evan

Take away that abysmal June (5-21) and you have a team that was 72-64 otherwise. 38-30 in the 2nd half. Mets were let down by a blah offense (though Nimmo and Conforto look good and McNeil is looking pretty intriguing) and god awful defense (and yet, they may not have even been the worst defensive team in the NL East). I could see them in the mix next year especially if they do bolster the lineup, but the NL East could be even tougher. Braves/Phils are young talented teams and while the Nats might lose Harper, there's still a pretty decent core of players there IMO. Marlins just need to be moved to Montreal.

Red Sox: +229 run differential Astros: +265 run differential Might be the best playoff matchup in a while, though last year's Astros/Yankees series (+196 and +198 respectively) was pretty damn good. Even crazier to think these teams are in the same league. Again, this probably says a bit about the disparity in the AL between the top and bottom teams.

Stanton vs. sub-.500 teams in 2018: .232/.329/.438, 12 doubles, 20 home runs in 407 PA Stanton vs. .500+ teams in 2018: .310/.362/.601, 22 doubles, 1 triple, 18 home runs in 298 PA He had an OPS over 1.000 against the Sox and Rays. Also, 30 of his home runs were hit with the game within 3 runs. Complaining about the offense that was 2nd in the AL in runs scored and led in home runs seems kind of silly. Seems to me like the biggest issue was the rotation depth and their inability to pitch deep into games.

Lol @ Eli.

They gave up a lot, but it's not like it thinned out their system too much. I don't think they mortgaged their future much (if at all). https://www.minorleagueball.com/2018/8/24/17779560/los-angeles-dodgers-top-20-prospects-for-2018-mid-season-review

I wouldn't be surprised if the Dodgers win this one in 5-6. They have a waaaaaaaaay better rotation than the Brewers and a deeper lineup. Brewers bullpen is good, but if their starters can't do well then it's not much of an advantage in a 7 game series IMO.

the Yankees lineup will be fine. you faced a team that had the 3rd best ERA+ in MLB. I think baseball fans forget that these teams are facing the best lineups and pitching staffs in baseball and don't give those teams enough credit. "stuck" with a dude with a career 143 OPS+ and possibly on his way to Cooperstown. just tragic.

Kimbrel was flat out dominant in 2017 and did a great job preventing walks, but this year (and 2016) he's just struggled badly with command. He's only thrown 62% of his pitches for strikes compared to 68% last year. He's been especially bad since the ASB, walking 15 guys in his last 21.2 innings (not including the postseason).

this roster has nothing to do with those teams outside of Sabathia. good lord. You guys lost to two 100+ teams and this series could have easily went 5 games (or you guys winning in NY). Shit happens. The Yanks also had a bunch of hard hit balls that just barely went foul. Bad luck.

this season was pretty special to me regardless of what happened this postseason. 108 wins, my first time at Fenway (August 22-23 vs Indians), the comebacks, great seasons from Mookie/Martinez/Bogaerts, and a bunch of other great individual game performances (Mookie's 3 home runs, Holt's cycles). It's a season I'll look back fondly at. Winning the WS would make it my favorite.

there's no reason whatsoever to swing at Kimbrel's offspeed stuff so long as he can't locate his fastball. wasn't expecting to take the series in 4 games, but goddamn were games 1 and 4 nerve wracking. You guys will probably be in at least one WS in the next few years, don't sweat this loss too much.

go away kimbrel

and your bullpen won't be tired?

IMO, Sox need to get to the Yankees starters early and try to tire out the bullpen. I don't feel good about the prospect of Porcello and Eovaldi starting in Yankee Stadium.

I want no part of it living in NJ