2018 World Series Predictions.

I don't know what's going to happen.

I like the Dodgers offense more than the Red Sox. The Dodgers can hit HRs in any ballpark.

Boston plays in a lot of tiny ballparks. It's a bigger adjustment for them to play in a larger ballpark, like Chavez Ravine.

Pitching-wise, The Red Sox gave up 512 walks in the regular season, compared to 422 (in more innings too) than the Dodgers.

So if Boston pitching continues to walk guys, they will be in more danger.

The Dodgers also have a deep offensive lineup.

Defense, Boston gets the edge. But the Dodgers OF have shown they can make great plays too. But they might have the weakest defensive player between the teams, in Grandal.

I'll just make this pick, even though I don't know what's going to happen.

Dodgers in 5.

Los Angeles

Boston

Los Angeles

Los Angeles

Los Angeles

MVP: Kershaw or Taylor, I'll go with Kershaw. If I was being BOLD, I'd say David Freese.

Some other BOLD Predictions:

Kimbrel will give up a HR, maybe to Justin Turner.

If Puig HRed off of Kimbrel, it would be a battle of two of the most intense guys on each team.

Maybe if Kimbrel played a long relief role, and Kimbrel got on base but was thrown out by Puig, that would be funny too. (Chris Sale could also be substituted for Kimbrel).

Boston will play all 3 catchers, but not necessarily Swihart at a catching position.

Rich Hill will pitch more than 5 IP in a start, but barely.

Maeda and Porcello are dead meat.

Well that was a disappointing game 1 for the pitching staff, though Baez & Urias were terrific despite "giving up" runs. Needed 6 or 7 innings of 2 run ball from Clayton but the Sox were not fooled and didn't swing at the borderline pitches, and then capitalized on his mistakes. Urias & Baez on the other hand just attacked those hitters and did a great job. That bodes well for Walker Buhler's chances of success in the series.

Good point about the walks by Boston pitchers. I think the Dodgers hitters did a good job overall being patient at the plate- just couldn't get the big hit.

Game 2- I think the offense can mustard some runs off of Price, so it is up to Ryu to limit the Sox to 2 or 3 runs in 6 to 7 innings.

If I'm focusing on the positives, when Kershaw had men on the corners, 1 out, in the 2nd inning, he got a GIDP ball.

That's good pitching.

There was one other inning where the Dodgers pitched around men on base.

The Nunez add-on runs was disappointing.

The Dodgers were scoring enough runs and getting enough men on base. But the pitching couldn't keep getting out of trouble.

Game 2- so disappointing. Here you have a 2-1 lead, Ryu starting to get in trouble. I know it's the 5th inning, but you have to treat this game like game 7. Ryan Madson CANNOT be the guy to come in to defuse the situation. I know he had some success vs the Brewers in the NLCS, but to me, Pedro Baez had to be the one to come in there to get that last out. Preserve the lead there, and who knows, this could be a 1-1 series right now. It's an off day tomorrow, so what is the problem in bringing in the big guns early? Now if you lose with the best you have, then it's fine, but it's a bitter pill to swallow when you put in Ryan Madson, a guy with a 5+ ERA this season, a guy who failed the game before as well, into the fire. Seriously??? SMH.

Whenever I think of Ryan Madson, I think of how he blew 2 saves against the Rays in the 2008 WS. The Phillies did win those games, though.

He was good against the Mets in the 2015 WS.

He wasn't that good for Oakland in 2016.

Something about him, if he was so good, he wouldn't be changing teams so often.

Yeah I didn't like seeing him on the playoff rosters, but he did surprise me with some good outings. For me I just got the feeling that it was just a matter of time, that they're just pushing their luck. Dave Roberts insisted putting him in the first 2 games, in these very important tight spots. It's a decent possibility that if those were shutdown performances instead in those situations, Dodgers could be up 2-0 right now.

Well, winning 4 out of 7 vs Boston was already going to be tough. Now 4 out of 5- certainly not impossible, but it's probably like a 10% chance now.

Well, that game 3 went beyond the max time on the DVR. I always have sporting events set to +3 hours beyond the scheduled time.

But I needed to record the 11PM show to pick up where the DVR stopped.

Fortunately, I was only about 1 hour behind real time, so once I saw it was going to extra innings, I set up the additional recording without missing much.

I'm not going to question the move, but I am wondering what would have happened if Buehler went out for the 8th. Even though he'd already had his season high in pitches. Because he looked like he was throwing a no-hitter (even though it wasn't one).

Bellinger had another great catch this postseason.

That was a well pitched game with defense. A battle of wills and focus.

I thought Muncy's earlier ball in extra innings, the one that hooked right, was going to be a HR.

Boston looks to have less available pitchers in game 4, but the Dodgers pitchers still have to go out and pitch. Can't assume the other team will be tired and such, especially when they're behind in the series.

After seeing Baez again, he definitely should have been there in game 2. Not only are his pitches better than Madsen's, but he has more stamina too.

Kind of funny that there were so many pick-offs in this game.

Most games, especially weekday ones, I have to watch on the DVR.

I'll be live for these weekend ones.

Hill in form to start the game.

Scoreless through midway through the 4th.

I've been waiting for a Rich Hill start like this for years. Let's keep it going.

Puig crushes a ball for a 3-run HR.

Ryan Madson makes it a 3 -- 4 game now. I mean, Mitch Moreland's HR did it.

The crowd boos Madson after the end of the top of the 7th.

The crowd boos Madson after the end of the top of the 7th.

I don't know why Dave Roberts loves Madson so much- it's inexplicable. Might as well light a firecracker and close your eyes. SMH.

Puig crushes a ball for a 3-run HR.

Puig has been CLUTCH- loved his patience there that AB.

And there Dave Roberts goes again with Kenley already warming up. To me, Baez/Urias in the 8th and the Kenley in the 9th would be better.

And there Dave Roberts goes again with Kenley already warming up. To me, Baez/Urias in the 8th and the Kenley in the 9th would be better.

Agree 100%.

F**** unbelievable....

Tie game 4 all.

This looked to be a nice efficient game.

Now, who knows.

This series could be 3-1 Dodgers if Dave Roberts hadn't been such buddy-buddies with Madson. You'd think you would learn from your mistakes. Now Kenley gets tagged with a homer once again in the 8th- this could turn to be a 3-1 deficit instead. I really hope the Dodgers players can bail him out this game.

Might have even been a sweep. It could have been a 3 - 3 game with a clean 5th inning in game 1, and maybe the Dodgers win that one.

Might have even been a sweep. It could have been a 3 - 3 game with a clean 5th inning in game 1, and maybe the Dodgers win that one.

That's pushing it a bit but yeah you'd never know.

Here hopefully there's a wild pitch or something to get Puig home. Or it would be great of course for Yas to get a clutch hit- just make contact for goodness sake.

Or not.... Swings and misses at ball 3 to strike out.

This is 1 inning from going into extra innings.

I wonder what the record for combined innings are in games that went into extra innings consecutively, in the WS.

Is your lightbulb always red because you're an admin? Is that new or has it been like that for a while?

I thought the red lightbulb meant "offline".

Now your lightbulb is gray.

Wow I guess Urias and Baez are not available today?

I believe admins & mods have a red bulb.

Red Sox take the lead.

5 - 4.

Wow I guess Urias and Baez are not available today?

I guess not.

Urias only pitched 1 IP yesterday, 11 pitches, so he should have been available.

Ridiculous- so frustrating to watch. To me, the Red Sox have trouble with good hard stuff- and Urias & Baez have been the ones to bring it out of the pen. A dangerous situation in the 7th, neither comes in. Then he tries to have Kenley early again. I'm on the borderline now in terms of wanting Dave Roberts fired- that might be what it takes for the team to win the WS.

Bases super juiced, 2 outs in the top of the 9th.

Ridiculous- so frustrating to watch. To me, the Red Sox have trouble with good hard stuff- and Urias & Baez have been the ones to bring it out of the pen. A dangerous situation in the 7th, neither comes in. Then he tries to have Kenley early again. I'm on the borderline now in terms of wanting Dave Roberts fired- that might be what it takes for the team to win the WS.

I just don't know if they can get to the WS again.

Teams rarely have 3 WS appearances, especially as runners up, in a compressed period of time.

The Braves did it in the 90s.

But it is hard.

MLB teams have a lot of turnover though, so next year's team, both managers and players, can look different.

Pearce blows open the game.

In general, I think every manager is going to make a move that irks a lot of fans.

Whether it's the choice of SP, or bullpen selection, or starting a hitter vs. another one.

This repeated going to Madson, is a tough one. It's been 3 times in this series alone.

I remember when Valverde was struggling for the Tigers in 2012, they went to Phil Coke.

They gave Valverde 2 chances. Then Coke handled it from then on. He helped secure their ALCS win (a series sweep over the Yankees).

The 2 chance rule should have been applied to Madson, before moving on.

For sure- it was so tough to just get back, so it's maddening to see poor decision by the manager have such an impact. Obviously Madson choked, Kenley choked, the hitters collectively have struck out way too much.

This game- such a back-breaking loss, a tough pill to swallow.

If the Rockies get one more pitcher, they should be a factor again. Especially if Story can do what he did this year, next year.

If Harper resigns with the Nationals, I still like their talent.

The Phillies, I expected them to make the playoffs this year. They'll probably do it next year.

Then there's probably 1 contender that surprises teams, next year. And that's just the NL.

The AL should have the Red Sox and Astros again. Throw in one surprise team. And maybe Oakland or Tampa Bay make it again. Not sure what will happen with the Indians. What I mean is that Tampa Bay was close, they could make it next year.

There's a lot of good teams, and this was a chance. It's not like the Dodgers were getting blown out in these WS games.

Not sure what to expect of the Pirates. They've been kind of close to making it. But not sure how long that will last.

It's now 9 - 6, with 1 out.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/la-sp-world-series-hernandez-20181027-story.html

Wow. Unavailable- seriously? This is the World Effin' Series- I'm sure they would have been okay for combining for an inning or two tonight. Would love to hear the words coming out from their mouths saying they were unavailable to pitch. Meanwhile, Ryan Madson is always available somehow. I nominate Ryan Madson as Boston World Series MVP.

Unless he has an audio recording where he said they were unavailable, I don't believe him.

I know Larry Bird did the pre-game 5 promo because he wanted to.

But it's kind of weird pretending that Bird is rooting for the Red Sox, because he played for the Celtics.

Everyone knows he's an Indiana guy. I don't think his alliance to sports extends to other sports, for Boston.

He probably also stopped rooting for the Celtics, once he stopped playing. And went back to rooting for the Pacers.

I guess this is going to have to be an offensive game from the Dodgers, as Steven Pearce hits a 2-run first inning HR.

David Freese with a HR to make it 2 - 1.

Oh yeah here we go- this team will never give up.

Kershaw with a quick top of the 3rd.

I don't care for baseball much... but I've been watching this series, and Boston seems to be the better team. Just my $0.02.

I don't care for baseball much... but I've been watching this series, and Boston seems to be the better team. Just my $0.02.

They probably are- but the very frustrating thing is that the Dodgers could easily be up 3-1 in the series instead of down 3-1.

Kershaw gives up his 3rd HR of the game.

4 - 1.

Ouch- now it's starting slip away from Kershaw & the Dodgers.