hogan873

And on their way to their cars by the 7th.

Raise your hand if you’re surprised by the way this game has unfolded. *looks around* That’s what I thought.

The Sox don't need guys to play above their potential to win the series. If the starting pitching is good enough to keep them in each game (maybe better in one game that shuts down the Astros) and guys like TA, Abreu, Moncada, Robert, and Eloy play like their capable, the Sox have a real chance to win the series, even without HFA. But if one of more of the core guys goes cold for the series or a starter has a really bad start, it'll be tough to win the series. As others have mentioned, winning one in Houston is almost a must-have. My gut says the series goes 5 games, and game 5 is similar to game 4 of the 2005 WS. Great pitching that shuts down both offenses. Someone sneaks a run or two late. Game 1 - Sox Game 2 - Astros Game 3 - Astros Game 4 - Sox Game 5 - ....

That's a fair point.

I agree with you here. And what's interesting is that we're not hearing about any spikes of COVID from football games where there are 50K+ people, college or pro. Maybe it's really not that interesting considering better than 50% of the population is vaccinated, and there is a percentage that have had COVID and are (at least temporarily) immune.

Many schools are requiring vaccinations or weekly testing for admittance. I can't say for sure what the policy is at the above pictured school, but I'd be willing to bet the majority are vaccinated. So, I'm not sure what you meant by your comment.

This is not true. Plenty of young and healthy people have had COVID. Although most young and/or healthy people who catch COVID recover well, they are as much at risk of catching it. Don't forget that cases jumped again once the mask mandate was lifted "for vaccinated people only". Everyone knew that meant no masks for anyone because who was going to police mask-wearing for unvaccinated people? No one was going to ask anyone else if they were vaccinated. The vast majority of new COVID cases are in unvaccinated people. Most hospitalizations and deaths are in the unvaccinated population. So, no, cases aren't spiking because people are getting vaccinated. Cases are rising because people, all people, stopped wearing masks and there's still a stubborn, selfish percent of the population who refuse to get vaccinated. If everyone got vaccinated, COVID wouldn't be eradicated, but it would be affecting very few people. And those it affected would have mild symptoms (at worst) and not end up in the hospital. But not everyone will get vaccinated because of dumbass conspiracy theorists and the sheep that believe them.

So, who will be sober enough to play in game 2?

Lotta young folks on this site. I feel old now.

In 2008, I was a 35 year old father of three young kids (all under 8). Now I'm a 48 year old father of two college kids and a junior in high school...and a pug.

This team was great when facing adversity - the lengthy losses of Eloy and Robert, Grandal being out for an extended period, Madrigal going down for the year. Now, with Eloy, Robert, and Grandal back, the additions of Tepera, Hernandez, and Kimbrel (on paper, all good additions), the team is struggling. That's quite frustrating. But, even if they play okay for the rest of the season, they're going to win 90+ games and win the division handily. That's something that many of us thought not likely, especially after losing Robert and Madrigal. I'm not saying we should take it easy on these guys. They need to get their shit together by the time the playoffs start. If they go into the playoffs playing like they are now (lifeless, sloppy baseball), they will exit quickly. I'll be more optimistic and believe they'll play good baseball come playoff time. But if a quick exit happens, it'll be really easy to look back at the last 50 or so games of the season and say we saw it coming from miles away.

Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one, and they usually stink. An opinion is not science. An opinion does not trump science. The science, the research, and the damn results prove that the vaccines work. Anti-vaxxers saying they need more information or need to some research for themselves are full of shit. I don't want to hear from anti-vaxxers. They are selfish, ignorant people who are literally causing this pandemic to continue rolling. And that's NOT an opinion. That's a fact.

When Yoan hits it just right, the ball explodes off his bat.

I would believe it was more a pitch count decision. Plus, he labored a bit in the 4th. If he gets out of the 4th as easy as the other innings, he probably would have at least started the 5th.

What a catch! But holy shit I thought he hurt himself again.

Not shocked. Not surprised. Totally expected.

Kopech looked magnificent.

I don’t doubt that Grandal was hurting before he went down with the knee injury. This is what a healthy Grandal looks like.

Best bat drop in baseball.

He's a rookie who, as others have mentioned, may be hitting that wall physically. Give him some rest, limit his exposure to RH pitchers, and keep him fresh for the playoffs. This kid is part of the future of the team. He has work to do to improve, especially against RH pitchers. There is plenty of time for that in the off season and spring training next year. For the near term, some rest and specific starts and plate appearances.

“The messaging over the last month in the U.S. has basically served to terrify the vaccinated and make unvaccinated eligible adults doubt the effectiveness of the vaccines.” Neither of those views is warranted. The last part of the article, copied above, is what's the most frustrating. Turn on the news, scroll Facebook and Twitter, browse the Yahoo news feed...through all of it you'll find enough articles, opinions, and "studies" to do exactly what is stated. "We're not safe, even though we're vaccinated." "Everyone is going to catch COVID eventually." "Vaccinated people are still being hospitalized." YOU'RE NEXT! Personally I'm not worried. I do wear a mask when indoors in a public place, but I didn't until the mandate was brought back. We started weekly testing at work for everyone, vaccinated or not. My first test was negative, as I assumed it would be. But there was a small doubt in the back of my mind that I might have it and show no symptoms. I'll keep doing what I need to do to stay safe, but I'm not going to live in fear. It's hard, though, when everywhere you turn the bad news is streaming.

The vast majority of vaccinated people who do get COVID have mild symptoms at worst. There will always be the rare case where a vaccinated person has severe symptoms and requires hospitalization. But to say more and more vaccinated people are experiencing severe symptoms is inaccurate. Unvaccinated people are 29X more likely to require hospitalization. As far as crowds at games, there is a vaccine. There was not one last year. That's the biggest difference. Outdoor venues have lower risk than indoor venues, and that is why you're starting to see some indoor venues stating that being vaccinated or showing proof of a negative COVID test will be required for entry. We always knew 100% of the population wouldn't get the vaccine, but remember back when it was being developed and they were saying a vaccine with 70% effectiveness would be great? And the hope was that 70% of the population would get the vaccine? That's pretty much where we are now with the vaccines being not as effective (but still quite effective) against the Delta variant. We're not back to normal, whatever normal becomes, but we're in much better shape than last year. We're still seeing most infections in the unvaccinated population. This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated, and unless more people get vaccinated, we run the risk of more variants popping up that could be even more resilient to the vaccine.

I'd love to see Rodon return, but I'm in agreement with most of you. He's going to get paid by someone, and the Sox most likely won't offer enough. There's the concern of his health, too. We've seen, now, what a healthy Rodon looks like, and it's incredible. But, can he stay healthy for an entire season. He's showing signs of tiring now, and that's not unexpected based on how little he's pitched over the last couple years and the injuries and surgeries. My fear, as I imagine many share, is that if the Sox do somehow sign him he'll end up hurt and not be the guy we're seeing now. And if he signs elsewhere he'll be amazing and win a couple Cy Young awards. The fan in me says try to sign him for 4/$80M or so, but the practical side of me says make the QO and see what happens.

Those refusing to get a vaccine are very selfish, and they don't care if others are potentially harmed. They'll say they care about others, but they don't mean it. I got vaccinated for me, my family, and my job. People refusing to get vaccinated are doing it for themselves, that's it. Mandatory vaccines are coming. Some employers are already requiring it. Some venues (United Center, for example) are requiring it. If people lose their jobs or are refused entry to an event, good. One less thing for the rest of us to worry about. As far as masks, no one likes wearing one. But they are the most effective prevention against infection. Vaccinated people can still catch COVID, although the risk is lower and the risk of severe effects is much lower. If an infected person, wearing a mask, is in a room full of vaccinated and/or unvaccinated masked people, risk of transmission is very low. Wearing masks, while a nuisance, is easy. And people are acting like...well, like the spoiled fucks they are. If everyone threw a mask on today, nothing would have to be shut down, and COVID infections would drop off sharply. COVID will probably never go away. But we can drive it down to an endemic virus like the flu or the common cold that we can protect ourselves from with yearly shots and have treatments that we can buy over the counter (not horse deworming pills). But we have to get more people vaccinated and more people to actually wear masks for a while.

That was a great play by Leury and Cesar!