35thstreetswarm

I don’t think the team has looked lifeless. Last night’s game should have been a W after the nice extra inning hitting—the ending was like a weird perfect storm. The first loss to the reds was a rookie who had never been above a-ball getting (predictably) lit up. A little adversity will be good for these guys. Just keep playing hard.

Weird

Let’s see, positive things: the record, the standings, the clinched playoff spot, the run differential, the MVP, the batting champ, the roster, the future...I’m going to stop now bc that was a real struggle

I feel badly for those of you who use this thread as a therapist’s couch.

Are you serious? ?. This is screen shot city.

Did everyone expect us to win all three remaining series (and win like 40 games)? I sure didn’t. I thought we’d lose the CIncinnati series, specially since we pretty much punted the first game with Stiever. We’re one game into the Cleveland series. Relax. We’re not going to play at a .700 clip every week.

Can we spell his name correctly in the thread title? It burns my eyes every time I see it

Nope, only great if you’ve won the last game, or have a memory longer than 48 hours

We’ve moved well beyond the Sale/Laroche/Eaton man-baby era; by far the least likable Sox team of my lifetime. Really not interested in backsliding.

The more I learn about this idiot the less I want him on the team. This team is so likable at the moment, and has such a great energy and vibe. Would hate to spoil it.

That would dramatically increase our chances of facing Cleveland in first round. Give me Toronto if we’re in the top 2. I think our ideal path is to lock up the division but slide down to 3. That practically guarantees us a date with the team with the worst record (the Cheaters), and avoids the Yankees in second round.

Winning the division doesn’t guarantee you the one seed.

Right, plus concerns about lack of spring training and uncertainty about team role—I heard it was multi-faceted as well, though no one really knows other than him and those close to him. I think some are making it a little simpler and more sympathetic-sounding than it likely is (how dare we fault him for simply saving a BABY?) to prove a point. He made a career decision. He’s entitled to that. Fans of the team are entitled to be annoyed he’s not playing. I am, though I wish him well as I would any stranger. None of us has a personal relationship with him, and there are no personal obligations flowing either direction, which is why I find the language surrounding Kopech a little strange. Not sure any of us needs to be “supportive” for example, or that he needs our “support” whatever form that would take.

One thing I don't understand is how we've gone from "we have no idea why he opted out, it's none of our business, stop speculating" to "he opted out because of totally unassailable safety concerns." I'm all for avoiding needless speculation. But do we know he opted out primarily because of COVID? I'd heard it has a lot to do with uncertainty about his place in the rotation, ramp-up time, etc.

These are certainly familiar sports mores that we apply to other players all the time. And this board hardly flinches to cast aspersions on other players as people, teammates, etc. for all types of behavior, minor and major. Look, my own view is that I am disappointed Kopech is not playing for the team I love. I have no idea what motivated his decision to sit out (though all reporting at the time suggested it was a variety of factors, both personal and baseball-related), and I understand the wisdom behind avoiding speculation about things you don't know. I wish him the best and hope he comes back next year. But the degree of deference Kopech gets around here is weird. Whether I agree with those who question his decision to sit out or not, I just don't see any reason that discussion of that topic should be beyond the pale.

Don’t feed the trolls

This is my favorite win of the season. Would have been totally acceptable and understandable to lose. But we didn’t. We put our foot on their necks and grabbed hold of the division even when our offense wasn’t exactly clicking.

How about Go Twins Loss? No need to be inflammatory ?

Well, we’ve only won the seemingly bad pitching matchups so far in this series, so good news? Would love to send the Twins out of Chicago down 3 and grab a division champ t-shirt. But if I’m honest with myself, winning the division means nothing seeding-wise. I’d actually prefer to avoid the likely 8-seed Cleveland in the first round. Getting ready for the playoffs is everything.

Yes: maybe use those days to build a little breather in that grueling 7-games-in-7-days championship series. My god.

The irony was in your post, not his. And I’ll agree with you about one thing: sometimes you can tell a lot about a person based on what they choose to say in a public forum. That is all—I hope trafficking with the unlanded throngs doesn’t cause you too much fright today.

I agree the seedings should be by record after the division winners. I’m also delighted that I’m starting to feel some “bring it on” confidence that we can beat whomever they put in front of us.

Still not sure you’re getting the irony he identified in your post. And by the way, the reason it’s not a big deal to “put down another group” (?) in this context is *because* it’s just sports, which doesn’t really matter, as you point out. The guy with the sticker doesn’t actually want to pee on everyone who likes the Cubs. Normal Cub fans don’t feel denigrated as human beings when they see the sticker. They are all just messing around and engaging in the time-honored tradition of trash talk about a meaningless pastime — engaging in harmless tribalism precisely because the stakes are so low. You, on the other hand, have actually passed real judgment on the character of a whole group of people based on their t-shirts. Also, a ten-paragraph double post is probably not the ideal vehicle for accusing others of being “blowhards”, but I digress.

Hating the Cubs is not the “new thing.” It’s the old thing. The original thing. The new thing is whining about the existence of a natural city rivalry.

I have never been a RR fan and I wanted him fired before the season. That said, I am willing to reserve judgment and reconsider given the stellar results, even if he keeps making decisions I find questionable. I do this in recognition of the fact that, as a guy watching the games on TV, I don’t really know anything. It’s possible—very likely actually—that RR is doing things I can’t see or appreciate that contribute to the positive results. I hope everybody approaches this and other Sox hot topics with a dose of humility and flexibility befitting our lack of qualification here. I hope the proof of the pudding really can be in the eating. Message boards cause people to write their positions down for all to see during fixed moments in time. An unfortunate result of that is that we feel compelled to defend those imperfect positions to the death rather than take the more flexible mental approach available had we not gone “on the record”, thereby joining a contest of sorts and inserting ego into the equation. In other words: Scoreboard, Baby!!! Ricky Prove Me Wrong!