Red Sox/MLB ALCS - Sox win Game 3 lead series 2-1 - Game 4 Wednesday 8:40 PM ET

[JRull86]

It really feels like there's no pressure at all tonight on Price, because everyone and their mother expects him to suck. We've all pretty much pencilled in another 3.2 IP 5 ER 2 HR performance, so if he gives us anything more than that - even if he leaves the game keeping us within striking distance to come back off their pen - that's a pleasant surprise.

Conditions could be right for him to finally have his moment.

I'm weirdly confident in him tonight. Not sure why.

Maybe it's just because I've resigned myself to him being shit that I have no expectations?

 

[LouJersey]

Umps need to grow a set. Homeplate ump obviously had his feelings hurt and taxed Kelly which is inexcusable especially in a playoff game.

 

[JRull86]

Umps need to grow a set. Homeplate ump obviously had his feelings hurt and taxed Kelly which is inexcusable especially in a playoff game.

I'll never understand how MLB allows guys who are consistently bad to still work playoff games.

Last night was an absolute shit show though, and it truly did feel like it was going one way. I hate being "that" fan, but it's true.

It's ridiculous that in 2018, umpires still have that much say over the game.

We can complain about the refs in basketball and hockey as much as we want, but at the end of the day, the players still control the game.

There is nothing you can do as a player when the umpire is calling balls and strikes differently for one pitcher than the other.

All hail our umpire robot overlords.

 

[Alicat]

I'll never understand how MLB allows guys who are consistently bad to still work playoff games.

Last night was an absolute **** show though, and it truly did feel like it was going one way. I hate being "that" fan, but it's true.

It's ridiculous that in 2018, umpires still have that much say over the game.

We can complain about the refs in basketball and hockey as much as we want, but at the end of the day, the players still control the game.

There is nothing you can do as a player when the umpire is calling balls and strikes differently for one pitcher than the other.

All hail our umpire robot overlords.

I was at the game right behind the Astro's on deck circle and it was absolutely blatant that the ump was absolutely one sided.

To see Andrew Benintendi get that angry, you knew something was wrong. I've also never seen Cora jump out of the dugout that fast and be that animated either.

The Beni call was the turning point of the game.

I'm not one to blame the ump nut IMO, he played a large part in last night's loss.

 

[LouJersey]

I'll never understand how MLB allows guys who are consistently bad to still work playoff games.

Last night was an absolute **** show though, and it truly did feel like it was going one way. I hate being "that" fan, but it's true.

It's ridiculous that in 2018, umpires still have that much say over the game.

We can complain about the refs in basketball and hockey as much as we want, but at the end of the day, the players still control the game.

There is nothing you can do as a player when the umpire is calling balls and strikes differently for one pitcher than the other.

All hail our umpire robot overlords.

I’m not a Sox or Astros fan and that was atrocious in my opinion. He blew the Benny call, move on. Didn’t have to toss Cora because the hitter slammed the bat and helmet. Then to make it worse, he kept the “grudge” going and took it out on Kelly.

Not saying they win, prob wouldn’t have but that’s not the point. Umps have too much power to let emotion be a factor. MLB can’t have that

 

[JRull86]

I’m not a Sox or Astros fan and that was atrocious in my opinion. He blew the Benny call, move on. Didn’t have to toss Cora because the hitter slammed the bat and helmet. Then to make it worse, he kept the “grudge” going and took it out on Kelly.

Not saying they win, prob wouldn’t have but that’s not the point. Umps have too much power to let emotion be a factor. MLB can’t have that

I think the biggest source of frustration as a fan is that there is seemingly zero accountability from officials in any sport.

Umps should be forced to sit there and answer postgame questions and face the music when they are blatantly wrong. You'd see them shape the f*** up real quick.

 

[Mount Kramer Cameras]

I think the biggest source of frustration as a fan is that there is seemingly zero accountability from officials in any sport.

Umps should be forced to sit there and answer postgame questions and face the music when they are blatantly wrong. You'd see them shape the **** up real quick.

Nailed it. As it stands, they just go to the hotel bar for a beer or two and convince themselves they were right. It's a vicious 'us vs them' circle.

 

[McGarnagle]

It was a gross display of incompetence.

I fully buy the theory that Hoy was thin-skinned and punishing the Sox on borderline calls because they were chirping him.

After the Benny strike and Cora ejection (which was way too quick a trigger as well), he gave Kelly nothing the next inning. And if Benny gets ball 4 there and Correa gets strike 3 the next inning, the whole game might've gone the other way.

But beyond that, dude's just unqualified to be an ump. That crossup pitch that was literally straight down the middle that he called a ball was the most embarrassing thing I've ever seen in my life.

 

[Johnnyduke]

Poor defense,poor pitching,poor hitting,poor managing all trumps poor umpiring.

This is my takeaway as well. Last night was simply losing baseball in every way. 10 walks, three hit batters, bad defense, Mookie Betts grounding out on first pitch and on and on. Need to play a hell of a lot better as a team.

 

[JRull86]

This is my takeaway as well. Last night was simply losing baseball in every way. 10 walks, three hit batters, bad defense, Mookie Betts grounding out on first pitch and on and on. Need to play a hell of a lot better as a team.

Here's the thing though, prior to the 9th inning Brandon Workman disaster, they were still in the game despite all of the aforementioned stuff.

Umpiring against Benintendi robbed them of a bases loaded situation with JD at the plate in a 2-2 game. Same umpiring squeezed the hell out of Kelly against Correa, forcing him to throw a strike in a 3-1 count instead of maybe wasting a pitch, though the argument can be made that they should have just walked him at that point, which lead to 3-2.

They deserved a better outcome despite all the things that went wrong in that game IMO.

I mean FFS, the 04 team made 8 errors in the first two games of the WS and won both because they were able to deal with them. Asking a team to deal with poor play and terrible umpiring on top of it is a next to impossible task.

I'll definitely give you Mookie though. I cannot believe he swung at the first pitch after seeing Verlander struggle with his command for 3 straight batters.

 

[Johnnyduke]

It is very frustrating as fans to not hear anything from MLB. My guess is obviously they know the ump should not have called that strike for Verlander. If that's just an average pitcher, he ain't getting that call. They probably even tell the Red Sox the umo f***ed up. But it would be nice for fans to hear it and also know that umps are being graded on stuff like that.

 

[McGarnagle]

Sports fans have this weird thing about criticizing umpires. Perhaps because it's very easy to deflect all faults onto the umps, and perhaps because of sports fans' discourse of macho "take care of your own business" that pegs everything else as "whining", but it's almost socially frowned upon to point out bad officiating as a key contributor for a loss.

I think it was rightly pointed out above that the Red Sox did perform badly, but even inside the framework of playing badly, they were in it to the point where if those calls weren't so one-sided, they'd have potentially stolen the game. So if we can criticize Mookie Betts and Chris Sale for not performing up to expectations, we can also criticize James Hoy and Joe West when they fail to live up to the demands of major league umpiring, no?

 

[Alicat]

Sports fans have this weird thing about criticizing umpires. Perhaps because it's very easy to deflect all faults onto the umps, and perhaps because of sports fans' discourse of macho "take care of your own business" that pegs everything else as "whining", but it's almost socially frowned upon to point out bad officiating as a key contributor for a loss.

I think it was rightly pointed out above that the Red Sox did perform badly, but even inside the framework of playing badly, they were in it to the point where if those calls weren't so one-sided, they'd have potentially stolen the game. So if we can criticize Mookie Betts and Chris Sale for not performing up to expectations, we can also criticize James Hoy and Joe West when they fail to live up to the demands of major league umpiring, no?

Well said.

 

[BNHL]

Sports fans have this weird thing about criticizing umpires. Perhaps because it's very easy to deflect all faults onto the umps, and perhaps because of sports fans' discourse of macho "take care of your own business" that pegs everything else as "whining", but it's almost socially frowned upon to point out bad officiating as a key contributor for a loss.

I think it was rightly pointed out above that the Red Sox did perform badly, but even inside the framework of playing badly, they were in it to the point where if those calls weren't so one-sided, they'd have potentially stolen the game. So if we can criticize Mookie Betts and Chris Sale for not performing up to expectations, we can also criticize James Hoy and Joe West when they fail to live up to the demands of major league umpiring, no?

I'd have to see the Benintendi strike 3 again,on first look it looked like it caught the plate to me.

 

[BNHL]

I'd have to see the Benintendi strike 3 again,on first look it looked like it caught the plate to me.

Just saw it again,it was a strike.

 

[BMC]

Hopefully the Red Sox have let go of this game more easily than we have and are focused on tonight's game.

Otherwise that 108 win season is going to be for nothing.

 

[Donnie Shulzhoffer]

Hopefully the Red Sox have let go of this game more easily than we have and are focused on tonight's game.

Otherwise that 108 win season is going to be for nothing.

Correct a moondoe

 

[Mr Cartmenez]

Serious question: why aren't umps allowed to have a tablet in their hands to see the pitch f/x zone immediately after the pitch was thrown. That could be a huge help with close calls.

 

[GloryDaze4877]

Just saw it again,it was a strike.

No it was not.

 

[Johnnyduke]

Just saw it again,it was a strike.

What? It absolutely was not a strike.

 

[McGarnagle]

Yeah, not a strike.

 

[Donnie Shulzhoffer]

Ah semantics...

They didn’t play well enough

End of story

 

[13Hockey]

No team in the history of the ALCS or NLCS has lost the first 2 games at home and won the series

Pretty important game tonight

 

[McGarnagle]

Good news: Devers is in for Nunez and Vazquez for Leon
Less good news: Kinsler in for Holt

 

[N o o d l e s]

If they can win tonight they’ll be ok. Vs. Keuchel and Morton are more winnable games.