2017 World Series Game 6 Live Blog

Jeff Sullivan: Hello friends

Jeff Sullivan: Welcome to 2017 World Series Game 6 Live Blog

AdamZ: Happy Halloween!

Hannah Hochevar: Happy Halloween!

Jeff Sullivan: Happy Halloween. I just remembered to turn our porch light off so nobody tries to interrupt my World Series viewing with handout requests

botchatheny: this is gonna be a real corker eh

Jeff Sullivan: I don’t know

Tommy: Hi! I love you.

Jeff Sullivan: I love all of you too

LudeBurger: Jeff, you are the chatter who I wanted to watch the end of this series with!

Jeff Sullivan: Too bad about tomorrow!

ChatzMcGeeL: I will continue to argue against The Kershaw Narrative, but he sure makes it hard, he needed to win that game.

Jeff Sullivan: Game 1 was basically as good as he’s ever looked and everyone in Game 5 was terrible. The narrative is flimsy!

AdamZ: Over under 8.5 hrs hit tonight?

Jeff Sullivan: I’m quitting at 4

Cardi Gee: I’d like to mention that Joey Votto was fantastic on the pre game show here in Canada

Jeff Sullivan: Joey Votto is fantastic at everything and from the outside it sure seems as if age is working wonders for him

Matt: I can’t believe you are doing another marathon chat

Jeff Sullivan: Sometimes it’s not up to me! And I had to cover because Dave wants to take his kid trick-or-treating. As someone who is intentionally childless I don’t have a walking, talking excuse

Jeff Sullivan: Awfully CONVENIENT, Dave

Anonymous: Sullivan with the early ‘Dodgers Win’ prediction!

Jeff Sullivan: If this series doesn’t go seven I am going to be awfully pissed

Jeff Sullivan: Which reminds me. Poll time!

Jeff Sullivan:

Jeff Sullivan:

alpha309: Hey Jeff, just you tonight?

Jeff Sullivan: I never got any word of backup. And since Slack is down, I never will!

Jstodola: Whose bullpen do you have more concerns with?

Jeff Sullivan: Astros, mostly because they’re intentionally ignoring their best reliever

The Hamburglar: I was excited for the game until I saw Jeff was chatting, because that means we’re guaranteed a 5 hour game

Jeff Sullivan: I did Game 1! That one was over by now!

stever20: how do you think the cooler weather will impact things tonight?

Jeff Sullivan: All six of the home runs will feel a lot more legitimate than the other ones in this series have

CamdenWarehouse: Obligatory HOF question – would you put Verlander in now?  If not, with a few more productive seasons?

Jeff Sullivan: Few more years but he’s obviously done the bulk of the work

CamdenWarehouse: Why no peanut gallery?

Jeff Sullivan: I don’t know what that is

Spooky fan: Thanks for chatting again during this series. Four times! Will you find it difficult to watch game 7 and not chat about it?

Jeff Sullivan: I will/would find it refreshing. I did one of these for last year’s Game 7 and while I was happy to have the shared experience I also felt like I kind of missed out on distraction-free viewing

Show Hey O’Tawny: If this series doesn’t get to hand seven is it remembered as one of the best of all time?

Jeff Sullivan: I doubt it, but maybe if tonight is also insane

Jeff Sullivan:

Jeff Sullivan:

Hannah Hochevar: Fair to say you can be rooting for the Astros in 7 but for the Dodgers tonight?

Jeff Sullivan: Yarp

Guest: Ask for the day off in memory of Fred Beckey

Jeff Sullivan: This game has an obligation to be epic in remembrance

Jeff Sullivan: Current polls: 59% rooting for Dodgers, 55% think Astros win. 59% think Verlander goes more than 6.5, 61% think Hill goes more than 4.5

Jeff Sullivan: Hill is going to make it tricky. Dodgers have fresh reasons not to trust their bullpen but he is so agonizingly inefficient

ChatzMcGee: Who’s the first guy out of the pen for the Dodgers, and how many innngs does Hill go?

Jeff Sullivan: Stay tuned and find out!

david: do you think the ball is juiced?

Jeff Sullivan: I think there have been changes with the baseball during the regular season. I’m less convinced there is anything meaningfully different with the ball in the World Series, specifically

Jeff Sullivan: Pitchers deserve the benefit of the doubt but I’ve heard talk like this before

botchatheny: what celebrity would you like to see run onto the field during play?

Jeff Sullivan: Every single one of them

Ron Swoboda: Likelihood of seeing Giles tonight?

Jeff Sullivan: Almost 0%, which is absurd

Confused Englishman: What would need to happen to Kershaw for him not to be in the HOF?

Jeff Sullivan: The Brandon Webb path, immediately

Sterling Mallory Chris Archer: Sup Jeff. Which repetitive commercial do you hate most? The car insurance with the bull is hella annoying.  Whoever thought that would be a good brand name should be fired.

Jeff Sullivan: I watch on a stream so I’m completely unaware of the recurring commercials!

Jeff Sullivan: According to Ken Rosenthal, Clayton Kershaw wanted to start this game. On one day of rest

Tommy: What you drinking Jeff?

Jeff Sullivan: Coffee and, separately, water

alpha309: I want to punch Joe Buck in the face already

Jeff Sullivan: Be nice

AdamZ: Imagine telling someone 3 years ago that Rich Hill would be starting a world series elimination game.

Jeff Sullivan: And rookie Dallas Keuchel had more walks than strikeouts!

Jeff Sullivan: And Hill has a leadoff strikeout. Don’t know what Springer was looking at

tz: I’ve gone to bed twice this Series because Kenley Jansen was pitching with the Dodgers in the lead (I’m on the east coast and have to go early to work).  What should I do tonight if I’m in that situation?  I’d hate to be the cause of him blowing 3 saves in a tight WS.

Jeff Sullivan: Go to work late

Jeff Sullivan: They probably won’t fire you that fast

Jeff Sullivan: Bregman’s aboard. Stayed on the curve over the middle

bosoxforlife: Any chance Hinch lets Verlander go all the way with a 3 or 4 run lead in the seventh or eighth?

Jeff Sullivan: I’d say in that event Verlander will go pretty deep until he gets to, say, 110 pitches or thereabouts

Jeff Sullivan: Not saying that’s what I’d do, but I think that’s what Hinch would be open to

Grimace: Fair to say Jeff’s costume today was being a productive member of the workforce

Jeff Sullivan: In the afterhours!

Tommy: Jeff where do you chat from?

Jeff Sullivan: Second bedroom, upstairs, with beautiful yellow and orange trees outside the window

Jeff Sullivan: I share this offense with the spider currently crawling on my television

Tony Womack: Almost a guarantee that all the new baseball fans tuning in tonight are going to be disappointed with a 2-1 game

Jeff Sullivan: Not going to lie to you, as much fun as an epic game is I also wouldn’t complain about another G1 repeat

Ishii: Are they doing the weird 20 minute after start time again? MLB app keeps saying game time is the top of the hour

Jeff Sullivan: It’s never ever ever the top of the hour, but they do always want to trick you into believing it is

Jeff Sullivan: Altuve is out! Curve…right down the middle

Danny: It’s fun to remember that earlier this season Hill was the first starter to pitch an extra-inning CG since Cliff Lee.

Jeff Sullivan: That is actually incredibly hard to believe

CamdenWarehouse: Hasn’t Kershaw done enough that if he went bad then retired, he’d still be in?

Jeff Sullivan: Probably. But if anything could keep him out, it’s an immediately useless shoulder

Tommy: Why do managers need to wear uniforms?

Jeff Sullivan: I don’t know

Jeff Sullivan: It’s one of the dumbest things about baseball

Jeff Sullivan: Half-inning is over. Solid contact at the end, but fruitless

hscer: why does houston’s ~4th best hitter bat 2nd?

Jeff Sullivan: McCann and Reddick are lefties and Gonzalez is worse from the right side

Yakaru: I think the Dodgers should have started Kershaw game 4 and potential game 7, (3 days rest each).  He could do that…

Jeff Sullivan: They traded for Darvish specifically and explicitly so they wouldn’t have to use Kershaw on short rest like they’ve done

Hatzis: If the Astros win on say, a Gurriel homer, does that change the MLB’s approach to suspensions in the future at all?

Jeff Sullivan: No. He already hit that one home run

AdamZ: Why aren’t Joe Buck and John Smoltz wearing halloween costumes?

Jeff Sullivan: Actually, Joe Buck dressed up as John Smoltz, and John Smoltz very convincingly dressed up as Joe Buck

Jeff Sullivan: By the way, Hill in the first: 9 fastballs, 3 curves

Jeff Sullivan: Another first-pitch swing from Taylor. Feels like he’s been doing that *constantly*

Show Hey O’Tawny: Listening to EW while reading this chat and scrolling through Twitter is a Sullivan overload

Jeff Sullivan: Thankfully for you I don’t and can’t tweet while I’m chatting!

Schmoo: We heard Smoltz talk about establishing the fastball, something McCullers obviously didn’t do in his crazy curveball outing. Do you think Hill actually needs to “establish the fastball”?

Jeff Sullivan: That expression doesn’t mean anything

ChatzMcGee: I know it’s flimsy, but do you have any theories on why Kershaw isn’t as Kershawian in the playoffs? If you had to guess would you say it’s mostly fatigue?

Jeff Sullivan: Fatigue and luck, yeah. He’s overall been good in these playoffs, and in past playoffs he’s been overused out of necessity

Anonymous: Will Justin Verlander get a hit tonight?

Jeff Sullivan: lol no

Tommy: How many mound visits tonight?

Jeff Sullivan: More than 0, which is too many

Jeff Sullivan: There’s a somewhat generous called strike three for Verlander against Seager. Seager isn’t loving the zone these last few games

The Hamburglar: Does your gf watch any playoff games with you?

Jeff Sullivan: She watched most of last year’s Game 7 but she strongly prefers hockey, which is extremely reasonable

Homer at the Bat: Must be nice having two bedrooms!

Jeff Sullivan: If you live with somebody and work from home I don’t know how you survive with one

Jeff Sullivan: First inning is over! Pretty easy for Verlander. Four fastballs, three sliders

Jstodola: What city?

Jeff Sullivan: Portland, OR

Enlightening Round: *If* there’s a pitchers duel does that make it harder for you to chat through because of the lack of actionable plays?

Jeff Sullivan: Nope, because the queue is always sufficiently active that there’s something to say or respond to

powder: 13-12 games just don’t really feel like baseball to me…

Jeff Sullivan: 13-12 games are insane, but if there weren’t the occasional anomaly, baseball would be dumb. Embrace the random slugfest

D says: I just want to say that as an Asian american, I was really offended that fangraphs writers didn’t criticize manfred for failing to immediately suspend gurriel for his racist gesture.  L

Jeff Sullivan: They should have suspended Gurriel immediately for his racist gesture

Jeff Sullivan: Speaking of which, he’s greeted by boos, tonight

Jeff Sullivan: Sustained boos! Impressive

Jeff Sullivan: Still booing after two pitches!

Jeff Sullivan: Still! Booing!

Julius Pepperwood: Jeff do you find yourself having a rooting interest in games like these or no?

Jeff Sullivan: Yes, mildly

Jeff Sullivan: Gurriel is out of there. Foul pop

Yakaru: Hill can’t sustain curveballs down the middle.  Will get lucky 1st time through… early hook for him tonight

Jeff Sullivan: He tends to throw a million curveballs down the middle. For him it’s all about timing, less than location

Zach: people forget sports illustrated had a cover in 2014 that said the astros would win the 2017 world series

Jeff Sullivan: Kind of makes you wonder what kind of strings they’ve been pulling to make this happen for them

Jeff Sullivan: Always be suspicious of Big Magazine

Jeff Sullivan: There’s a McCann fly out to left that might’ve left the yard in Game 1 or Game 2

Hunky Dory: Have you not noticed Giles absolutely sucking for a month now?

Jeff Sullivan: Of course I have, but I think he’s fine and shouldn’t be ignored

Ryon Healy: Talk about me

Jeff Sullivan: why

Anonymous: I feel bad that these chats are such a chore for the FG staff.  They are very, very fun for us. Thanks for toughing it out

Jeff Sullivan: They’re not a chore. They’re just distracting, by their nature. Difference!

Jeff Sullivan: At least, they’re not a chore for me. It would be worse if I were Paul, living on the east coast with two kids

Jeff Sullivan: Gonzalez is out, we’re through 1.5. Hill: 17 fastballs, 7 curves

alpha309: I don’t understand why people want Gurriel suspended for this series.  What he did was wrong, but it wasn’t based on anything he did on the field.  A delayed suspension is fine.  He still gets punished.  It isn’t like he charged the mound

Jeff Sullivan: He did something in the dugout, on camera, wearing the team uniform

Ishii: Jeff are you sad baseball could be done tonight? Pitchers and catchers won’t report for months from now.

Jeff Sullivan: My brain is sad baseball could be done tonight, but my sleep schedule is ecstatic

Jeff Sullivan: Plus, when the playoffs are over, I can finally write my article about Luis Perdomo hitting four triples

Jeff Sullivan: I mean, what?!

Spooky Spookerson: Any chance they discuss enforcing the rules from 2015 where you can’t leave the box? Been happening so often

Jeff Sullivan: I imagine enforcement will come up again this winter

Jeff Sullivan: They’ve gotten really lax about that

Show Hey O’Tawny: Is your gf why you follow hockey?

Jeff Sullivan: no

Blarg: Jeff, assuming the Astros win, who do you think the frontrunners for MVP are? My money is currently on Springer or Bregman.

Jeff Sullivan: I’m getting a Bregman vibe, pending the series resolution

Bat: Jeff, you’re a numbers guy – if (a) the Astros win and (b) Verlander has a dominating game (complete game or 8 innings, 0-1 runs), how much does that improve his Hall of Fame chances?

Jeff Sullivan: I think he’s already going to make it eventually. A huge game here would just serve to put him over the top

like a g(ame)6: Jeff, have there been any studies on which kinds of hitters tend to perform better against “good” pitching? Like do contact hitters perform better against Verlander than hr/strikeout hitters?

Jeff Sullivan: The bigger-picture studies have suggested that power lineups lose less in the playoffs. So perhaps you can take that to the individual level

Jeff Sullivan: Mostly, you should just assume all players will perform like themselves, minus like 10 or 20%

Jeff Sullivan: Good high-tight fastball from Verlander to Bellinger

Blarg: And conversely, if the Dodgers win, who do you think the frontrunners for MVP are? My money is on Bellinger or Forsythe.

Jeff Sullivan: I think that would come down to who stars the next two days

Jeff Sullivan: Imagine if that Bellinger shot in Game 2 actually left the yard 😐

Cam: How big of a backlash should we expect Manfred to receive, if it is found that the balls have been messed with?

Jeff Sullivan: Modest. It’s not clear it’s actually been a bad thing for the game. You’d just like for there to be more transparency

Jeff Sullivan: That’s a fly where Springer misjudged the contact because of the swing

Jeff Sullivan: Big swing but Puig kind of got it off the fists

ChatzMcGee: What do you expect out of Verlander next year?

Jeff Sullivan: Good pitching

Anonymous: These WS patches look bush league

Jeff Sullivan: They look like they’re made out of kitchen tile!

Tim: picturing MGL blowing a fuse at Smoltz talk about how you do pitch sequencing

Jeff Sullivan: Pretty sure MGL wants John Smoltz in prison

John Autin: Would you pull Hill after 2 turns if his numbers are exactly the same as Game 2 and there’s no need to pinch-hit?

Jeff Sullivan: No

Hawkguy: “Late break” or “late movement” isn’t a thing, right? Like physics is still physics even on a baseball diamond?

Jeff Sullivan: Correct

Jeff Sullivan: Late break is just a term people use to discuss soft-contact pitches instead of no-contact pitches

Jeff Sullivan: Like, cutters are said to have late break, because they’re so similar to ordinary fastballs but the end up in a slightly different place

Tommy: I think you are behind the cable feed jeff

Jeff Sullivan: I definitely am

Peter: Who is more likely to pitch today, Darvish or Wood?

Jeff Sullivan: Probably Wood

Tommy: What is your favorite Halloween candy?

Jeff Sullivan: I don’t love candy but I can justify eating a Snickers without feeling like a piece of shit

Anonymous: What’s the strongest language we can use in here, Jeff?

Jeff Sullivan: whoops

BJOGC: John Smoltz clearly understands and supports framing and spin rate yet he hates shifts and bullpens. What a strange set of ideals

Jeff Sullivan: I think that Smoltz means well, and he’s clearly bright. He’s just also wedded to certain playing styles from the days of his own career

Jeff Sullivan: Excellent low curve to Pederson

Nick R: Puigs whole schtick with the tongue feels forced now

Jeff Sullivan: I don’t think it’s a schtick if you assume he’d do the exact same stuff if there were no cameras

AP: The longer this game is tied, the more the advantage goes to…?

Jeff Sullivan: LA, slightly, I guess

SteveL: Jeff, living in Portland, what’s your feeling about an expansion team coming there?

Jeff Sullivan: There are probably better places but this city is growing rapidly every year. It could support a team if there were a buyer

forestation: Given that analytics seem to say that pitcher performance in recent games or even recent innings may not be predictive, how do we identify when a pitcher should be pulled early?

Jeff Sullivan: When his stuff is down, or the game is out of hand, or you’re getting some kind of actual direct indication that the pitcher just isn’t all the way there

Jeff Sullivan: And we’re through two. That was a much longer inning for Verlander but he’s still at, what, 29 pitches

Jeff Sullivan: 19 fastballs, 8 sliders, 2 changeups, 1 curve

ChatzMcGee: Is it kind of under-discussed that as the league gets more TTO, the best offence (maybe in modern history) decided to go after better contact?

Jeff Sullivan: Well they kind of just went after…being good at everything. The Astros were great by walks, strikeouts, and homers

Jeff Sullivan: I think they were tired of striking out so much, but they didn’t chase contact for contact’s sake

David: Who’s your favorite player to watch on these two teams?

Jeff Sullivan: Jansen. Such beautiful simplicity when it’s working

Divcoman: Re Gurriel. Should the Indians be penalized for wearing the Chief Wahoo logo?  I understand that Gurrieal’s action was racist but why is it worse than the Cleveland logo or the Braves chop?

Jeff Sullivan: Manfred is going to work on the Indians logo thing this winter

Jeff Sullivan: He has made his intentions very clear

Joseph: Who is MGL

Jeff Sullivan: https://twitter.com/mitchellichtman

guren: Can I assume you read MGL’s recent piece about Ken Giles?

Jeff Sullivan: Many people should! https://mglbaseball.com/2017/10/29/the-2017-world-series-ken-giles-rel…

Jeff Sullivan: Justin Verlander is not a good hitter

CamdenWarehouse: Do you have any insight as to why Russel Carlton’s piece last year about the third time through the order penalty has been largely ignored by the larger sabermetric community?

Jeff Sullivan: I don’t remember it, so, no

Jeff Sullivan: In general, I don’t have very much industry insight about anything

Jeff Sullivan: Dinger!

Jeff Sullivan: By Springer!

Jeff Sullivan: Stayed on a low-away fastball. That’s a pitch he doesn’t hit well as a rookie

Mister Puppy: SPRINGER DINGER

John Autin: Sprung!

AP: George got upset

Matt: MVP! MVP! Hard to make the case against him

Jeff Sullivan: Sorry about that, lost my internet for a couple minutes

Jeff Sullivan: Springer hit the ball 104mph out to right-center. Impressive swing

Jack Feyereisn: why cant i comment on here

Jeff Sullivan: Everybody can comment on here. But there are several hundred people in this room so the overwhelming majority of comments don’t get selected. That’s how this always works

Jeff Sullivan: In fact, I have a secret to share. I don’t even read all the comments in the queue! Because it’s impossible.

Hal: How much do you think the Astros getting to see Jensen 4 times in a week has factored into his ineffectiveness versus general fatigue?

Jeff Sullivan: I don’t think the familiarity matters. Lots of teams see Jansen multiple times in a season. It’s not like there’s much to “learn”. He does the same thing every game, and he’s usually perfect at it

Kiermaier’s Piercing Green Eyes: Do umpires always say, e.g. “ball outside” and I’m just noticing it more because of all the microphones?

Jeff Sullivan: I think it’s just more noticeable in the playoffs. Extra production

This is Lude-icris : Is the Yankee pitching staff this good or was the Astros offense just in a funk

Jeff Sullivan: Random funk

CamdenWarehouse: OK, here’s the piece by Carleton: https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/28506/baseball-therapy… – long story short is fatigue not familiarity

Jeff Sullivan: I mean, a penalty is a penalty, right?

Jeff Sullivan: But yeah, if a guy gets through two trips on 50 pitches, that’s different from two trips on 90

Jeff Sullivan: That was a weirdly loud crowd cheer for a ground ball directly to the second baseman

John Autin: What’s the population in here tonight?

Jeff Sullivan: 463 and growing

Jeff Sullivan: Hill trying the ol drag bunt

Jeff Sullivan: I love him

Jeff Sullivan: Look at him run!

Jeff Sullivan: He’s ridiculous!

libre: Do the Dodgers stand a chance?

Jeff Sullivan: No. They have a 0% chance of winning this game

libre: How can the Dodgers win?

Jeff Sullivan: A couple of homers

FrankBlackFrancis: You’re not going to give the Yankees’ staff ANY credit?

Jeff Sullivan: It’s a good staff. What do you want?

Jeff Sullivan: Look at Rich Hill hunch over!!

Jeff Sullivan: He still struck out, but that was a fun strikeout

The Truth is Out There: Seems like the Cubs screwed themselves out of the NLCS rather than LA flat out earning it.

Jeff Sullivan: The Cubs got absolutely dominated in the NLCS

Jeff Sullivan: They didn’t belong on the same field as the Dodgers

Jeff Sullivan: Yet another first-pitch swing from Taylor. Geez

Sterling Mallory Chris Archer: Jeff, do you think there’s any room for psychology to get into sabrmetrics somehow? I get that most conventional wisdom can be proven wrong by the numbers, but humans are humans after all where their past numbers won’t necessarily dictate the players ideal usage.

Jeff Sullivan: Yes, absolutely. Although it’s extremely hard from the outside, given that we don’t get that sort of intimate access

Jeff Sullivan: It’s not a surprise that teams are placing a higher and higher priority on the “soft skills”

Jeff Sullivan: Hey look, a slider for a strikeout. Maybe the baseball is fine

Jeff Sullivan: 1-0 Astros, through three!

bosoxforlife: Is Grandal playing somewhere else next year?

Jeff Sullivan: Odds are good

Mike: people really have a hard time with the Astros offense being the best offense in baseball since integration by WRC+  best!

Jeff Sullivan: Truly something historic. They’re extremely good

Safety Stegosaurus: Rich Hill looks like a character from Rick and Morty.

Show Hey O’Tawny: 463 seems low for these chats

Jeff Sullivan: Always grows in the middle and later innings

Jeff Sullivan: Especially tonight after parents finish walking their kids around gathering snacks

Tim: if it’s fatigue than there is nothing magic about the 19th or 28th batter than right?

Jeff Sullivan: I think it’s likely there is a times-through-the-order effect. It’s just not as powerful as the fatigue effect

Jeff Sullivan: Think of it this way: has the industry moved toward a times-through-the-order limit? It inarguably has.

Jeff Sullivan: Teams are acting as if it’s a big deal

Mike: So we should spam our questions so you see them ?

Jeff Sullivan: dang it

Jeff Sullivan: no

nickg: Here I am. Kids just got done trick or treating.

Jeff Sullivan: See?

Tommy: Why aren’t postseason home runs counted in home run totals?

Jeff Sullivan: I don’t know. People are silly about postseason stats. For 11 months of the year they’re completely ignored

CamdenWarehouse: well you have guys saying basically pull Hill after 18 batters no questions asked, some of whom write for this site…

Jeff Sullivan: The part where I have trouble is that Rich Hill is so good. His baseline is so terrific that even a worse, fatigued version of Hill should still be solid for a bit

The Hamburglar: Do you think WS losses are harder on the fans than the players? I assume it upsets the players, but they can get over it a little quicker with some much needed time off, and getting ready for the next season

Jeff Sullivan: Depends on the fan. Casual fans get over it in a day and a half

Jeff Sullivan: Altuve made contact with that middle-middle curve. It was bad contact, and he is out

stever20: 1 thing to see Jansen multiple times during a season- but it’s different when it’s multiple times within a week.  Only 19 times did Jansen for instance face a team 2x during the same series.  A lot different than seeing a team 4 times in 5 games.

Jeff Sullivan: It’s not like playoff Mariano Rivera ever got overexposed

Hannah Hochevar: Are you an 0 and one guy or a nothing and one guy?

Jeff Sullivan: oh-and-one

Danny: How abnormal is it to be able to throw 98 mph at age 34?  What other pitchers have done it recently?

Jeff Sullivan: Fernando Rodney is 40 years old

Jeff Sullivan: Correa with the Crawford Boxes swing

Jeff Sullivan: More boos for Gurriel

Jeff Sullivan: Slightly lesser in intensity than earlier, I think?

Jeff Sullivan: Hard to tell

Stevil: Who is worse at attempting humor, Buck, or Smoltz?

Jeff Sullivan: Smoltz. Buck is kind of funny

Hugh: That MGL piece was cringeworthy are reeks of pretentious sabermetrics from 2007.  Zero “real life element” (i.e, Giles was bad because he threw bad pitches, instead of “babip, idk”) and worshipping “regression to the mean” as if it happens immediately.  Blaming a bad babip on luck with no other evidence is for newbs.

Jeff Sullivan: You could make the same argument for every single pitcher slump

Jeff Sullivan: Quick pitch from Rich Hill!

Jeff Sullivan: He’s amazing!

Jeff Sullivan: (It was a ball)

cmbvi: I struggle with Manfred’s stated intention to address Chief Wahoo. It is the worst thing in baseball, but getting rid of the logo makes it more likely that the nicknames will never be addressed. Both the Indiana and the Braves are inherently problematic AND invite terrible, racist fan cultures.

Jeff Sullivan: One thing at a time. These issues are extremely difficult

Jeff Sullivan: Lazy out for Gurriel. Through 3.5!

Jeff Sullivan: Hill has thrown only 45 pitches, with an insane 36 strikes

Jeff Sullivan: Verlander is at 32 out of 43

Jeff Sullivan: 77% strikes in this game, combined

Jeff Sullivan: What!

Hal: gonna go out on a limb here and say that the dodgers are gonna need to make verlander throw more than 15 pitches an inning to win this

Jeff Sullivan: The quick-strike worked before https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN201710250.shtml

The One Armed Man: Would you rather be a major league manager or a major league color analyst?

Jeff Sullivan: Analyst. Managing sounds terrible

Jeff Sullivan: Although I guess they do make more money

More Like…: The Dodgers have no business being on the same field as the Astros.

Jeff Sullivan: Don’t be stupid

Sterling Mallory Chris Archer: What do you mean by “soft skills”?

Jeff Sullivan: http://grantland.com/the-triangle/2014-saber-seminar-mlb-sabermetrics-…

Jeff Sullivan: Hill, by the way: 28 fastballs, 17 curves. Seven swinging strikes

Owen: You think the Nats could/should trade for Grandal?

Jeff Sullivan: Yes

nickg: Jeff, do you enjoy the Marvel movies.

Jeff Sullivan: I don’t know them

Ian: How long do you think Rich Hill will last

Jeff Sullivan: A lot longer than I used to!

Kawasaki Home Run: Thanks for the chat and for the EW Patreon LiveCasts. Speaking of that, which mode of chat do you prefer? Does typing to the rabble here become engaging to you, or is it just simply more enjoyable to yap with Ben?

Jeff Sullivan: I like these more, because I can eat dinner and type. I can’t eat dinner and talk

Jeff Sullivan: Good slider from Verlander to get Seager out. But the baseballs are too slippery!

Yakaru: On MLB.tv commercial breaks, I keep on seeing the Cubs/Nationals play where his foot came off the bag for a split second, how do you think MLB should change the rule or should they and players learn how to slide better?

Jeff Sullivan: I like Dave’s suggestion

Jeff Sullivan: But I’m also relieved we haven’t seen one of those replays in a while

Jeff Sullivan: I think the slides have been better

Jacob: Verlander has no pitch count tonight, right? As in he could go 150 if he is pitching well enough given his history

Jeff Sullivan: He is not going to throw 150 pitches

Anonymous: Ichiro a hall of famer?

Jeff Sullivan: Obviously yes

ChatzMcGee: Are hitters more aggressive in the postseason?

Jeff Sullivan: I haven’t looked at the numbers, but I wouldn’t be shocked — against postseason pitching, you don’t want to end up in a two-strike count. They’re too good

Jeff Sullivan: I bet Bellinger would love to have that swing back

Bob Saget: I know this is baseball, but did you see the Zach Miller injury this weekend? Stuff like that makes me not want to play contact sports, ever.

Jeff Sullivan: I don’t know what you’re talking about

Jeff Sullivan: But you are under no obligation to play contact sports

Jeff Sullivan: I would advise against it

Jeff Sullivan: Anyway, now we’re through four! Verlander is dominant!

Jeff Sullivan: 58 pitches, 42 strikes. Six swinging strikes

Jack: What has to happen for Giles to get in the game tonight?

Jeff Sullivan: 17 innings

Guest: is there a site where we can see the live win expectancy?

Jeff Sullivan: http://www.fangraphs.com/livewins.aspx?date=2017-10-31&team=Dodgers&dh…

Jeff Sullivan: Astros right now: 65%

daeholeegrail: is altuve fast because of his size or in spite of it

Jeff Sullivan: What about having short legs makes you think he’d be faster because of it?

forestation: Wonder if Gurriel still gets booed in any other park next season

Jeff Sullivan: Smattering

Jeff Sullivan: Wonder what it would take for McCann to hit a double

woeful SFG fan: Kinda hope Gurriel homes to silence the crowd. The story is out, everybody is ok, only the fans will prolong racism, creating more racism by bringing it to the front of everybody’s minds

Jeff Sullivan: what

Tim: heard on twitter that rich hill stepped off the mound to let people boo gurriel more

Jeff Sullivan: If there’s one thing Twitter definitely knows, it’s what’s happening in the mind of Rich Hill

AP: Any plans on doing an article about postseason stat trends that could carry over into next season?

Jeff Sullivan: None of them

Jeff Sullivan: The playoff game is just too different

Anonymous: How do you keep mosquitos from devouring you when you camp/hike?

Jeff Sullivan: Layers and not camping near lakes in peak mosquito season

Jeff Sullivan: Here come the Astros!

Jeff Sullivan: Gonzalez with the liner double. No way McCann was scoring, but still

Jeff Sullivan: Wonder how deep a fly would have to be to let McCann score

Jeff Sullivan: Smoltz suggesting that Dave Roberts doesn’t like when Rich Hill drops down. Maybe that’s true, but it’s the first I’ve heard of it

libre: How should Dodger fans accept the end?

Jeff Sullivan: Same way they’ve done for 29 years

Jeff Sullivan: Big chance for Hill here, with Reddick and then Verlander due up

Jeff Sullivan: Going 3-and-0 on Reddick doesn’t help

Ian: Was game 5 the best baseball game you have ever watched? If not what was?

Jeff Sullivan: Still partial to 2011 Game 6

Connor: Do you play video games? I need someone to talk about Super Mario Odyssey with

Jeff Sullivan: Like I need to spend more time in front of a screen

Homer at the Bat: Rich Hill went from having a pretty good game to probably a relatively bad one.

Jeff Sullivan: Pitching!

Jeff Sullivan: hooooooooooooooooooooooo boy that’s a curveball

Jeff Sullivan: Changes the whole inning, coming back from 3-and-0

Zachary: Is Brian McCann the slowest player in baseball?

Jeff Sullivan: Pujols

Jeff Sullivan: Or some random pitcher

Tim: the rich hill thing… was from Andy McCullough @ the LA times, said he knew rich hill was upset by what gurriel did

Jeff Sullivan: Oh!

Jeff Sullivan: Then all right

Jeff Sullivan: Verlander is out, of course

Jeff Sullivan: And now, Springer. Third time through the order.

Jeff Sullivan: Huge opportunity for Hill and the Dodgers

Jeff Sullivan: And that’s it for Hill

Jeff Sullivan: Take that, Jeff!

Jeff Sullivan: Springer IBB. Morrow in with the bases loaded. Here we go

Parv: I don’t understand getting Morrow up right now

Jeff Sullivan: Have to assume the rest day was good for him. Have to assume the Dodgers came into this with a plan

Jeff Sullivan: Not saying he’s 100%, but, well, here we are

Knoblaublah : Does Verlander cement a place in the HOF with a great game tonight?

Jeff Sullivan: Basically

Jeff Sullivan: As mentioned before, he’s already likely to make it, but this would make it almost guaranteed

Hunky Dory: Will Yankees regret McCann trade?  Or will they be happy with the package they got?

Jeff Sullivan: The Yankees have Gary Sanchez

Jeff Sullivan: 98 from Morrow, first-pitch swing for Bregman

Erik: How do you think a team’s GM and analytics department (i.e. the people who are supposed to be the most coldly rational in the organization) respond to a second-place finish? Do they consider the season a success? Even reaching the championship series has to be a better than 50th percentile outcome for every team in the league, right?

Jeff Sullivan: Everyone is a fan come playoff time, and so everyone is frustrated after a loss, but a few days after elimination, none of the analysts are too terribly upset

Jeff Sullivan: Bregman grounds out. Huge, huge escape for the Dodgers in that inning

Mike: such a huge out

ChatzMcGee: Dave Roberts had to have been holding his breath there.

gerrylikegary: Assuming the dodgers win, Hill has some juice for tomorrow

Jeff Sullivan: Probably something they have in the back of their mind

Byron Buxton: What was leverage index for Bregman ab?

Jeff Sullivan: 2.96!

Jeff Sullivan: Dodgers win expectancy was 20% after the double. Now 40%

Nick: Gary Sanchez can’t catch, though.

Jeff Sullivan: Yes he can

Jeff Sullivan: He’s just a lot better at hitting

forestation: Is Springer that much better than Bregman to IBB him to load bases?

Jeff Sullivan: I didn’t like that part very much

Jeff Sullivan: Projected wOBA difference of 23 points. I haven’t run the math but it doesn’t seem like that’s enough to warrant clogging the bases

Jeff Sullivan: Dodgers don’t care anymore!

The Hamburglar: This feels like a situation you’ll see articles on tomorrow

Jeff Sullivan: Not anymore, now that the Dodgers escaped, probably

Jeff Sullivan: Puig just got under that

AdamZ: Is Chevy up there with Coke as a company that almost no one ever calls by its proper name?

Jeff Sullivan: Chevy appeals to people who wouldn’t very much like the sound of Chevrolet

Nathan: I’m also listening to Effectively Wild right now for maximum Sullivan exposure

Jeff Sullivan: overexposed

Jeff Sullivan: Pederson very displeased with that

Jeff Sullivan: 2-and-0 fastball right down the middle. Popped it up

Attack of the Grey Lantern: Explain why a Velander suicide squeeze wouldn’t have been a good play?

Jeff Sullivan: Verlander can’t bunt and McCann can’t run

Jon : What’s the ideal pitching plan to the end for LA here?

Jeff Sullivan: I don’t know. Another inning from Morrow. One from the plug-and-play bullpen. And the offense will have scored so Jansen can take the last two

BJOGC: This is verlanders game to win/lose right? He’s pitching till his arm falls off I assume

Jeff Sullivan: Something like that, as long as the game is close. I can see him getting up to 120 or 125 if it’s feeling okay

The Hamburglar: Gary Sanchez can’t catch passed balls. He can do everything else pretty excellently

Jeff Sullivan: I will say that watching him makes me somewhat skeptical of the framing numbers

Byron Buxton: How do you adjust dodgers win probability knowing they have Jansen?

Jeff Sullivan: Not very much

medler60625: Eventually Sanchez is a DH, true?

Jeff Sullivan: Eventually everyone would be a DH

bill: which team has a better chance of getting back to the world series next year?

Jeff Sullivan: Dodgers

Jeff Sullivan: Well, actually, I’m not sure. I think the Dodgers should be better, but the Astros have the worse division

Jeff Sullivan: Forsythe has such a good eye

Jeff Sullivan: His actual batting skills are mediocre, but he knows the zone so well

Jack: Once the season ends, do you watch any other sports?

Jeff Sullivan: Hockey

Jeff Sullivan: Forsythe whiffs. Verlander has thrown 69 pitches. He’s allowed no runs in five innings

Jeff Sullivan: Verlander on pace for a 124-pitch complete game. I think the Astros would let him do it

Phil: Impossible to be that coldly analytical about Springer vs Bregman when Springer has been ON FIRE. You go down with the other guy, even if he is also really good.

Jeff Sullivan: Bregman has also been good

Yakaru: If the difference is so small, doesn’t the force at any base increase the chance of getting out of an inning and makes loading the bases the right decision?

Jeff Sullivan: You give the pitcher zero margin of error. Taking away the walk is a pretty significant deal

Long Live Jeff Frye: So we picked the over on Rich Hill picking 4.5 inning. Did we win because he pitched 4.66?

Jeff Sullivan: Yes!

Jeff Sullivan:

Morton Salt Girl: If the Dodgers win the Astros not scoring with 2nd 3rd no outs will be mentioned.

Jeff Sullivan: Poor Josh Reddick

This is Lude-icris : Why are the Dodgers in such a rush to get to their struggling bullpen

Jeff Sullivan: Because, unlike the Astros, they aren’t so concerned about a small-sample slump

Hal: Has Verlander even gone to a 3-ball count yet?

Jeff Sullivan: I’m not sure he’s thrown three balls

Jeff Sullivan: Boy does Jose Altuve swing hard

BJOGC: Does Morrow bat when his place comes up?

Jeff Sullivan: What? No, of course not

Ryan: Dodgers struggling with the high velo

Jeff Sullivan: In fairness, everyone struggles with the high velo

Jeff Sullivan: Especially when it’s thrown by Justin Verlander

Brent: They just said JV’s spin rate on fastball in postseason is higher than reg. Potential evidence of lowered seems??

Jeff Sullivan: It’s very similar to what it was in September. Not sure there’s anything there

Erik: Am I the only advanced stats fan who hates spin rate? It means literally nothing to me. All that matters is the pitch’s movement, right? I get that it’s the spin which causes the movement, but I learn nothing by knowing the spin.

Jeff Sullivan: I liked being introduced to spin rate, but, yeah, personally, I find it’s more useful to look at the horizontal and vertical movement

Mike L: Maeda getting loose already!?

Jeff Sullivan: All hands on deck

Beating the Shift: Yeah but Verlanders still on a leash.  What would be the Astros plan if he gave up 2 runs and got into trouble?

Jeff Sullivan: McCullers, sounds like

Pete: Why do you think the bullpens have been getting torched this series?

Jeff Sullivan: The hitters are very good, and the relievers are tired

Erik: Wow an ad during a pitch. Is there any way fans can fight back against that? Boycott T-Mobile?

Jeff Sullivan: T-Mobile won’t be able to afford those ads much longer when they’re paying out $20,000 for every home run

Jeff Sullivan: Look at that slider to Correa. Beautiful

Jeff Sullivan: Morrow is refreshed!

Dayman: Do you expect the Astros to make any big moves this offseason?

Jeff Sullivan: Yes

Kosch: Biggest regression candidate in the majors has to be marwin right?

Jeff Sullivan: No

Jeff Sullivan: 99, but Gurriel got on top of it. And he’s booed!

Fangraphs lurker: Do you think Sanchez would be able to transition to 1st base when he ages?

Jeff Sullivan: Everyone could transition to first base

Jeff Sullivan: Double switch coming up. Forsythe out, Utley in. Morrow out, Watson in

Christian: Can Verlander steal the MVP if he goes 8+ innings scoreless?

Jeff Sullivan: I doubt it, not with only the one win

like a g(ame)6: Jeff, could the north western united states support a hockey team?

Jeff Sullivan: Absolutely yes

Sterling Mallory Chris Archer: If you could sum up this World Series in a haiku, what would it be?

Jeff Sullivan: Too difficult. Is “world” one syllable or two?

Siegfried_Thiessen: Someone pointed out to me (correctly) Rich Hill’s stats appear to hold up quite well through the 3rd time through the order. Is there a particular reason dodgers only trust him with two times through the order?

Jeff Sullivan: Because it’s the Dodgers, assume they’ve thought this all the way through

Jeff Sullivan: Not that I want you to just defer to authority, but they have a plan, and it was devised over dozens of meetings and conversations

Jeff Sullivan: And Watson hits the lefty he was brought in to face. Way to go, moron

Nick R: How the fuck could it be two

Jeff Sullivan: Say “world”

Jeff Sullivan: It’s not an open-and-shut case, is all

Six Ten: Isn’t the reason to use Morrow early that he’s the biggest contrast to Hill (Jansen excepted)?

Jeff Sullivan: Everyone is a pretty extreme contrast to Hill

Dave from DC: You say the Dodgers aren’t worried about a small-sample slump, but then you attribute lots of the offense in the series to exhausted relievers. Wouldn’t it be rational to avoid the bullpen if you believe those guys have nothing left in the tank? The hard part I guess is quantifying it, whether the loss of significantly shortening your pin outweighs avoiding a reliever with a dead arm.

Jeff Sullivan: I think the rest day was considered pretty important

Jeff Sullivan: I don’t know which team is more right. They’ve just shown opposite bullpen philosophies in the series

Jeff Sullivan: Watson could’ve used that 1-and-1 call

Andrew: Maybe Hill’s stats hold up third time through BECAUSE he is so often pulled before the third time. When he is left in, it might be with favorable matchups or crappy hitters coming up.

Show Hey O’Tawny: Just because he has been good the third time through the order, doesn’t mean he is good

Sharp: Kershaw warming up!

twb: kershaw warming up

Jeff Sullivan: Two sources! We can run it!

Jeff Sullivan: Watson loses the 2-and-1 call because Barnes dropped it. Ouch

Hal: Kershaw getting warm? Hell yeah, chaos time

Jeff Sullivan: Line drive! Caught! Inning over! Baseball is ridiculous!

Mordecai’s Finger: Okay, I follow baseball, I really do. But what in the world happened to Tony Sipp??

Jeff Sullivan: Got bad

Danny: Why as Hill so angry to be taken out?  Didn’t he know the plan?

Jeff Sullivan: Probably mostly angry to leave runners on the bases

agam22: Also don’t forget you’re legally required to call it the World Series presented by youtube TV. Fit that in your haiku

Pete: If at this point, Watson doesn’t have it, why not just take him out of the game?

Jeff Sullivan: No real reason to believe you can tell when a pitcher “has it” based on two or three pitches, unless the velo is way down or something

The Hamburglar: I dont understand why you needed to lift Morrow? McCann isnt a huge threat and it seems odd to replace Forsyth with Utley in the process

Jeff Sullivan: Just doing everything to maximize all the little chances with all hands on deck and the chance there’s no tomorrow

psychic: Thoughts on Joe Buck, Jeff?

Jeff Sullivan: Pretty good

Korean: By the way Roberts managed HIll this year, I think it’d be a case of confirmation bias?

more likely to go deeper if he’s doing well in the first place.

Jeff Sullivan: Technically true for everyone

Milwaukee beerjays: Would you change alliegences from the senators if the Seattle ice storms were an mel team?

Jeff Sullivan: You can’t just change teams like that

Nick: Do we blame Andrew Miller for way too many innings by relievers in this world series?

Jeff Sullivan: No

Matt: How do we feel about the strike zone tonight? Seems pretty solid, save that one Hill curveball

Nick: again, the umpiring has been great tonight

Jeff Sullivan: A hit! Barnes!

Jeff Sullivan: 2-and-0 middle-middle fastball

Anthony: Does Morrow’s heavy usage this postseason affect his earning power this off-season? Not like he was the picture of durability before he pitched 147 days in a row…

Jeff Sullivan: Doubt it. Even Chapman wore down last year and he got paid

The One Armed Man: I don’t get that double switch. Morrow vs. McCann was a decent matchup, and they preemptively downgraded at 2B and are wasting one of their decent relievers

Jeff Sullivan: Astros don’t have a lefty reliever they like to face Utley, and they might’ve wanted to try to preserve some Morrow zip for Game 7

Mickey: You seem more interested in mountains than beaches, but have you ever considered visiting Assateague/Chincoteague MD/VA?

Jeff Sullivan: no

Joe: Baseball is weird.  In 2008, Marwin Gonzalez couldn’t hit A ball pitching for the Cubs.  At the same time, Rich Hill was busy pitching himself out of the Cubs organization because he couldn’t throw strikes.  And yet, in 2017, they’re major players in the World Series.

Jeff Sullivan: I remember, years ago, when the Astros were terrible, a friend of mine was interviewing with the Astros, and he watched a game with the front office, and they were all making fun of how Marwin Gonzalez was so bad

Jeff Sullivan: Surprise!

Fangraphs lurker: At this point, does youtube even need advertising? Who the hell hasn’t heard of them?

Jeff Sullivan: Who hasn’t heard of Budweiser or Coors?

Jeff Sullivan: Utley HBP! We’ve got some action!

Jeff Sullivan: 1-and-2 count, too

bosoxforlife: Why does this feel like a Game 7?

Jeff Sullivan: Because this series has been absolutely out of its own damn mind

Sterling ‘Malory’ Chris Archer: are you rooting for a game 7

Jeff Sullivan: Unless you’re an Astros fan or a Giants fan, I don’t know how you’re not

Nick V: Pretty good by his usual standards, or in general?

Jeff Sullivan: I think Joe Buck is pretty good for a national announcer

Jeff Sullivan: *Another* first-pitch swing from Taylor

Jeff Sullivan: 13 out of 26 in the series

Jeff Sullivan: Homered on the first pitch of the series, of course

Jeff Sullivan: (That the Dodgers saw, anyway)

Jeff Sullivan: According to the broadcast, Taylor can fly, but that might make it hard for him to touch the bases

Jeff Sullivan: BASE HIT

Jeff Sullivan: CHRIS TAYLOR

Tony Womack: !!!!

Miguel: I”M HAVIN FUN

Clay(2000 lbs) Kershaw: TAYLOR!

STL: I have to say, unless Taylor simply is not a good bunter … even I would bunt here

STL: and I would have been wrong

Jeff Sullivan: Look how fast a ballgame turns

Jeff Sullivan: Vin Scully smiling in a Dodger Stadium suite. Good camera work

Tim Couch: third time?

Jeff Sullivan: No one’s immune

Attack of the Grey Lantern: Jeff I called it

Jeff Sullivan: Good job, Attack

Parv: Baseball! Love that things turn that fast!

Jeff Sullivan: What was it Shea Serrano wrote the other day? Baseball has two temperatures

Jeff Sullivan: This is the stressful one

David S. : I usually like stories like Taylor but he’s highly annoying. He needed to happen for someone like the Padres

Jeff Sullivan: Jose Pirela!

managingishard: i guess its time to reconsider the verlander for 9 innings plan

Jeff Sullivan: McCullers should be getting warm an inning or two from now

Jeff Sullivan: Unless the Dodgers pull away

Jeff Sullivan: Wow.

Jeff Sullivan: Definitely thought Seager knocked that out by like four rows

Jeff Sullivan: Instead, deep sac fly. 2-1 Dodgers

ChatzMcGee: That was close.

Erik: Wow that looked like a homer. I thought the balls were supposed to be juiced or something.

The Hamburglar: That ball went way further than it had any business going.

Jeff Sullivan: Disagree!

Jeff Sullivan: Bad slider from Verlander, looked like. Seager *just* missed. McCann thought that was gone

Sgt. Pepper: For those not watching the international feed: Vasgersian with the really premature home run call

Jeff Sullivan: Verlander due up second next inning. He’s currently at 87 pitches

Jeff Sullivan: Objectively, he should not bat

Jeff Sullivan:

Joe: Why isn’t Smoltz talking about trusting your starters?

The Hamburglar: 94 MPH with 28 LA and only a 28 HP%

Jeff Sullivan: The Seager fly definitely looked better than it actually was. Just off the end of the bat or something, I guess

Jeff Sullivan: Not the best AB by Turner there

Jeff Sullivan: Goes without saying but getting that third run home is kind of important

Attack of the Grey Lantern: Reddick not getting that run home such a huge inflection point. He’s been absolutely terrible

Jeff Sullivan: Unclutch!

Hot Dog: Matt Vasgersian’s “Santa Maria” home run/anything remotely exciting call is so phony

Jeff Sullivan: I think it’s great but we all like different things

Astros Bullpen: Objective, we should not pitch

Jeff Sullivan: Luke Gregerson has a 0.00 ERA!

Jeff Sullivan: Hooray, Luke Gregerson!

Parv: Probability that Hinch lets Verlander bat if he gets out of the inning with no more damage?

Jeff Sullivan: I’ll say 10%

Jeff Sullivan: Maybe 20%

Guest: He shouldnt have batted the first time either

Jeff Sullivan: Ehhhhhhh that one I don’t agree with

Jeff Sullivan: Bellinger whiffs. Good job by Verlander stranding that third run; bad job by Verlander allowing the first two runs

Hunky Dory: Bellinger looks like the guy who has a permanent spot on the pong tables at your college’s baseball frat

Jeff Sullivan: He has very smug eyebrows

Matt: Is it a playoff thing or is everyone just homer-prone?

Jeff Sullivan: Everyone is homer-prone in 2017 and the playoff hitters are great

Zack: The 5 foot difference between the Reddick foul ball not being a sac fly, even a foul sac fly, man

Jeff Sullivan: Not at all convinced that fly would’ve driven home McCann

Ian: Just saying, there has never been a playoff series in the MLB that has gone W/L/L/W/L/W/W

Chase Buttley: Do we actually believe Reddick is unclutch now? One of the few players actually one way or the other? It’s been a comical subplot to watch

Jeff Sullivan: I have no idea, but if anyone is actually meaningfully unclutch in the majors, it is Josh Reddick

Eric Matthews: This series demands that Verlander bat and get on base, right?

Jeff Sullivan: Good lord

Jeff Sullivan: Dodgers win expectancy is 71%. It was as low as 20% two innings ago

Jeff Sullivan: It was as high as 80% in that last half-inning…

Jeff Sullivan: Evan Gattis standing on deck right now

Jeff Sullivan: It’s funny — Verlander seems to be yanked, and his last pitch was 97.4 miles per hour

Jeff Sullivan: He’s a machine

Jeff Sullivan: Very close ball four to Reddick. That’s a very unfortunate walk for Watson

Jeff Sullivan: Can’t walk Reddick there left-on-left

Jeff Sullivan: Maeda is coming in!

Brian: Would you let Verlander bat if you were guaranteed he would pitch 7 and 8 scoreless?

Jeff Sullivan: Yes

Third Seager: Ugh Dave Roberts. Jeff, are there any good managers in baseball at this point?

Jeff Sullivan: Dave Roberts

ChatzMcGee: Joc should’ve let it drop if it were foul, true or false?

Jeff Sullivan: Trust your ability to prevent Brian McCann from running 90 feet

Ryan: Do you use Kershaw tonight or Kershaw tomorrow? Assume a 9 IP game

Jeff Sullivan: I lean toward tomorrow, since we’re already close to Jansen time

Dad: Linke to WE?

Jeff Sullivan: http://www.fangraphs.com/livewins.aspx?date=2017-10-31&team=Dodgers&dh…

Ishii: Speaking of WE, will we see a series long graph after it wraps up? I love the individual game graphs so I’m super exciting to see the series one

Jeff Sullivan: http://thebaseballgauge.com/post_series.php?seriesID=2017WS

Matt: There should be an LVP award for the winning team in the WS. Reddick has drastically underperformed and people should know that!

Pete: Kenley looked pretty mortal on Sunday. Think Roberts tries to get two out of him?

Jeff Sullivan: Maybe more like four outs instead of six

The Hamburglar: Tony Watson unable to get the 2 guys he was brought in to get out

Jeff Sullivan: Good take on 1-and-0 by Gattis

Knoblaublah : Dodgers using Morrow and Kershaw will help Astros if there’s a game 7.

Jeff Sullivan: What wouldn’t help the Astros is losing Game 6

jd: i know you gotta manage to win tonight, but whew the dodgers may really need a big darvish start if they wanna win this series

Jeff Sullivan: Ditto Astros and McCullers, though

Jeff Sullivan: Wow, what a good 2-and-1 pitch

Jeff Sullivan: Great slider!

Jeff Sullivan: Just barely missed the DP, looks like

Jeff Sullivan: Would still be a good exchange for LA to have Gattis on first instead of Reddick

Best Mike: Verlander 12 ip 5 er.    Kershaw 11.2 ip 6er.   Not that different

Nick: I can’t get behind Dave Roberts as a good manager given the way he is trying to blow this series

Jeff Sullivan: As we say a million times a year, in-game strategy is far from a manager’s top responsibility

xmx: So if Gurriel faces Maeda, that might be pretty awkward huh?

Jeff Sullivan: Not as awkward as facing Darvish tomorrow

Zachary: Justin Verlander threw 93 pitches tonight. Would the Astros use him in relief in a potential Game 7 à la Randy Johnson (2001 WS)?

Jeff Sullivan: I’m sure he’ll tell Hinch he’s available

Jeff Sullivan: I’m sure of it

Joe Buck: Why does Reddick only have a -.004 WPA despite striking out in that key situation with two runners and no outs?

Jeff Sullivan: Because of the late leadoff walk

Jeff Sullivan: Oof. Single for Springer. Bad result that the ball got away from Seager, but that slider seemed drive-able

Jeff Sullivan: Fisher in, Gattis out

STL: Shouldnt Kenley be in NOW?  Facing the PH and top of the order, up 1?

Jeff Sullivan: There’s an argument!

klof: who do you start tomorrow, darvish or kershaw? assuming both end up in the game somehow.

Jeff Sullivan: Darvish

Jeff Sullivan: Oh man, what a huge block by Barnes. That could’ve been a disaster

Jeff Sullivan: Fly out, Fisher moves up. Maeda didn’t want that pitch to be over the middle of the plate but it was down at the knees

jimjams: So does Dave Roberts have any authority with how he manages his team? FG writers make it seem like all they do is lead the clubhouse

Jeff Sullivan: That’s most of what managing is

Jeff Sullivan: Especially for the Dodgers in the playoffs. At this point a lot of everything has been pre-scripted

The Hamburglar: Remember when Watson walked a struggling Josh Reddick to lead things off?

DC: The craziness is starting to bubble.

Canyonero Driver: Can we take a second to acknowledge how incredible Gattis’s backstory is?

Jeff Sullivan: So great

Jeff Sullivan: Feel like Maeda kind of got away with that 1-and-1 pitch

Jeff Sullivan: Biggest pitch of the game right here

Jeff Sullivan: Was that throw in the dirt?

Jeff Sullivan: What a pick!

Jeff Sullivan: Dodgers survive!

Cave Dameron: This feels like the series right?

Jeff Sullivan: There could be a whole other game tomorrow!

jimjams: Since MVP is almost always on a playoff team, why isnt postseason play included?

Jeff Sullivan: Would give too much credit to a player’s team. It is in theory supposed to be an individual award so you want the playing field to be even

JJK: If Hinch pinchran for Gattis immediately, he goes to third on infield hit and scores on fly ball

Jeff Sullivan: Did that the other day too. Waited for the runner to get to second before subbing in Fisher

Jeff Sullivan: Astros have clearly decided it’s not worth pinch-running when a guy is still on first

Knoblaublah : Seems like almost 100% of managers get second guessed re bullpen usage.

Jeff Sullivan: Easiest thing for a fan to do

Nick R: What’s his story?

Jeff Sullivan: http://web.archive.org/web/20120403033212/http://www.blogs.ajc.com/atl…

bosoxforlife: Is Friedman actually making in game decisions?

Jeff Sullivan: Dodgers make group decisions with the coaching staff and FO

Mickey: Do you think the AL MVP will turn out to be a lot closer than the way it’s being portrayed?

Jeff Sullivan: Yes!

Elbo: This series has backstory to burn. Gattis, Hill, Puig Jansen, Turner, Taylor.

Jstodola: Now Jansen to finish?

Jeff Sullivan: I don’t know but I suspect the Dodgers would *like* to keep Jansen from throwing two innings

Strange Penguin: Dave Roberts seems unusually open with his emotions in the dugout for a manager

Jeff Sullivan: Apparently he makes sure to talk to every single player on the team before every single game

Jeff Sullivan: Even I’m overwhelmed

Jeff Sullivan: Another missed swing by a Dodger on a fastball over the plate. This time, Puig gets under it and pops out

4min33: seems like more runs will be scored in this game

BJOGC: I went to bed Sunday with the Dodgers up 3-0 in a kershaw start. I thought that was the series, I woke up to a 13-12. Im not ever going to assume any single play determines this series

Erik: Up through at least high school, first base was one of the most important defensive positions. The first baseman is involved in so many plays, and a ton of throws are tough to catch. Is first base so unimportant in the majors because the total amount of throws needing to be scooped is low, or because the variation in the ability of MLB players to scoop is low?

Jeff Sullivan: Little variation. If you’re a defensive player in the major leagues, you are extremely physically gifted

Jeff Sullivan: I don’t think the random DH could make a good first baseman, but the random any other infielder sure could

Agent Cody Banks: Is the astros bench so thin that Reddick is their best option? Seems like he’s really hurt them in big opportunities. Wouldn’t Marisnick or Fisher be a better choice? I know clutch isn’t predictive, but he’s the least clutch player in history, and the WS is extremely high-leverage

Jeff Sullivan: Marisnick is injured

larryv: In a sense, all we see directly is in-game stuff, so that’s what we go by

Jeff Sullivan: Oh, for sure. I get why fans are how they are with managers. The important stuff is basically hidden

Jeff Sullivan: Frustrating! So glad I don’t vote for Manager of the Year

Jeff Sullivan: Joc!

Jeff Sullivan: Pederson!

Jeff Sullivan: Insurance run!

ChatzMcGee: JOC MVP.

Clay(2000 lbs) Kershaw: JOC JACK!

some other matt: oops hr

Jeff Sullivan: 1-and-2 fastball that got way too much of the plate

Jeff Sullivan: 102mph EV, 37-degree LA

Patrick Henry: Astros needed bullpen help at the deadline, so they got Liriano. Why not use him?

Jeff Sullivan: He hasn’t been any good

Sgt. Pepper: Puig’s reaction>Dave Roberts reaction

Anonymous: oof. not a graceful HR trot

Mike: Marwins reaction was super weird there

Stephen: Pederson looks so happy when he homers. MVP of the Dodgers

Jeff Sullivan: Favorite emotions of the series: Pederson when he does well, Correa when any Astro does well

AdamZ: Random question: what happens if a player misses a base during a home run trot?

Jeff Sullivan: Nothing good, if the other team notices

Jeff Sullivan: http://www.stumptheump.com/answers/homerun

pinstripe: what did you vote for?

Jeff Sullivan: I had AL Rookie of the Year

Tony Womack: Are votes casted after the WS ends?

Jeff Sullivan: All votes are cast between the end of the season and the start of the playoffs

Six Ten: At what point do you sit Jansen? Or does he for sure pitch no matter what once he’s warm?

Jeff Sullivan: You don’t use him if you’re up like five or six

Jeff Sullivan: I think the umpire’s voice just cracked with that called strikeout

S: I’m not an astros fan, but pederson is being a showboating POS right now.

Jeff Sullivan: Oh please

Jeff Sullivan: Both teams have been showing lots of emotion. It’s the World Series! It’s an elimination game!

Gator: TIL Joc Pederson’s full first name is Joc

Jeff Sullivan: Just got a text from my mom. She says Pederson is her new favorite player specifically because he was skipping

Jeff Sullivan: Emotion wins fans!

Show Hey O’Tawny: This series isn’t over until every Astros reliever allows a homer

Andrew: Joc is kind of a “woo girl” when he gets really excited

wrex: Am I going to be reading stories about Pederson’s HR celebration tomorrow or is it going to be ignored because there was no bat flip and he’s not latino?

Jeff Sullivan: It’s actually going to be mostly ignored because if the Dodgers win, then almost as soon as this is over, all attention goes right to Game 7

Jeff Sullivan: So little time to actually…care…about this, if you know what I mean

Jeff Sullivan: Jansen is on the mound. He’s going to try to go two. This is what I get for looking at my text messages

Eric: If Seager doesn’t hurt his back, Joc never sniffs the playoffs, right?

Jeff Sullivan: If Seager doesn’t hurt his back, *Culberson* never sniffs the playoffs

Kevin: Morrow is warming up in the bullpen getting ready to come in for game 7.

Jeff Sullivan: Dodgers getting their Jansen dream so far. Four pitches, two outs

Cave Dameron: when are awards announced?

Jeff Sullivan: Somewhere in mid-November

AdamZ: We have been blessed with two straight amazing World Series.

Mark: Players are having fun! WON’T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN!?

Dingus: Can we please stop talking about showboating in baseball??

Jeff Sullivan: I’m all about getting mad when players show up their opponents. When they’re just happy, let them be happy

Jeff Sullivan: Strikeout! Jansen is good again!

Jeff Sullivan: Seven pitches, seven strikes, three outs.

James: Is showboating better or worse than casual racism?

Moonlight Graham: McCann needs to stop Pedserson from having too much fun.

Show Hey O’Tawny: What does TIL mean?

Jeff Sullivan: Today I Learned

Erik: Has Fox’s music when cutting away to commercials been 100% U2 this entire series or just 95%?

Jeff Sullivan: At some point it was like 100% The Killers

Jeff Sullivan: maybe that was earlier in the playoffs

Strange Penguin: what kind of person names their kid Joc?

Andrew: He has a brother named Tiger

Jeff Sullivan: No he doesn’t

Jeff Sullivan: He has a brother named Tyger