dear ogre unfortunately I think you are right. As giddy as I am that we are in I have a strong feeling of doom. Of course that could just be because I am a life long Sox fan in my mid forties. I grew up expecting The Sox to break my heart.
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Old 10-21-2013, 10:04 PM
 
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Magicshark, I know what you mean. I've been a Sox fan for years. 2004 put an end to the angst about whether I'd ever live to see them win it all, but those heartbreaking near misses in the decades before have left a sense of foreboding deeply engrained. With that feeling entwined in my being, two recent championships are still not quite enough for me to completely shake that nagging voice telling me the Sox will get my hopes up and then crush them in the end.
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Old 10-21-2013, 10:36 PM
 
Location: near bears but at least no snakes
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Quote:
Originally Posted by magicshark View Post
Oh dear ogre unfortunately I think you are right. As giddy as I am that we are in I have a strong feeling of doom. Of course that could just be because I am a life long Sox fan in my mid forties. I grew up expecting The Sox to break my heart.
I didn't want to say it but I do feel the same. They build you up to let you down--that's what I always used to say. But you never know. We could be in for a surprise.
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Old 10-21-2013, 11:56 PM
 
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Originally Posted by ogre View Post
Don't count on it. I just hope the Sox win. As far as getting it over with quickly, I think the best bet is that you'd better be prepared for some more frazzled nerves. Anything can happen in one of these post-season series, but these teams look so similar to each other that I'd say it's a pretty good bet that you may be looking at a seven-game series, and maybe a tight seventh game decided by one crucial play. That's probably a better bet than a sweep by either team.
The Sox in 5, I'm as optimistic as ever!
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Old 10-22-2013, 12:00 AM
 
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In five? It's true that you never know what will happen in a post-season series, and also true that Vegas has the Sox as favorites, but five? Sure, it could happen, but if I were betting on the number of games, I'd say six minimum. These teams are just two closely matched, in terms both of overall quality and of their relative strengths, to see a short series as very likely.
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Old 10-22-2013, 12:19 AM
 
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Originally Posted by ogre View Post
In five? It's true that you never know what will happen in a post-season series, and also true that Vegas has the Sox as favorites, but five? Sure, it could happen, but if I were betting on the number of games, I'd say six minimum. These teams are just two closely matched, in terms both of overall quality and of their relative strengths, to see a short series as very likely.
You're probably right, but honestly I'm still in disbelief we got to this point. But if we play like we did against Detroit, it's totally possible.
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Old 10-22-2013, 11:59 AM
 
Location: Providence, RI
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I'm picking the Sox in 7. I think this one goes the distance.

The three games in St. Louis worry me. There's a decision to make between Ortiz's and Napoli's bat and it's going to be a tough one. On one hand, Napoli has been hot recently and he's obviously the better defensive First Baseman. On the other hand, even though Ortiz isn't hot-hitting right now, he can change the series with one swing (as we-- and the Tigers-- have seen). He's also a defensive liability. Farrell will likely make the decision based on who plays better games one and two, but the bottom line is that losing at least one of those bats from the lineup for three games is no small blow.

I think the Cardinals starters, while very good, are going to be easier to get to than Detroit's. Conversely, their bullpen is much stronger (while we have a better closer, they probably have a stronger bullpen as a whole than we do) than Detroit's. The key for the Sox, unlike vs. Detroit, is to get on top early. Scoring in the later innings is going to be a LOT harder against these Cardinals.

I think this Sox lineup is better suited to figuring out the St. Louis starters than certainly Pittsburgh (who had a great run) and the Dodgers, who despite their star-studded lineup, were average (and below) in many important categories this year like sluging, .ops, and home runs (top ten in .avg though). The Sox have the best (by a good margin) lineup the Cards will face this postseason. I also think that the St. Louis offense poses less of a threat to our pitchers than Detroit's did (even with Miggy hurt and Fielder looking lost). I also think that home field advantage is huge. Most of the Cards haven't played at Fenway much. Each position has real quirks (the wall in left, the triangle in center, the corner and the depth in right) that take some getting used to. St. Louis and Boston are almost identical defensively on paper, but Boston has a big advantage as it's highly likely that St. Louis will misplay some balls in the outfield.

So, Boston in 7. I think we do well in Boston and struggle on the road with either Ortiz or Napoli on the bench. If the NL had homefield advantage, I'd say Cards in 7. It's going to be an anxiety filled week or so.

Last edited by lrfox; 10-22-2013 at 12:09 PM..
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Old 10-23-2013, 01:33 AM
 
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(while we have a better closer, they probably have a stronger bullpen as a whole than we do)
Our bullpen's ERA is almost one run better than theirs. Nevertheless, I guess their Rosenthal has been very impressive as of late. Can he match Uehara? I really don't know.

Yes, the Designated Hitter thing is probably the greatest threat to our home field advantage.

Both teams' home and on the road records are nearly identical. It will certainly not be a remake of 2004.
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Old 10-23-2013, 10:40 PM
 
Location: near bears but at least no snakes
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So they won. Did anyone notice? lol

Where is everyone? Is this still the same state????? Maybe everyone is in some bar, drunk?
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Old 10-23-2013, 11:45 PM
 
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Lester was amazing!

We can't count on St. Louis blowing it like that tomorrow, or any other game in the series.
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