Tag: Joe Kelly

Red Sox Are One Win Away from the World Series After an All-Time Classic ALCS Game

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This is why it’s impossible to beat the drama of playoff baseball. No other sport’s intensity kicks up as much as MLB in the postseason. I mean aside from the 9 pm start time and the 1:30 am finish, that game was incredible. Unforgettable. Classic. It wasn’t without it’s controversy though.

So with the 8:39 pm start time I already knew I was in trouble because I am old and #washed. I started fading in the 7th inning. Luckily I have a Cosmo Kramer-like internal alarm clock that woke me up in time for the 9th inning.

Boy am I glad I saw that shit show. I almost threw up in my bed watching Craig Kimbrel nearly give the game away. Seriously this guy has been the only member of the Boston bullpen fans have felt somewhat confident in all year. Ever since the playoffs hit he’s been a wild, erratic, mess of a closer. Kimbrel threw 35 pitches over 2 IP last night, with only 19 for strikes.

In case you missed this tightrope walk, let me give you a quick summary of how the bottom of the 9th went with the Sox up 2 and their $13 Million closer on the mound.

  • Yuli Gurriel pops out. 1 out.
  • 5 pitch walk to Josh Reddick.
  • 5 pitch walk to Carlos Correa. Winning run is now at the plate.
  • Brian McCann flies out. 2 outs.
  • Alex Cora mound visit. I legit thought he was going to bring David Price into the game here.
  • 6 pitch walk to Tony Kemp, the NUMBER NINE HITTER. Bases loaded.
  • Alex Bregman (.286/31 HR/103 RBI/51 Doubles) steps to the plate with the bases chucked. He’s also hitting .350 in the postseason this year.
  • Bregman hits a sinking liner to LF that had me standing up in my bed. Andrew Benintendi is sprinting in with the game on the line and LAYS OUT TO MAKE THE DIVING CATCH.

Holy shit, what a game. Even Sox radio play by play announcer Joe Castiglione nearly had a heart attack watching that final play.

But Kimbrel, what the hell man? Now I gotta worry about you imploding at every opportunity? You shall henceforth be referred to as Byung-hyun Kim-brel

Now lets get to the catch everyone is talking about. Mookie Betts made an all-time classic play that will be played at his Hall of Fame induction and Astros fans will be analyzing that play for years to come like it’s the Zapruder film.

Back. And to the Left.

Hey, Adult Jeffrey Maier, keep your hands to yourself. Mookie makes that catch 100 times out of 100 if unimpeded. Cowboy Joe West got it right.

Mookie’s absolute hose of a throw in the bottom of the 8th will be forgotten because of how much went on last night but that was another series altering play for Betts in a week full of them.

It also makes me laugh hysterically that this is the hill Evan Drellich will die on. He must have tweeted no less than a dozen times about the play and how awful of a call it was. Just a quick reminder that Drellich was the Astros beat writer for nearly three years.

But moving on to more important matters. Assuming the Red Sox don’t blow this whole series now do you realize something?

JACKIE BRADLEY JR IS YOUR ALCS MVP!

I feel bad for Adam Jones’ mentions on twitter, but holy hell when Jackie gets hot he gets HOT.

JBJ must feel like this right now:

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the disaster that nearly was. After YEARS of fans ripping David Price for his lack of big game performances, Cora had him ready to go with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th. You think Price actually wanted the ball there?

Game 5 is tonight and David Price gets the ball with a chance to get his first postseason win ever…oh and with a chance to send the Red Sox to the World Series! First pitch is at 8:09 pm so don’t sleep now!

The 300s Red Sox Yankees ALDS Preview

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It’s been FOURTEEN YEARS since these teams faced off in the postseason when the Red Sox broke a curse and kicked off an entire generation of young massholes coming up in the world (not to mention completing the greatest comeback in the history of sports). It seems like these two teams used to go at it in the playoffs all the time back in the day, but in reality they’ve only ever faced off four times. That just goes to show you how sports will never be more important to your every day life than when you’re 15.

I wrote the other day about how despite winning a franchise record 108 games, most Red Sox fans don’t seem exactly brimming with confidence. The Yankees, also having won 100 games, have come to town though so it’s time to play for keeps. Lets break down some key things to watch for before making our pick.

  • Game 1
    • Friday, Oct. 5th – 7:32 pm (Fenway)
      • Chris Sale vs J.A. Happ
  • Game 2
    • Saturday, Oct. 6th – 8:15 pm (Fenway)
      • David Price vs Masahiro Tanaka
  • Game 3
    • Monday, Oct. 8th – TBD (Yankee Stadium)
      • ??? vs Rick Porcello
  • Game 4
    • Tuesday, Oct. 9th – TBD (Yankee Stadium) *if necessary
  • Game 5
    • Thursday, Oct. 11th – TBD (Fenway) *if necessary

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  • He’s not even on the team, but Trot Nixon is throwing out the first pitch for Game 1 so I’m listing that as a strength. Don’t even argue with me on that one.
  • Red Sox Offense – Boston led all of baseball with 876 runs this year (NY was second with 851) and have 2 guys in JD Martinez and Mookie Betts who are a coin flip to win AL MVP. Aside from those two they have a pretty, pretty, pretty good lineup:
    • Andrew Benintendi .290/16/87
    • Xander Bogaerts .288/23/103
    • Rafael Devers .240/21/66
    • Eduardo Nunez .265/10/44
    • Brock Holt .277/7/46
    • Mitch Moreland .245/15/68
  • Not to mention we have newly crowned Yankee killer Steve Pearce waiting to pounce. He hits J.A. Happ extremely well (.344 average, 1.419 OPS, six homers and 16 RBIs in 32 career at-bats) so don’t be surprised to see him in the starting lineup tonight.
  • Chris Sale (if healthy)
    • It’s impossible to know what to expect from Chris Sale tonight. I went into my concerns about Sale the other day and I still don’t feel great about it.
      I’ll be honest though, the No. 1 reason I’m less than confident heading into Friday night is 100% Chris Sale’s health. The guy is just not right. According to Felger and Mazz yesterday, his average fastball velocity went down every single start over his last four starts. That is BAD. He was throwing off of flat ground earlier this week, just days before he’s supposed to take the ball in Game 1. Thats something a rehabbing pitcher does, not a guy who is ready to open the ALDS. Maybe he comes out and he’s totally fine, but I’m not counting on it. Even if he does, I’d be concerned about how he bounces back. Remember when he came off the DL and struck out 12 Orioles and was hitting 99 on the gun? Yea well that was on August 12th and he’s thrown a grand total of 12 innings since then.
  • Craig Kimbrel had a down year when compared to his stellar standard, but this guy coming out of the pen throwing absolute gas is about as good of a weapon you can have. Now if the Sox can somehow bridge the gap to him…
  • Red Sox Bullpen: It’s terrible. Despite the advanced analytics saying the Sox bullpen actually has a great WAR, if you’ve watched even one game this season you know it’s anxiety inducing. Hell, it’s been this way all the way since Game 1.
  • So help me god if Alex Cora throws Steven Wright out there in a late situation only to give up a bomb on a knuckleball while Boone sits in the dugout and smirks.
  • Red Sox Starters 2-5: Consistency is the problem here. Rick Porcello won the Cy Young in 2016 for christ’s sake, but I’m not super confident in him. He did throw a complete game shutout against the Yankees in about 90 minutes earlier this season though.
  • Even Tim Kurkjian doesn’t know what to think. I feeeel like they’ll be good, but they’ve also ALL been bad in the playoffs their entire careers….

“The gut feeling here is, despite lots of evidence to the contrary, he is going to be great this October. He will have to be if the Red Sox are to win this series. [Chris Sale] David Price and Rick Porcello also need to be good. Together, those three are 0-11 with a 6.18 ERA in 14 postseason starts.”

  • David Price’s Psyche: He’s gotta break through in the playoffs at some point right? Right??
  • Yankees Home Run Power: These guys can hit the shit out of the ball and half their lineup can hit it to the moon. The Yankees set the single season home run record this year with 267 home runs, which I feel like is somehow getting overlooked here. Stanton led the Yanks with 38 dingers, but Miguel Andujar, Didi Gregorius, Aaron Hicks, and Aaron Judge each hit 27. Oh and Gleyber Torres chipped in with 24 of his own. Yikes.
  • I think more than anything I just want to beat Aaron Boone’s brains in. It’s bad enough what he did to me and my family back in 2003, but for him to saunter out of the ESPN broadcast booth down into the dugout and think he’s just going to manage the Yankees past the Red Sox? Straight up disrespectful.

  • I would rather listen to Michael McDonald for 8 hours a day then hear that obnoxious, awful, victory chant from John Sterling one more time. THAaAaAaAaAaAa YANKEES WIN is the most obnoxious shit in all of sports and is literally the exact opposite of what they teach you in journalism school. So yea, listen to your teachers and stay in school kids.

Official Prediction

Red Sox in 5

I think the best home field advantage in baseball comes into play as the Red Sox are dominant at home (57-24 at Fenway this year) and the Yankees are 1-6 in their last 7 playoff road games. The Sox bullpen will struggle to keep these games in check, but I think some combo of Sale/Kimbrel/Eovaldi/E-Rod get it done with some help from Price. We know this team can hit, it’s just going to be a matter of keeping the Yanks in check and I think the Sox do it by the skin of their teeth as New York pushes them to the brink.

Red Sox vs Yankees IV: Pomeranz Battles a Broken Fingernail but Giancarlo Goes Yard Twice in a Yanks Win

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Giancarlo smoked two solo dingers to lead the Yankees to a 3-2 win over the Red Sox and Drew Pomeranz avoided a nail filing disaster to finish with a solid stat line: 6 IP, 2 Runs, 6 Strikeouts. As predicted, Luis Severino was not going to implode against the Sox twice in a row though as he went 6 IP while surrendering 2 Runs and striking out 11.

I gotta give props to Pomeranz though, I was legitimately typing the tweet getting ready to blast him for bailing on a start in the 2nd inning 2 hours after David Price got scratched. But after calling over the trainers and doing a little nail filing maintenance he was able to get back out there and pitch well. Trying to throw junk with a broken fingernail cannot be fun.

Down 2-1 the new best player on the planet Mookie Betts dragged the Sox back into a tie with a triple in the 7th to knock in a run, but that lead wasn’t meant to be.

Despite the two mistakes served up by Pomeranz to Giancarlo:

This game was more on the bullpen than anything else as Alex Cora figured the first guy out of the pen after an off day should be Heath Hembree! He got the first guy out but then gave up a double and then walked Gleyber Torres. After a mound visit Hembree immediately is called for a balk so now theres runners on 2nd and 3rd. He then proceeds to walk Brett Gardner before getting yanked for Joe Kelly, who gave up a single to put the Yanks on top for good.

Wednesday night’s projected starter *was* David Price but he was sent back to Boston yesterday because the numbness in his fingers returned so I’m in full blown panic mode.

We’ll have more on that later this morning.

So instead tonight we get Frederick Alfred Porcello (5-0) 2.14 vs  Masahiro Tanaka (4-2) 4.39 and Porcello has been on a roll to start the year so I’m picking the Sox to right the ship and regain their lead in the AL East.

Red Sox Looking to Temper Red Hot Yankees in the Bronx Tonight

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Starting tonight the Red Sox head into the Bronx to take on the Yankees while currently holding a 1 game lead in the AL East. After taking 2 of 3 from the Yankees in the first series of the year the Yanks have gone on an absolute heater winning 15 of 16…. all while leaning on rookies. So the Yankees lineup that was absolutely stacked with power hitters now has a rookie in Gleyber Torres who is hitting a cool .327/.357/.857 ?? Cool. I look forward to hating you soon enough Mr. Torres.

Thankfully the Sox have been taking care of business on their end as well with Mookie Betts merely becoming the best player in baseball. No big deal. And before you try and shut me down hear me out. Mookie is leading the MLB in Batting Average, Slugging Percentage, OPS, Runs Scored, Home Runs, Total Bases, and Extra Base Hits.

These two teams are FINALLY both great at the same time. We’ve said it ad nauseam but over the past decade these two teams kept missing each other, which is why they haven’t faced off in the playoffs in years. Now both are a legitimate threat to win 100 games this year. The last time I could find two teams in the same division that won 100 games was the 2001 AL West when the Mariners won 116 games and the Athletics won 102 so this division race has the potential to be historic.

JD Martinez has actually been playing great as well hitting .349/.396/1.015 with 8 Home Runs and 27 RBIs on the year. The surprise in my voice in response to how well JD is playing is a sad reflection of how badly the Sox have botched big money free agent signings in recent years. David Price (too soon?), Pablo Sandoval, Rusney Castillo, Carl Crawford etc.  So Just Dingers Martinez actually living up to the hype thus far has been a pleasant surprise on Yawkey Way Jersey Street.

There’s 16 more rounds of this left and after a benches clearing brawl in the 2nd game of the year between them this is the earliest I’ve been jacked up for a Sox Yanks game. The rivalry is back, the two teams legitimately don’t like each other, and most importantly we are each other’s biggest threat and direct competition on the path to a World Series. Hey, ESPN might even finally benefit from having them on national TV every other week.

Tonight we have Drew Pomeranz (1-1) 6.14 ERA vs Luis Severino (5-1) 2.11 ERA so that is mismatch city. The Sox beat the hell out of Severino for 5 runs in 5 innings last time around, but since then he’s sporting a 1.24 ERA with 32 Ks and 5 walks in 29 IP. This will be Pomeranz’s 4th start back from the DL so I’m not super confident, but he does have a 3-2 record and a 3.12 ERA in his career at Yankee Stadium. All things considered I’ve gotta go with Severino tonight as the guy is on a roll and is unlikely to lay an egg against the Sox twice in a row. With that being said if you gamble on individual baseball games you are a sick degenerate and I cannot help you.

Joe Kelly Watches Red Sox Game from the Bleachers, Continues His Rocket to the Top of My Favorite Athletes List

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I don’t know many Boston athletes that have had a more prolific rise in my rankings than Joe Kelly. Kelly was always fine. He’s a flamethrower on the mound, which always adds bonus points, but he’s never really had any defining moments on the Red Sox. He also hasn’t really lived up to the hype surrounding him when the Sox acquired a young power arm from the Cardinals. So I never had anything against the guy, he was just kind of there.

First we had the rise of Good Guy Joe Kelly. The dude goes out of his way to not only visit sick kids in the hospital, but he legit goes full costume to make a kid’s day. Dressed from head to toe as Green Lantern simply because it would make a kid happy. You don’t see a lot of that in professional sports.

Then of course we had the benches clearing brawl he incited by beaning that mouth breather Tyler Austin. Not only did he jumpstart the Sox Yankees rivalry, but he also was itching to fist fight the guy. Most pitchers will bean the guy then if he charges the mound they want no part of it. You often see the pitcher throw his glove at the charging batter much like a purse, until the first baseman or catcher can intervene. Not Joe Kelly, that guy wanted blood.

And now, while serving a 6 game suspension for the aforementioned beaning incident, he’s literally watching the game in the bleachers with the fans. This dude just gets it. A down to earth guy that visits sick kids in the hospital, lays the wood on the Yankees, and now is self aware enough to joke about taking in a Sox game while sitting where the real fans sit.

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Keep it up and I might have to invest $34.99 into a freshly printed Joe Kelly t-shirt jersey after a bakers dozens beers at Who’s On First.

PS – Who’s On First on Yawkey Way is now a goddamn trivia question as that bar, after incidents, fights, and shootings was forced to sell off and change its name. As did the street itself with all the well known issues surrounding the Yawkey name. So now when people ask how to get to The Bullpen on Jersey Street, you know where to direct them.

Red Sox vs Yankees II: THE RIVALRY IS OFFICIALLY BACK

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It took yearrs, but the Red Sox Yankees rivalry is officially back after last night. That game had everything. A ton of hits, a few four baggers, wild momentum swings, oh and Joe Kelly inciting a legitimate benches clearing brawl after nailing that dickhead Tyler Austin. The benches cleared once earlier in the game after Austin spiked Brock Holt on a takeout slide at second. That was really more guys arguing than anything else.

But, Joe Kelly don’t play that shit. After nearly hitting Austin in the top of the 7th, Kelly went right back to it and nailed him two pitches later. Austin smashed his bat in his rage and after taking a few steps towards Kelly he charged the mound. But Kelly, this man goes into the GIF Hall of Fame with an all-time reaction.

Before we move on, I have to just touch on this guy Tyler Austin. A motherfucking star was born last night. Just look at this guy.

Incredibly hatable. This guy is destined to be the next great dickhead Yankee that we all love to hate. In the same roid rage filled vein as Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield. The dude clearly and deliberately spikes Holt breaking up a double play and then flips out when Holt calls him out for it.

Then rather than taking his medicine like a man after getting beaned, he smashes his bat and charges the mound before getting body bagged by Joe Kelly. This kid may only be a career .239 hitter, but if he can stay in the lineup I will take great joy in booing him all year long.

Back to the actual game!

I gotta give the Sox credit for not only physically assaulting the Yankees, but for fighting back from an early 8-1 hole to make a game out of it.

Andddd David Price might be hurt. He got hammered for 4 runs in the first inning, getting slapped around like he was Fredo going against the family. After getting out of the inning he immediately walked down the tunnel and the Sox trainers raced after him. Still no idea what actually happened, but he left the game apparently after experiencing “sensation in his left hand.”

So what was supposed to be another pitching duel was yet again derailed in Game 2 of this series. After Price left the game the Sox trotted out basically everyone in the pen: Bobby Poyner, Heath Hembree, Matt Barnes, Joe Kelly (my man), Brian Johnson, and Carson Smith.

(This is what I wrote during the game BEFORE Kelly beaned Austin): For the first time in what seems like years there appears to be some genuine dislike between these two teams and that is awesome to see. It was bound to happen as both teams have been up and down, but now both are starting to get really good at the same time with a core of young players that came up in each team’s farm system. This is what this rivalry needs. Both teams being good helps, but both teams legitimately disliking each other is what will ultimately light the fuse.

After the Austin/Holt slide you could tell Pedroia was just itching to get out there and scrap it up as cameras caught him giving an absolute death stare to the entire Yankees bench since ya know his knee is still fucked after being on the receiving end of a very similar play last year.

El Gary was beating the Sox brains in all night with 2 dingers including a 2-run HR in the first and another 2-run HR in the 4th to put the Sox in an 8-1 hole, but luckily for us Masahiro Tanaka imploded in the 5th giving up 5 runs.

How about JD Just Dingers Martinez breaking out in a big way too? 24 hours after missing his first grand slam as a member of the Sox by the length of a hotdog, he crushed one to center field to claim what was rightfully his.

The Sox then proceeded to throw the ball around like a bunch of assholes though. Vazquez chucked a ball into CF on a steal attempt and then a pass ball that smoked the ump in the facemask trickled away, which gave the Yankees a free pass to third base twice. Those immediately came back to bite the Sox in the ass for 2 easy runs, and that 10-6 lead was ultimately what put the nail in their coffin.

I know its early, but if the first two games of this series are any indication this year of Red Sox vs Yankees is going to be a lot more fun than its been in a long time. And for that I am thankful.

Good Guy Red Sox Pitcher Joe Kelly Dresses Up as Green Lantern and Visits Sick Kids in the Hospital

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The Red Sox got their dicks kicked in by the Astros in the ALDS, but take a quick look at these pics below to put that into perspective. It sucks the Sox lost, but at least we still have feel good stories like Joe Kelley making a sick kid’s day dressing up as Green Lantern. Bravo, Joe.

Red Sox Riding 40 Year Old DH and Knuckleballer to Early Success

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Courtesy of Boston Globe

Courtesy of Boston Globe

ESPN – Ortiz’s strong night overshadowed that of Steven Wright, who had another strong start in a season full of them. Wright tossed a complete game, allowed three hits and faced two batters more than the minimum in the win. The knuckleballer extended his streak of games in which he pitched at least six innings and allowed two or fewer runs to six. In the past 50 years, only Roger Clemens (1993, 1991) and Clay Buchholz (2013) have started seasons with at least six such games for the Red Sox.

Led by a 40 year old DH and a Knuckleballer, the 2016 Red Sox continue to defy expectations. Again, let me repeat that; David Ortiz, a guy who is 40 years old and in the final year of his career is crushing the ball with 9 HR’s so far (MVP type start) and Steven Wright, a former journeyman Knuckleball pitcher, who was slotted as your No. 5 starter, is throwing zeroes and is currently trailing only 3 pitchers in all of baseball in ERA. Not to mention, going the distance and throwing a complete game 3-hitter against your biggest rival on Sunday Night Baseball; you know the stuff Aces do.

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Meanwhile the $217 offseason acquisition has been bad more often than good with an ERA of 6.75. I fully expect David Price to pick it up, for no other reason than it would be a fall off of epic proportions to go from Cy Young contender to guy with an era in the 6’s. Boston does indeed take some getting used to, but I think a guy with his track record figures it out. Probably won’t be in the Cy voting this year, but reel off a few good starts and we’re back on track and the Sox become a dangerous team both with the bat and on the mound.

Right now sitting 1/2 game out of first, most people picked the Sox to be a mediocre team and likely miss the playoffs with the 98.5 Sports Hub guys even dubbing May 5th, “Cinco de Fire-o” for John Farrell. But the offense has been dominant as the Red Sox lead the AL in Runs, Hits, Doubles, Triples, RBIs, AVG, OBP, SLG, and OPS. So in other words – the best offense in the league. That has allowed the pitching to be very meh over the first 30 games.

Things will really get interesting when last year’s rookie stud Eduardo Rodriguez comes back from the DL and then again when Machine Gun Joe Kelly comes back. I think most people initially expected Wright to get the shaft once E-Rod came off the DL, but there is no way in hell John Farrell can yank Wright now. Not while he continues to carry the goddamn team.

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My vote would be for Buchholz to take his annual vacation on the DL. The guy weights 150 pounds, it’s prob for the best if he doesn’t make 32 starts. Give me 20-25 great starts and just be ready for the playoffs and we’re good. No need to force it and try to get more out of a guy when it’s just not coming. He’s been on the Sox for 9 years now, he is what he is. A decent middle of the rotation pitcher who can be lights out when everything is going his way. Put guys in a position to succeed, especially in a sport with athletes as coddled as baseball. And then when he asks for a $150 million dollar contract you politely tell him to kick rocks.

Machine Gun Joe Kelly Goes 0.2 IP, Immediately Goes on DL

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Courtesy of ESPN

Courtesy of ESPN

I tweeted this last night from the game, but having a mound visit with one out in the first inning is a microcosm of the 2016 Red Sox season. Just slow, sloppy, poorly executed baseball. A couple batters later, Kelly pauses, another mound visit, Kelly reaches for his shoulder and even Hanley knows something’s off, immediately waving to the dugout for the trainer. Placed on the DL a couple of hours later. Hey, at least it was Mookie bobblehead night.

I will say the bullpen pitched admirably, Heath Hembree in particular, with 9+ innings of shutout ball, but for Barnes to then give up 3 in the top of the 10th is absolutely brutal. At that point you’re onto your 5th option coming out of the pen because of Kelly’s disastrous outing.

Can’t win without hitting the ball though and the Sox managed all of ONE hit. They went down 1-2-3 in 9 out of 10 innings. Zero baserunners after the 3rd inning. That is absurd and absolutely cannot happen for a team with this kind of payroll. The worst part is that this taxes the bullpen for the rest of the series since Machine Gun’s start required 10 IP from the pen. With Eduardo Rodriguez still a couple of weeks away from returning, the Sox will fire up the I-95 Express to poach someone, anyone from Pawtucket. Only a couple games out of first place still, but another poor week or two and they could easily be 5-10 games out by May. Again. Buckle up boys.