WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 27: TJ Rumfield #7 of the Colorado Rockies fields the ball against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on August 27, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Meanwhile, although free agency for players will not officially begin until five days after the conclusion of the World Series, the rules are less strict for managers. This week has already seen a manager hired and another let go.
The Rockies, for their part, are not expected to see much movement among their coaching staff, but should any drastic shakeups happen elsewhere around the league, it’s possible the front office would look to swoop in to provide a landing spot for coaches that found themselves without a job.
That all being said, let’s get to the news!
Rockies News & Links
TJ Rumfield named a Gold Glove award finalist | Purple Row — Rawlings announced this seasons finalists for Gold Glove awards yesterday. TJ Rumfield was the Rockies lone player to make the cut as he was named a finalist for the National League first base award alongside Matt Olson and Ty France.
What a Successful Colorado Rockies Offseason Actually Looks Like | SI.com — Maddy Dickens comes to a familiar conclusion that the key to the Rockies offseason is addressing the teams lack of starting pitching. She offers up a couple of realistic free agent options for the front office to consider in Jordan Montgomery and Walker Buehler. Both should be within the team’s budget. The question is whether they’d like to come to Denver and how much help they would be if they did.
Early 2026-27 MLB Offseason Predictions on Free Agency, Trades and More | Bleacher Report — Hunter Goodman’s name came up continuously through the 2026 trade deadline. When the Rockies ultimately held onto him, it served only as a reprieve from those rumors not as an end to them as he remains under team control through 2029. Most recently, Zachary D. Rymer speculates that an offseason trade to the Tampa Bay Rays could make sense for both clubs.
Around Baseball
MLB makes an offer players might not refuse | Baseball Prospectus ($) — If you were still trying to parse out the motivations behind MLB’s latest proposal to the Player’s Association Marc Normandin is here for you. In the end, it all comes down to money and the expanded Division Series along with a shortened regular season, highlighted by exclusive singular Monday night games, which would mean more premium broadcast rights for the league to sell. While the proposal is presented as an offering to the players, make no mistake that it is a change the league itself actively wants to adopt as well.
Phillies name Don Mattingly as full-time manager, sign him to 2-year contract | The Athletic ($) — Just a week ago rumors surfaced that the Phillies had approached, and been rebuffed by, former Red Sox manager Alex Cora about their 2027 managerial opening. It would seem that after their first choice for the job off the board, the Phillies have pivoted to removing the interim tag from Don Mattingly. If Mattingly has any ill will about seeming to be the backup option again, it does not come across in this piece from Matt Gelb and Charlotte Varnes.
Joe Espada will not return as Astros manager | MLB Trade Rumors — In other managerial news, the Houston Astros have announced that they will not be renewing the contract of their manager Joe Espada. The Seattle Mariners have already interviewed Espada for their own managerial opening so it’s possible he will not need to wait long for his next opportunity. For the Astros, this completes what has felt like an inevitable sequence of events after general manager Dana Brown was let go in August.
So just how pissed off is Pat Murphy? | Fangraphs — Davvy Andrews uses an incredible amout of time, words, and pictures to follow the emotional rollercoaster that is managing a Major League playoff game. The piece correlates Milwaukee Brewer’s manager Pat Murphy’s expressions and mannerisms following essentially every key play of game two of the NLCS and assesses his anger level at each moment. Is this silly? Yes. Is it an incredible read? Absolutely.
DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 5: Joshua Baez #22 of the St. Louis Cardinals is congratulated in the dugout after hitting a solo home run in the third inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on September 5, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Coming sooner than you’d think, we’ll be voting on the top 20 prospects in the Cardinals’ system. That will be a welcome respite from the lockout that will surely be happening. In the spirit of that, I wanted to look at our very first top 20 to see how we did. I began this feature in 2023 and enough seasons have passed that we have a good idea of how well the voting stands the test of time. But it is also recent enough that a few players are still in the minor leagues. And just for good measure, I wanted to compare my rankings with the readers at large.
1. Jordan Walker (Both) There are going to be some picks that are truly out there and then there are going to be some picks that just about everyone who follows prospects agreed upon. This is the latter. The Cardinals rather dumbly had Walker make the Opening Day roster in 2023 and all things considered, he played better than reasonably expected. Not defensively of course. After two seasons in the wilderness, Walker picked up where he left off in 2026. He hasn’t quite justified his #1 ranking yet, but again everyone thought he was the #1 prospect. Hard to blame either of us.
2. Masyn Winn (Both)
If you were to re-rank the prospects according to performance, Winn would be the best prospect in the system this particular year. Winn hadn’t yet played in Memphis yet when we voted on these rankings (neither had Walker though). We didn’t know how his glove would translate even though the reports were very good. Gold Glove caliber and good is a mighty big difference. So far, so good on the rankings.
3. Tink Hence (Both)
Hence’s ranking was not based on much to be honest. He utterly annihilated Low A, striking out 41.5% of batters while walking just 7.7%. Things really didn’t start veering off the plan until the 2025 season. He ended up throwing 96 innings in 2023, making it to AA. He made 20 starts in AA in 2024 and was pretty dominant. That’s less innings than I think the Cardinals wanted, but it’s not a huge roadblock. But well he’s barely pitched the past two seasons. He turned 24 this past August, so this could still look like a good placement. It might not be for the Cardinals though.
4. Gordon Graceffo (Both)
Similar to Hence, Graceffo was going according to plan, although unlike Hence, it started veering off course in 2023 for Graceffo. Graceffo made it to Springfield in 2022, but was mediocre, but he was mediocre after 8 dominant starts in High A following his draft year. He ended up having some injury problems, and a very big fastball problem that ultimately forced his move to the bullpen. If he can craft a good reliever career out of his arsenal, this isn’t a bad outcome for the #4 prospect in the system.
5-6. Alec Burleson, Ivan Herrera (Community)
5-6. Ivan Herrera, Alec Burleson (Me)
I don’t think anybody loses in this comparison. Herrera has been better so far, but Burleson is coming off a much better season. The defensive part of both of their games have changed rather wildly since this ranking, because that was a large reason for Herrera being higher for me. I probably still choose Herrera because he is younger, but I said in my post that Herrera had more potential because he was a catcher and Burleson was a corner outfielder. But I called them pretty similar prospects. Burleson seems a bit more stable because he has a known defensive home and appears to have the better bat going forward, so I’ll give it to you guys.
7. Cooper Hjerpe (Community)
7. Matthew Liberatore (Me)
Man I would have looked a lot smarter if I did this a year ago. This is a very big to be determined still though. Liberatore seems headed to the bullpen sooner rather than later and my pessimism on Hjerpe is mostly connected to my belief that he’s headed to the pen. But Hjerpe as a reliever has a much higher upside than Liberatore. Liberatore did have an effective year out of the pen, so I think the odds lean in the community’s favor, but the race is not over.
8. Matthew Liberatore (Community)
8. Leonardo Bernal (Me)
I am however feeling VERY good about Bernal’s placement on my list. My words at the time: “I can’t stop harping on the fact that Bernal was 18-years-old in Low A and hit for a 117 wRC+. Both Yadier Molina and Ivan Herrera were 19-years-old in Low A. Nothing about his performance has any alarm bells either.” He did end up repeating Low A, and I’m not totally convinced I rank him 8th if I had known that he would spend all of 2023 in Low A, but that does not matter! I was ahead of the game on this one.
9. Michael McGreevy (Community)
9. Connor Thomas (Me)
The prospect game will humble you fast, good lord. I really bought into Thomas thanks to the reported cutter he had developed. I can’t believe it, but I cited spring training stats to support my ranking. Oh Gabe. Less egregiously, he had a very good ZiPS projection, which I’m choosing to believe was a large reason for this ranking. So Dan Szymborski, it’s really your fault that he is ranking 9th.
10. Moises Gomez (Community)
10. Michael McGreevy(Me)
Oh thank god, I had McGreevy right after Thomas at least. And…. you guys wanted to upstage my bad pick with a bad pick of your own? Very appreciated. Spoiler alert: Moises Gomez didn’t make my top 20. Connor Thomas makes your top 20. I think I win in the battle of bad picks, cause I didn’t buy into Gomez for even a second.
11. Joshua Baez (Community)
11. Cooper Hjerpe (Me)
Ignore that Baez falls off both of our lists until this most recent top 20 ranking, you guys do get some brownie points for having Baez slightly higher. Considering I think Hjerpe is a probable reliever and not only that we are three years removed from this top 20 ranking, I think 11th is a perfectly defensible placement to be honest. I stand by that one.
12. Leonardo Bernal (Community)
12. Jonathan Mejia (Me)
In my defense, I did bunch together Baez and Mejia. I really wish I would have just listed Baez first, but unfortunately that pesky position was the difference maker. Mejia (at the time) played SS, Baez was likely headed to a corner outfield spot. Also Baez is two years older than Mejia. Things really didn’t go Mejia’s way moving forward, but I feel like two years younger at SS and at the same level – I would rank them in this order again today! At least Bernal is here to make me look smarter.
13. Jonathan Mejia (Community)
13. Joshua Beaz (Me)
See, you guys had the order right, but we basically thought the same thing about Baez and Mejia!
14. Jimmy Crooks III
14. Connor Thomas
After a couple of picks that make me look dumb, the #14 pick is perfectly calibrated to make me look smart. Look, I was not alone on Thomas! Yes, I had him ranked much too high, but the community bought into the cutter too a little bit! And I’m early on Jimmy Crooks! Yes! There are a few players that I am “early” on who then break out, the community ends up ranking them higher than me, and then I have a reputation for hating on that player. There’s another one coming soon. Let the record show though that I had Crooks ranked higher than you all at first.
15. Won-Bin Cho (Community)
15. Brycen Mautz (Me)
I do not rank Cho on my list. He had only played in the complex league at this point. Had I known that he would taken an additional four seasons to make it to Springfield, I still wouldn’t have put him on my list. But retroactively, he looks like he may be a good pick. Here’s hoping. I’m pretty satisfied with Mautz here. Especially with the state of the system at the time, this is pretty clearly in reliever territory.
16. Jimmy Crooks (Community)
16. Ian Bedell (Me)
I have a very good defense of my pick. I went to Mizzou. This was an extremely biased pick. He is also a very good example of how much worse the system was in 2023, because he would never have made my list within a couple years. The top 15 players in this system are top 20 quality and in future seasons, there’d be like 30 players who I wanted to squeeze into a top 20. I simply ran out of players and went to a player from my alma mater.
17. Brycen Mautz (Community)
17. Victor Scott II (Me)
This is the player I was referring to in the Crooks section. I was early on Victor Scott. And then I was completely confused when he popped up on top 100 lists and #3 on the VEB list. Which to defend VEB, I think he was #3 here first. But yeah I made no secret that I thought he was too high. And then I sort of got known as a Scott hater. But I was early on the Victor Scott train! He was not ranked on the community list. Unfortunately 17th is about right in a weak system for Victor Scott’s career to date. So I guess I nailed it.
18. Guillermo Zuñiga (Community)
18. Kyle Leahy (Me)
I won’t give you guys any grief for Zuniga, mostly because he’s 19th for me. BUT HOW ABOUT THAT KYLE LEAHY PICK?! Boy, the system was…. real bad in 2023, because I am looking at his 2023 stats and I do not know how I talked myself into him. He had a 6.26 ERA in Memphis. He also walked 5 guys to 2 strikeouts in 1.2 IP in the majors. So special shoutout to BurlyBird (once known as LawBird), because he might be 90% of why I selected him as the #18 prospect.
19. Inohan Panigua (Community)
19. Guillermo Zuñiga (Me)
Both pitchers are still in baseball. Panigua was released by the Cardinals in the middle of 2025. He pitched in 16 games for the Detroit Tigers’ High A team and considering he was 26 the past season, he appeared to be signed entirely for depth and no other reason. Zuñiga actually made the major leagues in 2026. He’s bounced around since Cardinals let him go after the 2023 season. First it was the Angels in 2024, where he split his time between AAA and the majors. He spent time in both the Mariners and Phillies systems in 2025, but never made the majors. And this past season, he was with the Mets, but only threw 1 major league inning.
20. Reiner Lopez (Community)
20. Austin Love (Me)
Well four years later, and Lopez has barely pitched. He spent 2023 injured, and then was very bad in the DSL in 2024. In 2025, he was better, although entirely in relief and 19-years-old. He didn’t pitch in the 2026 season. Love was derailed two starts into his 2023 season with Tommy John. When he returned in 2025, he was 26 and in relief. He wasn’t very good in Memphis after finally getting a promotion, so I’m not sure he’s a Cardinal in 2027.
Well that was an interesting exercise! At the very least, it’s proof that players can rise from the dead. If you have a pet prospect who is coming off a down season or multiple down seasons, I refer you to Joshua Baez or maybe Won-Bin Cho, and while he immediately lost his prospect status after 2023, I think Jordan Walker works as a symbol of hope too. I’m mostly startled by how bad this system was, because it is a lot of teenagers far away or surefire relievers (even at the time). I feel like we won’t be ranking any pitchers we know are relievers on the top 20 in a few months.
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 13: Steven Kwan #38 of the Cleveland Guardians celebrates after hitting a single against the Tampa Bay Rays during the seventh inning in game two of the American League Championship Series at Tropicana Field on October 13, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The annual Rawlings Gold Glove Nominees were announced yesterday. Two Guardians were nominated for their respective positions.
Tanner Bibee received a nomination for AL Pitcher.
The full list of finalist for both the AL and NL can be found here.
As the Gold Glove nominations kick off the MLB award season, the MLBPA announced their player chosen nominations as well. Parker Messick was nominated for AL Outstanding Rookie alongside two of his fellow AL Central Rookies. The full list of MLBPA Players Choice Finalists can be found here.
Congratulations to the AL & NL Outstanding Rookie Players Choice Awards Finalists!
AL 🔷 Kevin McGonigle 🔷 Parker Messick 🔷Munetaka Murakami
Much to everyone’s dismay, the game time for today’s ALCS Game 3 had to be moved up to 1PM today from the original 8PM start time. It is unclear if tomorrow’s Game 4 will also be affected by the forecasted precipitation. Unfortunately this means that a lot of people who were previously able to attend the game likely can not attend. Here’s to hoping that the impacted attendance doesn’t bring a negative atmosphere to the ballpark. If you are going to the game, look forward to a first pitch from Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell, another well designed rally towel, and hopefully another masterclass day game start from starter Gavin Williams.
Oct 3, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; A view of the MLB Postseason logo on the field before the game between the Cleveland Guardians and the Chicago White Sox in game one of the ALDS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Thursday brings us two games on the postseason schedule, both of which had their start times altered due to bad weather in Cleveland.
Game 3 of the American League Championship Series between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians was originally slated for a 6 p.m. local start at Progressive Field in Cleveland (3 p.m. PT), but on Wednesday was moved to a 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) start in an effort to get ahead of a storm coming through.
The ALCS is tied at one game apiece, and Gavin Williams starts for Cleveland, after two starts with double-digit strikeouts during the Division Series, plus a scoreless inning of relief mixed in between. The right-hander has a 1.54 ERA with 24 strikeouts in his 11 2/3 innings this October.
Right-hander Griffin Jax will be first on the mound for Tampa Bay.
Fox Sports has the NL playoffs this year, with TBS televising the AL side.
Thursday Championship Series schedule
10 a.m. PT: Rays at Guardians Series tied 1-1 ALCS Game 3: Griffin Jax vs. Gavin Williams TBS (Brian Anderson, Ron Darling, Jeff Francoeur & Lauren Shehadi)
5:08 p.m.: Dodgers vs. Brewers Milwaukee leads, 3-0 NLCS Game 3: Tyler Glasnow vs. TBA Fox (Joe Davis, John Smoltz, Ken Rosenthal, Tom Verducci)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 25: Pete Alonso #25 of the Baltimore Orioles in action against the New York Yankees during their game at Yankee Stadium on September 25, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Hello, friends.
There are now 160 days until the next scheduled Orioles game. Will there be a game on March 25, 2027 between the O’s and Rays? Only labor negotiations in December, January, and February can answer that question.
For now, there are the playoffs. The Rays and Guardians will play their third game today, while the Dodgers and Brewers play their Game 4 in Los Angeles. The ALCS game begins at 1pm, with the start time moved up due to the forecast for rain in Cleveland. Tough luck for anyone who paid excessive costs for those tickets and has to change their plans on short notice. They’ll probably feel better about it if they get to watch their team win. I would like to see the Guardians win in that series.
The Brewers mounted a comeback on the road against the Dodgers last night to put the two-time defending champions on the brink of being swept out of the NLCS. I can only guess that the other 29 teams fans are pulling for the Brewers to finish off the Dodgers today. It’s time for somebody else to get a turn.
In Orioles news, or rather non-news, the top three finishers for this year’s Gold Glove awards were announced on Wednesday afternoon. There were no Orioles on the list. At most positions on the diamond, this isn’t surprising, as O’s defense was chaotic, bad, or both just about everywhere. One notable exception was at first base, where Pete Alonso played some pretty darn good defense. I don’t know what more he would have had to do to end up in the top 3.
The actual top 3 at the position are Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Kansas City’s Vinnie Pasquantino, and Houston’s Christian Walker. The winners will be announced on November 1.
Anybody who spent time watching the Orioles this year knows that the defense needs to be better next year. Will the only person whose opinion matters – that is, Mike Elias, in his capacity as the president of baseball operations – take the actions that need to be taken to shore it up? We cannot know at this juncture, only hope.
If the post-mortems of the 2026 Orioles that have trickled into Orioles media are to be believed, manager Craig Albernaz wants to clean things up next year. I am skeptical that there is anything he didn’t try this year that is left to be tried next year. Somebody can probably clean it up even if most of the same roster comes back. I just have no confidence Albernaz is the guy, or that Elias is the guy who is going to prioritize it in his roster construction.
It’s not just how frequently it was bad – although, frequently, it was – but that it was so often unbelievably stupid, like how can a major league player do something that dumb. I will be thinking about “lose a fly ball in the sun while the sunglasses are on their hat instead of their face” for a long time. And that happened more than one time, and it wasn’t the same player each time it happened!
Orioles stuff you might have missed
Pete Alonso passed the eye test. Should he be a Gold Glove finalist? (The Baltimore Banner) The Banner’s Andy Kostka looked at the common public defensive metrics and concluded that Alonso would probably not have been a deserving finalist. We can, of course, still be happy that the Orioles signed him, and don’t need any validation from Rawlings to have that feeling.
Looking at Orioles through the eyes of opposing scouts (School of Roch) This one appeared in yesterday’s Bird Droppings too, so if you’ve already seen it, sorry! Slim pickings this time of year, and they’re going to get slimmer in December. I wonder what the real level of interest is for Heston Kjerstad and Jeremiah Jackson to have been mentioned as having gotten basic inquiries on trade availability.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Today in 1970, the Orioles beat the Reds in Game 5 of the World Series, taking down the team’s second championship in its history. It was a 9-3 victory in what ended up being the final game. Brooks Robinson was the MVP for the series. Maybe some day we’ll see the Orioles win it again.
In 1997, the Orioles lost an ALCS game to the then-Indians by a 1-0 score in 11 innings, with the lone run scoring as a solo home run hit off Armando Benitez in extras. Bummer. The lack of offense wasted eight brilliant innings from Mike Mussina.
There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2023 pitcher Jack Flaherty, 2018-20 pitcher Cody Carroll, 2004 outfielder Chat Mottola, 1982-83 infielder Glenn Gulliver, and Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer. Today is Palmer’s 81st birthday. Happy birthday to him! Hopefully Albernaz sends him a birthday text.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you as well! In addition to the franchise legend, your birthday buddies for today include: Russian author Mikhail Lermontov (1814), philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844), author P.G. Wodehouse (1881), actress Penny Marshall (1943), and musician Tito Jackson (1953).
On this day in history…
In 1529, forces of the Holy Roman Empire broke an Ottoman siege of the city of Vienna after two weeks, blunting a period of European expansion for the Ottomans.
In 1888, a letter supposedly sent by mass killer Jack the Ripper, dubbed the “From Hell” letter, was received by those investigating the killings.
In 1956, the first computer programming language, FORTRAN, was shared with the public, or at least the very small part of the public that was interested at this time.
**
And that’s the way it is in Birdland on October 15. Have a safe Thursday.
SEATTLE, WA - AUGUST 24: Philadelphia Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly (8) is in the visitors' dugout during the MLB game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Seattle Mariners on August 24, 2026 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
In case you somehow missed the news yesterday, the Phillies have a “new” manager. The team announced yesterday that they removed the interim tag from Don Mattingly and named him their permanent manager with a new two-year contract. Later last night, it was reported that they will have a new hitting coach and infield coach, as Kevin Long and Bobby Dickerson will not be back under Mattingly. With that news the team also finally scheduled their end of season press conference for today at 10:30 am. There we will be able to hear from Dave Dombrowski himself for the first time since the Phillies season ended two weeks ago.
BUFFALO, NEW YORK - AUGUST 16: Teoscar Hernandez #37 of the Toronto Blue Jays swings during the fifth inning of an MLB game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Sahlen Field on August 16, 2020 in Buffalo, New York. This game is a continuation of last night's rain delay. The Blue Jays are the home team and are playing their home games in Buffalo due to the Canadian government’s policy on coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Today is Teoscar Hernandez’s 34th birthday.
When Teoscar arrived from the Astros, few could have predicted he’d develop into such a powerful slugger.
During his six seasons with the Jays, he posted a .263/.320/.503 slash line with 129 home runs. He ranks 13th in franchise history for home runs and 24th in RBIs.
The trade that sent him to the Mariners was unexpected. Erik Swanson excelled in the bullpen for us in 2023, though he struggled in 2024. Adam Macko made 16 starts for New Hampshire and one for the Bisons this year, tallying 105 strikeouts and 35 walks over 93.1 innings, with a 3.63 ERA.
Teoscar joined the Dodgers ahead of the 2024 season. Over his three seasons in Los Angeles, he has hit .262/.320/.462 with 74 home runs and collected two World Series rings. However, unless the Dodgers stage an impressive comeback against the Brewers, a third ring seems unlikely this year.
Happy Birthday, Teoscar. I wish you the best, but I hope your team loses. Sorry.
Today is Carlos Garcia’s 59th birthday.
You might recall that Carlos had a particularly rough season with the Jays. In November 1996, Toronto traded for Garcia, Orlando Merced, and Dan Plasac from the Pirates. Initially, we sent Brandon Cromer, Jose Pett, and Jose Silva to Pittsburgh, followed by Mike Halperin, Abraham Nunez, and Craig Wilson in December to complete the deal. For the record, I was never a fan of then-GM Gord Ash.
In 1997, Garcia batted .220/.253/.309 over 103 games, primarily at second base. He managed 3 home runs, 29 runs, 23 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases. Unfortunately, his defense was also underwhelming, and the Jays paid $2.55 million for that performance. By WAR, it was one of the worst seasons by a non-pitcher in team history.
Following that season, Garcia signed with the Angels as a free agent but hit only .143 in 40 at-bats. He then moved to San Diego, where his struggles continued, and soon after, he was out of baseball.
Garcia’s lone solid year in the majors came as a rookie with the Pirates, when he hit .269/.316/.399. He did have 12 home runs and 47 RBIs in 1993, making it difficult to understand what the Jays expected from the trade.
As for the players the Jays sent to Pittsburgh:
Craig Wilson went on to have a respectable MLB career, playing seven seasons—six with the Pirates—and hitting .262/.353/.474 with 99 home runs. His best year was 2004, when he played 155 games and posted a .264/.354/.499 line with 29 homers.
Abraham Nunez enjoyed a 12-year career, spending eight seasons with the Pirates. Over 1,030 games, he hit .242/.313/.314, primarily as a utility infielder.
Jose Silva pitched seven MLB seasons, finishing with a 25-28 record and a 5.41 ERA over 154 games, including 53 starts.
Happy Birthday, Carlos.
Today marks Chad Mottola’s 55th birthday.
Chad was an outfielder who appeared in just 59 MLB games over five seasons, 13 of them with the Blue Jays.
He spent much of his playing career in the minors. In 2007, his final minor league season, he played Triple-A for the Jays and hit .267/.324/.467. At 35, he began transitioning into coaching.
In 2008, he became the hitting coach for the Gulf Coast League Jays. By 2009, he was the roving minor league hitting coach, and from 2010 to 2012, he coached hitters for the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s. In 2011, he earned the Bobby Mattick Award for excellence in player development.
In 2013, he was promoted to the Blue Jays’ major league staff, but was let go at the end of the season. One year he was praised as a miracle worker, the next he was out—the unpredictable life of a coach.
The Rays hired him as a roving instructor, and in 2017, he became their major league hitting coach—a role he still holds today.
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 14: Jake Bauers #9 of the Milwaukee Brewers rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run in the seventh inning during Game Three of the National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, October 14, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Nicole Vasquez/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Holy moly, that was some kind of playoff game last night in LA. A first-pitch homer by Jackson Chourio was the only scoring until an Abner Uribe meltdown allowed the Dodgers to jump back in front, 2-1. But Jake Bauers—yes, the same 2023 Yankees legend—put in his second epic at-bat of the offseason to win an 11-pitch battle with Blake Snell on a two-run blast that turned the game upside down. Garrett Mitchell immediately followed with a lefty/lefty homer of his own.
Now suddenly the Brewers are on the verge of avenging last year’s NLCS sweep at the hands of the Dodgers by giving LA a taste of its own medicine. It would be the first World Series appearance since 1982, when they were still in the American League. They have never won it all. They’ll get multiple shots at it, but best to just step on the Dodger blue-shaded cockroach now and not give it a chance at survival, right? Here we go Brew Crew, here we go. (Oh, and don’t forget to root for Cleveland to take a series lead on Tampa Bay now that they’re back in Ohio, too.)
Our eyes are mostly focused on the day/night playoff action today, but we still have material for you! Peter will recap NLCS Game 3 in greater detail, Dani will discuss Joe Girardi’s recent appraisal of his successor as Yankees skipper, and Jonathan well celebrate the birthday of the man known as “Babe Ruth’s Legs” (no, really).
Today’s Playoff Matchups:
American League Championship Series Game 3 (Series tied 1-1)
Cleveland Guardians vs. Tampa Bay Rays (RHP Gavin Williams vs. RHP Grifin Jax)
Time: 1:00 p.m. EST [they pushed the start time back due to bad weather in the forecast]
TV: TBS/HBO Max/truTV
Venue: Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH
National League Championship Series Game 4 (Milwaukee leads 3-0)
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Milwaukee Brewers (RHP Tyler Glasnow vs. TBD)
Time: 8:00 p.m. EST
TV: FOX/FS1/FOX ONE
Venue: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
Questions/Prompts:
1. Does the Brew Crew finish off the sweep tonight or do the Dodgers survive?
2. What do you think of the Phillies’ decision to bring back Don Mattingly for another two years as skipper?
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani singles during the eighth inning of Game 3 of the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
You probably don’t believe the slumping Dodgers can come back from this gaping 3-0 deficit to beat the surging Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series.
And you probably didn’t believe that manager Dave Roberts should continue penciling in Shohei Ohtani — flailing and failing and having gone three for 20 this postseason entering the Dodgers’ 6-2 loss in Game 3 — as his designated hitter.
Because Ohtani is an athlete whose belief in himself knows no bounds.
Exactly the kind of guy a team on the brink of elimination needs.
Remember back in 2018, most of baseball’s foremost brainiacs thought there was no way the 23-year-old hot-shot prospect from Japan would actually be able to do what no one in nearly a century had: both pitch and bat in the big leagues.
The majority of major league scouts believed Ohtani’s swing was flawed in balance and mechanics, that his bat-to-ball skills weren’t going to be good enough.
And last year he gave us the greatest game ever, striking out 10 and hitting three home runs in Game 4 of the NLCS, sending Milwaukee home and the Dodgers back to the World Series, on the way to a second consecutive championship.
This is someone for whom the impossible is probable. Someone who’s made us all believe in unicorns. An audacious, delusional, radical optimist.
And with Wednesday’s defeat having backed them into the corner, the Dodgers should be glad to have Ohtani, for whom all things are possible, still working and tinkering and trying his best.
Ohtani drove the Struggle Bus into Game 3, having struck out seven times in 22 playoff at-bats, with only three singles and no extra-base hits and no RBIs.
But he wasn’t dissuaded: “It’s a constant, ongoing process that’s headed in the right direction,” he said Tuesday, through interpreter Will Ireton, adding several times in an impromptu interview: “I take full responsibility.”
Ohtani stayed late Tuesday night working on his swing, Roberts said: “Out with the guys, talking about things on how we’re going to beat these guys … and I will say this, this was a different look from Shohei. Determined, and that’s an understatement.”
And then, while the debate around him raged — should he or shouldn’t he play — Ohtani clocked in and got to work.
The superstar who deferred most of his record 10-year, $700 million salary so as to enable — to obligate — the Dodgers to build a championship roster around him reached base in three of his four plate appearances Wednesday.
As a team, the Dodgers went one for six with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on base — including Ohtani those three times.
He took one for the team, getting hit by a pitch on the backside in the fourth inning. He drew a Josue De Paula-esque five-pitch walk in the sixth. And then in the eighth, Ohtani knocked a single up the middle that came off his bat with an exit velocity of 113.5 mph, one of his four hardest balls of the whole season.
Ohtani didn’t, however, pop one out of the park; he hasn’t homered since Aug. 18.
The live-by-the-slug, die-by-the-slug Dodgers have hit zero home runs in the NLCS. But the small-market Brewers known for their small-ball approach have hit five — including three off Blake Snell on Wednesday.
As a team, the Dodgers have much of their massive $415 million payroll going to hitters who are collectively batting .188 this postseason. They’re three for 32 with runners in scoring position.
Call it quiet-quittin’ hittin’, because the Dodgers’ bats and their stadium got so quiet you could hear “Let’s Go Brewers!” chants in the Ravine — and probably from as far away as Racine, Wisc.
And if it appears that L.A.’s hit baseball show is about to go on hiatus, its main actors are telling us they still believe in miracles.
“At the beginning of this year, we set out to do something historic,” Max Muncy said. “It looks like we’re going to have to make a little more history along the way if we want to accomplish that.”
“It’s certainly possible,” said Roberts, MLB’s only manager to have experienced a 3-0 postseason series comeback as a player when his Boston Red Sox did it against the New York Yankees in the ALCS.
“I’ve lived it, and I think the thing is that our guys have been battle-tested, as was that team I was a part of … it’s just you’ve got to win tomorrow. It’s an elimination game. We’ve played in a lot of elimination games. We’ve just got to get a win.”
Four wins, actually. In a row.
Does that seem impossible? Seems like Ohtani’s type of challenge.
On the 595th Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including the latest in the baseball playoffs, where the Milwaukee Brewers have an early NLCS lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers. They also consider a ticketing thought experience.
The hosts discuss Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski, who is a poster child for the type of young star that the Major League Baseball Players Association might point to as being short-changed by the sport’s current pay structure. Misiorowski throws harder than anyone in the sport’s modern history and may win the NL Cy Young Award, but he’s only in his second MLB season, which means he’s one year away from being arbitration eligible and four years from free agency. Given the taxing nature of hard-throwing pitching, he’s potentially at risk of being underpaid through the most effective and healthiest years of his career.
The hosts talk about how some teams are choosing to lock up young talent earlier than ever, including some instances of contracts signed before the player even reaches the major leagues. That’s yet to happen for Misiorowski. Is that because of the Brewers’ approach? The injury risk? Or does the looming labor battle play some role?
Next the hosts talk about baseball attendance. In the ALCS, the Tampa Bay Rays had thousands of empty seats during Game 2 of their showdown with the Cleveland Guardians. The hosts debate whether every team in baseball would play at capacity if they gave tickets away for free.
They close by talking about the WNBA Finals, which will be played between the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries. The league just solved a logistical problem when it was able to relocate some Dream home games from the team’s roughly 3,500-seat traditional home venue to State Farm Arena, home of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks.
(You can subscribe to Sporticast through Apple, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts.)
HARTFORD, CT - MAY 27: Lonnie White Jr. #3 of the Altoona Curve runs onto the field during the game between the Altoona Curve and the Hartford Yard Goats at Dunkin' Park on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Ryan Desantis/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
The Pittsburgh Pirates finished with a top-15 farm system in baseball after opening up the year as the preseason third-best farm system in Major League Baseball. Throughout their minor league ranks there were several standout players and names to be looking for as their careers progress.
Triple-A Indianapolis
Ronny Simon was named the Indianapolis Indians official team MVP for the 2026 season as he was one of the best hitters in the International League. He ranked first in batting average (.334), hits (141), second in doubles (33), on-base percentage (.426), sixth in OPS (.898), stolen bases (35) and tenth in total bases (199). Simon was an all-around star for the Indians as he appeared in 115 games for the club before a brief stint with the Pirates to end his 2026 season at the Major League level.
Pitcher Beau Burrows was also recognized as the team’s pitcher of the year. The team’s closer led the league in saves with 14. He also had a dominant 16-game stretch where he had a 0.83 ERA and 23 strikeouts. He also converted all nine of his save opportunities in that span.
Double-A Altoona
The Altoona Curve named Lonnie White Jr. their team MVP this season. White Jr. hit 26 homers in 2026, 19 of them being with Altoona. It’s the most home runs he’s hit in a single season in his career and it ranked third among Pirates’ prospects in 2026. He also had a career high 67 RBIs and had a team leading 23-game on base streak.
Connor Wietgrefe took home pitcher of the year honors for the Curve as he was one of their best arms all season long. He had a 3.51 ERA with Altoona this year and had a 4-1 record with the club before being promoted to Indianapolis. Wietgrefe won four straight starts with the Curve and finished his year with 127 strikeouts. He finished his time in Altoona with 18 straight scoreless innings.
High-A Greensboro
Very few players at the lower minor league levels within the Pirates’ organization were as exciting in 2026 as Wyatt Sanford. The 20-year old shortstop played 72 games with the Greensboro Grasshoppers and proved to be a dynamic blend of speed, athleticism and power. He hit 17 home runs with the club (19 overall) and had 33 stolen bases. He finished the year with a .292/.423/.551 slash line and had a .974 OPS. Sanford was invited to play for the Glendale Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall league.
Low-A Bradenton
In just his first season since being drafted sixth overall by the Pirates a year ago, Seth Hernandez has come on the scene firing on all cylinders. Hernandez was named the Florida State League player of the year after just six games with Bradenton before being promoted to Greensboro in May. He recorded 50 strikeouts in 28 innings, then finished the year with 118 strikeouts and a 2.43 ERA over 74 innings across both levels. With the Marauders he had an incredibly low 0.96 ERA, a 3-0 record and only allowed three earned runs during his time in the FSL.
Seth Hernandez turned in a stellar pro debut season:
TAMPA, FL - FEBRUARY 22: Austin Wells #28 and Cody Bellinger #35 of the New York Yankees pose for a photo during spring training at Himes Complex on February 22, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
MLB.com: The three AL Gold Glove finalists at each position were announced Wednesday, with three Yankees earning nods. Cody Bellinger, who led all left fielders with 21 DRS despite missing time to injury, is in play for his first Gold Glove since 2019, when he won one for his work in right with the Dodgers, plus the first for a Yankees outfielder since 2016 Brett Gardner. Austin Wells, who had a woeful season at the place, remains an elite framer and blocker. And José Caballero is up for the utility iteration of the award after posting 12 DRS while playing every position besides first base and the battery.
New York Post | Christian Arnold: ($) Aaron Boone got a public vote of confidence from his predecessor on Tuesday. “I think you could argue this was his best year of managing,” said Joe Girardi of the embattled Yankees skipper during an appearance on “The Show with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman.” “I think he got the most out of this team during the course of the season with all they had to deal with.”
Girardi, who now serves as a broadcaster with YES, instead directed blame towards injuries and a lineup that went cold in October once again.
The Athletic | Brendan Kuty: ($) In addition to uncertainty surrounding its manager, the Yankees have several key roster decisions this offseason. The first Kuty outlines is whether to move on from 37-year-old Giancarlo Stanton, whose injury problems kept him from contributing this year. The Yankees would have to eat $15 million and lose one of their clubhouse leaders in addition to one of the most prolific power bats of his generation. Still, his fit on the ‘27 roster is unclear. A similar question is what to do with Ryan McMahon, who’s owed $16 million next year but took a step backward defensively and was a nonentity at the plate this season. The Yankees could try to find a taker to eat part of his contract if they choose to part ways. The third is whether Ben Rice can develop from a full-time DH to a part-time first baseman, a move which could create a window to keep a healthy Stanton involved as well as provide half-days off for Aaron Judge, who’ll turn 35 next year and has struggled with his own run of health issues in recent years.
Yankees Magazine | Robert Hudson: Wednesday was the 50th anniversary of Chris Chambliss’ walk-off homer to clinch the ‘76 pennant. Chambliss takes the opportunity to reminisce about one of the most iconic moments in Yankees history, from his approach at the plate through Willie Randolph clearing a path through the mob so he could try to reach home. “Just the imprint of the plate [was there], so I put my foot on that area and touched it, and we went back into the clubhouse,” Chambliss says of his attempt to score, which eventually resulted in a rule change to account for fan obstruction. “Some people say the umpires were there, but I doubt it.”
LOS ANGELES — Milwaukee Brewersowner Mark Attansio leaned against the visiting clubhouse wall Wednesday night, standing under a picture of clouds hovering over Dodger Stadium, and feeling as if he were on Cloud 9 himself, reached for his cell phone.
He looked at the time. He hesitated.
And decided to make the call.
He telephoned Bud Selig, who brought the Brewers from Seattle in 1970, and whose family owned the Brewers for 35 years.
Selig answered the call at 10:48 Central Time in his Milwaukee home.
“Commissioner, can you believe this?" Attanasio said.
Attanasio apologized for the late call, and said that he worried he woke him up, only for Selig to say, “How can I sleep after that?"
“What a remarkable story," Selig said. “What a remarkable story."
The Brewers, in the smallest market in baseball, have completely dominated the Los Angeles Dodgers in this National League Championship Series, and are on the verge of reaching the World Series for the first time in 44 years.
They won 6-2 in front of a subdued non-sellout crowd of 50,708, and lead the Dodgers, 3 games to 0, with the potential clinching game Thursday night at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers are done, with only one team in baseball history ever recovering from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven series, and these aren’t the 2004 Boston Red Sox.
The Brewers, who were swept by the Dodgers a year ago in the NLCS without leading a single inning, now are returning the favor in front of a stunned Los Angeles team that was trying to become the first National League club to win three consecutive World Series titles.
The Brewers are squashing that dream for all of the baseball world to see.
One more victory and the Brewers will join the 1923 New York Yankees as the only team to be swept by a team in the previous postseason and win a postseason series against the same team the next season. And no one has ever been swept and come back to sweep the same opponent the following season.
Oh, what a difference a year makes.
The Brewers not only remember that sweep, but used it the entire season to motivate them, knowing that anything less than a World Series appearance would be a failure. Brewers manager Pat Murphy vividly remembers the words he told his team after being swept in Los Angeles last year.
“Hey guys, remember this. It hurts, remember it,’’ Murphy said. “I think they remembered so far."
Oh, do they ever.
“It’s a real thing,’’ Brewers second baseman Brice Turang said. “I don’t think any player wants that feeling ever again.
Outfielder Sal Frelick has been to the postseason four consecutive years with the Brewers, but every single year October has brought heartbreak. They were swept in the wild-card series in 2023 by the Arizona Diamondbacks. They lost in 2024 to the Mets on Pete Alonso’s dramatic game-winning homer in the ninth inning of the deciding game. They finally won a series last year when they ousted the rival Cubs in five games, but then came the Dodgers sweep.
“It just leaves you with such a sour taste in your mouth,’ Frelick said.
But now here they are, knowing they are on the brink of history, joining that illustrious 1982 team that reached the World Series before losing in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals.
For the first time in 44 years – yes, that’s Hank Aaron’s number – they can be pennant winners.
“I didn’t even know that number," Frelick said. “I’m not really thinking about stuff like that. We don’t even think about stuff like that. It’s just confined within these walls, keeping to ourselves."
So, no thoughts at all about the euphoria of reaching the World Series, and what it would mean to Milwaukee?
“I haven’t heard that in here," Frelick said. “No one’s even mentioned it"
Says Megill: “We’re not talking about that. We’ve got one more game to go. Then we can talk about it all you want"’
Murphy, in fact, will barely even concede that they’re in the driver’s seat, knowing the Dodgers’ glorious history.
“The Dodgers are an incredible team that's won back-to-back championships," Murphy said. “You think they're not good enough to come back and win a game against us or come back and play well? I mean, I know how good they are. Our guys know how good they are. Our guys know what we're up against."
Well, pardon everyone else in Milwaukee thinking about the World Series and knowing that this team could be remembered forever.
There are Brewer fans that can tell their grandkids about Jake Bauers, who two years ago planned to retire – only to change his mind when he learned his wife was pregnant and needed health insurance – to become the hero for a second consecutive game, this time hitting a go-ahead home run off two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell on the 11th pitch of the at-bat. One batter later, left-handed hitting Garrett Mitchell homered too, becoming the first pair of left-handed hitters to hit back-to-back homers off a lefty in the LCS or World Series since Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in the 1928 World Series.
“We play for each other, it’s as simple as that, man," Bauers says. “When you have 26 guys that are bought into that and believe that and show up every day, completely selfless, playing for each other, it's a special thing to be a part of."
They will talk about a bullpen that has given up just three runs this entire postseason, with a closer, Trevor Megill, that was picked up from the scrap heap by the Minnesota Twins.
They will talk about a team that has only one player on the roster earning more than $10 million beating up a filthy rich team with 15 players making at least $10 million, including a $700 million man in Shohei Ohtani.
They’ll talk about a former boxer who became a college baseball coach, who was hired by one of his former players to be the Brewers bench coach, with Pat Murphy now on the precipice of being the Brewers’ version of Vince Lombardi.
“It’s almost too much to take, right?" Attanasio said. “What’s great about this group is that they’re young enough that they don’t get caught up in history, so they don’t get burned by history."
It’s hard for it sink in now, Attanasio says, but in 15, 20 years, they may all be reminiscing, talking about the good ol’ days, and repeating Selig’s refrain.
“Hopefully," Attanasio said, “I’ll be able to say just like Commissioner Selig: 'It’s a remarkable story.' "
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 14: The Los Angeles Dodgers look on from the dugout during the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers in game three of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on October 14, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) | Getty Images
LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers are still woozy from the gut punch suffered in Game 3, but now face a sobering reality that their odds are long and the Milwaukee Brewers have several chances to deliver the knock out blow in the National League Championship Series.
“This one’s up there. The only one I can think of like that was maybe probably Game 5 against the Nationals in ‘19, but yeah, this one was tough,” said Kiké Hernández, whose 97 postseason games with the Dodgers are the most in franchise history. “It felt like once Will got that double, we were kind of gonna break out, and get back in the series. Now we dug an even bigger hole for ourselves.”
Will Smith’s sixth-inning drive looked like a potential home run but instead hit off the left field wall for a two-run double. Either way it was cathartic for Smith, who had just one hit in 26 at-bats in the postseason before that double gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead.
“It’s really hard to put into words, because you feel like you finally break through and Will with the big hit, you feel really good for him, because we all know he’s been struggling at the plate,” said shortstop Miguel Rojas, who had one of the Dodgers’ five hits in Game 3. “When that ball hit the wall, you feel like you could have gotten more, you know? That’s been the story of the series so far. Offensively we haven’t done our job, and it feel like we lost all the room for error we had earlier in the series. But we can’t do anything about it, we just have to come here tomorrow and win every pitch. That’s the mentality we have to have.”
After the double, the Dodgers still had runners on second and third with only one out. Hernández, pinch-hitting, struck out, as did Tommy Edman.
“For me, I took two strikes and swung at a ball,” Hernández said. “It’s just one of those points in time where it happens to go that way, and it just happens to be at the worst time of the season.
“We just weren’t able to put a couple more at-bats together in that sixth inning, and that was it. We didn’t add on, like they have in all three games, and that’s just the story of it.”
“I think with their pen, I felt it was important to try to get a lead, which we did with Will, and then get an opportunity to get some breathing room to tack on,” manager Dave Roberts said. “There’s certainly urgency where you want to keep their back end of the guys in the pen. Unfortunately, we didn’t do that.”
Blake Snell was cruising, with only 81 pitches through six innings having retired 14 batters in a row. Manager Dave Roberts’ plan was to leave Snell in to face the three left-handed batters to open the seventh inning before turning things over to right-hander Evan Phillips.
Snell walked Andrew Vaughn on seven pitches, then Jake Bauers battled for 11 pitches before hitting the two-run home run that turned the game around. Two pitches later, Garrett Mitchell homered too. Snell was done, having retired none of the three lefties, now trailing 4-2.
Bauers is only two years younger than Snell, and was in the Tampa Bay Rays system from 2015-18. Bauers played 96 games in his first major league season for the Rays in 2018, the year his teammate Snell won his first Cy Young Award. Now in his seventh organization, Bauers had his best season this year with the Brewers and just turned 31 last week. He turned around Games 2 and 3 in this NLCS with long battles, including a 12-pitch walk by Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Monday in Milwaukee.
“I’ve seen all the ups and downs he’s been through, and it’s been a lot of downs. For him to go through this right now, he’s earned it. Hats off to him, what an at-bat,” Snell said of Bauers. “I threw everything I had, and then a fastball down the middle. If I could locate that better, who knows what would have happened? This is the best I’ve ever seen him play. It’s a good at-bat. Hats off to him, but the walk’s what really frustrated me, with Vaughn.”
Snell did not allow a home run this season, totaling 10 starts and 46 1/3 innings before giving up three home runs on Wednesday night.
“Three home runs in a game, and I didn’t give up one the whole year. To have three in a game is pretty frustrating but it’s something I’ve gotta learn from,” Snell said. “It’s part of their journey, too. It’s only gonna make me better along mine.”
Long and the short of it
The Dodgers have scored seven total runs in the three games of this NLCS, while the Brewers have scored seven runs in the seventh inning or later. After the three runs off Snell in the seventh inning of Game 3, Milwaukee tacked on single runs in the eighth and ninth innings.
The Dodgers have scored in five different innings in three games, and after four of those innings, the Brewers scored immediately in their next time up.
Milwaukee, tied for 28th in the majors with 154 home runs in the regular season, has five home runs in three games in the NLCS. The Dodgers, tied for seventh in the majors with 204 homers this year, haven’t yet hit one in this series.
Los Angeles has two hits in 16 at-bats (.125) with runners in scoring position in the NLCS, while Milwaukee has nine hits in 27 such at-bats (.333).
“We have an amazing pitching staff, and it’s really hard to pitch when you have no run support. That’s on us offensively,” Rojas said. “We haven’t done what we’re supposed to do, and keep building the momentum and getting more runs at the times we have the opportunities with runners on base. I don’t care how good you are, it’s really hard of having to be perfect with every pitch. So far it’s been the offense’s fault.”
“It’s a pretty simple answer,” said Max Muncy, who struck out with two on in the sixth inning. “We’re playing like shit, and they’re playing great. It’s as simple as that.”
The season could come to an end Thursday, Oct. 15, or soon after. And for those who think the Brewers are scary, let’s not forget about something else – the Department of Justice and Securities Exchange Commission.
rBoth are conducting parallel investigations of Mark Walter, controlling owner of the Dodgers, for potential financial improprieties at two insurance companies controlled by Walter and at Guggenheim Partners, where Walter is chief executive officer, Bloomberg has reported. The Department of Justice has not disputed the investigation and Walter's companies have said they're working with the government.
And the sales have begun.
In August, Walter agreed to sell his controlling stake in the Los Angeles Lakers for a valuation of $12.5 billion. In September, Walter and business partner Todd Boehly sold their share of approximately 13% in the Chelsea soccer team for more than $1 billion, according The Financial Times.
Dodgers CEO Stan Kasten adamantly denied the Dodgers are for sale. But Will Walter and his parters still be in positions to build teams with massive payrolls?
Other financial troubles loom
Let's say Walter and his companies are right. They did nothing wrong. The Department of Justice and Securities Exchange Commission gave them a clean bill of health and a note of apology for all of the aggravation.
Trouble still looms.
Major League Baseball is pressing for a hard salary cap that would rip away a massive advantage for Los Angeles. So hard that it's likely the sport will suffer from a strike or a lockout. Understandably, baseball fans must relish watching Los Angeles, the league's second biggest market, losing to Milwaukee.
Things figure to get tougher for the Dodgers if they're forced to give up one of their biggest advantages – economic power.
But the concerns extend further for Los Angeles.
After the Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS, manager Dave Roberts lavished his team with praise.
"There's no more talented team than the Los Angeles Dodgers," the three-time World Series-winning skipper boasted. "It's the best organization in sports, top to bottom. We're smarter, we're better, and we're tougher."
Hernández is 33 and part of the undeniable reality. They might not be dinosaurs, but their age has begun to expose them.
That includes Ohtani, who at 32 is facing concerns about his own durability. Issues with his left knee forced him to stop pitching in early July and issues with his right bicep and neck left him on the injured list for 12 days in September.
He failed to recover power at the plate, although did show progress in Game 3. He ripped a single up the middle and also reached base after being hit by a pitch and drawing a walk while going 1-for-2. Scrutiny over Ohtani's slump is legitimate but masks larger problems.
What's wrong with the race car
The Dodgers are a race car with a broken clutch. They lose 2-1 in Game1 after failing to seize on Jacob Misioroski’s struggles. They took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth of Game 3, then immediately gave up three runs in the top of the seventh on back-to-back homers.
There have been no public appearances by Walter during the playoffs, which now look like one of the most disappointing Octobers since he and Guggenheim Partners bought the Dodgers in 2012. And about that purchase…
The Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast reported instances of alleged self-dealing when Walter and Guggenheim Partners bought the Dodgers in 2012 for $2.15 billion.
Walter and his companies have denied any allegations of wrongdoing.
On stagger the Dodgers, against daunting challenges beyond the Brewers as their remarkable reign is about to end.
