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The Atlanta Braves, after failing to secure the Wild Card series sweep yesterday afternoon to eliminate their division rival Philadelphia Phillies, are looking to save their season and advance.

With the shift to 8 PM ET for tonight’s game time, Walt Weiss had a few more hours to game plan to face a potential “Oops, All Starters” pitching plan from the Phillies. Aaron Nola is tabbed to take the ball first, but Zack Wheeler is expected to jog out of the pen to follow. As noted in the preview, everything is on the table.

Walt Weiss has penciled in yet another novel lineup.

Drake Baldwin will catch for opener Ray Kerr and bat leadoff. We could very much use a big game at the plate from Ronald Acuña Jr., who currently has more stolen bases (2) than hits (0). He’ll hit second and play right field. Matt Olson is in his typical spot in the three-hole and at first base. Captain of the outfield Michael Harris II will hit cleanup. Next will be Mauricio Dubón, who gets the start at shortstop after Ha-Seong Kim got two straight starts. Mike Yastrzemski completes the outfield in left and will hit sixth. Austin Riley, the team leader in home runs against Nola and author of Game 1’s biggest moment, will bat seventh. Ozzie Albies drops down to eighth, and Dominic Smith will bat ninth as the designated hitter.

The lineup for Don Mattingly’s club is as follows:

The Phillies have the same top three that we’ve been seeing: shortstop Trea Turner, DH Kyle Schwarber, and RF Bryce Harper. After yesterday’s game-winning homer, first baseman Alec Bohm gets to move up one to the cleanup spot. Bryson Stott will play second base and hit fifth. Bryan De La Cruz gets the start today in left field. Edmundo Sosa is in the lineup after exiting Game 2 with injury – he’ll hit seventh and be at third base. Catcher JT Realmuto moves up to eighth and center fielder Justin Crawford rounds out the batting order for Philadelphia.

I don’t know about you, but I want to see a Blooper flag run more than anything in the world right now. Let it fly, Braves.

It is already being called one of the most momentous home runs in White Sox postseason history, and now BreakingT has commemorated Chase Meidroth’s three-run blast in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card series in T-shirt form:

What a moment! And the definitive image to mark the first White Sox postseason series victory in 21 seasons.

BreakingT offered two more shirts today, listed here but without a separate post.

First, we have yet another Munetaka Murakami postgame celebration quote-T:

And there’s also a team signature T-shirt, under the Abundant Blessings header:

As always, anything else you buy with our link, whether a Mets mug or Sabres sweatshirt, gives South Side Sox a commission and helps us continue to provide the best coverage we can for you.

So go ahead and express yourself, courtesy of South Side Sox and BreakingT!

Munetaka Murakami has been a bit of a viral sensation from the start of his career in the United States, from the installation of bidets in the White Sox clubhouse to the on-base gestures of his teammates, and on from there. His latest bit of endearing hilarity came during the White Sox clubhouse celebration in Kansas City on Thursday, when his tribute to countryman Munenori Kawasaki became a viral moment:

So hey, let’s commemorate the moment!

If there’s any T-shirt offered this season that better encapsulates the joy of the 2026 White Sox, you’ve found it here!

And remember, anything else you buy with our link, whether a Mariners mug or Spurs sweatshirt, gives South Side Sox a commission and helps us continue to provide the best coverage we can for you.

So go ahead and express yourself, courtesy of South Side Sox and BreakingT!

With the remarkable achievement of the 2026 Chicago White Sox — making the postseason after three straight 100-loss seasons, something that’s not been accomplished even after “just” two straight 100-loss seasons — BreakingT has gear for you that breaks down the math!

There is even a nod to Mike Vasil’s magic wand. If there’s any T-shirt offered this season that better encapsulates all that these 2026 White Sox are, you’ve found it here!

And remember, anything else you buy with our link, whether a Brewers mug or Dolphins sweatshirt, gives South Side Sox a commission and helps us continue to provide the best coverage we can for you.

So go ahead and crunch the numbers, courtesy of South Side Sox and BreakingT!

In response to the fever that has broken out all over the South Side, our friends at BreakingT have come up with a nifty little design celebrating the awesomeness of slugger Munetaka Murakami:

You gotta admit, it’s a pretty impossibly clever design, with the moon “O” and a bit of a nod to silent film Le Voyage dans la Lune. No doubt it will make a snappy addition to your closet.

And remember, anything else you buy with our link, whether a Pirates mug or Yankees sweatshirt, gives South Side Sox a commission and helps us continue to provide the best coverage we can for you.

So go ahead a book your trip to the Mune, from South Side Sox and BreakingT!

(Every purchase you make with our link drops a few pennies in the jar here at South Side Sox, so a list of all our prior BreakingT collaborations follow, below. Yes, some of the designs are now hilariously outdated collector’s items. But most, if not all of these, should still be available, so click a link and see!)

Over the weekend, Tim Anderson silenced the Yankees boo-birds — and perhaps those who have been doubted the potency of the Chicago White Sox. Now, Breaking T commemorates his power:

This link takes you to this newest T-shirt, plus our entire line of White Sox wear!

While several members of the Chicago White Sox will need your votes for the July All-Star Game, fans are encouraged to punch the Robert/Jiménez ticket for a dominant South Side outfield all season long!

Whether you’re voting offense (what say, 70 homers among them?) or defense (Luis already has a Gold Glove, Eloy is … still alive), there’s no better campaign to get behind.

With everyone now aware that on his 23rd try, Minnie Miñoso was elected to the Hall of Fame. And Breaking T has commemorated the nickname that manager Paul Richards bestowed on Minnie almost immediately after his arrival on the South Side:

Celebrate Minnie’s White Sox immortality with this wonderful creation!

Celebrate the White Sox moments of your life with the entire Chicago W Collection at Breaking T, where you can peruse everything available. Or, if you want to read all my terrific catalog copy for each item, just scroll down and enjoy!

The White Sox indeed did make a free agent acquisition or two before the lockout, so it’s well past time to raise our glasses to the Legend himself: Leury Legend, that is.

He’s the longest-tenured current White Sox player, and when he’s done, he could well crack the list of all-time White Sox. Can you believe it? Welcome back, Leury!

To celebrate the division title for 2021, Breaking T offers two new T-shirt designs commemorating the feat:

Certainly, we hope there will be more than just a division title to enjoy over the next month or so, but we have to start somewhere!

Contrary to the cynics among you, we haven’t featured every Breaking T White Sox design here at South Side Sox, for various reasons. But I’ve never seen one more confounding than the José Abreu and Eloy Jiménez Sugar Skulls designs.

That said, they are sort of insane, and I’m digging them. Definitely different.

If you scroll down far enough, I think you can see the original Yasmani Grandal Breaking T piece, Yaz We Can, which I think was pretty clever and should have pulled a lot of fans in with purchases. It was definitely different, as far as Breaking T fare.

But I don’t remember it doing all that well, which was a shame. Maybe Yaz isn’t sexy. Walks aren’t, as someone on Twitter wants to tell you every day.

Here’s another chance to wear your Yaz fandom, playing off of his casual drops on 400-foot blasts:

Yasmani really is the bad boy of the White Sox. He’ll snark you. He’ll roll his eyes. He’s not out to please anyone. He’s just gonna be a badass catcher who drops the bat after clocking one a mile, thank you very much.

Holy man, that Field of Dreams game win was so big, Breaking T rolled out three shirts to commemorate it!

The middle model even comes with TA’s “it’s all over, baby” gesture, which is fun.

Well, that was a titanic, game-winning home run if ever there was one!

Brian Goodwin told Cleveland to kick rocks, then sent a ball over the fence — and his bat into orbit — with his Sunday heroics, and Breaking T captures it in all its multicolored glory.

In just his second game back after a season-long stint on the IL, Eloy Jiménez announced his presence in the White Sox lineup with authority, hitting a home run and providing whirling dervish defense in Tuesday’s win at K.C.

Natch, Breaking T is here to celebrate the Big Baby’s return:

It’s great to have Eloy back with the club in any capacity, and him starring in just his second game back is extra sweet. Now you can wear that sweetness!

It was a quite a moment on Monday, seizing a win from the jaws of a doubleheader sweep. When you’re running away with a division, tension can seem manufactured, but Len Kasper gave us a classic moment that our own Joe Resis likened to A.J. Pierzynski’s walk-off against the Dodgers during the 2005 season. Listen to Len last night:

So naturally, Breaking T gives us a snapshot of Sheets’ homer, classically titled Holy Sheets!

Way to go, rook. Every player on this roster is stepping up and helping the White Sox win.

The White Sox just keep humming along, with great pick-me-ups from the most unlikely of places. Waiver-wire pickup Billy Hamilton has managed to become a core bench and spot-start piece for the club as it ascending in the AL Central, and the veteran made his defensive presence known, with authority, in the ninth inning of Tuesday’s win at Minnesota:

Breaking T is on the scene, with some Billywear commemorating the catch:

I mean, incorporating that defensive brilliance with the hilarious Go Ham tagline? That’s a winner.

Well, hey there, we are in a moment, so Breaking T is kicking ass to gear up in support of Yermín Mercedes. Next up is a more general statement about the dumbness of unwritten rules, in a classic White Sox road script:

You don’t usually expect to have to persuade your manager to defend his own player, but here we are. And in the Tony La Russa-Yermín Mercedes kerfuffle, we (and all of the White Sox players) are Team Yermín.

So is Breaking T, who’s issuing this “I’m Yermín” wear in solidarity with the rookie sensation:

Simple, classic, and oh-so-83licious.

Peruse all the White Sox offerings at Breaking T, or use this post (and all entries below) to shop your own SSS catalog!

Well, perhaps you’ve been waiting for a more “authentic” Yerminator T-Shirt, something more “as seen on TV.” Well, here you have it!

Terminator vibe? Check. Super cool uniform easter egg in the shades? Check. Money actually going to the players association to benefit minimum-salaried players like Yermín himself? Check.

They may have had to scratch “perfecto” out of the original design after Roberto Pérez’s ninth-inning toe-tap, but Breaking T is delivering big for you after Carlos Rodón’s no-hitter!

It’s a sharp piece, with the clever use of accent mark, complete with high socks! (If only it was a warmer night, we’d have Rodón dressed in his full Grant Park 16´´softballer mode … #JulyGoalsForLos.)

As you well know, you don’t have to go 5-for-5 in your first MLB start or start a season 8-for-8 to merit a cool Breaking T shirt. But it doesn’t hurt!

Celebrate our Yermín Spring with The Yerminator, a delightful play off of everyone’s favorite killer robot-turned-sweet hero. Hoodies, Ts, we’ve got the gear.

Perhaps because he was injured for half of his first season, or he doesn’t have a snappy nickname yet, or he’s such a grinder he doesn’t lend himself to chest-emblazoned graphics, Nick Madrigal has to date missed the cut as a T-shirt subject.

No longer.

Boy howdy, Madrigal is part of Breaking T’s inaugural and collectible Prospects to Pros line. (Image approximating, but not actual Madrigal size.)

Celebrate the start of the season, and one of our most promising young players, with this great Sox-wear.

Peruse the offerings at Breaking T, or take a look at the full line (with links) below!

To welcome our new, colorful closer, Liam Hendriks, Breaking T has gone positively Greek with the Australian, with Hercu-Liam!

Breaking T put together four great purchase options for Hercu-Liam, from petite to husky, winter bundling to summer sunning.

And click here to view everything in Breaking T’s White Sox collection in one spot.

Individual links below should get you to other White Sox products on site, including the Classic Collection that features the Ed Farmer and Mark Buehrle T-shirts.

To welcome our newest (and top WAR) starter into the rotation, Breaking T has drawn up some Lance Lynn-wear sure to please the bearded fan on your holiday shopping list, with Lynnsanity!

The big man is in town and ready to push the rotation toward a World Series!

I first got word of this shirt just as José Abreu was homering and singling in runs during the 2020 season.

And Breaking T’s hunch became reality, as José Abreu became the first White Sox MVP since Frank Thomas and only the fourth player, after Nellie Fox, Dick Allen and Thomas to win the award.

Celebrate a little early by ordering here.

And peruse the rest of the collection below to add to your order and combine shipping.

Clubbing homers and scoring runs like there’s no tomorrow, the Chicago White Sox Murderer’s Row of Eloy Jiménez, José Abreu, Tim Anderson and Luis Robert is the subject of a new BreakingT shirt:

South Side Hit Men

Some real nice details in this one: Each players’ expression, the gangster pinstripes, and the exotic player numbers among them. Grab one at BreakingT.

With Luis Robert not only staking his claim on AL Rookie of the Year but MVP, it makes sense that BreakingT is working overtime to present the best Panterawear out there.

Dig this supercool 1983 nod, which you can order here.

Looking for Luis Robert to assume his La Pantera form? BreakingT has you covered. Order here and celebrate the future MVP!

I’m digging the silhouette.

The 19th no-hitter in White Sox history is in the books, by none other than ace Lucas Giolito. So it’s time to celebrate the Gio No-No! It’s a quick, and slick, commemoration of an incredible, 101-pitch masterpiece, dated and suitable for a Gio auto!

Snag one here, and take a look at numerous other wonderful Breaking T offerings below.

So, it was bound to happen, but BreakingT is first on the scene to promote the latest dance party sweeping Soxdom: DANCING FOR DUBS

Featuring the boogie-down duo of Zack Collins and Danny Mendick, the T-shirt and/or hoodie is available in all sizes, so take a look now.

BreakingT has nominated a very young, boisterous ticket for 2020: Luis Robert and Eloy Jiménez.

Running on speed and power, folded into the Change the Game platform, we’re now making these sweet Ts available so you can elect them to a six-year term lasting until 2026.

He’s only the hottest rookie — nay, the hottest player — in baseball heading into 2020.

La Pantera!

Is there anything left to say? This BreakingT-South Side Sox joint is TIGHT.

Order it up before they’re all gone!

So, BreakingT was watching ESPN on Sunday and said, “hey, that’s right, Tim Anderson speaks the truth: the preeminent sports network in America is sleeping on the White Sox again.”

Thus: Y’all forgot about us:

Order this latest design here.

All shapes and sizes are available, in T-shirt or hoodie.

Stay tuned for some excellent new merch dropping on Friday as well.

How about pairing it with the original classic?

Our best seller, the incomparable Tim Anderson neck-bow of STICK TALK!

BreakingT has a bunch of terrific ideas they’ve collaborated with us on for their newest designs in conjunction with the MLB Players Alumni Association. This one is, simply, Mister Perfect, commemorating Mark Buehrle’s perfect game in 2009:

Order it here, and take a look at the entire Classic Collection as well.

The first White Sox product from BreakingT’s Classic Collection was a beautiful tribute to our Ed Farmer:

Order it here. When you click on our link to buy, we will donate a portion of the proceeds we see from these shirt sales in Farmer’s name to the Polycystic Kidney Disease Research Foundation (support.pkdcure.org).

GM Rick Hahn’s new catch phrase out of SoxFest, Ask Me After the Parade, from BreakingT.

Uh, hello, Eloy and his red gloves vow to clock one off of the scoreboard one day. Until then, we have Pinwheel Power!

Have you heard? We got a catcher, and he’s the best in the biz: Yaz We Can!

With Dallas Keuchel’s beard barely trimmed on the White Sox, this T-shirt not only rocks, it remains anatomically correct: Kid Keuchy!

There’s a well-worn business cliche that “hope is not a strategy.” Unfortunately for the 2026 Mariners, there was too much hoping, and not enough strategizing.

In speaking with players and front office members over the last few weeks as the 2026 Mariners season limped to its agonizing, inevitable conclusion, one common theme jumped out: the Mariners were banking on hope for too much of the season: hope that things would turn around, hope that certain players would turn it on, hope that the team as a whole would catch fire.

This theme was first crystallized during a postgame interview with Logan Gilbert back in mid-September, speaking after the Mariners officially clinched a losing season after a particularly lifeless 1-2 loss against the bottom-dwelling Angels.

“We were just waiting for it to turn around, and it never quite did,” said Gilbert.

Waiting and hoping, rather than doing and achieving. It’s a surprisingly passive mindset for a team that made such a deep postseason run last year. In retrospect, though, that might have been part of the problem. Everyone in the clubhouse knew what kind of talent they had on the team – looking at some of the postseason rosters it’s shocking to think a Mariners team composed of multiple All-Stars and award winners couldn’t make it across the finish line, especially in a violently mediocre AL West – but the talent never showed up to the field consistently. By the time they realized no one was coming to save them but themselves, it was too late, the hole dug too deep. Instead of pushing them forward, that talent bred a complacency that things would turn around without the dynamism to make it happen.

“Obviously we were riding high off last year, and somewhere along the way things just didn’t click, didn’t come together, and we were never able to right the ship, and that’s the frustrating part,” said Cal Raleigh. “I thought we would be able to get there, and we just never did. We never got better. We never turned it around, and that’s frustrating.”

In the Mariners’ defense, waiting and then getting hot at the right time had served them well in the past. The drought-breaking 2022 team was ten games under .500 on June 19th before going on a run – beating up on some of the same AL West opponents they couldn’t handle this year – ending July eight games over .500. The 2025 team made up for a sub-.500 May and June by catching fire the rest of the way, playing at a .680 clip over September. By contrast, the 2026 team played just under .500 ball in the first half and was significantly worse in the second half, never catching fire the way they did in previous years. It’s understandable that this team of young Mariners thought their ship would eventually come in.

“It’s tough when you go through those times in the past,” said Bryan Woo. “We’ve always found a way to get high at the right time and find our way in it. So you learn from experiences, and up until that point, that was our experience: stay in it and wait until we play the baseball that we know how to play, get on it at the right time, and find a way in it. Obviously, this year didn’t go that way.”

It didn’t help that this team wasn’t equipped personnel-wise for the second-half push to get them over their traditional slow start. Julio Rodríguez, who has a track record of coming on strong in the second half, never got to that point after going on the concussion IL in July. They lost Emerson Hancock, their second-best pitcher in the rotation by WAR, in September. There was no Jorge Polanco to electrify the lineup as Cole Young, the workhorse of the infield, labored down the stretch, more than doubling his plate appearances from last year.

Speaking to the media on Monday, Jerry Dipoto was both blunt and succinct in addressing the team’s failure.

“What we saw in mid-season was a team playing with limited urgency and and waiting for the water to turn on, and it just didn’t come on. Instead of turning it on ourselves.”

Like Raleigh, Dipoto echoed the frustration of watching it happen, like a slow-motion car crash, while failing to reverse course.

“We saw it unfolding. Our players saw it unfolding. We we talked about it a lot as the season went along. And again, it’s where I would count myself most at fault. You can talk about it or you can just go out and do it. You can lament the fact that there was an injury here or there—we had fewer injuries to deal with than many teams that wound up finishing in a really good spot and are still playing today. So we had a tendency this year to just shrug it off to, ‘we’re more talented than the teams around us. Don’t worry, it’ll happen.’ Instead of going out and making our own thing happen.”

Where the key failure was, according to both Dipoto and Raleigh, was in a lack of accountability once the passivity problem had been identified – not just turning the water on for yourself, but making sure the water got turned on everywhere, even if that results in some momentarily-bruised feelings.

“That’s that’s what accountability looks like,” said Dipoto. “It’s calling that out in the moment. It’s stopping it before it gets rolling any further. It’s being truthful in our discussion with one another. For years our program has always been built on truth. We tell the truth with love, and and sometimes you might get your nose out of joint for a moment, but you wake up the next day and you realize that you’re loved, and you’re just trying to help one another.”

Raleigh, echoing the tone of Dipoto’s comments, suggested the passivity piece might go beyond the play on the field and reach into the clubhouse, the training room, the front office, everywhere.

“The waiting on it part is…maybe that was the wrong thing to do. You shouldn’t wait on something, or you shouldn’t hold back on something that may need to be said or may need to be done. It’s doing it there and now, and and making sure that you’re not holding back. And like I said, I look at myself and could I’ve done more? Yes, I should have done more. But I think again, it’s not just me. I think it’s a lot of guys. I think it’s I think it’s staff. I think it’s front office. I think it’s players. I think it’s from top to bottom. I think we could have been a little more aggressive, a little more—you know, we’re grown men here, and we’re trying to get to the same goal. And you know, if it hurts somebody’s feelings, then it hurts somebody’s feelings for a day. But at least it got taken care of, whatever the situation may be. But that’s something that’s that will get addressed and be better next year for sure.”

There’s a quote often attributed to baseball player Vernon Wells that experience is a cruel teacher because it gives the test first and the lessons later. The 2026 Mariners had the experience; now they’re learning the lessons.

“It’s a learning point that we’re all going to have to take accountability for and understand,” said Raleigh, before slipping into coach-speak. “If it happens once, that’s one too many times, and if it happens again, it becomes a habit, so it’s about changing that and turning things around.”

“You learn that it’s not just going to change on its own,” said Woo. “You have to do something about it, better sooner rather than later. It’s a really, really tough lesson that you can only really learn by going through it.”

Another lesson the 2026 Mariners have learned: don’t let a focus on the bigger picture take away from the immediacy of the game in front of you. Julio Rodríguez spoke about the team’s inability to string together consistent wins, suggesting that maybe that expectation of catching fire caused a lack of focus on the day-to-day, and says he’s looking forward to bringing a “fresher mentality” into 2027.

“You have to focus on one day at a time,” said Julio. “A streak is just a combination of single games. So I think that was a situation where in the past we would always get hot. But I do believe that that approach needs to be just one day at a time and just let everything take care of itself. If we play our game clean, we do what we need to do to win that day without expectation, I think I think we’re gonna be in a good spot.”

Josh Naylor is also matter-of-fact about the team’s struggles, but optimistic that they can turn things around.

“Yeah, we waited for that for that moment, I think, and it didn’t come. But that doesn’t say it won’t come next year. This season – it is what it is. We didn’t perform, and kind of have to leave it at that. You could beat yourself up all day, but at what point is enough?…Some years are awesome, some years aren’t. That’s just the name of the game. I didn’t think I did as well as I could have, and it sucks. I have to wear that. I have to sit with that for the off-season. Then it’s time to grow, time to re-evaluate, go back to the drawing board, think about what I did right, what I did wrong, and how I can fix it. And then just try to evolve my game like I try to do with every obstacle I face.”

The 2026 Mariners failed the test. They were too passive, too complacent, and unwilling to have the hard conversations they needed to have to turn the season around, hoping someone would switch it on for them. Now they have learned some hard lessons – about failure, yes, but also hopefully about being brave enough to dole out tough love, about not resting on talent alone, and about making things happen rather than having them happen to you. Hopefully most of all, they have learned hope is not a strategy, and will come into 2027 with some more concrete ones to ensure this miserable year doesn’t repeat itself.

The game of baseball is always changing and evolving. This season we got a big rule change in the form of the ABS challenge system. Giving players the ability to challenge the umpire’s ruling is a game changer. This season, 5,686 calls were overturned around the league.

I wanted to take a look at how successful the Nats were when it came to using the challenge system. In the first year of ABS, there is no true guide on how to effectively use it. That means different teams will take different approaches. With a year of data, I think teams will have a better idea of how to use the system most effectively.

On the season, the Nats were mediocre at best when it came to challenging. Nats hitters were 45% on challenges this season, which ranked 23rd in baseball. Meanwhile, Nationals were 54%, which ranks 22nd in the league. Overall, the Nats were not horrible at using the ABS challenge system, but left plenty to be desired.

In the beginning of the season, the Nats struggled to adjust to the new system. For the first month of play, the Nats were the worst challenging team in baseball. I remember one game against the Phillies during the first week of the season where the Nats ran out of challenges in the second inning.

Hitters were having a hard time picking the right spots to challenge. Keibert Ruiz and Drew Millas were also struggling behind the plate. Millas continued to struggle, with a 43% win rate on the season. That was actually the worst mark of any catcher with at least 50 challenges. 

After a tough start, Keibert Ruiz turned into a decent challenger. On the season, Ruiz went 56% on ABS challenges. That is slightly below the 58% average for catchers. Harry Ford was actually the best Nats catcher at using the ABS system, with a 60% win rate.

Ford being the best at using ABS actually makes sense. The ABS challenge system has been in place at the AAA level for a little while now, which makes Ford the most familiar with the procedure. With his experience, Ford had a better feel for when to tap the helmet.

On the hitting side, CJ Abrams was actually one of the game’s best challengers. He challenged 14 times and won 12 of them. Abrams was actually the best hitter in baseball in terms of overturns vs expected, a stat on Baseball Savant. However, it was a mixed bag at best for the rest of the team.

Jorbit Vivas and Nasim Nunez were the worst challengers on the team, going 3 for 11 and 3 for 12 respectively. Maybe they should not have challenging privileges going into next season. James Wood also struggled, going 8 for 23 on the year.

Overall, I thought the Nats got better at challenging as the year went on but still have plenty of room to improve. It was very interesting to watch this new system for the first time. ABS provides a new element when it comes to accuracy and strategy. I am excited to see how the Nats adapt to the system as the years go on. It is a fun subplot to follow around the game.

Game 1 of the National League Division Series is slated to be a hot one, literally.

First pitch between the Dodgers and Phillies or Braves (depending on who wins Game 3 of the wild-card series Thursday) is set for 1 p.m. Saturday. Temperatures at Dodger Stadium are expected to reach upward of 98 degrees.

While there certainly won’t be an autumn breeze for October baseball in Los Angeles, Dodgers fans can purchase tickets at a reasonable price for Game 1 of the NLDS.

Tickets have gone lower than $100, meaning fans can watch the back-to-back World Series champions for a price that likely matches the 90-degree weather.

For those wondering about the early start time for a Dodgers playoff game, the wild-card series between the Padres and Cubs determined whether LA would get the 1 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. slot.

Since the Padres beat Chicago, the Dodgers were pushed to the 1 p.m. start time and San Diego received the evening slot to avoid any overlap between the two NLDS matchups.

While the Padres already know their NLDS opponent in the Brewers, the Dodgers still are waiting.

Regardless of who they face, the Dodgers are set for a heated Game 1.

There were consistent statements made by the Cincinnati Reds ownership group during the collapse in 2026 that the front office and baseball decision-makers were not going to be replaced this offseason. It was telling that despite their precipitous fall down the standings after a surprising (and statistically unsustainable) win streak in March they stuck with Nick Krall and Brad Meador during the MLB Draft process mid-summer.

Letting a front office on the outs make that kind of ten-figure investment in the future of the franchise wouldn’t have made much sense, would it?

So, from a reading the tea leaves perspective today’s news conference featuring Phil Castellini endorsing the current front office for another year should have caused zero surprises; the surprise was months ago when all signs pointed directly to that being the case.

“We need baseball guys to make baseball decisions,” said Phil.

What Phil did not say, though, was “we need expert baseball guys to make expert baseball decisions.”

Charlie Goldsmith was on hand to document the presser, and to Krall’s credit he owned a number of his own mistakes. There was genuine lament that they – he – had thrown so many millions of dollars at 3B only to have it blow up in the Reds faces each and every time, and how that was an exhaustive way of using the otherwise limited resources that this team has at its disposal.

It was also made clear that Derek Johnson, who’d been the head of pitching at every single inch of the franchise since 2019, would officially depart from said duties. He’d been on a leave of absence since June anyway, and now the front office will be tasked with regrouping with another voice there – even though it’ll be the very same front office getting to make those personnel decisions despite the foibles they’ve encountered elsewhere.

Beyond that, it’s telling that the front office will remain intact at the same time that so many of their players are entering winters when their trade value could not possibly be any lower. Nick Lodolo and Andrew Abbott took terrible steps backwards during the 2026 season while also seeing their precious team control dwindle towards empty. Spencer Steer needed wrist surgery, while Matt McLain was one of the single worst hitters against RHP in the sport at the highest level. Even JJ Bleday, who emerged as a legitimate lineup staple against RHP, spent the final four months of the season showing why he’d been non-tendered the year prior. Hunter Greene, of course, just had his elbow replaced.

So, a front office that has hammered home how this will be a slow build and will feature them trusting the process with the guys they’d assembled now a) gets an endorsement from the owners to continue on that path and b) enters the offseason armed with almost zero shiny trade chips from which to make deals.

There will be some money available after the likes of Brady Singer, Eugenio Suarez, TJ Friedl, and Tyler Stephenson came off the books. But that’s precisely the area where this front office has collapsed in delirium for the entirety of its establishment, meaning the guys will once again have to eschew their growing reputation and hit on some gems in a winter where there aren’t a ton of perfect-fit options out there on the open market.

Terrified of what it would actually take to overhaul a franchise that has sputtered for generations, the Reds are going to take the easy route once again. We all know how well those stories usually play out.