NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 09: Former New York Knicks player Dick Barnett waves to the crowd during the first half between the Milwaukee Bucks and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on January 09, 2023 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Two noteworthy Knicks birthdays today!
Dr. Dick Barnett was born October 2, 1936, in Gary, Indiana. Barnett spent eight seasons with New York, became an All-Star in 1968, and played for both the 1970 and 1973 championship teams. His number 12 hangs in the Garden rafters. He died last year at 88.
Barnett had one of the most unforgettable shots in basketball history. Starting in college (when nicknamed “Dick the Skull”), he became known for contorting his body into a question mark while shooting his jumper, kicking his legs back and telling defenders, “Too late–fall back, baby!” Barnett went on to turn his eccentric shot into more than 15,000 NBA points.
A beloved teammate of Walt Frazier, Barnett was featured in the documentary film, The Dream Whisperer, about his time playing at Tennessee State University for the Tigers. During segregation, the all-Black Tigers won three straight national championships. Captain Barnett tirelessly fought for their recognition, which culminated in their 2019 induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Watch the doc here, you’ll dig it.
After hanging up his sneakers, Barnett earned an MBA from New York University and then a PhD in education from Fordham University. He taught Sports Management at St. John’s University for four years.
And (feeling like Garrison Keillor here) Tyson Chandler was born today in 1982, in Hanford, California. Chandler came to New York immediately after anchoring Dallas’ 2011 championship defense and became the 2011-12 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, the only Knick ever to take the honor.
Drafted second in 2001, the seven-foot Chandler played for five seasons in Chicago before bouncing from NOLA to Charlotte to Dallas and then the Knicks. After three seasons at MSG, he was sent back to Dallas, then Phoenix, and finished out his 19-year career with the Lakers and Rockets.
Chandler joined the Knicks in December 2011 via a sign-and-trade between multiple teams, which also sent traded Ronny Turiaf, cash, and a 2013 2nd-round draft pick to the Wizards. While there was no denying his talent, Chandler appeared on the injured list often during his tenure here, with a hamstring strain, playoff flu and an upper respiratory infection, a bulging cervical disc (plus related neck spasms and weight loss from illness), and a fractured right fibula.
In June 2014, he and Raymond Felton were traded to the Mavs for José Calderón, Samuel Dalembert, Wayne Ellington, Shane Larkin, a 2014 2nd-round draft pick (Thanasis Antetokounmpo was later selected), and a 2014 2nd-round draft pick (Cleanthony Early was later selected). (h/t basketball-reference.com)
Chandler concluded his time in New York with averages of 10.2 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks across 183 games. His career highlights, also from Wikipedia:
NBA champion (2011)
NBA All-Star (2013)
All-NBA Third Team (2012)
NBA Defensive Player of the Year (2012)
NBA All-Defensive First Team (2013)
2× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2011, 2012)
First-team Parade All-American (2001)
Second-team Parade All-American (2000)
McDonald’s All-American (2001)
2× California Mr. Basketball (2000, 2001)
Quite a nice pairing: two Knicks born 46 years apart, one remembered for his offense, the other for defense. Closing my Writer’s Almanac loop, your poem for the day is a personal favorite, “The Bear,” by Galway Kinnell.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 15: Jacob Latz #67 of the Texas Rangers reacts following the team's win over the Boston Red Sox at Globe Life Field on September 15, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning, LSB.
Evan Grant plays the blame game and discusses how much Ray Davis deserves for the Rangers’ failed season.
Editor’s note: Sheng Peng is a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on Twitter at @Sheng_Peng.
The Sharks played the way the Florida Panthers wanted to play; they played the way that they wanted to play, and then they beat the Stanley Cup contenders.
Physically, they stood up to the big, bad Panthers, be it Will Smith hanging tough with Eetu Luostarinen in the corners to help set up Mason Marchment’s goal, Darnell Nurse cross-checking Matthew Tkachuk, Jacob Trouba getting in a fight for Macklin Celebrini or Collin Graf getting in a fight for Ivar Stenberg.
Nurse got a penalty, but there were plenty of examples on Thursday of the ex-Edmonton Oilers defenseman imposing his will on the Panthers, reminiscent of their 2024 and 2025 Stanley Cup Final matchups.
Coming off back-to-back disappointing seasons -- with disappointing being an understatement when describing what the 2026 campaign was -- the Mets enter this offseason looking to get back on track.
The initial goal, which has been the same since Steve Cohentook over as owner, is to get back to the playoffs. The ultimate goal is to become a team that is in the postseason perennially.
With that in mind, the expectation is that David Stearns and the front office will be selectively aggressive this winter via free agency while attempting to fix the trouble spots that helped do the Mets in the last two years.
The trade market could also be fertile ground for New York, with their farm system recently fortified following their trade deadline sell-off.
As the offseason takes shape, it will be colored by New York's existing payroll commitments for 2027 and how the books are shaping up in the years to come.
It could also be influenced by the looming lockout that is set to begin on Dec. 1, and the potential that the new CBA could usher in harsher penalties for teams that exceed the luxury tax thresholds.
Here's how the payroll looks for next season and beyond...
Jul 7, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets left fielder Juan Soto (22) reacts with shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) after making a catch to end the top of the fourth inning at Citi Field. / Vincent Carchietta - Imagn Images
SALARY COMMITTED FOR 2027
The Mets enter the offseason with roughly $255 million committed for 2027, via Cot's Contracts, which is a number that includes the $18.5 million estimated for player benefits, the money owed to zero-to-three players in both the majors and minors who are under team control, and the bonus pool for pre-arbitration players.
The above figure will go up with arbitration raises owed to 10 players, including Brett Baty, Francisco Alvarez, and Dedniel Núñez. But a handful of the arbitration-eligible group could possibly be non-tendered or traded, which would lower the total amount owed.
Of note: The $255 million total before arbitration raises includes the $42 million salary that will be owed to Bo Bichette if he opts in to the second year of his three-year contract.
For reference, the Mets ended the 2026 season with a 40-man CBT payroll of $359.48 million.
Now off the books is the $17 million owed to Frankie Montas, whose two-year deal is up.
Additionally, because the Mets traded or waived their notable pending free agents (Brooks Raley, David Peterson, A.J. Minter, Freddy Peralta, Clay Holmes, and Luis Robert Jr.), the only possible pending free agent on the active roster (aside from Montas) is Bichette.
The Mets are now clear of the contracts for Raley ($2 million), Peralta ($8 million), Peterson ($8.1 million), Minter ($11 million), Holmes ($12.6 million), and Robert ($20 million) that were on their books at the beginning of the season.
WHAT WILL THE ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS MAKE?
The Mets have 10 arbitration-eligible players.
New York Mets third baseman Brett Baty (7) reacts as he runs the bases after hitting a grand slam home run against the Texas Rangers during the ninth inning at Globe Life Field. / Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images
Those players (with their 2026 Mets salary in parentheses) are:
Even if the Mets tender contracts to all of the above players, their payroll would not go up dramatically -- perhaps the total arbitration figure would be around $18 million.
However, it's difficult to see them tendering contracts to Morel or Pache, and the writing seems to be on the wall when it comes to Vientos having perhaps played his last game for New York. So for the purposes of this exercise, let's put the arbitration number at $14 million.
After taking the arbitration money into account, the total New York could be on the hook for before making external additions is approximately $269 million.
HOW MUCH MONEY IS THERE TO ADD PLAYERS THIS OFFSEASON?
The Mets, after arbitration raises, would likely be above the first luxury tax threshold for the 2027 season. However, because the CBA is set to expire, the first, second, third, and fourth thresholds for 2027 and beyond (and whether those exact kind of structures will still be in play) have not yet been determined.
For the 2026 season, the four thresholds were $244 million, $264 million, $284 million, and $304 million -- figures that had been increasing incrementally (around $3 million to $4 million for each threshold) on an annual basis.
Jun 26, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns speaks during a press conference before a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field. The club earlier today parted ways with manager Carlos Mendoza (not pictured). / Brad Penner - Imagn Images
New York has exceeded the luxury tax five seasons in a row and (barring something very unexpected) will be doing it for a sixth straight time in 2027.
But again, the tiers and penalties for exceeding them will not be known until a new CBA is agreed to, which throws a good deal of uncertainty into the offseason for every team that is ordinarily a significant spender.
Also of importance is that the Mets are set to get serious salary relief following the 2027 season, when the contracts for Sean Manaea, Jorge Polanco, and Kodai Senga end, which will free up roughly $60 million. So in theory, big spending this offseason could be offset a bit in a year when Manaea, Polanco, and Senga are off the books.
As far as this offseason, the free agent market is expected to include Tarik Skubal, Clay Holmes, Michael King, Seiya Suzuki,Adrian Morejon, and Japanese slugger Teruaki Sato, while the trade market could feature some intriguing starting pitching options (such as a few Mariners, given their relative glut of rotation options).
WHAT ABOUT EXTENSIONS FOR UNDER-CONTROL PLAYERS?
The Mets are in a unique position when it comes to locking up players before they reach free agency.
Because of the resources at their disposal, they can simply sign those players back once they reach free agency if they so choose. That kind of ability stands in contrast to smaller market teams like the Royals and Brewers, who have recently signed some of their core players to long-term extensions well before they were set to reach free agency -- Kansas City signed Bobby Witt Jr. to an 11-year extension after his second season, while Milwaukee inked Jackson Chourio to an eight-year contract before he even made his big league debut.
Even for the Mets, though, it could make sense to do these early extensions every now and then. That's because there is a benefit for both sides.
The player gets financial certainty years earlier than he otherwise would, with pre-arbitration seasons, arbitration seasons, and/or pending free agent seasons bought out and those years included in the extension. The team, if the deal works out as hoped, winds up paying less for those later arbitration years and the free agent years, and also gets certainty.
If the Mets were to explore that kind of deal this offseason, the two most obvious players to approach would be Carson Benge and Nolan McLean.
Jul 29, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets right fielder Carson Benge (3) reacts after hitting an RBI double during the seventh inning against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field. / Vincent Carchietta - Imagn Images
Benge is coming off an eye-opening debut season that saw him make a serious impact on both sides of the ball.
Offensively, Benge slashed .282/.346/.430 (.776 OPS, 118 OPS+) with 20 homers, 22 doubles, three homers, 86 runs scored, and 22 steals -- becoming the first Mets rookie ever to hit at least 20 homers and steal at least 20 bases.
The Yankees are going the expected route, starting Gerrit Cole in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Rays on Saturday night in Tampa Bay.
Following dominant starts by Cam Schlittler and Max Fried in New York's Wild Card Series sweep of the Red Sox, Cole will look to keep things rolling for New York.
Cole last pitched on Sept. 23 against the Rays in the Bronx, when he allowed two runs on three hits while walking three and striking out eight in 5.2 innings.
The right-hander also fared well in his two other starts against Tampa this season.
On May 22, in what was his first start back after recovering from Tommy John surgery, Cole tossed 6.0 scoreless innings while allowing two hits, walking three, and striking out two.
On July 8, Cole allowed three runs in 6.1 innings while giving up three hits, walking one, and striking out six.
With Game 2 set for Monday in Tampa, the Yankees figure to turn to Cam Schlittler on five days of rest or Max Fried on regular (four days) rest.
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - JULY 28: Dean Kremer #64 of the Baltimore Orioles delivers a pitch against the Detroit Tigers during the bottom of the first inning at Comerica Park on July 28, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images) | Getty Images
This past season saw the end of Dean Kremer’s time in Baltimore, as the longest surviving member of the Manny Machado trade ended his time with the Orioles with the same frustrating inconsistency that colored his entire career.
When it came to Dean Kremer’s role on the Orioles pitching staff, I always had the mindset of “if Dean Kremer is your 5th starter, you probably have a pretty good rotation.” The Orioles rotation heading into the 2026 season was so good (on paper, at least) that Kremer began the year at Triple-A Norfolk.
However, he returned from Norfolk after only two starts for the Tides. An early-season injury to Zach Efflin saw Kremer immediately return to the fifth starter role in Baltimore. The 30-year-old right-hander looked strong in his first two outings of the season; in his season debut he limited the Diamondbacks to 2 earned runs over 5 innings while striking out nine. His next time out, against the Guardians, Kremer was an unlucky loser after posting a line of 6 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 2 BB and 7 Ks.
From there, Kremer’s remaining tenure with the Orioles was largely derailed due to injury, After his start in Cleveland, he landed on the IL with a right quad strain. At first it looked like the injury would only require a short term recovery. Instead, Kremer didn’t return to the mound until June 21st and didn’t make it back to the big league roster until July 1st.
In his first start back from injury, Kremer once again looked his best self. He guided the Orioles to victory over the White Sox in Baltimore, tossing 6 innings of one-run ball while striking out four. Little did we know that that would be the last quality start of his Orioles career.
His next four outings in black and orange were largely disastrous. Over those final four games with the O’s, Kremer averaged less than 5 innings per start, pitched to a 9.47 ERA and gave up a .333 average with 7 home runs across 19 innings. His final start for Baltimore came in Detroit, where he gave up 8 runs in 4 innings as the O’s lost 14-0 to the Tigers.
Four days later, Kremer became the first of five major leaguers Mike Elias & Co. traded away at the 2026 Trade Deadline. The California native was sent from Baltimore to Minnesota, who at the time sat 1.5 games ahead of the Orioles for the final AL Wild Card spot.
At the time, the decision to trade away Kremer was viewed through a neutral lens. The O’s got back 18-year-old OF Jhomnardo Reyes, an athletic, power-first bat in the mold of a typical Mike Elias outfield prospect. Reyes immediately jumped in Baltimore’s Top 20 prospects. The decision to trade Kremer—in the moment—could also have been seen as the Orioles creating space in their rotation to acquire a level-raising starting pitcher.
Instead, Kremer became another example of the front office selling whilst tantalizingly close to playoff contention. To make matters worse, his second start for the Twinkies came against Baltimore in Target Field. That afternoon, Kremer delivered his best start of the season, tossing 7 innings while only allowing 1 run and 1 hit and punching out seven Orioles. Whether motivated by a sense of revenge or just the excitement of facing his old teammates, Kremer immediately made the Orioles look foolish for trading him.
The rest of his year in Minnesota was closer to what we’d come to expect during his 6+ seasons in Baltimore. In his final 8 starts of the season, Kremer pitched to a 4.04 ERA while allowing a .209 average against and striking out 39 in 42.1 IP. The right-hander did finish with a promising flourish, allowing only 2 runs and six hits over his final three starts. With one year left of team control before potentially entering free agency in 2028, Kremer should comfortably slot into the back half of Minnesota’s rotation next year.
Kremer never had true highlight moments with the Orioles, and therefore will not be remembered as fondly as contemporaries like Cedric Mullins, Austin Hays or Anthony Santander. However, his 130 career starts are good enough for 33rd in Orioles history, while his 707.2 IP puts him just outside the Top 50 in club history. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, Kremer’s 616 career strikeouts with the Orioles put him just behind Ben McDonald at 22nd in Orioles’ history.
If you can separate it from the optics of selling at the deadline when only a couple of games out of a playoff spot, the decision to move on from Kremer spoke/speaks to the improved health of the Orioles pitching depth. His 4.37 career ERA in Baltimore makes him the latest in the line of starting pitchers like Jeremy Guthrie and Daniel Cabrera; professional innings eaters who every once and a while showed the ability to be something more.
Sam Harper’s first innings century and Liam Scott’s five-wicket haul were in vain as Australia A agonisingly fell one wicket short of a series-levelling victory against India A in Puducherry.
Welcome to this edition of the Vancouver Canucks “3 Standouts From The Game.” In this recurring series, The Hockey News’ Canucks team will do a deep dive into three standouts from Vancouver’s last game. This article will focus on the Canucks’ most recent 9–7 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.
Paul Cotter
Paul Cotter has been the Canucks’ best forward, offensively speaking, since the start of the 2026–27 season. Following his two-goal performance on Tuesday, Cotter scored yet another goal in Thursday’s 9–7 loss to the Oilers and also added an assist on a goal by Brock Boeser in his effort.
Cotter’s strong play earned him a promotion onto Vancouver’s second-line alongside Boeser and Liam Öhgren, with the trio playing a team-high 7:28 minutes together. Individually, Cotter also had five hits and recorded a faceoff win percentage of 64.3%.
Elias Pettersson
Is Elias Pettersson back? That’s the question everyone seems to be asking after the forward’s performance on Thursday night following his three-point, eight-hit night. The most notable part of Pettersson’s night was his slap shot on the power-play to give Vancouver their sixth goal of the game, with the play resembling a vintage shot by the forward. This was his 202nd-career goal, which gave him sole-possession of ninth all-time in Canucks history.
After Vancouver blended their lines up to start the second period, Pettersson and his wingers — Jake DeBrusk and Linus Karlsson — were given the difficult task of matching up against Connor McDavid’s line. Through a little over six minutes played together, the trio produced three scoring chances-for and surrendered one against.
Oct 1, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson (40) shoots during warm up prior to a game against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Arshdeep Bains
Dating back to training camp, Arshdeep Bains has been praised for his no-quit hustle even when not in game situations. The forward brought that same performance to Thursday night’s game alongside new linemates Marco Rossi and Jonathan Lekkerimäki, spearheading what would ultimately become a shocking consecutive four-goal output for Vancouver in both the second and third periods.
With less than a second left on the clock in the second period, Bains drove to the net to snap a rebound past Oilers goaltender Devon Levi, scoring Vancouver’s third of the game. He didn’t stop there, however, as it was his line that scored two goals for the Canucks five minutes into the third period to bring their total up to five goals on the night. An assist on the second goal made Thursday Bains’s first multi-point NHL game.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 30: Manger Chad Tracy of the Boston Red Sox removes Sonny Gray #54 from the game against the New York Yankees during the fifth inning in game two of the American League Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium on September 30, 2026 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Caleb Bowlin/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Baseball is a game of numbers. It’s played on the field, with balls and bats and gloves, but every action, decision, and outcome is measured by a number. Those numbers are presented to us during broadcasts, in gambling ads, and by people like me on Twitter and in pieces here on OTM. Most of the numbers we see are presented without context.
Just this week, there was plenty of chatter about how Payton Tolle has reverse splits and performs better against righties than he does against lefties. If you say that Tolle stats against righties are superior to those against lefties, you are correct. If you claim that opponents should start lefties against Tolle for that reason, citing that stat as evidence, you’d be a little bit off base.
I saw a lot of "Payton Tolle reverse splits" tonight, and while that's true, I think people are missing the details.
He had three pitches with 70% strike rates. His fastball and cutter had massive swinging strike rates. His sinker had a minuscule ICR% and a huge GB%.
In short, Tolle’s stats against lefties were worse than those against righties because he only throws to the best left-handed hitters. If he faced a lineup of nine lefties, he’d rack up strikeouts and groundball outs because of the pitches he has at his disposal. Tolle isn’t the point of this piece, though, so I digress.
Another example of this came after the final game of the season. The Red Sox bullpen got caved in by the Yankees, and the season ended in embarrassing fashion. During the postmortem, Sonny Gray, who was pulled after just 4.2 innings and 70 pitches, expressed his displeasure at not being allowed to continue. He said that he’s the best pitcher in the American League at facing a lineup for a third time.
His numbers facing hitters for a third time are in fact excellent: .515 OPS against, 21.6% strikeout rate, 6.8% walk rate, and a .180 batting average in 162 plate appearances across 28 games this season. Despite this, Gray wasn’t allowed to see Cody Bellinger for a third time; Erik Miller came in and gave up a run, and the game snowballed from there, ending the Red Sox season.
If you read my work, you know I like numbers. I do my best to provide context and try to blend the stats with on-field applications, but I admit that I tend to believe what the numbers say even if they go against conventional wisdom. Those choices that go against conventional wisdom have come to be known as “analytics”. If people don’t agree with something, they blame “analytics” without knowing what information was actually used in that decision.
In this case, the consensus was that Gray was removed because “analytics” say that seeing a lineup for the third time is a disadvantage. The numbers presented above disagree with that sentiment, but the Boston Red Sox, who pay people to research these types of things, aren’t making decisions based on slash lines in 150 plate appearance samples. Still, the decision was, at least in some part, motivated by statistics.
This piece is not in defense of Chad Tracy, Craig Breslow, or anyone else who might have had a hand in the decision-making process or game planning. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say that I staunchly disagree with the decision. I didn’t have a suite of statistics at my disposal at the time, but I thought Gray had a better chance of getting the out than Miller. I actually messaged the rest of the OTM staff and said: “So this is insane, right?” Before the game, I published a piece on how the Red Sox needed Sonny Gray to go deep into the game, for the sake of both Game 2 and a potential Game 3. Even after looking at the numbers that I’ll share momentarily, I disagree with the decision, although that’s easy to do in hindsight.
Instead of supporting or tearing down the decision, what I’m trying to do here is reverse-engineer the thought process and provide some context, because despite what sports talk radio or faceless Twitter accounts might tell you, it is much more nuanced than “third time through the order bad”. Let’s do it.
I’ll set the scene. It’s the fifth inning with the Yankees leading, 1-0. Trent Grisham has reached on a single to start the inning, and swapped places on the bases with Austin Wells, who grounded out to second base but beat the throw from Trevor Story to break up the double play. Ryan McMahon struck out on a good sweeper, and Ben Rice singled on a hard ground ball through the infield to move Wells up to third base. After 70 pitches and one earned run, Gray walked off the mound.
The first thing I’ll look at is Bellinger’s other at-bats against Gray. In his first trip to the plate, he roped a first-pitch sinker to Nick Sogard, who made a great pick to get the out. His second time up, he grounded out again, this time after fouling off three two-strike pitches and spitting on a good sweeper to his back foot. If you’re judging based on those two matchups alone, I could understand the decision to not give Bellinger a third crack at Gray. Bellinger looked like he was seeing the ball well.
Next, let’s look at how Gray approached the lineup to that point.
Against the eight lefties in the Yankees’ lineup, Gray used his four-seam and sinker a combined 59% of the time. The rest of his arsenal was made up of 12 sweepers, 10 curveballs, and three changeups. The fastballs were in the zone (~60% zone rate on both the four-seam and the sinker), while all three of his secondary pitches returned zone rates between 20% and 33%. While that might seem intuitive — fastballs in the zone, putaway pitches below it — that’s not always the case for Gray. He’s usually willing to flip his curveball in for called strikes, and occasionally does the same with his sweeper. On Wednesday, the plan was clearly to attack with fastballs for strikes, and breaking balls below the zone.
The Yankees’ lefties had the second-highest hard-hit rate against in-zone breaking balls from righties this season, as well as the seventh-highest barrel rate. They had the second-highest whiff rate, but Gray’s breaking balls didn’t miss bats in the zone this season. With those statistics in mind, it’s likely that Gray wasn’t going to change his game plan.
Now let’s look at the fastballs. The third time through the lineup, their performance seriously suffers. Entering the postseason, he threw his four-seam and sinker each about 18% of the time. He also used his cutter 15% of the time, but didn’t throw a single cutter to lefties on Wednesday and used it sparingly in his final start of the regular season, so it appeared to be removed from his game plan. The fastballs that he did use weren’t nearly as effective as they were early in games. The shape and velocity held, but the results did not. His four-seam ideal contact rate jumped from 40% to 56%, as the pitch found the middle of the plate often.
The sinker returned weak contact, but that was likely because the zone rate dropped from 60% the first two times through to 40% the third time through. Because of this, the called strike rate plummeted, and the strike rate fell to near 50%.
His breaking stuff wasn’t much better. The curveball had a huge swinging strike rate and chase rate, but when hitters did connect, it was hammered to the tune of a 67% ideal contact rate. The sweeper, his best whiff pitch, saw its chase rate drop 15% the third time through, thanks to bigger misses off the plate.
Bellinger is an excellent breaking ball hitter. Gray’s fastballs lose effectiveness later in games, and hitters don’t expand the zone as frequently against his sweepers. If those are your cards, you probably want to fold that hand in favor of another. The card that Tracy chose to play is a whole other can of worms, but there was a case for Gray to be removed.
If you read this and thought, “the analytics have gone too far, who cares that Gray’s sweeper is less effective the third time through the order it’s playoff baseball you pitch with your nuts not your arm blah blah blah”, I don’t blame you. As I wrote this, I questioned if I was too in the weeds myself, and still would have probably rolled the dice with Gray. Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with Gray’s early exit, I hope this provided some insight into what the team might have been thinking, because it really is deeper than blanket truths discovered by “analytics” that have been parroted 1,000 times by people who think Billy Beane ruined baseball.
TORONTO, CANADA - SEPTEMBER 16: Gleyber Torres #25 of the Detroit Tigers looks on against the Toronto Blue Jays in their MLB game at Rogers Centre on September 16, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/Getty Images)
Happy Friday, everyone! With all eyes on the MLB postseason and which teams will be advancing from the Wild Card series, there hasn’t been a lot of Tigers news to report on. We share below a story on some of the Tigers, like Gleyber Torres and Jack Flaherty, who will be entering free agency this offseason as they’re unlikely to sign extensions with the Tigers.
We also take a look at plenty of stories emerging from the postseason, from temperamental Astros fans turning on their own team, to Sonny Gray’s opinions about being pulled early from his Wild Card start, to wondering if the Yankees are the only team in the postseason doing roster building right. Lots to get into, so we’re just going to dive right in.
Tigers SS John Peck has been added to Arizona Fall League to make up at-bats lost to injury this season. He joins OF Zyhir Hope, SS Bryce Rainer and Ps Logan Berrier, Jalen Evans, Preston Howey, Maddox Long and Win Scott in Scottsdale.
Willson Contreras shares his feelings about Big Data Baseball.
Willson Contreras: "It's not enough when you have talent, or you have data, or you have computers telling you what to do, because this is baseball. The data is here to help us, but at the end of the day, you need experience and veteran guys to win games. There's a lot of stuff I… pic.twitter.com/MS7u5yy96y
The Arizona Cardinals (1-2-0) have the opportunity to get back to even in the standings against the New York Football Giants, who are struggling at the quarterback position. Starter Jaxson Dart is out for the year, and his replacement, journeyman Jameis Winston, is not playing well at all. The game is played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Arizona is in need of a “W,” or else this season will begin to unravel early in the year.
The Week 4 game between the Cardinals and Giants will air on CBS and Paramount+ at 1:00 PM ET on Sunday.
Announcers: Spero Dedes, Adam Archuleta, Aditi Kinkhabwala (sideline reporter)
Radiocoverage:
Arizona Cardinals Radio: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM (English flagship for the Cardinals)
New York Football Giants Radio: WFAN 101.9 FM / 660 AM (flagship for the Giants)
Oct 1, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) walks to the dugout after pitching change made by interim manager Don Mattingly (8) against the Atlanta Braves during the second inning in game three of the Wildcard round for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Truist Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
After fighting for a one-day respite, the Phillies went down relatively quietly in their winner take all Game 3 with the Braves. Aaron Nola was given the start and was tasked with at least giving the Phillies three solid innings, but he couldn’t even escape the first without giving up a back breaking three-run homer. The debate started to rage over whether Zack Wheeler should’ve started in his stead, but he too gave up a two-run bomb of his own pitching in relief to make the whole thing pointless. Really, the pitching was moot because once again, the Phillies offense could not get anything going, this time against an Atlanta bullpen game that featured three shutout innings from opener Ray Kerr.
This is going to be a long offseason where the Phillies will face numerous painful questions. First off, they have to find a permanent manager, whether that be Alex Cora or not. Then they have to find some way to inject life into the 30th ranked offense by OPS+. They have to find a way to build a bullpen that has more than two reliable arms in it. They will have to determine if their younger players such as Andrew Painter and Justin Crawford as well as prospects Aidan Miller and Gage Wood are in their long-term plans or not. Finally, they may have to come to terms with the hardest thing of all: the possibility that some of their stars are no longer the MVP caliber players they were in the past but rather All-Star type contributors at best.
And all of that isn’t even taking into account the impending lockout that threatens to wipe out most of the offseason and some or all of the 2027 regular season. There’s no telling exactly what state baseball will be in when the Phillies next take the field.
ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 01: Atlanta center fielder Michael Harris II (23) reacts after hitting a three-run home run during the Philadelphia Phillies versus the Atlanta Braves in game 3 of the National League Wild Card Series on October 1st, 2026 at Truist Park in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Have at it. Here’s mine.
Michael Harris II, swinging 2-0, at not even a strike or borderline pitch, and absolutely creaming it for a three-run homer. It upended narratives, even narratives that some attempted to apply postgame. Aaron Nola noted the Braves didn’t chase. Well, not exactly: they didn’t chase sometimes, and Harris did chase, and delivered what ended up serving as a knockout blow even though there were still eight innings to play.
Yes, Harris and Ozzie Albies will chase a lot. No, they don’t fit the mold of a hackneyed “professional hitter” who draws walks and shoots liners over the infield. But, like Albies said earlier this season, when you crush, it’s the best feeling in the world. And that’s what they did last night. But Harris did it swinging at a pitch that you might say he shouldn’t have even swung at, and that’s awesome.
I hope everyone remembers what led to this win going forward.
The Warriors are back in action ahead of the 2026-27 NBA season, and new faces like rookie Yaxel Lendeborg are ready to prove themselves in the NBA. Lendeborg could have a big role for the team right away, and early on, he is making a good first impression.
Steve Kerr had high praise for the former Michigan star; speaking with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Bonta Hill and Dalton Johnson on “Dubs Talk,” Kerr declared Lendeborg is “100 percent” the most pro-ready rookie he has had since becoming the Warriors coach.
“He’s the most prepared, most ready guy,” Kerr said. “I think he was coached really well last year by Dusty May, and I like his life story too. He wasn’t the five-star recruit, [he spent] two years in … junior college in Arizona. He’s had to fight his way to get here, and he’s so appreciative of the opportunity, and he’s a pleaser. He wants to be coached, and he wants to do the right thing. He’s got a great approach.”
Lendeborg shined during NBA Summer League and has had a good training camp so far, but that does not mean that there is not room for improvement. The NBA is a big adjustment, and for him to be successful, there are certain areas of his game that need to grow. According to Kerr, Lendeborg’s biggest area to focus on is the defensive side of the floor, particularly in moments of adversity.
“Defensive awareness, it’s the biggest adjustment a guy like him has to make,” Kerr explained. “He already has a great feel offensively, very natural gift for just moving the ball, making the right play, without even having to coach anything on that front. He just does that, and then that will ingratiate himself with his teammates. It’s the defensive side where there’s so many actions that you see in the NBA that you don’t see in the college game. You have to learn personnel.
“You have to know who you’re going against every night. If we’re switching, now you’re guarding point guards, you’re guarding centers, you’re guarding wings. You’ve got to know all the rotations from all the spots. So that’ll take some time, and that’s what we’re working with him on. The good thing is, he’s very experienced as a basketball player. He’s 24 now, he turned 24 yesterday. He’s played junior college. He’s played for a national championship last year with Michigan. He’s got a lot of basketball wisdom, and that will serve him well.”
Lendeborg, the No. 11 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, averaged 15.1 points and 6.8 rebounds for Michigan last season and proved to be the program’s marquee player. He earned several accolades at the end of the season, such as consensus First-Team All-American, Big Ten Player of the Year, First-Team All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Defensive Team. Now, Lendeborg enters his rookie year with the Warriors eager to bring that same level of play.
The Warriors do not face very high expectations this season, but if Lendeborg can establish himself as a star early on, it will create problems for the rest of the league. Lendeborg and the Warriors play their first preseason game in Honolulu on Oct. 4 before returning to the mainland.
When you’ve waited 32 years for your one epic career moment, you let it all out — censors be damned.
Braves journeyman Ray Kerr unleashed a spew of happy f-bombs while celebrating his 3 1/3 innings of no-run ball in the Braves’ 6-2 win over the Phillies in Game 3 of the NL wild-card series.
The southpaw served as the opener for the elimination game in his first career postseason outing and allowed just one hit and walked one batter to set the game off on the right foot for Atlanta.
“Man, starting a game and him closing it out? What the f–k, that’s coolest feeling ever,” Kerr told Braves Vision. “And him coming to me after the game and congratulating me. F–king blessing.”
Kerr’s teammates drenched him in alcohol while he provided the second part of that answer, leading to him being asked how the champagne feels.
“F–king cold,” Kerr said, which elicited a chuckle from the interviewer. “I’ve been freezing all night.”
While Thursday’s win may be remembered more for Chris Sale pitching 1 1/3 innings to close out the game just two days after his Game 1 start or Michael Harris II’s three-run first-inning homer off Aaron Nola that set Truist Field ablaze, the Braves don’t advance to the NLDS without Kerr.
Kerr had appeared in a grand total of 48 MLB games and just nine this season — his only outings over the last two years — before the Braves tapped him to serve as an opener.
Kerr’s mastery allowed him to last into the fourth inning in a 47-pitch outing, which lessened the length they need from presumed bulk pitcher Grant Holmes.
Braves’ Ray Kerr (62) acknowledges the crowd while walking to the dugout against the Philadelphia Phillies during the fourth inning in game three of the National League Wild Card Series at Truist Park in Atlanta, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. Getty Images
He exited the game with a 3-0 lead, and held the Phillies’ top-three hitters of Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper to an 0-for-5 showing with one walk.
“I was focused from the moment I woke up,” Kerr said. “I was like we’re going to put some 0s up and get a W.”
“It felt great. I don’t got much on that,” he said in reference to his past. “But it was fun. It was a journey. I’ve dreamed about stuff like this. For it to actually happen, I still haven’t even processed yet. We’re just going to get after it tomorrow. Hopefully we can win the next series, and yeah.”
