The Red Sox did not look good yesterday in an 8-2 loss to Houston in Game One of the ALDS. More on the Red Sox below

–Trevor Bauer pitched an absolute gem for the Indians in their 4-0 win over the Yankees last night. The Indians have the best rotation in the league, and Bauer showed why last night. Not even one of their top three or arguably top four starters, Bauer pitched 6.2 innings of shutout, two-hit baseball, while striking out eight. It was a bold move by Terry Francona to even start him ahead of Corey Kluber or Carlos Carrasco, but it certainly paid off.

-Speaking of Francona, it’s no big secret that the Red Sox made a mistake getting rid of him. Yes, John Farrell won a World Series with the Red Sox, but it wasn’t like he did a whole lot to help them there. I’m not as negative on Farrell as most, but there’s no doubt in my mind Francona is one of the top three managers in baseball along with Joe Maddon and Bruce Bochy, and the fact that the Red Sox got rid of him the way they did was just plain stupid. They used him as the fall guy for the chicken and beer scandal instead of just moving on from it or having ownership take the fall for it, as they should’ve. If Tito was still managing the Red Sox, they may not be facing a must-win Game two today.

-Chris Sale got lit up by the Astros explosive offense yesterday, but the Red Sox offense is more worrisome. Even is Sale pitched better, it’s unlikely the Red Sox would’ve won with just two runs scored. The Astros offense is among the best in baseball, and the Red Sox need to put up at least four runs today to have a chance to win it. A legitimate power threat (Giancarlo Stanton?) should be at the top of Dave Dombrowski’s priority list this offseason.

-We finally have our first reader question. This one comes in from Tony via e-mail:

Q. “Jock Landale had a great season for St. Mary’s last season and he seems like an intriguing NBA prospect. Any thoughts on his draft stock?”

A. Landale is definitely an intriguing prospect. In his junior season, Landale averaged 16.9 PPG to go with 9.5 RPG along with a 33.3 PER for a very good St. Mary’s team. An efficient low post scorer and good free throw shooter especially for his position, Landale doesn’t have a super reliable jumper, which will hurt him with the way the modern NBA is trending, especially since he isn’t a great rim protector. The WCC competition is also definitely a knock against him. However, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a team like the Spurs gamble on Landale in the mid-late 2nd round if he has another good season this year. Regardless, he’s a fun player to watch and is someone to follow if you’re interested in college basketball as he’ll be one of the best players in the sport this season.

-My World Series Prediction: Indians over Cubs in 6. A rematch of last season’s matchup, I think the Indians are the best team in the AL, and while the Dodgers have the most talent in the NL, I think the Cubs playoff experience will come in handy and with the playoffs more or less being a crapshoot in the MLB, I don’t think it’s too far-fetched to predict them returning to the World Series. Once they get there though, I think the Indians talented pitching staff will be too much and they’ll avenge their loss from last season.

-Come check out Unified Basketball’s first blue-white scrimmage in the gym today after school

Let’s hope the Red Sox can pull it out today against the Astros (2:05 PM on FS1)