Category: MLB

The Tampa Bay Rays have evened up the series thanks to a fantastic performance from Nick Martinez and the offensive big three coming alive.

Now the Guardians and Rays will basically play a best of three series to determines who will take the American League pennant and move on to face the Milwaukee Brewers in the World Series.

Standing in the Rays way this afternoon is southpaw Parker Messick, who the Rays faced and beat in the second game of the ALCS, mostly thanks to a well timed error by future Hall of Famer Jose Ramirez. Overall, Messick allowed three runs — zero earned — on six hits, while walking two and striking out three.

Meanwhile the ace of the Rays staff, Drew Rasmussen, returns to the mound after a solid performance in the first game of this series. Rasmussen battled the Cleveland lineup for the duration of his outing as the Guardians hitters grinded through each at bat and managed to collect eight hits. Still, the Guardians only managed two runs, both on solo homeruns, while striking out seven times and didn’t draw a walk. Rasmussen pitched into the 7th inning but was done for the day after Patrick Bailey tagged him for a homerun.

The Rays will need a lengthy performane from Rasmussen this afternoon after the bullpen’s hefty usage during game four, but there isn’t anyone else they’d rather have on the mound today.

With the Yankees’ season over for 2026, we here at Pinstripe Alley have been looking back at the campaign. With how it ended, a lot of our coverage has come through a lens of frustration, but we’ve looked back at some of the good and bad all the same. However, now it’s time to look back on some pure stupidity.

We’ve ranked things like the best and worst moments of the year. We’ve talked about some of the best individual performances of the season. However, I am a connoisseur of stupid baseball: games that go 15 innings, ones that feature game changing plays that are ridiculous errors instead of home runs, stuff like that. Every year, I like to take part in our end-of-season reviews by ranking the dumbest games of the year, and we’ve reached that point for 2026.

Now, it should be noted, this is not a worst games of the season list (or worst moments; check out Andrés for that). We’re not just ranking the most consequential losses, or biggest blown leads, or whatever. This is purely the games that were the dumbest in how they played out.

Honorable Mention

It didn’t feel right putting it in the rankings since there was no baseball actually played, but we’ll give a mention to the rainout on the final day of the regular season. With a nor’easter wreaking havoc and the game not meaning anything in the standings for either the Yankees or Orioles, it was obvious this game was never actually going to be played. However, the game was put into a delay and just stayed there for hours until it was finally called off. The Yankees never even actually released a lineup. Ridiculous.

5. September 25th – Orioles 10, Yankees 2

The aforementioned nor’easter messed with the entirety of the final series of the season, which had an impact on some other events. The Yankees were planning on holding the ceremony for CC Sabathia’s number retirement ahead of the game against the Orioles on Saturday, September 26th. However, the expected rain led to the teams instead forgoing Saturday’s game in favor of a doubleheader on Friday. The new plan was to hold Sabathia’s ceremony ahead of the opening game of the twin bill (in accordance with his wishes). However with it now being an afternoon game on a weekday, the crowd was not remotely as full as it could’ve or should’ve been for a moment like that.

Plus, when the game started, the Yankees got absolutely blown to smithereens. The Yankees gave Brendan Beck a spot start as they prepared for the postseason, and he got smoked for seven runs in five innings. We honestly weren’t far away from seeing if CC himself could eat some innings out of the bullpen.

4. August 3rd – Cardinals 13, Yankees 7

After a rare bad outing from Cam Schlittler, the Yankees found themselves down 6-0 going into the bottom of the fifth. Back-to-back homers from Austin Wells and Trent Grisham cut into the lead, but they still trailed in the seventh. There, a trio of homers brought the Yankees all the way back, with a two-run moonshot from Luis García Jr. give the Bombers a very unexpected lead.

However, the good vibes from that comeback only lasted so long. Ryan Yarbrough allowed a triple to lead off the eighth, at which point Angel Chivili came in. Chivili’s final numbers for the season only look so-so, but that’s almost entirely because of this game. He had a 0.57 ERA in 15.2 innings coming in and wouldn’t appear again after this performance (at least partially due to injury). In this game, Chivili allowed seven runs on six hits, including three home runs. In one inning of work, he put up a -0.512 Win Probability Added. Losing games after big comebacks happen, but rarely do they happen in such an immediate and drastic way.

3. ALDS Game 1 – October 3rd – Rays 1, Yankees 0

As I said, this isn’t purely a ranking of the most meaningful losses, but as it happens, one of those was also especially dumb. After crushing the Red Sox in the Wild Card Series, the Yankees then went to the Trop to take on the Rays. They then proceeded to get no-hit into the eighth inning by Rays’ ace Drew Rasmussen. Plus, when they finally did get it hit on an Austin Wells double, this happened, and it ended up being the only one they got:

2. July 29th – White Sox 6, Yankees 5 (12 innings)

In general, I’m not one to truly hate on a Yankee player. Sure, there are some bad ones that pop up every now and then, but usually any anger I have is to the front office/management for putting them in bad situations, rather than hating a player who is generally trying their best. However, one particular play made me something of a hater when it comes to backup catcher Ali Sánchez.

In one game in Chicago against the White Sox, the Yankees had already blown a late lead, sending it to extra innings. In the 11th, they got the lead back thanks to an Anthony Volpe sacrifice fly. In what turned out to be his final game as a Yankee, Camilo Doval entered for the 11th and got two quick outs, albeit one was a grounder that did allow the auto-runner to move to third. However, the Yankees were just one out away, and all they had to do was focus on Andrew Benintendi at the plate.

Someone apparently forgot to remind Sánchez that. Following a pitch during the next at-bat, he attempted to check back Munetaka Murakami at third. However, his throw got past Ryan McMahon, allowing Murakami to come home and tie the game.

Errors happen to even the best players and best defenders, yes. However, what was so galling about that one was that — to use a tennis term — it was unforced. Again, they were an out away from the win, you just needed to focus on the batter. Sure, throw to third if you catch the runner completely sleeping and a mile off the bag, but that wasn’t the case. The risk was too much considering the consequences if it went wrong, and it went very wrong. Naturally, the White Sox proceeded to win the game the following inning.

1. September 16th – Twins 5, Yankees 4 (13 innings)

The Yankees’ struggles in extra innings since the introduction of the automatic runner are often remarked on. Since that rule was introduced in 2020, the Yankees have gone 49-54 in extra inning games. While that’s not that far under .500, they actually went 25-18 in extras from 2020-22, so they have just a .400 winning percentage since then. They’ve also been the second-worst road team in extras in this time at 19-36. Arguably no game epitomizes those struggles than this one.

Having been shutout for eight innings at Target Field, the Yankees somewhat miraculously tied the game with two outs in the ninth on a two-RBI double from Anthony Volpe. Mind you, a lot of us, including Volpe himself, thought the ball was going over the fence for a two-run homer. However, it didn’t and the Yankees couldn’t score Volpe, sending it to extras.

In the top of 10th, Ali Sánchez, of all people, came up with a single to score the auto-runner and give the Yankees the lead. Despite having closer David Bednar on the hill, the Yankees couldn’t close the deal as Luke Keaschall hit a game-tying single on just the third pitch of the inning, and Bednar eventually needed a double play to escape the inning.

However in the 11th, José Caballero hit a sacrifice fly to restore that lead. Surely, they could hold on this time? No, Bednar again allowed a lead-off single, with a run then scoring on a Royce Lewis sacrifice fly.

To start the 12th, the Yankees put the first two runners on, adding to the auto-runner to load the bases. However, a Heliot Ramos double play and a Sánchez groundout caused the Yankees to put up a goose egg. Eventually all of that came back to haunt the Yankees. In the 13th, Victor Caratini singled off John Schreiber to win the game for the Twins.

This was also the game where Aaron Judge exited early with a calf injury, from which he never returned.

It wasn’t the most meaningful loss of the season — although with the Yankees still trying to chase down Tampa Bay in the division, it wasn’t nothing — however, it absolutely was the most ridiculous.

That’s my list, but what else should be on there?

There are, possibly, only six more MLB games left on the calendar for 2026. Ten at most. Baseball has been a part of our daily lives going back to March. But in a few short weeks it will be gone. Winter will come. And with a looming lockout, there’s no telling how long that winter will last. But while we don’t yet know when we’ll see MLB baseball next, we do when we’ll next see some banana ball. The Savannah Bananas released their 2027 schedule, which stretches from early February to late September, including international dates and games played in football stadia. As for New England, we get summer stops in Worcester and Portland. (Boston Globe)

But about that looming lockout. How will CBA negotiations be impacted by the fact that the three teams left standing represent three of the smallest markets in baseball? “Under the soon-expiring CBA that has governed the sport since 2022, spending had a correlation coefficient of 0.31 to team wins and losses — meaning, if carving the pie of what goes into successful team building, about 31 percent of it would go to how much a team spent. That’s a lot — and, in fact, is up from a 0.23 correlation coefficient in the prior two CBAs (2012-16, ′17-21). But the other things that go into team-building — scouting and drafting well, coaching and developing players to be their best, well-integrated analytics, culture, luck, and more — account collectively for a much larger share of the pie that determines team success.” (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)

One of the small market Brewers’ keys to success this year has been the production of late-bloomer Jake Bauers. Could he be a good fit for the Sox this offseason? “Bauers may not be a household name. But a peek under the hood at his profile paints the picture of a late bloomer who doesn’t strike out often, works the count, and has a propensity for tearing the cover off the ball. Given Boston’s emphasis on bat speed and hard-hit percentages, a player like Bauers should hold plenty of appeal.” (Connor Ryan, Boston.com)

Even if the Sox do sign Jake Bauers in the offseason, the most intriguing new player at Spring Training next year will likely be super-prospect Franklin Arias. Everyone already knows about him, so here’s a look at a few other, more under-the-radar names making their way up the Red Sox organizational ladder. (Ian Browne, MLB.com)

The Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer experiences will perhaps lead the Sox to exercise additional caution with respect to Arias. But the fact of the matter is that he’s doing to determine a lot about how the 2027 Red Sox roster fits together. “I am 100 percent convinced that he’s ready to be their everyday shortstop,” said one MLB evaluator witha rival team.Initially, however, that could come with its own issues. To install Arias, untested, as the team’s starting shortstop, would mean displacing Trevor Story, who remains a hugely popular and respected figure in the Red Sox clubhouse.“ (Sean McAdam, MassLive)

With this photo, I resume my photo sleuthing series that I generally run in baseball offseasons.

Before I get to this one, I’ll again put out a call: If you have any old Cubs or Wrigley Field (or even other baseball) photos you’d like me to sleuth, please send them along!

The sleuthing project for this photo isn’t about the date or location, because I already know that from the filename of the photo when I found it. It was “houstoncoltsfirstgamecubs.jpg.”

So this photo shows the very first pitch thrown by Houston’s MLB franchise. The pitcher is Bobby Shantz, who had been a pretty good lefty for the Philadelphia A’s a decade earlier — AL MVP in 1952 — and also put together some good years for the Yankees later in the 1950s, pitching for them in the World Series in 1957 and 1960. By 1961 he was about to turn 36 and so was left unprotected in the expansion draft.

Picked up by Houston, he was made their Opening Day starter on this day, April 11, 1962. This photo depicts him throwing that first pitch, to Lou Brock, that day’s leadoff hitter for the Cubs. Shantz wound up striking out Brock.

The sleuthing I’d like you to do is this. On the scoreboard, it shows Brock’s average as .353. That might be a bit small in the photo at the top of the post, so here’s a screenshot enlarging it:

Now, that couldn’t be possible if you’re the first batter of the season in your first at-bat, right?

I thought maybe this might be his BA from spring training. Unfortunately, back in that day, newspapers didn’t really keep track of spring numbers like they do now. In fact, MLB doesn’t have any spring stats on its website from before 2006. In trying to find out Brock’s 1962 spring BA, I did find one note that said he had hit safely in 18 straight spring games. Based on that, a .353 spring BA for Brock is certainly plausible.

Thus I’ll leave it to the sleuths among you: Can you find definitive proof of Brock’s 1962 spring batting average? Let us know.

The Cubs went 18-9 in spring training in 1962. Billy Williams had been the 1961 NL Rookie of the Year, and many observers were very high on Brock, who was about to turn 23 and who had played just four games for the Cubs in ‘61, and another rookie, Ken Hubbs. Many writers thought the Cubs could finish sixth or seventh in the new 10-team NL in 1962, which would have been an improvement over their 90-loss, seventh out of eight finish in ‘61.

Welp. Didn’t happen. The upstart expansion Colts pounded 13 hits, including three home runs, off five Cubs pitchers and won that Opening Day game 11-2. Ernie Banks’ first homer of the year (he’d hit 37 that year) was about the only Cubs highlight of the game. In fact, Houston swept that opening series and wound up finishing ahead of the Cubs, going 64-96 to the Cubs’ 59-103. It was the first-ever 100-loss season for the Cubs, which they wound up matching in 1966.

Shantz threw a complete game that day, but it was one of only three games he would pitch for Houston. On May 7 he was traded to the Cardinals for John Anderson and Carl Warwick. Warwick would later play for the Cubs in 1966, and Shantz pitched in 20 games for the Cubs in 1964 after coming over in the infamous deal that would send Brock to the Cardinals.

Just another little slice of Cubs and MLB history. And let us know if you find definitive proof of Lou Brock’s spring BA in 1962.

The 1950s were an incredible era for the Yankees. They won six championships in the decade, and a few more in the years immediately before and after it. You can probably name the legends from that time: Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford. However, every team needs supporting pieces, and one of that era’s would be celebrating a birthday today.

Andrew Arthur “Andy” Carey
Born: October 18, 1931 (Oakland, CA)
Died: December 15, 2011 (Newport Beach, CA)
Yankees Tenure: 1952-60

At birth, Carey was known as Andrew Arthur Hexem. However, his parents split when he was young and Carey didn’t have much contact with his biological father after that. His mother eventually remarried to Kenneth Carey — who had been her divorce attorney — and the future Yankee took on his stepfather’s last name.

Carey and his stepfather bonded over sports, and it became clear in his youth that the son was quite good at one. A star pitcher and third baseman in high school, Carey rebuffed several MLB teams and instead attended St. Mary’s College in the Bay Area. However, the school dropped their baseball program due to monetary issues after his freshman season, leading to Carey listening to major league offers. He eventually agreed to terms with the Yankees for $60,000 — a record for the franchise in the aftermath of the “Bonus Baby” rule being repealed.

With the Yankees, Carey had the reputation as a bit of a cocky young player. He made the team out of spring training 1952 after impressing in the Grapefruit League, but ended up spending the year going up and down from the minors. He stuck around starting in 1953 and would be a fixture for the team for years to come.

While he would spend most of his career at third base, the Yankees initially hoped to make him as flexible as possible in the field, as they looked to find a potential successor to Phil Rizzuto at shortstop. However, Carey viewed himself as a third baseman and pushed back against manager Casey Stengel. That would be a recurring them throughout Carey’s career, as he often was the subject of Stengel’s anger. Stengel heard from Carey’s minor league career that he could be motivated through anger. Carey was also winning to talk back himself, and the two would butt heads throughout the third baseman’s career.

On the field, Carey had his good years and bad. He broke out in 1954, hitting .302/.373/.423 in 122 games. He was credited with 3.6 fWAR that season, but only had two others where he was over even 1.5. However, he was still a fixture for the team in a highly successful era.

Despite being part of the team in 1953, Carey did not appear in that year’s victorious World Series. However, Carey did appear in four Fall Classics over his career, helping the Yankees win two of them: 1956 and ‘58. While he didn’t hit particularly well in either of those victorious series, he appeared in all and started six of seven games in 1956. He was also credited with making some key defensive plays to help preserve Don Larsen’s perfect game, and he later drove in a run during New York’s narrow 3-1 victory over Milwaukee in the 1957 opener.

He only recorded one hit in 1958, but it was an eighth inning single in Game 7, and he was on base for Bill Skowron’s three-run homer that basically put the series to bed.

For his career as a Yankee, Carey hit .266/.332/.397, which graded out to an exactly average 100 OPS+. However, with a new crop of youngsters coming through, Carey ended up being surpassed at third base by Clete Boyer. He only appeared in 41 games in 1959. After a handful of games the following season, the Yankees traded him to the Kansas City Athletics for Bob Cerv in May 1960.

Carey was traded a couple more times over his final years. He played for all of the A’s, White Sox, and Dodgers over the 1960-62 seasons. He also had been traded to the Phillies by the White Sox, but refused to report to Philadelphia. Eventually, Chicago worked out a deal with the Dodgers, where Carey would spend the final season of his career. He retired from baseball following the 1962 season.

Following his playing career, Carey settled back in the LA area and sold insurance (when he wasn’t scuba diving). He was married a couple times throughout his life, including one to actress Lucy Marlow. One of his children with Marlow — James — tragically died at the age of 23. Some sources cite his death as coming in a car crash, but SABR postulates that his name, location, and death date matches up with that of a man who was killed in a shootout with police following a robbery. Carey himself passed away in 2011 at the age of 80 due to Lewy body dementia.

Andy Carey doesn’t quite get the level of acclaim that a lot of other Yankees of that era do, but all of them played some role in one of the most impressive dynasties to ever grace the field.

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

Happy Sunday everybody. Here take these links. No really, take them. Take them quickly. You have to go! Right now! Run! RUN!

In Mariners news…

• Carlos Mendoza, who earlier this week joined the Phillies coaching staff, reportedly withdrew his name from consideration as the next Mariners manager to accept his new job. One would certainly hope, and perhaps expect, that a manager job would be more desirable than an assistant coach job, and this news does not inspire a ton of confidence in how the search is going.

• Adam Jude at the Seattle Times laid out five of the core questions that the organization has to find answers for before the lockout starts.
• A handful of players formerly on minor league contracts elected free agency earlier this week, including infielder Miles Mastrobuoni.

Around the league…

• The Rays big bats led the way in their Game 4 win over the Guardians last night to even the series at two games apiece. Game 5 is in Cleveland today at 2:08 pmPST on TBS.
• Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto may spend less time behind the plate next season, as it seems his thirteenth season behind the plate really took a big toll on him. Realmuto himself seemed to cite the responsibilities of ABS challenges as being especially draining.

There were a lot of problems with the 2026 Mets, a depressing and lengthy list that we don’t need to rehash here. The bullpen, however, was not one of them. Prior to the trade deadline, the Mets’ relief corp posted a 3.82 ERA with a 3.79 xERA and 15.1 K-BB%. That latter mark ranked 4th in baseball, and those numbers get even better if you remove Devin Williams’ contributions.

Brooks Raley was a big part of that success. Over 41.1 innings, the 38-year-old posted a 2.45 ERA with a 2.37 xERA. For most of the year, he was a highly effective 7th inning or setup man in Carlos Mendoza’s and then Andy Green’s arsenal.

That performance certainly earned Raley some advocates among Met fans, but was more a classic instance of a decent reliever having a hot couple months rather than someone ascending to elite status. Raley’s stuff metrics remained just okay. His slider is a plus pitch, but everything else was effectively slop. He survived more on weak contact than a particular propensity for whiffs, and his 15.0% K-BB% ranked an unremarkable 75th among relievers. The writing was pretty clearly on the wall for some sort of regression.

Enjoyably but unsurprisingly, said regression hit after Raley was shipped down to Philadelphia. He posted a 7.94 ERA over 11.1 innings with the Phillies, was a significant contributor to what would’ve been one of the most epic late-season collapses of all time, and was ultimately left off the postseason roster for the Wild Card round. Funnily, there wasn’t really a huge change to Raley before and after the trade; this was effectively the same pitcher just getting wildly different results. That’s baseball, Susan.

Now, the Mets surely would’ve preferred to be in a position where Raley’s strong first four months actually helped them reach the postseason, but they were able to parlay that performance into a couple interesting prospects. John Spikerman is a speed and OBP-oriented 4th outfield prospect, one who saw an uptick in exit velocities before the trade and actually hit for more after joining the Mets. To be clear, this took his power from “none” to “a bit below average.” That’s enough to make him an actual prospect who could play a bench role at some point in the next season or two.

Luke Gabrysh, meanwhile, continues to show some truly disgusting stuff; he had the best slider in MiLB per Stuff+, and had one of the ten best arsenals overall. Public facing stuff metrics are imperfect (and vastly inferior to what teams are using at this point), but these sort of numbers mean a lot more than his minor league ERA and indicate that the Mets got a potential steal here. Expect him to feature somewhat prominently in this offseason’s list process.

So yes, the Mets did not get exactly what they wanted out of Raley’s hot four months. But they made the best of a bad situation, leveraging an unsustainable performance to pick the pocket of a division rival at the deadline. Hopefully Gabrysh and Spikerman can twist that knife further for the Phillies in 2027 and beyond.

Carlos Mendoza’s disappointing finish in Queens did not keep him out of the running for another managerial gig.

The ex-Mets skipper, who was fired midseason following the club’s disappointing 34-47 start, was a candidate for the Mariners’ managerial vacancy, according to ESPN.

Despite Seattle’s interest, Mendoza ultimately withdrew from consideration to join Philadelphia as third base and infield coach.

After parting ways with Dan Wilson at season’s end, the Mariners, along with the Astros, are one of two teams in search of a new manager.

Mendoza, 46, spent more than a decade in various roles with the Yankees, including infield and bench coach, before taking over as Mets manager ahead of the 2024 campaign.

He oversaw a memorable 2024 squad that rebounded from a tough start to make a surprise run to the National League Championship Series, where they fell to the Dodgers in six games.

The Mets surged out of the gate in 2025, only to suffer a second-half collapse that saw their playoff hopes vanish on the final day of the regular season.

A plethora of injuries and a 12-game losing streak in April sank New York’s season, leading to Mendoza’s dismissal in late June and the hiring of Andy Green.

The Mendoza-led Mets went 206-199 during his two-and-a-half seasons at the helm.

Mendoza now joins the Mets’ National League East rival’s revamped coaching staff in the wake of another early postseason exit.

Philadelphia surprisingly retained Don Mattingly as manager but parted ways with hitting coach Kevin Long and infield coach Bobby Dickerson — paving the way for Mendoza’s hiring.

The Phillies finished 2026 with a fielding run value of -20, seventh-worst among all MLB teams, according to Baseball Savant.

Among Mendoza’s challenges will be working with $300 million shortstop Trea Turner, who posted an abysmal defensive season, leading to a “mandatory” warning from team president Dave Dombrowski to improve or be moved off the position.

“If he plays [shortstop] like he did in 2026, he can’t,” Dombrowski said of Turner. “And he totally understands that.

“We’ve already given him some information ourselves that we think could be helpful. Of course, Carlos Mendoza will be responsible for working with him.”

MLB free agency cannot begin until the season concludes after the World Series, but the San Diego Padres are not waiting for the end of this season before they start building for the future. It was reported on Saturday that San Diego had agreed to a minor league deal with Japanese pitcher Tatsuya Nogami.

Lincoln Zdunich of Gaslamp Ball said the numbers on Nogami are limited, but he is an intriguing prospect with a multi-pitch arsenal. When the Friar Faithful get to see Nogami in action is unknown, but Zdunich thinks there could be a chance he gets an invite to Spring Training to see what he can do against top-level MLB talent.

Young controllable pitching is something the Padres have lacked in recent years due to a multitude of mid-season trades. Nogami provides that if he can be developed in the San Diego system under pitching coach Ruben Niebla.

This may not be a big-name, flashy signing but it is a start.

Another player who could see an opportunity to show what he can do is Alex McCoy, who has shown the ability to crush the baseball at the minor league level. Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball says the problem is he is still very much a swing-and-miss candidate. McCoy has been getting some headlines in the Arizona Fall League and could be someone to watch in the minor league system as the Padres push him to show more at each of the next levels.

Padres News:

• Ethan Salas made his long-anticipated MLB debut with the Padres at the end of the 2026 season, but that does not mean he walks into 2027 as the starter behind the plate.

Baseball News:

• The Tampa Bay Rays took Game 4 of the ALCS from the Cleveland Guardians and tied the seres, 2-2.

• Here is the information you need for where and when to watch Game 5 of the ALCS.

I’ll admit that there was a strong urge to tune out of the postseason once the Rays swept the Yankees in the ALDS. With the Dodgers and Brewers on a collision course in the NLCS, LA having swept the Brewers in the same round last year, and two of the stingiest teams in the Rays and Guardians set to square off in the ALCS Frugality Bowl, there was a feeling of inevitability that the Dodgers would match the Yankees as the only teams to three-peat in the last half-century. However, there was a different buzz emanating from this year’s Brewers squad, and four games later I know who I’ll be rooting for to win the World Series. Here are the reasons I want the Crew to be the ones lifting their very first Commissioner’s Trophy in less than two weeks’ time.

They swept the Dodgers! David* vanquished Goliath, the upstart rebels unseated the Ancien Régime. Selfishly as a Yankees fan, it is reassuring to know that the Yankees will remain the only team in over 50 years to win three World Series in a row. But I think it’s a win for the sport that the perennially contending Brewers finally defeated the new Evil Empire in baseball. And they didn’t just find a thermal exhaust port to blow up the Death Star, they blew it out of the sky with overwhelming firepower.

*The Dodgers were understandable NLCS favorites, but I suppose a team with 103 wins can only be so accurately described as ”David.”

They have two of the most exciting young players in the sport! On his day, Jacob Misiorowski is the most dominant starting pitcher I’ve seen since the 92 supernatural innings from Jacob deGrom in 2021. Between the regular season and postseason, he has thrown over 1,200 pitches 100 mph or faster and threw the fastest pitch by a starter ever at 106 mph, redefining what we know about the limits of pitcher velocity. Jackson Chourio keeps finding new ways to amaze this postseason. Leadoff and walk-off home runs, spectacular defensive plays — we are truly watching a superstar born before our eyes.

They’re not some Punch and Judy slap-hitting squad, they hit bombs! Or at the very least, they’ve picked an opportune time to really start hitting bombs after finishing second-to-last in the majors with 154 home runs. Milwaukee leads all postseason teams with 10 homers, many of them coming in pivotal spots to change the lead or supply valuable late insurance runs. They are proof positive of the winning formula in the modern postseason: shutdown pitching from top to bottom and timely home runs.

This team has grit! They overturned a deficit in two out of their three wins against the Padres in the NLDS and then came from behind to win all four games in their sweep of the Dodgers. Each night it seems like someone different coming through with the game-winning hit.

They deserve to be there! This isn’t a Guardians team sneaking into the playoffs by winning a laughable AL Central with a mid-80s win total. And it’s not like I’m going to root for the Rays because, well… it’s the Rays. This is a Brewers organization that has led MLB in wins the last two seasons and has won their division five out of the last six seasons. They routinely put themselves into advantageous positions in the postseason through their consistent pole-to-pole regular season performance, something the Yankees have not done enough the last 14 years.

How cool would it be to watch history made before our eyes! The Brewers are one of five teams to never win the World Series, having only made it there in 1982 and falling to St. Louis. There are baseball fans throughout Wisconsin who have been starved of a World Series contending team since the Braves bolted for Atlanta over 60 years ago (the Braves’ 1957 title was Milwaukee’s last baseball champion). It’s beyond time that a proud, often overlooked fan base gets their day in the sun.

I like how they’ve assembled their roster! They are a shrewd combination of homegrown talent, blockbuster trades and deadline moves to shore up holes, and under-the-radar acquisitions who they polish into impact players. They are a model organization when it comes to identifying and drafting talent, player development, and recognizing players that other teams are not getting the most out of.

Two of their best players this postseason have tremendous redemption stories. Jake Bauers and Trevor Megill were effectively out of jobs after several replacement level or worse seasons. Bauers refined his approach** to become the Brewers’ definitive offensive threat with 26 homers and a 142 OPS+. He was one of the most productive hitters in baseball and is absolutely raking this postseason. Megill has not allowed a run this October as the team’s closer.

**To get ahead of the point, yes, Bauers was a Yankee in 2023, but the Brewers themselves did outright Bauers off their big-league roster after 2024, making him a free agent. They gave up on him, too! But they did ultimately get him back on a minor-league deal, he became an above-average bat for the first time last year. The rest is history.

Owner Mark Attanasio could easily follow the examples set by Pittsburgh’s Bob Nutting and Miami’s Bruce Sherman and pocket the revenue sharing dollars that are meant to be reinvested into payroll. But he genuinely seems like an owner who has shown a committent to winning over the bottom line. Although past stars like Corbin Burnes and Freddy Peralta were traded a year before free agency, he has at least occasionally accepted the risk of gettin burned by large expenditures, Christian Yelich and Brandon Woodruff his team’s two highest-paid players yet providing little value. He understands that is the cost of business.

The Brewers occupy the smallest TV market of any MLB club yet spend more on payroll than ten other teams. While every owner, Attanasio included, is capable of allocating more into their rosters, that the Brewers’ percentage of revenue invested into payroll is commensurate with teams like the Dodgers and Yankees while the Rays and Guardians lag far behind is commendable.

I don’t want to get too deep into the weeds that the three teams left standing play in three of the smallest TV markets and sit in the bottom-third in payroll and the implications this has on the upcoming CBA negotiations. What I will say is that the owners’ battle plan has coalesced around the stance that a salary cap is necessary to preserve the competitive balance of the sport.

In sweeping the Dodgers, the Brewers struck a blow to this line of reasoning. Even if only a temporary disruption of the Dodgers’ hegemony over the sport, the run by the Brewers, Rays, and Guardians could not have come at a better time for supporters of the union. When combining team culture, payroll investment, and style of play, I feel the Brewers are the most deserving of the three to win the World Series.

No, I didn’t forget. Of course I am also rooting for the Brewers because Gary Sánchez plays for them. He occupies a cherished part in my Yankees fandom and I would love to see El Gary get a ring.

Even though the NLCS is over and the ALCS is starting to wind down, it’s easy to look at both rosters and wonder what might be. Each roster is littered with players that would be great on any team, but that’s not what we’re here for.

Which player, from any team that was in the NLCS or ALCS, would fit best onto the Phillies?

For me, the answer(s) are easy: Jose Ramirez and Junior Caminero. Handling third base for the next five-ten years from the right side (in Ramirez’s case, either side) would be of tremendous benefit for a team that truly needs someone to take it over.

After committing to the rebuild that was staring them in the face for a few seasons, the St. Louis Cardinals kicked off the transition with a solid 2026 campaign. By most accounts, the Cardinals outperformed preseason expectations, but many fans still believe that a successful season ends with at least one game in October.

That is a tough line to walk as a fan and a writer about the team. I want the Cardinals to go 162-0 and win the World Series every year, but in down stretches, I also understand the need for selling off veteran assets for young prospects. However, I am anti-tanking in pretty much every scenario, especially in baseball where the best draft picks are hopefully debuting within 2 seasons of being selected. Even in a rebuild, a front office should be able to put up a .500 team that allows for interesting conversations as the season progresses.

The Cardinals had a .500 or better team for much of the season, even if it was due to a combination of factors that had the team playing at an unsustainable rate. Expected stats aside, it was reality when the Cardinals were nine games over .500 multiple times and looked to be putting together a postseason contender with a roster of mixed experienced players all in their 20s. While I never expected the Cardinals to buy aggressively at the deadline, there was an opportunity to improve serious areas of concern that would in no way, shape, or form change whatever timeline Chaim Bloom decides to set.

Cardinals’ overperformance in 2026 may set unrealistic expectations for 2027 season

By the end of the year, it was obvious the Cardinals would not have what it takes for an extended playoff run if they made it to October, but neither did the Cubs who were supposed to be title contenders. The White Sox came off of three straight 100 loss seasons to win a mediocre division and did so with a team not too dissimilar from the Cardinals. The Southsiders showed what I hoped Bloom would realize, and that is the fact that even small upgrades can pay big dividends without being the “shortcuts” he keeps referencing.

The last line may be unfair to Bloom, but he has mentioned his unwillingness to “take shortcuts” from their long-term plan which hopefully will end in a 12th World Series title. Cutting corners in this scenario would probably mean spending hundreds of millions in free agency for veterans in their primes at positions the Cardinals already have young talent. After a 2026 season of runways at third base, center field, and the bullpen, Bloom can easily afford to commit resources to those spots without taxing the future.

Thomas Saggese and Blaze Jordan seem to be players with solid MLB futures, but neither profile as the 30-homer third baseman who plays solid defense the Cardinals need. Jesus Baez has been outstanding and is at least a year away, so that clearly looks like a hole at third base without a close answer. To me, Saggese could become the 2027 version of Jose Fermin and still see plenty of playing time while Blaze could have an early role at third, first, or DH.

If the Cardinals opted to invest in a one-year veteran stopgap in 2027 to hold the fort down for Baez, what is Chaim Bloom really risking? Bloom has kind of said that the team is not going to be playoff-ready next year, but why not? With two-thirds of the lineup locked in, spending money on a couple spots instead of a handful should be much easier and, honestly, expected for me. On any team with clear needs, an offseason goal should be to satisfy those needs as effectively as possible. The Cardinals have taken the cost-effective way rather than use a performance-based strategy, and that makes little sense to me.

The same can be said for center field, where Nathan Church is surely fine there but the Cardinals could find an upgrade at a reasonable cost. In the bullpen, Bloom (I hate to say this) took the lazy way out and continued to give Oliver Marmol the same few guys to work with while the rest of the bullpen was overworked. In any other team truly looking to compete, so many guys would have been out of the job and maybe would not even be able to sign on elsewhere. Despite that, we got to see multiple relievers stay on the 40-man roster for no other reason than cost savings.

The Cardinals spent plenty of the season five games or more over .500 and sitting in an exciting spot during the 2026 season. They outperformed expectations but despite the clear faults in the roster, Bloom was comfortable speaking of how the future was more important than supplementing the career seasons he was seeing put in front of him at Busch. Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker were the best run producers in the league while JJ Wetherholt and Masyn Winn put up historic numbers up the middle. Even with that happening, Fermin, Ramon Urias, and Pedro Pages were getting regular at-bats with the bullpen featuring just a couple supplements from outside the organization.

The reasoning was always the same, the Cardinals needed to figure out what they already had on the roster. While that argument was acceptable for me for third and center, the bullpen is a spot that is going to differ every season no matter the contention window. Replacing someone like Chris Roycroft with Ryan Fernandez and Matt Pushard is an unserious move for the postseason at a spot on the roster that has the least impact on a club long-term.

Why were we too quick to accept the fact that Bloom can make no wrong and his strategy is the best way? I know much of this article has sounded negative, but I am 100% behind Bloom and still understand most of the long-term vision. Where I do not know if I will ever see eye-to-eye is why there was a refusal to cash in on Burly and Walker while supplementing Andre Pallante and Kyle Leahy in the rotation with one-year rentals. The Dustin May move was a match made in heaven and the success of that move makes me more upset that type of investment could not have been made among two or three more bullpen arms.

Bloom paid May a total of $10 million for half of a season of work and netted a fantastic return by all accounts. If Bloom had decided to also throw $10-15 million into the bullpen, he could have found some decent talent with no risk. Worst case, you cut ties with a few million dollars on a team that did not have real postseason aspirations. Middle case, you get a solid half season run and flip the reliever for more prospects or cost-controlled players. Best case, these arms cut away a dozen of the 38 blown saves from the Cardinals bullpen and Busch Stadium is packing the place instead of offering free tickets in hopes people show up.

Even with all of those disappointing shortcomings for me, the Cardinals appear to have a core that won 77 games this past season. Bloom is truthfully a fan of the team and wants to see success, but now I want that 77 win total to be his new baseline for success. Of course, wins do not tell the entire story of a season, but with a 162-game sample size, the record more often than not matches the performance.

I am going into the 2027 season expecting a run at .500. Is that exciting? No, but it shows a push in the right direction. The Cardinals could have easily clinched a winning record with just a tiny bit more effort towards clear roster needs, but the supposed shortcuts would have been so detrimental to the future that St. Louis would never see another championship.

To wrap this up, I am not upset with the way the 2026 season went. I never expected this team to win less than 70 games, but there was definitely some meat left on the 77-win bone. We will never know if an additional $30 million would have made a difference for the Cardinals 2026 season, but with all the talks of payroll buying championships, it seems that spending more money would increase the chances at postseason success.

— This probably seemed much more negative or accusatory than was meant to be, but I do think I am in the right to feel frustrated at some of the non-activity by the front office. I am not saying I wanted to ship away Liam Doyle and Rainiel Rodriguez for a win-now move at the deadline, but saying goodbye to some Double-A depth for major league talent is a defendable move in nearly all circumstances —

Thanks as always!

One of the benefits of watching your team continue in the playoffs is that you don’t have to think about the holes in your team until you exit. And once you do, you begin the arduous task of considering how it all went wrong. Dealing with the holes in the team can be pretty straightforward. Figuring out why the Braves failed in the playoffs however, is nearly an annual stomach-churning tradition. Some of those failure reconstructions can live on for 35 years and longer. Or at least, you’re not allowed to move on. Oh, hi Lonnie. Anyway, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to it, especially with the impending lockout.

Braves General Manager Alex Anthopoulos has a lot to chew on over the offseason. Which is handy I guess, because it will be a long one this year. He has a string of injured starting pitchers. He has a twice-suspended left fielder who is allegedly not returning phone calls. He has question marks over (at least) half the infield and a right fielder who has trouble staying on the field.

And then there’s Tim Hyers, the architect of several shabby opposing starter approaches and an opposite field hitting obsession. He’s only under a two-year contract that has expired. Anthopoulos praised the work of the offense this season, pointing out how they were top 10 in a lot of categories. Internally though, he can’t be pleased with it. And also, I’m not going to the bank with anything Alex says just after the season ends. The Braves have turned themselves (and their hitters’ swings) inside out trying to deal with the flabby, draggy, distance-killing baseballs over the last few years. And the results have not been good enough to back a resilient pitching staff.

So what changes will the Braves in-house evaluations bring? I can’t imagine how Hyers stays. His instruction appears to be not clear, not followed, or not helpful. I wouldn’t consider Jurickson Profar out of the left field conversation just yet when you consider what the Braves tolerated with Marcell Ozuna. Also, prospect Eric Hartman is looming in Double-A. So I’m not sure they’ll go big in left this offseason. Shortstop might be a different story. They also need to address the injury situation, whether that’s replacing on-field talent or off-field medical personnel.

Lots of problems, only one post to solve them.

Meet the Mets

Mets top prospect Jefferson Rojas launched a pair of homers last night in the Winter League; the 21-year-old Dominican is 4-for-7 overall in his first two games with Cibao.

Around the National League East

Former Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was a candidate for the Mariners’ managerial job before withdrawing his name to become the Phillies’ third base and infield coach, per reporting from ESPN’s Jorge Castillo.

The Phillies plan to reduce J.T. Realmuto’s catching workload in 2027, Dave Dombrowski told reporters.

MLB Trade Rumors published their offseason outlook for the Atlanta Braves.

After missing a large chunk of his first full professional season due to injury, Marlins prospect Max Williams is making up for lost time.

Jessica Camerato of MLB.com took a look at three Nationals prospects who could make their debuts in 2027.

Around Major League Baseball

The Rays evened up the ALCS at two games apiece by beating the Guardians 7-3 in Game 4 at Progressive Field.  Jonathan Aranda drove in a pair and Yandy Díaz sealed the game with a two-run homer in the ninth.

Twelve of the past 16 teams to clinch the pennant first lost in World Series. But will the extra rest help the Brewers?

Katie Woo and Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic examine what’s next for the Dodgers.

As a reporter who covered the end of the Yankees’ dynasty in 2001, Tyler Kepner of The Athletic asserts that the Dodgers won’t stop winning, but things may be different from here on out, like they were for the Yankees.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Brian Salvatore reviewed Kodai Senga’s 2026 season, which ended with a transition to the bullpen.

This Date in Mets History

On this date in 2006, the Mets defeated the Cardinals in Game 6 of the NLCS to force a decisive Game 7.

34 years ago

Remembering a Classic Blue Jays Comeback: Game 2 of the 1992 World Series 34 years ago

In the ninth inning, with the Blue Jays trailing 4-3, Ed Sprague delivered a dramatic pinch-hit home run, propelling Toronto to a thrilling victory in Game 2 of the 1992 World Series.

Game one saw the Blue Jays fall 3-1. Jack Morris surrendered three runs in the sixth, while Toronto could only muster a single run—a Joe Carter home run—against Braves ace Tom Glavine, who threw a complete-game four-hitter.

David Cone, acquired from the Mets on August 27th for Jeff Kent, took the mound in Game 2. While Cone’s autobiography is an excellent read (though it covers little about his Jays tenure), his outing that day was tough—he allowed four runs (three earned) over 4.1 innings.

Atlanta struck first in the second inning. David Justice walked, stole second, advanced to third on a Manny Lee throwing error, and came home on a wild pitch.

The Braves added another run in the fourth as Sid Bream walked, Jeff Blauser singled, and Mark Lemke drove in Bream with an RBI single.

Toronto tied the game at two in the fifth. Pat Borders walked with two outs, Lee singled, and both Cone (helped by the designated hitter rule not being in effect in Atlanta) and Devon White hit singles to bring home two runs. Cone’s hit must be among the most impactful by a Blue Jays pitcher.

The Braves reclaimed a two-run lead in the bottom of the fifth. Deion Sanders singled and stole second, Terry Pendleton walked, and Justice singled home Sanders, ending Cone’s night. David Wells relieved and surrendered a sacrifice fly to Brian Hunter.

The Jays cut the deficit to one in the eighth. Roberto Alomar doubled, Carter singled, and Dave Winfield drove in Alomar with a single. That ended John Smoltz’s night after 7.1 innings (8 hits, 3 runs—2 earned, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts). Lefty Mike Stanton got Olerud to pop out, and Jeff Reardon struck out Kelly Gruber to end the threat.

In the ninth, Reardon induced a lineout from Borders. Derek Bell pinch-hit for Lee and walked. Ed Sprague then pinch-hit for Duane Ward and, on the first pitch, launched a home run over the left-field wall, giving Toronto its first lead. That homer easily ranks among the most important in Blue Jays history.

Tom Henke was called upon to close, but the save was anything but routine. With one out, he hit pinch-hitter Lonnie Smith, who was replaced by pinch-runner Ron Gant. Otis Nixon flied out to center. Gant then stole second with Deion Sanders at the plate, who proceeded to walk on a full count. Ultimately, Henke induced a pop-out from Pendleton to secure the win.

The Blue Jays tied the series at one and returned to Toronto, eventually winning the World Series in six games.

Toronto’s bullpen was outstanding, delivering 4.2 hitless innings: Wells (1.2),Stottlemyre (1), Ward (1, earning the win), and Henke (1, with the save). The Braves managed just five hits but drew seven walks.

Offensively, the Jays collected nine hits and four walks. Remarkably, Cone contributed two of those hits (and an RBI); no other Blue Jay had more than one hit.

Jays of the Day would have been Sprague (.669 WPA), Cone for his batting (.154) and Henke (.187).

Other award: Cone for his pitching (-.273), Olerud (-.273, 0 for 4, 1 strikeout) and Gruber (-.181, 0 for 4, 3 strikeouts).

Here is the home run: