dbecks

108 wins. Not bad. Hopefully they can get 11 more. Fun facts: J.D. Martinez will finish his season batting .330 with 43 HR and 130 RBI. The only other Red Sox player ever to hit at least .330 with 40+ HR and 130+ RBI are Ted Williams (1949) and Jimmie Foxx (1936, ’38). The last major leaguer to do that was Miguel Cabrera (2013).

So... Sale still might not be 100%. I'm not freaking out yet, but there is cause for concern. His fastball's average velocity was the lowest of his career (although he still hit 93 & 94mph). There's a lot of hubbub about "he wasn't trying" or "it's a meaningless game," but Sale did say before the start that he wanted to "crank it up." Cora said after the game that he's still working on his mechanics and that his arm "is not a concern"... but I hope he has a nice mixture of rest and bullpen sessions before Game 1 of the ALDS in eight days.

Decent offensive output today. Even vs the O’s. The Globe’s projections for the ALDS roster: ROTATION (4): LHP Chris Sale, LHP David Price, RHP Rick Porcello, RHP Nathan Eovaldi. Explanation: Eovaldi at this point has pushed past Eduardo Rodriguez. If the Sox play the Yankees, he’s definitely the choice given his two strong starts against them. BULLPEN (7): RHP Craig Kimbrel, RHP Matt Barnes, RHP Ryan Brasier, RHP Steven Wright, RHP Joe Kelly, RHP Brandon Workman, LHP Eduardo Rodriguez. Explanation: With Rodriguez in the bullpen, Johnson gets pushed out. Wright, who has pitched well this month, seems to have bumped out Hembree. Kelly has been dreadful since June 1 (6.39 ERA, 1.76 WHIP) but the Sox remain enchanted with his velocity. He also has allowed two earned runs over 14 innings as a postseason reliever. LINEUP (9): Mookie Betts RF, Andrew Benintendi LF, J.D. Martinez DH, Xander Bogaerts SS, Mitch Moreland 1B, Eduardo Nunez 3B, Ian Kinsler 2B, Sandy Leon C, Jackie Bradley Jr. CF. Explanation: For a 106-win team that leads the majors in runs, there could be a lot of changes to this group. Moreland, Nunez, and Kinsler have shaky holds on their spots. But all three will probably get at least Games 1 and 2 to show something. BENCH (5): Rafael Devers 3B, Steve Pearce 1B-DH, Brock Holt UTIL, Blake Swihart UTIL, Christian Vazquez C. Explanation: Devers offers power off the bench. Three catchers are needed with the expectation of Leon being pinch hit for late in games. Swihart also can pinch run. Holt is going to get some starts, maybe a lot of them. One thing is almost certain: Nothing outside of injury will change things over the rest of this week. Cora has said he knows which players he wants and has for a while. The notion of players fighting for positions isn’t accurate.

106. A new franchise record. Also, this is why pitching WAR is problematic: Best bullpens by bWAR: 1. RedSox 2. Phillies 3. Astros 4. Athletics 5. Nationals

Indeed. First career HRs for Sam Travis and Tzu-Wei Lin as well. (The dugout got a big kick out of both of those.)

Not Sale’s best - velocity is still building back up - but I’ll take it. Hats off to Donaldson, who has 5 HR off Sale (the most of any MLB hitter). Sale’s slider looked great, though. And yes, Hembree can GTFO. 5 HR allowed in his last 11 innings.

AL East champs. Third year in a row (franchise record)!

Mookie Betts is good.

Go ahead and give Mookie the AL MVP while you’re at it.

Fuuuuck.

If you can’t trust a guy named Louie Iacuzzi, who can you trust?

Let’s win the division tonight, please. Also, the plan for Sale is ironed out: 4-5 innings vs the Indians Friday night. ~6 innings vs the Orioles on the 26th. -Eight days of rest before ALDS Game 1 Geez, I hope this works...

And it sounds like Mookie will DH in the series as well. Hopefully he sits a game or two, no need to push it. Also, if the Sox get one win in the Bronx, they will clinch the AL East at Yankee Stadium for the 2nd time in 3 years... Nice.

Let’s see what ol’ Chinbutt can draw up with a minute left and the game on the line!

Mookie leaves game with left side soreness, the same injury that sidelined him for 12 games in early June... Shit.

Maybe the D can keep it going. Maybe...

Sam looks like a halfway decent QB tonight. I like it.

That was randomly funny. Also, fun fact: Mookie is the first person in MLB history(!) with 40 2B and 20 SB in four straight seasons. Crazy.

PJ Fleck x3

Still worth repeating.

Maryland lost to Temple today. By 21 points. At home.

Priorities wrapping up the regular season: 1. Sale back to 100%. (No shit, Sherlock.) 2. See who in the bullpen can get "hot"... or just not shit the bed. Not sure if there's ever going to be a reliable 8th inning guy in October, but Workman has been looking great as of late. Brasier, Kelly, Thornburg, Bobby Poyner, and even Steven Wright have had their moments. Kelly is just too damn erratic to be trusted lately, though. 3. Rest the core (Mookie, JDM, Benny, Xander) a reasonable amount. With 15 games left, there's no reason all four of those guys need to play more than 12 or 13 games. MVPs and Triple Crowns, be damned. 4. Make playing time for Devers and JBJ. Devers might always be a liability at third, but the potential of his bat almost always justifies it. (He hit a HR last night, btw.) JBJ is obviously among the best fielders in the game, and it would be great if somehow he got on one of his infamous (hot) streaks leading into October. 5. In conjunction with #3 & 4, give the "glue" and bench guys as much playing time as possible. Brock, Nunez, Swihart, Pearce, Moreland, Kinsler, Phillips, and Lin all need as many at bats and innings in the field as possible, even if they won't all make the postseason roster. 6. Keep Price, Porcello, and E-Rod on track. All three (especially Price) have looked strong lately. Keep it going. Maybe limit starts to 80-90 pitches. Speaking of Price, he hasn't given up more than 3 ER in a start since July 7 (lowering his ERA from 4.44 to 3.42 in those ten starts -- nine of which the Sox won, btw). 7. Maybe help see that the Yankees have to travel to Oakland for the WC game. That would be fun, wouldn't it?

100 wins!

Well, Chris Sale is back... even for just an inning at a time. Sounds like they'll gradually ease up his workload over his remaining starts before the postseason. Cy Young be damned, this team is one win away from 100 (would be the first for the Sox since the season expanded to 162) with over two weeks left in the season. Team hasn't announced when Sale will pitch next (maybe Sunday vs. the Mets), but it's still a step in the right direction. Fun fact: Brock Holt(!) is the first player in Sox history to hit multiple go-ahead pinch-hit home runs in a single season.

I’m a Sox fan, and even I thought he was safe.