JUSTgottaBELIEVE

16-13 in September/October. Not exactly setting the world on fire especially while playing against a lot of teams that dumped players at the trade deadline and/or were giving their minor leaguers a look at the big league level (only 3 of those last 29 games were against playoff teams).

The Sox were not playing well down the stretch last season. They were only a few games over .500 after the all star break. Then they played a team that owned them during the regular season too so the combination of not playing their best baseball late in the season combined with a team they did not match up well against was a death knell.

Which is why being healthy and playing well when the playoffs start is 1000x more important than home field advantage…

It matters but by the slimmest of margins. The more important thing is being healthy and playing well at the right time. Peaking in July doesn’t do much good come October. The Braves peaked at just the right time. Sox starting pitchers being so healthy last season was apparently a blessing and a curse because they looked like shit in the playoffs.

Yea, I addressed the top two seed thing in my next post. But if you’re being honest, do you really think the Sox beat the Astros last season even with home field advantage? Personally, I think we would have seen the exact same outcome of Astros in 4.

Under the new playoff format, I agree that gaining a top two seed is important now that the league introduced the bye. Prior to that, there was very little difference between any of the seeds as long as you stayed out of the wild card round (we even saw a number of recent WC teams win the WS tho). I still like the Sox chances of earning a top two seed and don’t see a big difference between a #1 and #2 seed. I don’t think we’re going to settle anything now, we’ll see how these guys look come October. If Rodon is still healthy and pitching effectively while the other three flame out then we’ll have our answer. But I’ve got a feeling it won’t be that clear cut.

Home field advantage matters so much in mlb that both the top seeds were bounced in the first round last year. Home field is overrated in MLB postseason play. This isn’t the NBA or NFL. https://www.actionnetwork.com/mlb/homefield-advantage2017mlbplayoffs Regarding Rodon, it’s one thing to be pitching in October. It’s another thing altogether to be pitching effectively come October. I don’t like his odds of both pitching and pitching effectively come October. That’s just me though.

Exactly why I posed that question and don’t think there’s a sure answer. But many here seem to think it’s already decided. We’ll find out in 5 months.

You hit the nail on the head right there about all that matters is postseason performance at this point in the rebuild. It’s a failure if they win 100+ games but exit in the first round. The question is who will be bigger contributors come October? Kelly, VV, and Harrison or Rodon? I don’t think that’s a slam dunk answer personally given Rodon’s injury history.

So the second highest ALC team after the Sox is Cleveland at #14 and they moved up from #20 the week prior lol

Wrong. The first season the Astros made the playoffs following their rebuild was 2015. They won 80 something games again in 2016 but failed to make the playoffs. So actually, the first two seasons of the Sox “contention window” is off to a better start than the Astros “contention window.” Let’s see how the next five seasons play out. Unlike the Astros, let’s see if the Sox can win the title without cheating..

Many on this site think the rebuild is destined to fail, already. The Sox have built one hell of a core and they’ll be contending for at least the next 3-4 seasons. Hopefully things break their way in one of those seasons and they bring home the trophy.

Every fan wishes their organization would spend like the Dodgers but that’s not realistic. Honestly, I’m surprised Jerry even allowed a payroll 7th highest in the league. Either way, Sox contention window just opened a couple years ago. In Astros rebuild terms, the Sox are in 2017 Astros mode this season. Let’s see how the next five years play out before we label this rebuild a failure.

I’d prefer they don’t panic and trade Vaughn for a guy like Montas. Let’s see how things play out and then come July identify where roster improvements are needed. No need to rush into a move right now that they will regret come October.

And they have. Their odds of winning the division are like 75% and once they’re in the playoffs they’ll have as good of a shot as any other team in the AL if the roster isn’t decimated by injuries.

What did the best regular season record in the league get the Giants last season? Or how about Tampa, the team with the best record in the AL?

This “catcher” is not a catcher. He’s brutal. Worse than Collins bad

Lots of complaining about VV but I’d take a 4.15 ERA out of our 4th and 5th starters this season

Just get in baby. Then anything can happen…

Not really. Wasn’t getting any of the borderline calls. And that gets in your head as a pitcher. Give me one more scoreless inning and I’d consider that a quality start for VV against this team.

He wasn’t terrible in the first either. Two weak hits, two walks aided by an extremely tight zone, and then the error. Didn’t give up any hard contact in that four run first inning and really hasn’t given up much hard contact thru 3 innings.

Meh. Even with the injuries, they’re still better than any other ALC team.

Squeezed entire inning. Let’s just hope Sox hitters get the same zone.

I’m more focused on pitch count than inning count. If he’s at less than 100 pitches, I’m absolutely ok with him throwing 7 innings.

Against a solid schedule too. That’s the part I like. Not just beating up on the Royals and Pirates.