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Sean M. Haffey/Getty ImagesThe Boston Red Sox captured their ninth World Series title Sunday night http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-manny-machado-jersey , defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 in Game 5 at Dodger Stadium.Red Sox manager Alex Cora unexpectedly called on David Price instead of Chris Sale to start the fifth game of the Fall Classic, and the gambit paid off, as Price pitched seven-plus innings, allowing one earned run and striking out five batters.Boston hitters roughed up Clayton Kershaw en route to an 8-4 win in Game 1, and they had Kershaw's number again. The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner surrendered four earned runs in seven innings.Steve Pearce bookended the Red Sox's run-scoring. He hit a two-run home run in the first inning to put them ahead 2-0 and then had a solo homer in the eighth to add another insurance run.David Price Rewrites October Narrative with Another Dominant StartEven casual baseball fans were probably aware of David Price's5.03 postseason ERAentering the playoffs; the subject had been discussed a lot both this year and amid the fallout from last season's American League Division Series exit.It looked like history was going to repeat itself when Price gave up seven runs in his first two starts of the 2018 playoffs. Then he allowed just three earned runs over 19.2 innings in four appearances (three starts) to close out his first World Series title.Beyond just how good he was on the mound, Price's flexibility was vital for Boston.Buster Olney Buster_ESPNDavid Price started Game 2. Pitched in relief in Game 3. Warmed up in Game 4. Starts in Game 5 and has controlled the Dodgers -- 1 run in 6 innings.Matthew Pouliot matthewpouliotDavid Price in Bostons last 7 games:ALCS Game 4: Warmed up for over an inningALCS Game 5: Six scoreless in winWS Game 1: RestedWS Game 2: Six innings, two runs in winWS Game 3: Two outs in reliefWS Game 4: Warmed up in ninthWS Game 5: Seven innings, one run (so far)The five-time All-Star seemed to know exactly what was on the line. He wasn't just pitching to get the Red Sox another title; he was attempting to exorcise the ghosts of Octobers past. And in the space of a few weeks, Price has immortalized himself forever in Boston.Chris Cotillo ChrisCotilloDavid Price is fired up. This story is one of redemption, my friends. Six outs away.Chris Mannix ChrisMannixYSAs redemption stories go, David Price is authoring a tremendous one. Has been a target since he signed that $217 million contract. Will be beloved in Boston for life if he closes this thing out.Ian Browne IanMBrowneDavid Price makes John Lackeys 2013 transformation from fan villain to fan favorite look almost insignificant. This is like nothing Ive seen.It's somewhat ironic Price's redemption came at the expense of Kershaw, who allowed nine earned runs in his two World Series starts. There's an alternate reality in which Kershaw is hailed as the postseason hero, heaping further misery upon Price.Prior to the start of the 2018 season, some Red Sox fans were probably hoping Price would opt out of the remaining four years and$127 millionon his contract. Now, those same fans will be worried the veteran left-hander might see just how much his World Series performance is worth on the open market.Dodgers' Championship Window Rapidly Closing Ahead of Pivotal OffseasonTwo or three years ago, the Dodgers appeared to have the strongest foundation of any team in baseball. They had a roster capable of winning a title and afarm systemthat was flush with budding stars.Now, the franchise has lost in the playoffs in six consecutive seasons, and, more importantly, Los Angeles is facing a murky future.Manny Machado is headed for free agency, and the Dodgers will assuredly have strong competition from the New York Yankees for his signature.Kershaw canopt outof his contract, and, while he seems a surer bet to return, his days as the best starter in MLB may be over. His disappointing playoffs capped off a year in which he had hishighest FIP(3.19) and hisfewest strikeouts(8.6 per nine innings) since his rookie season, per Baseball Reference.Likewise, Kenley Jansen had theworst FIPof his career (4.03) in the regular season and is owed$56 millionover the next three years.Jansen was dominant in the playoffs Logan Forsythe Jersey , though, which will ease some of the pressure he would've otherwise faced.And nobody will receive more criticism in the offseason than Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.Chad Jennings chadjennings22Loud boos when Dave Roberts name was just announced pregame. The Dodgers faithful seem to have lost some faith.Abbey Mastracco AbbeyMastraccoI dont know what to make of Dave Roberts right now. It seems like he managed this series like it was the regular season. Meanwhile, Alex Cora managed very aggressively.The Dodgers aren't in dire straits. Corey Seager will be back healthy in 2019.Julio Urias and Walker Buehler are 22 and 24, respectively.Justin Turner is the only key position player over the age of 30. And the franchise can continue to maintain one of MLB's highest payrolls.But there are tough questions Los Angeles will have to answer.Losing Kershaw or having him continue to slowly decline will have an impact on the rotation, and the same goes for Jansen and the bullpen if he doesn't return to his usual self in 2019.Losing Machado would hurt the lineup. The Dodgers may not be able to count upon Max Muncy to slug .582 again either. Opposing teams seemed to figure out Chris Taylor a little more after his breakout in 2017.For a team that has been so singularly focused on winning the World Series, next season could represent a step backward.Red Sox Clear World Series Favorites in 2019 After Legendary SeasonWinning 108 games is probably out of the question in 2019, but the Red Sox have everything required to repeat as champions.The Price opt-out decision will linger throughout the offseason. Beyond that, the spring should be pretty much drama-free for the Red Sox.Craig Kimbrel is Boston's most notable free agent, and the team may be comfortable letting him go. Finding another closer would be better than having to pay Kimbrel between$15 million and $20 million, which is the going rate for proven free-agent closers.Pearce, Joe Kelly and Nathan Eovaldi all played a role in Boston's title triumph, but none of the three is irreplaceable.More than anything, the Red Sox's best players are in the primes of their careers.Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers are all 26 or younger. Betts is likely the American League MVP, and teammate J.D. Martinez should finish in the top five.Chris Sale delivered another Cy Young-caliber season, while Price and Rick Porcello have settled into their roles as the secondary aces to the left-hander.Manager Alex Cora also handled the postseason like an experienced vet in his first year.The Red Sox followed up their last World Series win by finishing with 71 victories in 2014. This team is different. Whereas that championship was a bit of an outlier, Boston had been building to this for years. What's Next?The Red Sox will open their spring training schedule Feb. 22 against the Northeastern Huskies. The Dodgers will take on the Chicago White Sox on Feb. 23. Boston and Los Angeles will play one another in the 2019 regular season, as the Red Sox host a three-game series July 12-14. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Yes, the narrative of Joe Mauer’s career was missing a championship chapter. That plotline stalled for a few years while the star was set back by injuries.Still, this story of the Minnesota native with the smooth left-handed swing who played for the Twins the entire time sure was made for a movie.Six weeks after Mauer symbolically donned his catcher’s gear for one last crouch behind the plate in the final inning of the season , Mauer formalized his goodbye to the game at a tear-filled-yet-cheerful news conference to wrap up a 15-year major league career at age 35.“I’ve been fortunate enough to have the personal accolades, and I really do believe that’s a byproduct of how the team does, and those things just come along with it,” Mauer said. “But I’d want to be known as a great teammate, a great person http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-mark-lowe-jersey , and a guy who gave it everything he had.”Even the closing credits were memorable.Mauer carefully flipped through a stack of note cards over a 15-minute thank-you on Monday to the people he’s closest to with a stack of tissues in front of him on the podium. He needed them immediately, when the mention of his parents, Jake and Teresa, caused his eyes to water and his voice to waver.“You helped keep me grounded and never let me forget my roots,” said Mauer, who began honing his skills at the sandlots and rec centers of St. Paul, less than 10 miles from the big league ballparks in Minneapolis he first began playing in at age 20 to open the 2004 seasons.That’s the same city where Hall of Fame members Jack Morris, Paul Molitor and Dave Winfield were raised. Mauer’s final tally of 2,123 hits might ultimately leave him short of the call to Cooperstown, but he was clearly on that track over the first 10 years of his career considering he hit .323 with an .873 on-base-plus-slugging percentage until a concussion in 2013 forced him to move out from behind the plate and become a first baseman. Mauer is the only American League catcher to win a batting title, a feat he accomplished three times: 2006, 2008 and 2009.The six-time All-Star finished with a .306 lifetime average“The naysayers will talk about maybe not enough career numbers, a little decline at the end … but there’s going to be a lot of numbers that put him right in the mix with some of the Hall of Famers,” Molitor said. “So I’m obviously a little bit biased. I’d love to see it happen.”The latest concussion in May that kept him out for a month, Mauer said, caused him to seriously consider retiring for the first time. The expiration of his eight-year, $184 million contract in October created a natural parting, but the long-term effect of head injuries and his dedication to family weighed much heavier than an MLB-best .407 batting average this year with runners in scoring position.The respect for Mauer was evident with the appearance of former Twins managers Molitor, Ron Gardenhire and Tom Kelly and ex-general managers Terry Ryan and Bill Smith. Molitor was fired last month and replaced by Rocco Baldelli, who also showed up.So did Mauer’s former teammates Glen Perkins, Justin Morneau and Corey Koskie. His coach at Cretin-Derham Hall High School, Jim O’Neill, who taught him to never swing at the first pitch, was there. His maternal grandparents, who attended all but about a dozen of his home games with the Twins, a staggering total of approximately 1 Kenta Maeda Jersey ,200, attended as well.With his wife, Maddie, due any day with the couple’s third child, Mauer’s focus for now will be on husband and father rather than fielding and hitting. He said he’ll stay connected to his hometown team in some capacity and will, in case there were any question, raise his kids in Minnesota.Ryan sat in the front row of the packed room in the basement of Target Field as Mauer expressed his gratitude for the decision to draft him in 2001 with the first overall pick instead of Mark Prior or Mark Teixeira.“There were a lot of great options out there, but I’m so thankful you had the confidence in me, and it means more to me than you’ll ever know,” Mauer said.Making so much money and missing so many games soured the cynical portions of the fan base on Mauer, but even if he had stayed healthy like Cal Ripken Jr. and hit home runs like Harmon Killebrew he would have carried immense pressure playing in his home territory.“I knew what it was like for me, and it was times 100 for him,” said Perkins, another Minnesota native who spent his whole career with the Twins.In the end, Mauer’s maturity and poise stuck with his admirers as much as his keen eye and textbook swing.Morneau, who was Mauer’s closest friend on the Twins during the 10 seasons they played together, recalled hitting a home run during an afternoon game in 2006 while playing with a bit of a hangover from an outing at a St. Paul bar the night before. Mauer wasn’t so impressed.“I said, ‘How can you argue with that?'” Morneau said, smiling. “And he said, ‘How do you know if you weren’t hung over you wouldn’t have hit two homers?’ And I said, ‘You know what? He’s got a point.'”Morneau went on to the AL MVP award that year. Mauer won it three seasons later.“He was as special a hitter as you could watch,” Morneau said, “and I had the best seat in the house for a long time.”