Members Only Game Thread: ALDS – Oct 5, 2026
Welcome to our Open Game Thread for the ALDS Game 2. Chat with fellow readers as we watch the White Sox at Guardians and Yankees at Rays. Only Members can participate, and unlike our usual game chats, your messages will be posted immediately.
Our Member community is made up of thousands of incredibly knowledgable baseball fans, and we think this is a great way to follow a game with like-minded baseball enthusiasts. We might even have some FanGraphs Staff drop in and join the fun. Please be courteous to your fellow Members, or you may find your chat privileges revoked.
We are going to have Members Only Game Threads for the rest of the postseason. The next one will be tomorrow, October 6 at 6:00PM.
Hi all!
Hi Sean
Everyone should respond to our polls. Including you, Keaton!
Guardians are at 0% so I know you haven't voted yet.
I didn't see the poll. Maybe we need a cool sound alert for it.
Hi Sean and Keaton
If you weren't in one of our Game Threads last week, all of you drive the chat. We do have writers that will drop in. Here are a few feature highlights:
– you can view the chat as a thread or chronologically.
– in the top right corner, the gear allows you to delay the messages coming in if your streaming service has a lot of latency
– we have polls that we will cycle through during the games.
– you can reply to messages or react with some emojis (this is new from last time)
I am going to try to hang out here, but I am not sure my nerves can take chatting while watching this.
Which team are you nervous for?
I am a Guardians fan, but to add to my anxiety, I lived in Chicago for over a decade and so I have probably seen more Guardians-Sox games in my life than any other pair of teams.
Gavin needs to find that inside corner to lefties. Got a break on the 0-1 to Teel but can't count on that
Pretty solid inning for Williams. Not sure what happened there with Vargas, but good recovery. Suspect he was a little amped up and it impacted his control.
An underrated storyline in this one is the importance for the Guardians to jump out to a big early lead. It's not important for them, but I have to leave to pick up my daughter in a little over an hour and I would like to feel a little calmer when that happens.
Low leverage while you run errands? Then they can make it close once you get back!
I wonder what kind of odds you could've gotten two years ago that the White Sox would be in a division series in 2026
You could have gotten crazy odds on that in March. Probably still in May to be honest.
Maybe the Rockies and Angels are taking copious notes. "Try sucking waaaay less…hmmmm…."
Kay has stymied the Guards but that has less to do with him, specifically and more to do with the hand he uses. Guards had a 91 wRC+ vs. LHP this year, good for 25th in MLB. Cleveland's offense really improved late in the year, but lefties are an issue.
FWIW, the Sox are 5th in MLB in wRC+ vs. LHP (111), which may have been a factor in G1. Against RHP they are 17th with a 102
I think Cleveland lead the AL in runs/game since the trade deadline or at least very close to it.
7th in MLB in runs scored, 6th in wRC+ since Aug 4
One huge difference between G1 and G2 already, Cleveland is making Kay work. Smith and Taylor in particular just cruised without having to throw many pitches.
Rays are pretty high on that leaderboard: https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?pos=all&stats…
Hello, dev team!
👋
I don't know who let me out to talk about baseball.
(And the White Sox)
They were third in AL in total runs, but played fewer games than CHI and TB
Going straight to another lefty here to face Adell feels like an odd choice, but I guess Newcomb was next up
(And Chad.)
Hi Davy!
Whoever drew this ALDS manager review just got a whole lot of fodder …
Did they not have a righty up in the pen or something?
There's a smoke detector beeping in my house and that pitching change wasn't long enough to find it The search will continue after the inning, I guess
Just to be clear, you're ignoring a super loud smoke detector right now?
It does feel like we've gotten an inordinate number of lefties replacing lefties this postseason
These chats are awesome, thanks to everyone that put them together!
One that could be informing you of, say, a fire?
angels legend sean newcomb vs angels legend jo adell
Is it safe to assume Grant Taylor is unavailable today?
Feels like Venable is getting too cute here
Disaster 1st inning for ChiSox
Chad and Will Venable both, Davy.
The only fire in my house in the Guardians offense
Ok, but like, I'd still make sure of that were I you.
Though I suppose it depends on how much you like your house.
It's definitely just the "low battery" beep, but I appreciate the concern. I love watching my Guardians but not enough to let me house burn down with me in it, I promise!
Why does it feel like half the runs I've seen Cleveland score in my lifetime have been on infield hits
I don't know how long you've been alive, but since 2015 they actually rank right in the middle of the pack in infield hits.
That's because half our lifetime is Willie Mays Hayes and Jake Taylor bunting.
This is probably the only place where I can say that I somehow remember Corbin Brenden being a .270 hitter as well
I am not 100% sure how to measure this, but it feels like you are right, Benny
IF hits, errors, bases loaded walks…they find ways to get runs without actually hitting the ball well
*The "This is fine" meme, but instead of coffee it's a playoff baseball game*
when are we going to be able to upload images to the chat
I assume this depends on how much Sean and Keaton trust you.
so a rational person would say never
Yeah, I want to, at least for the staff. I still have to talk to Meg and David about the moderation/trust.
It'll be interesting to see how Stephen Vogt finds his way into having Austin Hedges batting in a high leverage middle inning situation today
This understand this isn't a traditional chat but can I ask why all of a sudden closers are turning into Goose Gossage and Rollie Fingers again?
I think in the postseason, teams have two sudden shifts in their thinking about pitcher usage: 1) every single out is crucial and if you can get it with your best arms, you do. 2) being well rested for the future isn't important any more, so if you have to burn your best arm to get the win, you do.
because 1/2 the teams in the playoffs don't have more than 2 functional SP
Wait, this question wasn't about mustaches?
I seem to recall another athlete from Wilmington, NC
Little update: smoke detector was found, batteries were replaced, smoke detector was replaced, and zero pitches were missed. I am better in the clutch than any Cleveland hitter.
Next time try it while covered in midges.
You know, I was at the midges/Joba Chamberlain game! With Ottoneu creator Niv Shah!
That's amazing. Were the midges all over the stands too?
It really wasn't bad in the stands. They're attracted to the lights, I guess, so with the field all lit up, they all want to be down there.
Has anyone ever studied the "pitcher isn't effective after a long inning in the dugout" thing? It comes up all the time but doesn't seem to make much sense
Somebody must have. It seems like it'd be easy enough to do using retrosheet data. But I personally haven't seen it.
I haven't either. I get the logic – you get into a groove/routine, then you sit so long that you lose that rhythm. Plus, your arm gets cold and needs to loosen/warm up again. But…I can create a logical explanation for a LOT of things that don't really happen.
I like how everybody who strikes out in this game really hurries out of the batter's box.
Hi everyone!
Matt!
Hi Matt! And everyone else! ✌️⚾️✌️
Becker!
My favorite fact about Gavin Williams is that he went to Cape Fear High School
Matt! Jon! It's a party!
woooo ain’t no party like a Watching-Baseball-When-I’m-Supposed-To-Be-Working party woooo
Jo Adell went to Seven Samurai High School
All of my fantasy teams are named after HS sports teams and I might have to add those two to the list for future teams.
Curious to get y'all's thoughts on the super quick leash on Kay from CWS and how you think it'll impact them for the rest of the series. I get you want your starter to go longer, and leash is short in the post season. Think Kay throws again tomorrow or something if they're super tight on pen innings?
No clue what their plans are, but with an off-day tomorrow and after G4, he should be available for G3 and G5, for sure. Or G4 and G5. Whatever they want to do.
I went to the Guardians' spring training game, played against the Diamondbacks at Chase Field, in 2025. Gavin Williams started it and struck out approximately 57 batters in three innings. Looked like the nastiest pitcher I'd ever seen. Don't know what to make of that, but felt it was worth sharing
Venable was playing games.
I have no idea, re: Anthony Kay. He didn't look sharp, but it was such a quick hook that it had to have been planned.
Boy Kwan looked safe there in real time
I sort of thought it looked like he gave it 98% and 100% would've done it.
Have modern coaching staffs potentially at least partially moved off of platoon based match ups to something based on pitch shapes and swing paths, or something of that nature? Feels like it might help explain at least some of the bullpen choices this postseason
That's definitely a consideration, but lefty-righty is still going to be a bigger factor most of the time.
I also think in this case, he just didn't want to let Kay let this get away early. The IBB to Adell tells you it wasn't about the matchup.
Does Chase Meidroth have a bit of a George Lucas look?
I think it's the beard.
I think it’s the lack of any visible chin.
And the intentional use of the beard to make it look like there is.
Kwan always looks vaguely sad/concerned. Every time I see him I think of the “hitman monkey finds no joy in his job” meme.
So those manager interviews are usually such a waste, but Venable saying the plan was for Kay and Newcomb to get through 12 hitters combined and acknowledging that the Kay hook wasn't really planned is interesting.
bad challenge?
There should be a margin at which the challenge isn't lost. you don't get the call changed but you don't lose the challenge either.
No. No no no no.
so…you don't like that idea, I take it? lol
The call stands is a scourge.
That's fair, and I generally agree, but "this was actually too close for the computer to know if it was a ball or strike" feels like a harsh moment to take away a challenge.
That is a very good point. But I think either you trust the computer or you don't, you know?
even worse challenge
maybe there should be a margin at which a challenge is so bad you lose both challenges
Now THIS I can get behind.
Yeah, I am aligned. Sorry, Sam, that ball was entirely within the zone.
How many pitches will they let Williams go today, assuming he's on?
all of them
Challenging in the playoffs has been fascinating to watch. Lots of questionable challenges here. If it's me, I'm waiting for leverage spots, no matter the time of game. 1 on 1 out in the 3rd inning? Not high enough. Maybe in the regular season? I feel like my approach would change drastically in the playoffs.
I don't know. The two games I wrote up this weekend featured tons of successful challenges. I tend to think teams are too cautious with them.
At this point, I doubt he goes more than 6, but he'll get up over 100 if needed
He reached 100 eight times, season high is 113. I think the answer is "a lot."
The only thing that might keep him from going up over 100 is that the bullpen is fully rested and has an off-day tomorrow.
Question for the group: Do you have a go-to baseball-watching snack?
I tend to go for things with a minimum of mess, so pretzels, maybe popcorn.
I freakin love some popcorn
Chips and salsa. but I can't eat during a Cleveland post-season game.
Can’t right now because it’s still only 3pm in CA, but I’m the stereotypical baseball-and-a-beer dad. Other than that I’m generally a tortilla chips guy, if I have them available.
The thing I think is underrated about early challenges is that they can snowball. Turning a PA in your favor now could mean forcing the SP to face another hitter or two. Even if that doesn't turn into runs now, maybe it creates an out or two later that need to be handled but a lesser reliever.
I am munching on chips with con queso cheese dip with an adult beverage.
i think white sox win the series, but sean newcomb vs gavin williams really highlights some key difference
I used to eat popcorn. Then I had an incident with a crown, of the dental, not kingly variety. Now I eat nothing.
That sounds not fun. Sorry, Phil.
I quite literally have a crown in a plastic bag in my pocked because it came off yesterday and I have to go to the dentist and get it repaired. Not fun. I too would stop eating foods that made this happen.
So per the Venable interview, Newcomb got them back on track with their pitching plan. We'll see what happens from here, but Kay+Newcomb with the RHP getting Adell his second time seems to have been their plan, and here we are.
don't you still lose your challenge if the call stands? a margin of error is inherent to abs, so retaining the challenge if the pitch falls within it would actually be the best way to make it LESS like call stands.
In the playoffs, when scoring first is crucial and you never know how many baserunners you're going to get on, I think teams should be more aggressive early than they are, especially if there's a man on base. Any moment could prove to be decisive. Don't wait until later when they might not matter later
The announcers are not aware that Nathaniel Lowe does not like to be called Nate.
Ok, Ronny knows.
It's sorta the same argument for using your best relievers when you need them instead of waiting for a save – if you know the challenge/reliever has value now, there is no reason to save it for later, when it might not be needed at all.
ABS fascinates me. I know I want more early challenges and fear they will disappear with the way teams are restricting players. Do you people think an early challenge in a high leverage situation is a good decision?
I do.
I thought what Chad added above was well said. I am personally all for challenging on the leverage of the moment than the timing.
I am in agreement with you. There have been a lot of really bizarre challenges this year where players used, and wasted, challenges at meaningless points in the game.
Ok, I have to go pour some milk in a baby. I will see if I can check back in on the chat later. Good to talk to you all!
I really goofed by not adding 🍼 into the emoji reacts.
i want the LFG baseball as an emoji too
I’m not a huge Darling fan, but in comparison to the other booths working this round of playoffs this one is a breath of fresh air. Really missing Benetti.
Derek Junior needs milk!
What’s the best window for the white sox to put up 3 runs in this game? Seems to be a very small gap between third time through order from Williams and the pen getting to shut down mode especially in a big game for Cleveland
Right now, I guess
Williams can be homer-prone – just gotta take your chances when you get them because there won't be many.
Vargas has seen 9 pitches and swung at none
and yeah, this is the moment.
score aside, really feels like white sox have had more momentum throughout the game
Not just the game, but in general. Right now the Sox, Rays, Brewers, and Braves all feel like they’re rolling.
Cleveland got two runs, but still doesn't have an RBI hit this series, so they can't really afford to let this lead slip away
Mune!
I don't know about "throughout the game" – they looked utterly lost against Williams until this inning – but it does feel like this is a HUGE moment
Even that one run really changes the look of this game
Murakami amazes me. This old man finds it hard to believe a player can hit .202 and be of such value.
Williams has really lost the thread here and Beni bailed him out
Getting back to ABS, What is the consensus here on the number of challenges? I know I would like a couple more or perhaps a couple of one use ones for early innings only.
Two – this is the right amount.
MiLB originally started with three on the challenge days. Two is plenty.
that K could be a turning point in the series, but it is definitely a turning point in my day – I need to hop out of here and go be a parent. Go Guards!
No pop on toast references yet?
And Peters first pitch swinging
That cut to Rob Manfred standing alone is among the funniest things I've seen all year
As a neutral fan, I like the current frequency of challenges, particularly since it feel unusual when an ump is getting a lot of successful ones as in yesterday's MIL-SDP. I wouldn't mind if my own (now eliminated, red-stockinged) team had an extra, since they are often overly reluctant.
Manfred looked forlorn, to put it mildly.
I know the CHW rotation was below average this year, but if you assume at least one of Taylor/Schultz/Sandlin has starter potential, you can squint your eyes and see an exciting rotation in 2027 and beyond.
i desperately want my angels to sign skubal, but man if the white sox sign him instead…..
You stan Kroenke?
So does every team employ some number of guys in a room just watching for what should be reviewed?
Yes
This is often public info, e.g., Mike Brenly does it for the Red Sox.
Maybe MLB umpires could just review stuff in this manner and save everyone time and money
I have always wanted that, like in college football. And for fair/foul it could just be automatic, like tennis.
Wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't just "guys in a room watching video" but "guys in a room tinkering with AI agent trained on video in real time"
What's actually weird about Gavin Williams is he has better run value on his sweeper v L than v R, and a better run value on his curveball v R than v L. Both the opposite of what you'd expect.
You say this and then he immediately Ks two lefties on curves
I have no idea how anyone hits Williams' curveball
I feel like we don't see that 12-6 curve like we used to. I miss it.
Yeah Sean, you need to check out this Clemens guy. Good writer.
True, there's not many guys in the league that can drop those these days. Baz on a good day
If you're watching the game at a bar or restaurant and the lights AREN'T flickering, take a minute to be grateful. Kinda like when your nose isn't stuffed. Don't take it for granted!
Are the TVs flickering off too?
It depends how pedantic we are tonight. Technically? Yes. But not as bad as the lights
top 3 in the league of curveballs with >38 inches of drop and <6 inches glove, side movement: Baz (600), Freeland (481), Gore (480).
White Sox radio guys were saying that Ramirez is effective batting second, despite being clearly off and evidently playing hurt, because of "his presence alone." Ignoring whether this is analytically confirmable, is it even definable? What is "presence"? Is the idea that it makes you burn your leverage guys, or throw more pitches by nibbling, even if he strikes out?
My interpretation would be that it's a good idea to bat him second because he's literally Jose Ramirez. A known excellent hitter and future Hall of Famer
I think this ties into the larger question of "is lineup protection a thing?" and the answer to that in a universal DH environment is "mostly, no." There was iirc some demonstrable effect of 8 hole batters in the NL pre-2022.
Yes, and also Ramírez was hurt for most of this season but looked to be coming out of it over the final two weeks. I think that matters, too
Yes, that I agree with–he looks OK. Just wondering if it's true there's extra vakue to being great even if you don't hit.
i hope all pitchers see hosey step up to the plate and go "eek" a little bit
i mean. as a general rule of thumb i am in favor of more silly noises made. if they put a whistle in the ball that made it scream as it flies. i'd be a fan
Listening to the doppler effect with that ball would be sick.
i spent the better part of one recent afternoon with a shotgun and a deadcat recording the baseball team. would have been more fun if the ball went pweeeeeee
wow sabrowski wanted *zero* to do with grichuk
Tommy Pham enters the game and immediately runners advance? Now that's what I call Phamgraphs.
that should go in his stats. he put the fear of pham in the pitcher, causing the wild pitch
That's twice in this game an outfielder ran almost to the infield dirt to make a catch
Wow
That was a really nice play by Martinez
The Pope must’ve just turned the game on
So uhhhh when do we declare the White Sox winners of the Crochet trade?
Oy.
Sox might have the juice
Resurfacing this mailbag question:
Is God fixing the tournament in favor of the White Sox? — Kevin
I don't recall the catholic church ever officially blessing a baseball team before. So imo we can't rule it out.
pope leo owes the city of cleveland an apology!!!
It's 1:10 AM in Rome. You can go to bed now, Leo, the Sox have this.
honestly i liked cleveland alright when i visited, so i'm biased. but like. it'd be so funny if the sox won off the back of the power of the Lord Almighty and a hurt dude bopping his friends on the head with a small stick
i know sss caveats, but i enjoyed watching kwan become a "playoff demon" and getting on base at ridiculous rates in past postseasons. i love a pesky at-bat more than i should…
Montgomery shakes his head after swinging at two in the dirt then taking one right in the zone.
me too, buddy… me too…
Burke showing off a pretty tidy hook himself!
chicago and their mirps, man. they converting all their starters to mirps. they converting their position players to mirps. they converting their fo staff to mirps. soon we will all be mirps.
the entropic decay of the "guy who throws ball"
can you tell that i'm procrastinating on thermodynamics homework by watching mlbgameday
I'm glad I don't have to do that anymore.
Haha yeah same I was totally smart enough for thermodynamics haha anyway how about Hunter Gaddis’ beard?
It's almost as good as Brian Wilson's circa 2010.
The last homework I did was 63 years ago.
Everyone just uses AI for their homework these days; it's a problem.
There might be a new comment if something actually was happening
I'm prepping polls for the Yankees game. 🤷♂️
Oh is there another game on after this?
I know we had that long extra innings game in CLE a few years back. And they went to the ALCS a few years ago, but I don't remember CLE games being super interesting. They also get stuck with early games.
From the radio broadcast:
The White Sox threw 21 bullpen innings when they won in 2005. They have thrown 24 already this year.
Can we somehow take bulk starters out of the relief stat set. They have Sean Burke setting “relief” volume records in this game? C’mon, adjust to today’s game realities
This has been a frustration of mine since openers were first being used.
Baseball famously loves to change. I don't think we've ever been able to determine a better way to classify pitcher appearances. Since a start and relief appearances are objectively defined. We are looking at ways to adapt our probables grid.
Can't see that being overturned.
Sean, with the pitcher IP question, can we get 1/3 innings as an option in the future?
It's possible. Maybe I'll just how outs!
Thought that one was going out
I wasn't allowed to say "neither" when asked who I was rooting for.
So sad for you
I'll add that if it's NYY-LAD in the WS.
I love to watch baseball but there is no way that I can root for either the Rays or that other team.
Man, that's great for Jo Adell
Who said this game was boring?
random question for FanGraphs admins, do the WAR calculations include first base receiving defense and double play defense runs?
I notice it on the leaderboards but can't find any announcements on this
Lemme confirm.
Thank you so much for finding out, this is a niche thing I've been wondering for a while.
d
dang i was showering my kid and missed the jo triple ugh
This is a lot of Grant Taylor
Grant Taylor, incredible post season so far. That is all.
I'd say ALL (much maligned) hurlers in Black. Will Venable has really earned my respect this postseason. (with those pinch hit righties vs Sabrowski too).
Thinking about it, he's been managing back-against-the-wall "playoff" style for about 3 weeks straight! Cobbling together 9 innings with the most IP by RPs all year
WHITE SOX WIN
White Sox win exactly on time to switch to another game. Quite considerate!
This is one thing I like about streaming vs linear.
I am loving me some Taylor doing things that are not supposed to happen in this age of computer driven decision making.
Thanks to "feel" managers like Venable and Weiss!
Too much over-managing in the playoffs
We were 50/50 split on the CHW/CLE game on who would win! Right now we are ~60/40 on the Yankees/Rays on who will win.
And we only have two Yankees fans in the chat.
Re: WAR and 1B Rec question. We haven't incorporated that or the Inf DP this season, because we added those stats in the middle of the season.
Alright, good to know. Thank you so much!
I'm assuming that's probably going to be an offseason project?
Yep! Less of a project, more of in-season consistency.
I cannot believe Chisholm attempted that throw??????
The sad thing is, I can
Catchers interference!
McMahon's play was about as easy a play as a 3rd baseman could have. To state the obvious, the Yankee defense is pathetic.
You knew there had to be a replay challenge for catcher's interference in this series.
A good ole 3-error inning by the Yankees
3 errors in the 1st. Unbelievable!
Yankees in post-season form
Man this defense is something
It would be so funny if Simpson went yard here
Who is going to want Chisholm in their lineup next year after this performance?
I would love Jazz on the Pirates. We'll never win anything so we might as well have fun guys
Yeah Chisholm's issues seem like a great coach could help with. And every team thinks its coaches are the best
Yankees really not beating the allegations here
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
If they get out of this with only 1 run…😑
Feels like a missed opportunity there for Tampa Bay
I wonder if the Yankees could recruit the Archbishop of Canterbury as a fan or something…
After what's happening in LA and Cleveland, the Yanks are nervy as hell
Definitely needed a catwalk ball.
Domes suck! Stop playing in domes!
I've always glossed over the ground rules until a few days ago.
The Yankees defense which had 8 FRV in the regular season (12th) now has three errors in one inning
I do hope the Rays' new stadium has something weird.
It will be in Florida, so it will have a roof. Just gotta hope it's a funky roof
Schlittler sh*tting the bed a bit. As an Orioles fan, not upset at all.
Wells wanted to challenge.
Does anyone think Chisholm returns to the Yankees next year?
He's a better fit for a looser team.
Like the Marlins
I'd be interested to see our FA crowdsource numbers for him. That 31 HR season is intriguing.
I was thinking more on the lines of the Yokohama Bay Stars.
It feels like Schlittler should be at like 50 pitches by now
Schlittler doesn't have his putaway stuff today.
I know the Rays are hard to strike out, but they're spoiling his fastballs
Sean: how come when I try to reply it says I am replying to myself?
We force only one-level deep threads. Which messages are you replying to? Or trying to reply to?
Just a few in general. Recently to Sadaharu Whoa.
Oh the chronological view…your message is the parent for that thread, so that's why. I might rethink how we display that.
This guy looks more like Peralta of Wisconsin than Peralta of Queens.
Should I type first then go to the recipient?
No, just something I have to clean up.
Peralta joins Tatis and Kwan as players who had awful first halves and excellent second halves.
Thanks.
Remember when Tommy Tight Pants threw a billion changeups in a row
Man the Yankees line up isn't necessarily bad without Judge, but it sure is less imposing
Our mean for Peralta IP was 4.84.
So maybe we need that fraction of an inning, so someone can be correct.
Sounds like we basically nailed it
edited
The Yankees errors poll is quite something. Median 5 errors, but the mean is 25.67, so we need them to step up some.
This move by Cash is eerily similar to Game 6 of the 2020 WS when he pulled Snell after he had just given up his first hit. This time it is clear he didn't want Peralta facing Rice. Can't argue with this move.
Baseball games sure can change fast
Jones should've kept going. Probably could've caught that
BANG
Simpson is such a Rays guy to have up here
BANG x2
They aren't gonna call that an error are they?
Nothing like two squibbers to get the runs home.
Gotta feel for Schlittler. Not his best, but he pitched better than his line is gonna say
Schlittler goes 4.1 IP; we had 6.27 IP mean and 6 IP median.
It is an error. He had a play at 1st if he took it.
It looks like they scored it a single. I don't disagree that it should be an error. I've just seen that play called a hit so often now.
Broadcast is saying they haven't heard a scoring decision. Gameday has a single, but they can always change that.
Not sure what to root for on that, having voted for 5 errors. I need them to get two more, but if they pick one up now they might overshoot.
I don't think you can assume the play at home and that did look like where he was going
I can't see that being overturned.
He looks convincingly safe.
This Yankees infield is really having a night
Official scorer ruling pending again. . .
Will they charge an error for that? We need to hit our prediction!
"The Yankees are absolutely tragic defensively in Game 2" is a great line by Brian Anderson.
Error!
This one has to be an error
No doubt about that error.
This is getting to meltdown territory
They're going to blow past our prediction. Can I revote?
😂 I'll work on that feature next.
It's crazy we're not far removed from Bellinger being like 5 feet away from this being 5-1
Now it is!
The mound is even against the Yankees.
That is a great AB against a tough lefty.
I know baseball is random, a single game is the smallest of small sample size, etc. etc. But there's no way to watch this game (or listen while looking at Gameday in my case) and not feel like the Rays are a significantly better team.
1000%
Phil, the answer is really not if the Rays are significantly better but just how much the Yankees are significantly worse.
Fun game so far!
Did it hit the mound or the cutoff man's leg?
Looks like the mound to me
I do enjoy watching a soft tosser carve up a linep.
i return from thermo. 55 burgers 55 fries 55 yankee errors
Google tells me the record for most errors in a single postseason game by one team is 5. So history is within reach tonight.
I am so rooting for this.
I'm kinda amused that in the ALDS so far, it's almost if the Yankees said "you know all the stuff about our team that people think isn't good because they're angry about analytics? Let's do those things."
i can't believe ANALYTICS turned all our players into potatoes in the field
I'm so biased (Yankee fan) but still feel OK even if they lose here. Next two games throwing two lefties, plus no more Trop. Probably lose game five though.
We hit 5 errors!
Did the official scorer see a chance to get into the history books and reverse course?
On the bright side, they've tripled their hit count from Game 1!
Getting five errors in a game *is* a pretty impressive feat, since game scorers today don't like giving errors unless they look like complex vaudeville sketches.
As a Yanks fan…I mean every year. This happens every year. I tend to be a realist and not overreact to the calls for Boone/Cashman's heads after every season, but at some point we have to consider this right?
There's some mindset thing that just isn't there. Impossible to quantify vibes but the Yanks just have had negative vibes in the playoffs for years sans a few moments in '24, various Giancarlo postseason at bats and Schlitter vs. Red Sox starts.
We are going to underestimate the errors! I put that poll up as a joke.
Back to "only" 4 errors according to mlb dot com. That's no fun.
Looking forward to the Manager Report Score for Boone, regarding bullpen usage in this game. . . and wondering if he's going to use Bednar down four. . .
yes. yes he is. (might be a decent call though tbh)
With the Rays over performing this season based on a lot of statistics, do we think they figured something out that we dont know how to quantify yet? Or just random?
Will Boone PH for McMuffin here? If not, the Manager Report should grade him harshly!
As a Rays fan I'm riding the high and assuming they are omniscient
As a White Sox fan, I'm cheering for the Yankees because at this point it seems the much easier path to the WS, and honestly just typing that is a reminder of how insane this season has been.
Ben Rice. My goodness.
Ben Rice is doing his best
Maybe I've been corrupted by Colin Poche, but the high-strikeout, low-velo fastball guys like Ian Seymour really do something for me
We're running out of time for more errors. Ideally we need two on the next play.
Girardi on last year's Baker trade "Orioles shoulda hung up!"
Alright! Let's do this again tomorrow!
I wasn't really heartbroken at the time (as a homer), because he used have his meltdown moments (long balls typically). But I KNEW they would fix him; the stuff was always awesome