13 Oct 2003: Tim Wakefield of the Boston Red Sox during the Sox's 3-2 victory over the New York Yankees in game 4 of the ALCS at Fenway Park in Boston, MA. (Photo by Albert Dickson/Sporting News via Getty Images via Getty Images) | Sporting News via Getty Images
The Red Sox have a postseason history unlike any other franchise in the 21st century. That went on full display in last week’s commentary on building their new-school World Series lineup.
Boston put moments in the history books in the highest of highs and lowest of lows in October throughout the last quarter-century. Within those classics, a few players did not close out their seasons with proper recognition – whether for the result of a series or the even better play of a teammate.
For me, there’s three in particular that come to mind – one from the most recent championship and the two leading candidates from a should’ve-been pennant-winning squad. Let’s get into it!
Price finally held “all the cards” by the end of the Fall Classic after he won both decisions in a pair of exceptional starts in Game 2 and Game 5, not to mention coming in for two outs in the marathon of Game 3. The southpaw got his signature moment in the clincher. After he allowed a leadoff home run to David Freese, Price dug in and dominated for seven innings of one-run ball with five strikeouts. He shook free from years of playoff struggles and met the moment in the game that the Red Sox signed him to pitch when he inked a mega free-agent deal after the 2015 season.
No disrespect to Steve Pearce and his clutch barrage of homers, but Price stepped up huge for a rotation that needed him more than ever with Chris Sale not totally himself and Nathan Eovaldi foregoing his Game 4 start to save the bullpen with his Game 3 extra-innings heroics. For that reason, Price had a clear path to World Series MVP 10 years after his first trip in a losing effort with the Tampa Bay Rays – ironically after eliminating the Red Sox in an exciting ALCS clash.
Nixon totally drove Boston’s offense and more than did his part to counter-punch New York. He left the Red Sox a Game 7 lead with his third home run of the series, this time off Roger Clemens. That swing continued a hot stretch as Nixon hit over .300 against “The Rocket” in his career and took him deep twice in postseason meetings.
Nixon helped battle back in Game 4 to even the series and added key insurance runs in Game 6 with a ninth-inning blast. For all of the firepower that the Red Sox possessed in that lineup as the most productive in baseball that year, Nixon took over the series with a quality run of playoff at-bats.
TIM WAKEFIELD 2003 ALCS
Stats: 2-1, 2.57 ERA, 14 IP, 6 BB, 10 K
I’m begging you.
Please do not let one swing from Aaron Boone make you forget how fantastic Wakefield was in this series. The Red Sox may not have even sent the series back to Yankee Stadium without him.
The knuckleballer allowed just two hits in six innings to win Game 1. After the fight-filled war of a Yankee win in Game 3, Wakefield picked up his club with seven innings of one-run ball on short rest to take Game 4. He also already tallied an inning of scoreless relief in Game 7 by the time Boone hit the series-winning homer that crushed souls of Red Sox Nation for another year.
There’s a reason Wakefield came back out onto the field after the lights went down in 2004 to soak it all in. That 2003 series belonged to him. A year later, his efforts were rewarded.
Los Angeles, CA - March 25: Los Angeles Dodgers chairman Mark Walter during a press conference announcing a new partnership between the Los Angeles Dodgers and UNIQLO at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images) | MediaNews Group via Getty Images
Dodgers’ principal owner Mark Walter has been all over the news lately, as he is under investigation for alleged misrepresented loans. He has sold his stakes in the Los Angeles Lakers and Chelsea Football Club, and is reportedly looking to sell the Los Angeles Sparks.
On Tuesday, Walter said that in regard to the Dodgers, in an exclusive interview with the California Post, he’s “keeping the team no matter what.”
“I certainly hope we can look forward to winning another World Series next year under my ownership,” he said. “And I think we’re just trying to win consistently, and do so for not just next season, but for the next decade and decades beyond that.”
Many articles have been written about the Dodgers and their offense that continued to diminish as the season went on. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic points out that usually the simplest explanation is what has really happened – the Dodgers just got tired. And going forward, the main cast of characters are still going to be around next season, (if there is a next season).
One player who will not be on the team next season of course is Miggy Rojas, who retired after the Dodgers lost the NLCS. Miggy was on Fox before Game 4 and said that he owes everything to the Dodgers.
“They gave me the opportunity to go back home in LA where I made debut 12 years ago …where I had where I had the opportunity to live the best four years of my life in baseball,” Rojas said.
Thomas L Murray of the California Post has more of the details from that appearance here.
1st over: England 0-0 (Banton 0, Duckett 0) Banton almost edges Asitha’s very first ball to slip, but it falls short. The ground is full only with empty green seats, as the call to prayer rings out. A maiden to start.
The sun is out, Asitha Fernando has the ball, the drums are rolling.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - OCTOBER 28: Fred VanVleet #5 of the Houston Rockets dribbles the ball against Ryan Rollins #13 of the Milwaukee Bucks in the first quarter at Fiserv Forum on October 28, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Well, in a game that was bound to happen eventually, the Milwaukee Bucks got trounced 132-100 by the Houston Rockets. Point blank, the Bucks looked like a team in the first year of a rebuild, while the Rockets looked like a team with its eyes firmly set on the title. Their defence was like a boa constrictor, slowly choking the Bucks until they had no life left. Tough one; Milwaukee will process it and quickly move on to the next thing, as they will have a lot to do this season. Read our full summary of the game here.
Man, after a few games where it felt like Rollins was getting back to himself, he turns in this stinker. It does feel like Rollins lost some confidence in himself. Did y’all see him pass out of that fast break layup attempt? I will say that 1) Rollins was able to create at a decent level, and 2) the Rockets might just be the worst team to play when you’re trying to find a rhythm.
Yet again, Herro stands up as the only true shining light. The Rockets were able to shut down Herro’s passing game (though others would have needed to make shots for him to register assists), but he still got his on elite efficiency. Yeah, Houston’s bigger wings definitely picked on Herro, but I thought he competed made them take tough shots most of the time.
After a blip against Indy, Jaquez was right back to the level he’d been playing at. Jaquez was one of the only Bucks who had any modicum of success getting downhill or making spot-up threes. I also thought JJJ was solid guarding the bigger Rockets wings.
Just a bit of a nothing game from Kuzma. Somewhat predictably, he wasn’t able to generate good shots against that defence, and also wasn’t able to punish from the perimeter.
Well, Turner’s stat line shows his defensive impact is on the rise, at least. I thought he set solid screens, which allowed for some great pick-and-pop looks from three, but they all rimmed out. Those shots were the right ones to take, but man, at some point the big fella has to get his three-ball going; currently shooting a daftly 18.2%.
One of Ware’s next steps is to be able to match it against physically dominant teams like the Rockets. Ware looked outmatched at nearly every point he was on the floor, and the Rockets made him look small. On the positive side, I thought Ware’s shot selection was solid.
I mean, Jakucionis got places on the court better than I thought he’d be able to, which allowed him to draw multiple defenders and kick out to open teammates. The passing was encouraging for sure, but it was tough for KJ to get much offence going (like most of the youngins).
I thought Burries did some really positive things in his minutes. He played solid on-ball defence on Reed Sheppard and showcased his offensive creation more in a low-stakes setting. Had a nice pull-up jumper on Oscar Tshiebwe and got himself to the charity stripe twice. It’s great experience.
Green did his job in this one; not much more to say. One note: his passing out of the pick-and-roll has definitely improved. Had a great rep coming off the horns action, forcing the nail help to tag the rolling Sims, and then zipping it over to the open Ament at the top of the key for three. Had a very similar play against Indiana.
The stat sheet won’t show it, but I thought Ament’s impact on the game was quite positive, mostly because of his defence, which I’m definitely keeping tabs on. He had a crazy block meeting Jabari Smith Jr. at the summit and did a genuinely good job guarding Kevin Durant. On the other hand, Ament’s off-ball defence is lagging; he got mixed up on a few switches against Houston’s “77” action (double screen in the middle of the floor), and Reed Sheppard got open on the perimeter because of that. I’m not going to overindex on Ament’s shooting efficiency because of the inexperienced lineups deployed from the middle of the third quarter onward; someone had to shoot, and against that defence, most were low-quality attempts.
Grade: B-
Ousmane Dieng
13 minutes, 4 points, 2/5 FG, 0/1 3P, -8
Dieng had a nice drive to split the defence and finish at the rim, but I don’t see him impacting in many other areas of the game right now.
Grade: C-
Taylor Jenkins
I’m not sure Jenkins could have done much more to affect the result in this one. On the broadcast, he seemed invested in the game the whole time, which was good to see. Also, I appreciated that Jenkins didn’t bother putting the starters back in after the game was lost by the middle of the third, and instead let the young guys “run wild” for a bit. That at least gave me a reason to keep watching.
Grade: C
Limited minutes: Jericho Sims, Gary Trent Jr., Bogoljub Markovic
DNP-CD: Caris LeVert,
Inactive: Kam Jones, Cormac Ryan, Pete Nance
What We Learnt
Look, I don’t want to get ahead of myself here because it is early, but Nate Ament is showing some good signs as a wing defender. It says a lot that, at this point, I don’t even think Ament knows what he’s doing defensively, yet he’s consistently forced high-calibre wings to take tough shots. Jaylen Brown, Pascal Siakam, and now Kevin Durant (his idol). Seriously, it feels like as long as Ament keeps his hands out and stays in front, he can use his length to make dudes work hard just to get the ball over him, let alone make the shot. Let’s just say I’m intrigued. Now, this isn’t to say Ament doesn’t have a lot of work to do on other elements of defence—screen navigation and point-of-attack containment being some—but his one-on-one wing defence has looked way ahead of schedule.
Bonus Bucks Bits
The Bucks didn’t shoot their first free throw off a shooting foul until the third quarter—that’s how good this Rockets defence is.
Jenkins had Nate Ament guarding at centre for a few minutes late in the third quarter before Jericho Sims came in.
Gary Trent Jr. finally got his first minutes of the season and, well, let’s just say he was eager to register his first points too (which he did in the dying seconds). OK, NBA, time to end the investigation now.
Bogoljub Markovic registered his first points last night. Congrats!
Milwaukee actually scored at a solid rate in the third quarter but couldn’t defend; they dropped 34 but gave up 38. This contrasts sharply with the first two quarters, when the Bucks scored just 21 and 14 points, respectively.
I often ignore defensive shot tracking stats because they get noisy, but the eye test confirms them sometimes.
Nate Ament allowing a low field goal percentage is not noise. That guy blocks out the sun with his closeouts. Just forced a KD miss.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - OCTOBER 28: Jordan Clarkson #00 of the New York Knicks celebrates a three point basket against the Chicago Bulls during the second half at the United Center on October 28, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. 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 Jessie Alcheh/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It was always going to be that way, just like Ewings_Finger_Roll joked in the Postgame Thread. There seemed to be nothing the New York Knicks could have done in last night’s road game against the lowly Chicago Bulls that would have made many in their fanbase jump out of their wonderful plushy seats from which they watched a championship just half a year ago. But man, Jordan Clarkson and his friends surely tried nonetheless.
To make things a little interesting, the reigning champs went by the playbook of last year’s early-season game at Chicago on October 31, 2025, even if that Cup contest wasn’t on the second night of a back-to-back like this one. They still sleepwalked through it against a young, inexperienced outfit of bull calves which bears no resemblance to the mighty teams of the Windy City’s past—let me know if that sounds familiar. Then, in the end, your Knickerbockers made a furious comeback only to have it fall short just before the finish line.
When Norman Powell put Chicago up by 19 midway through the third quarter, that looked like it would be a good bet to happen again. I’m sure you could have found a parlay or something with one of the many bloodthirsty gambling companies that populate our sports world these days. But as is so often the case, that money would have been gone.
Knicks play around and still win
Would it have been nice if the Knicks hadn’t played with their food so much but rather gulped it down immediately, just like my young Labrador does with anything edible (and not edible) that gets within a mile of his jaws? I’d guess so. Letting a young and, in parts, actually talented team like the Bulls gain confidence is a dangerous proposition. It can quickly turn a game into a mess that it just shouldn’t be, not even on the second night of a back-to-back. It can get players benched, too, as Mikal Bridges can confirm after getting just 13 minutes in this one. But while there are plenty of gripes to be had about how the first two and a half quarters went this time around, nobody can argue with the final result.
Josh Hart interrupts Benny The Bull’s dark magic ritual and squares up on him pic.twitter.com/kqNfLt93Jo
In large part, we can thank the Knicks reserves for that, especially Jordan Clarkson, Landry Shamet and Tyler Kolek. They all took turns scoring, defending, passing and fighting; their energy, especially on the offensive end, was palpable. With better and, most notably, quicker ball movement initiated by Kolek (9 assists) came more and more open opportunities from downtown, and the Knicks capitalized (48 percent from three). What a game like this means for Kolek going forward is hard to say, especially once Jose Alvarado comes back from his injury. But even with a more than crowded backcourt, there is probably always room for classy, heads-up point guard play.
Jalen Brunson’s wrist looked pretty solid
It’s not really how Jalen Brunson interprets his role at the one, but we’ll take the alternative for now. The captain was his vintage self in his former home state, going for 38 big points in a game where his team needed each one of them. Fourteen of those came in the fourth quarter, when there was nothing the Bulls could do to stop the reigning Finals MVP. Word on the street is that Norman Powell is still looking for his ankles around the United Center; considering how he is an old buddy of OG Anunoby from their Toronto days, we surely wish him the best.
The most welcome sign from Brunson’s game was that he finally had his three-pointer going (6 of 10 from beyond the arc). Wrist surgeries can be a tricky thing for shooters, and quite a few people were at least slightly concerned when Brunson started the season ice cold from the floor. Worry no more, my friends: our captain is still our captain, and the wrist looked fine. Just like the Knicks did in the end when they pulled out a game that easily could have been one of those dreaded schedule losses that we’ve luckily grown accustomed to over the last few years.
I mention “luckily” because you basically can only have these types of losses when you are a good team. When people expect you to win, when they expect you to walk over the bottom feeders of the Association. There’s a temptation to chalk these games up as business as usual no matter the result, especially if you’ve partied up and down the Canyon of Heroes in June. But winning them more often than not points to a certain quality a team possesses. And witnessing that never gets boring, does it?
The Phoenix Suns are last in the NBA in defensive rating early in the 2026-27 season, and their offense over three games has not been anything to celebrate either.
You can point the finger at a lot of different people as to why this season has started slowly, and that there are too many fatal flaws on this roster to overcome. Devin Booker, Brian Gregory, Mat Ishbia, and injuries at center all share some level of blame, but it is Miles Bridges who sits at -17.0 in net rating this season, only trailing Booker with a -17.7 net rating on the Suns.
When Bridges was brought in this offseason, the hope was for him to be a 6’8” version of Jordan Goodwin in the starting lineup. A guy who plays with an elite motor, defends and rebounds at an elite level, and is capable of knocking down open threes. That has not materialized early on defense at all, while the rebounding has been fine at 6.3 per game, but not where it needs to be for this Suns team to win. The entire team shares the blame for their inability to rebound and defend on the defensive end this season, but Bridges’ athleticism was supposed to give that group a boost, and instead, it’s dragged them down to the bottom.
Because of the injuries to Oso Ighodaro and Mark Williams, Bridges has been called upon to be a small-ball center, which has not gone smoothly for anyone, especially Bridges.
‘Offensively, it has gone as poorly as anyone could have imagined so far for the Suns this season, with no Suns starter shooting above 33% from three. Bridges is the worst shooter on the Suns right now; he is taking 6.7 long-distance attempts (second on the team) and connecting on only 20% of them. Many of those attempts are late into the shot clock, heaves that have even less of a chance at going in. The hope for Bridges this season was that he could at least make teams pay when opposing teams left him wide open, but that has backfired.
It would be easy for us as a Suns community to declare this trade a catastrophic failure. We gave up Royce O’Neale and Grayson Allen, plus an unprotected first-round pick, for someone playing this poorly. And if this trend continues from Bridges, Mat Ishbia and Brian Gregory’s management of this roster has to be examined under the microscope because it has Bradley Beal levels of stink to it right now.
But before I make any certain claims about this trade, we should give the Suns more time. Bridges is one of three new rotation players on this roster, and he missed a significant portion of the preseason with an ankle sprain. It has only been three games, and a week of good shooting and better defense from Bridges will turn his season around in a hurry. He is a better player, or at least has been a better player than what he has shown so far, but the level of patience for him to figure things out is dwindling fast because of the price the Suns paid to get him, on top of the off-the-floor issues he has to overcome to be accepted by Suns fans.
The nonnegotiable for Bridges to win Suns fans over and help the team win is that he has to play with incredible effort. He has to be the spark plug for the starting unit as the guy who creates extra possessions for the Suns and sets the tone with toughness and physicality. If he brings that consistently, the Suns can work through the rest of their mess and survive if he fills that role this starting unit desperately needs. On top of the motivation to win games, Bridges is also playing for a contract extension this season and is in prove-it mode on a new team, so there are no excuses for not getting his best effort on a nightly basis.
However, if Bridges and the Suns’ play does not improve before the calendar turns to December, then this season, which is quickly spiraling out of control, is only going to get messier, and Bridges’ time in the Valley will be extremely short. That would be another F on Mat Ishbia’s report card during his short time as owner of the Phoenix Suns.
For three glorious games, the Lakers looked like they had discovered the secret to winning basketball in 2026: score so many points on offense that nobody notices you can’t stop anybody on defense.
Through their first three games of the NBA season, Luka Doncic was putting up MVP numbers. Austin Reaves was playing like an All-Star and the perfect No. 2 scoring option alongside Doncic. Walker Kessler looked like the trade of the century, catching alley-oops, protecting the rim and putting up numbers at center the Lakers haven’t seen since Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O’Neal.
Damian Lillard (0) of the Portland Trail Blazers shoots a 3-point basket during a game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images
The Lakers still can’t defend the perimeter, and no amount of offensive fireworks can hide that fact forever.
Portland shot a ridiculous 59% from the field, buried 18 of 36 3-pointers and scored at least 32 points in every quarter. The Blazers didn’t just exploit the Lakers’ defense, they made them look like traffic cones on the court during a shootaround.
“We got broken down a lot,” Lakers coach JJ Redick admitted afterward. “The game-plan discipline, KYP [Know Your Personnel] discipline wasn’t where it needs to be.”
Ja Morant repeatedly sliced through Los Angeles’ perimeter defenders, forcing help rotations that left shooters open. Deni Avdija scored at will, including behind the arc for 23 points. Jrue Holiday added 22. Damian Lillard reminded everyone in attendance at Crypto.com Arena that “Dame Time” is still alive and well, delivering dagger after dagger in the fourth quarter, including the game-clinching basket with 43 seconds remaining.
Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija (8) reacts after scoring a three-pointer during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Caroline Brehman
Frankly, the Lakers had no answers for the Trail Blazers’ offense.
And that should concern Redick considerably more than his team’s first loss.
Through four games, Los Angeles averaged 128.2 points, second in the NBA, with an offensive rating of 126.8. But its defensive rating of 118.8 ranks 23rd.
Those numbers tell the story of a team capable of winning 50 games while possessing the same defensive vulnerability that could send them home early in the playoffs for the fourth straight year.
Ja Morant #1 and Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers celebrate a Lillard three pointer during a 136-129 Blazers win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. Getty Images
Make no mistake, these Lakers are going to win plenty of basketball games this season. Assuming reasonable health, another 50-win season and a top-four seed in the Western Conference is entirely realistic.
But there’s a drastic difference between being an entertaining team throughout the season and being an actual threat to compete for a championship.
Doncic scored 41 points against Portland, following his spectacular 52-point performance in Utah. Reaves contributed 26. Yet the Lakers still lost because their opponents were getting whatever shots they wanted.
“We had a lot of blown assignments. It was everybody, it wasn’t just one person,” Reaves said. “I made some bad defensive mistakes. You could go around the room. So, [we] gotta be better.”
You cannot ask Doncic to score 40 every night just to compensate for teammates who cannot stay in front of their assignments.
Last season, Redick did his best with the roster he had by increasing energy and effort and switching to a zone defense at various points during the year. Honestly, it was amazing the Lakers won their first-round matchup in the playoffs with the Rockets considering their defensive inefficiencies and being without Doncic and Reaves.
This season, the problem isn’t effort alone. It’s once again about personnel.
Austin Reaves (15) of the Los Angeles Lakers and Ja Morant (1) of the Portland Trail Blazers smile during a game at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images
The Lakers lack sufficient lateral quickness along the perimeter. When opposing guards penetrate, defenders collapse, rotations become scrambled and shooters find themselves with enough daylight to start a vegetable garden.
The 7-footer has been outstanding, but he’s being asked to protect the rim, contest drives, cover defensive breakdowns and somehow recover quickly enough to secure rebounds.
Even the best defensive centers cannot be in two places on the court simultaneously.
“We were breaking down and giving up corner 3s, pull-to-break 3s,” Kessler said. “I pride myself on being the leader on the defense, and I didn’t perform tonight.”
And the Lakers have another problem when it comes to Kessler: Who replaces him when he comes out of the game for a much-needed rest?
Kevon Looney has struggled to provide dependable minutes, leaving Los Angeles dangerously thin behind Kessler. For a center with an injury history, carrying this much defensive responsibility over 82 games is asking for trouble.
Rob Pelinka should already be exploring the trade market for a legitimate backup center rather than waiting until Kessler’s workload becomes a medical concern.
Redick deserves credit for experimenting with defensive schemes, including zone looks last season, but coaching adjustments cannot manufacture foot speed.
First-round pick Cameron Carr, once healthy, possesses the youth, athleticism and defensive potential that this roster desperately needs.
The Baylor product won’t magically solve everything, but he deserves an opportunity to demonstrate whether he can defend NBA guards without requiring three teammates to rescue him.
The Lakers don’t need another scorer. They need somebody who takes pride in preventing one.
Redick said it best after Tuesday’s loss.
“If we score 129 points at home, we should be able to get enough stops to win.”
He’s right. Los Angeles can score with anybody in the NBA. The question is whether it can stop anybody when it matters most.
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Oct 28, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; The Milwaukee Brewers celebrate winning the 2026 World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays after game five at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Royals new stadium will have a new food and beverage provider.
Here are some important offseason dates for the Royals.
Royals catching prospect Brooks Bryan is off to a great start in the Arizona Fall League.
Justin Lamkin, who also was hurt for most of the season, is off to a great start in the AFL.
17-year-old outfielder and soon to be Royals top prospect, Angeibel Gomez is also tearing up the AFL.
David Lesky wrote a guide for 2026/27 offensive free agents for the Royals.
Lesky also wrote his third part of what he would do if he was JJ for a day.
Caleb Moody of Kings of Kauffman claims Randy Arozarena would solve one of the Royals major problems, but not the biggest.
Moody also writes about three low-cost acquisitions who could help the Royals bullpen next year.
The Brewers beat the Rays last night, winning their first ever World Series title in franchise history.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - OCTOBER 28: The Milwaukee Brewers celebrate after winning Game Five of the 2026 World Series presented by Capital One between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Wednesday, October 28, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Brewers defeated the Rays 4-1 to win the World Series. (Photo by Kelly Gavin/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
With the Brewers win of the World Series (last night), the off-season starts this morning.
This morning, at 9:00 Eastern. Free Agents are allowed to file. We went over the list of Jays potential free agents a couple of days ago.
November 1st: Gold Glove winners are announced. There are a few Jays nominated. I’m expecting one or two of them to win.
November 2nd: The “Contemporary Baseball Era Hall of Fame ballot is announced Eastern (all times listed will Eastern). As well, Silver Slugger Award ‘finalists’ are announced (at 2:00 pm Eastern time). From 6 to 8:00 pm we will have the Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and MVP).
Five days after the World Series ends (four days from now) free agency opens (5:00 pm). Also it is the last day to issue Qualifying Offers. Also 60-day Injured List ‘reinstatement’ happens and contract options must be decided on.
November 6th: The ‘Heart & Hustle’ and Gold Glove winners are announced.
November 9th: Rookie of the Year is announced.
November 9 to 12th: GM Meetings happen (in Las Vegas).
November 10th: Manager of the Year is announced.
November 11th: Cy Young and BBWAA Relievers of the Year are announced. And a bunch of other awards: All-Star Teams (first and second), Hank Aaron Award, Comeback Player of the Year, Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman relievers of the year and Edgar Martinez DH of the year are all announced.
November 12th: MVP awards announce (7 to 8:00 pm).
November 16th: Hall of Fame Ballot is announced.
November 17-19th: Owners meetings.
November 17th: Silver Sluggers Announced. Also Deadline for players to accept their Qualifying offers is at 4:00 pm. And the Rule 5 protection deadline (players need to be added to the 40-man rosters to be protected from the Rule 5 draft.
November 20th: Non-tender Deadline.
December 1st: The CBA Expires at mid-night (well, 11:59 pm) and the Lockout will begin.
December 6th: The Contemporary Baseball Era inductees are announced.
December 7 to 9th: Winter Meeting happen (unless the lockout is still on) (it will be still on).
December 8th: Draft Lottery (but it will be postponed because of the lockout).
January 8th: Arbitration numbers are exchanged (but, well you know).
January 15th: International Signing Period starts.
January 19th: Hall of Fame voting is announced, with the 2027 inductees announced.
TORONTO, ON - MAY 13: A young Jays fan in the stands yawns before the start of the MLB game between the Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays on May 13, 2018 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, ON. (Photo by Jeff Chevrier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
I was doing the dishes the other day and listening to a hockey game featuring the Columbus Blue Jackets, and I couldn’t help but wonder, “Who the heck is a fan of the Blue Jackets?” If you live in central Ohio, I suppose you have a reason due to geography. But, how fervent could that fan base be, given what they have (or, more accurately, haven’t) done on the ice?
Columbus entered the National Hockey League in 2000, so this is their 25th season (remember, 2004-05 was completely lost due to a lockout by NHL owners). They have made the playoffs six times, and won a total of two rounds, including in the weirdo 2020 playoff bubble. That’s not exactly inspiring. Pretty “meh,” really.
meh (interj.): an expression of annoyed ambivalence towards an idea, person or situation
That got me thinking…
Research Question
Who is the most “meh” team in Major League Baseball?
Rationale
A “meh” team has given their fans the least to cheer about in recent memory. I think making the playoffs is a good way to quantify this, and a deep playoff run should be worth more to the fanbase than an early exit. So, a method will be established to determine “mehness.”
Methodology
The current set of 30 Major League Baseball teams first took shape for the 1998 season with the addition of the Arizona Diamondbacks and the then-Tampa Bay Devil Rays. That’s 29 seasons including the one just concluded, and holy moly that makes me feel old.
Since a deep playoff run means more to a team’s fanbase than, say, losing in the Wild Card round, point values will be assigned for different playoff outcomes. The Wild Card round in its current form started in 2022; before that the Wild Card was a one-and-done game starting in 2012. (The 2020 playoffs were obviously strange, with all teams having to go through a best-of-three Wild Card round.)
Farthest Advancement in Playoffs
Point Value
Won World Series
5
Won League Championship Series
4
Won Division Series
3
Lost Division Series but Won Wild Card (if there was one)
2
Lost Division Series but got a Wild Card bye
1
Lost Wild Card
1
You don’t want to penalize teams for not taking part in something they either didn’t have to, or for something that did not exist at the time. I think this covers all the possibilities.
Data was from Baseball Reference, of course, and errors may have been made. If I shorted your favourite team, I apologize.
Results
Franchise
Points
Yankees
70
Dodgers
50
Atlanta
44
Astros
44
Cardinals
44
Red Sox
42
Phillies
28
Cleveland
27
Giants
26
Cubs
25
(Devil) Rays
23
MLB AVERAGE
22.6
Brewers
20
Rangers
20
Tigers
19
MLB MEDIAN
19
Twins
19
Mets
19
Diamondbacks
18
Angels
18
Padres
18
Athletics
13
White Sox
13
Blue Jays
13
Royals
11
Mariners
11
Rockies
9
Expos/Nationals
9
Orioles
8
Marlins
8
Reds
6
Pirates
4
Conclusion
The Pittsburgh Pirates have been the most “meh” team in Major League Baseball in its current form.
Discussion
Here are a few things that jumped out at me while gathering and analyzing the data.
The Dodgers really didn’t have a lot of playoff success until about 2010. They’d get in but almost always flame-out right away. Had they not learned how to spend oodles of money yet? Sheesh. Even so, it wasn’t until 2020’s short season that they finally broke through.
The only teams above the Tigers in points that have not won a World Series are Cleveland and the Rays.
And about those Tigers: right at the median number of points. Half the teams are above them, half are below. (The Yankees skew the average upwards.)
The National League Central contains the bottom two teams.
The Marlins are the lowest team on this list to have won a World Series in this time-range. So, they don’t make the playoffs often, but when they do, they might just win it all.
Philadelphia kinda snuck up on me. They’ve had some decent teams recently, and they won it all once. The 2008 World Series championship came amid a pretty good run with a strong rotation. Still a bit surprised they finished that high.
I’m also surprised the Rockies were as high as they were. They made a World Series but they’ve been miserable in recent memory.
Bob Nutting needs to sell the Pirates. Bob Castellini in Cincinnati? You’re on thin ice.
If there are any other Bobs that own MLB teams, you better watch your back too.
Does anything else jump out at you? Is my methodology flawed? Is there something I forgot? Feel free to leave a comment.
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 28: Cooper Pratt #12 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates with the Commissioner's Trophy during the trophy presentation alongside teammates after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 to win in game five of the 2026 World Series at Tropicana Field on October 28, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After preventing the sweep on Tuesday, the Rays faced a massive challenge in surviving another game. The 12-inning affair burned out both teams’ bullpens making their starting pitcher selections crucial to making it through Game 5, and the Brewers were running out their ace in Jacob Misiorowski. Opposite him would be Tampa’s ace in Drew Rasmussen, but he was on a day shorter rest after starting Game 2 as opposed to Misiorowski opening up the Fall Classic in Game 1. The leash was noticeably shorter on the Rays’ side, and as it turned out things went south quickly once they dug into their bullpen.
World Series Game 5
Milwaukee Brewers 4, Tampa Bay Rays 1 (Brewers win series 4-1)
Milwaukee went down 1-2-3 against Rasmussen to start the game, but had better luck in the second inning. Brice Turang hit a one-out double and Sal Frelick was hit by a pitch to put runners on for Cooper Pratt, who singled right up the middle to plate Turang. Pratt ended up gifted the Rays an out trying to take second base on the relay throw, and the Brewers couldn’t make it a crooked number because of that, but they still struck first. As it turned out, it would take a while for Tampa to respond.
The Miz worked around two-out baserunners in the first and third inning to coast into the fourth, where he faced a jam after hitting Liam Hicks. Chandler Simpson singled and a fielding error on Frelick moved both runners into scoring position with two outs, but Misiorowski got Ben Williamson to ground out to strand them both. By that point, Kevin Cash had tested his ace’s arm enough and decided to go to his bullpen to start the fifth inning. He brought in Kevin Kelly, who got the first out before a barrage of three straight singles scored a second run. The wheels were starting to fall off of the AL Champions, and the sixth only brought more problems.
Garrett Cleavinger was summoned to get the final out of the fifth and stayed out to start the sixth. He hit Christian Yelich to put the leadoff man aboard, and William Contreras made him pay with a loud double that bounced off the left field wall bringing in Yelich. Turang singled to put runners on the corners, and Cash made another move to the ‘pen calling on Tyler Wells, but the fires were too tough to put out. Pratt lifted a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0, and Milwaukee was well on their way to the title.
Misiorowski continued cruising throughout this, and though he wasn’t racking up strikeouts the Rays couldn’t do anything with what he was offering. At 86 pitches, the Miz got the second out of the sixth inning but felt something funny on his delivery, prompting the training staff to come out. It turned out he was cramping, and though he’d try to shake it off they ultimately pulled him after his warmup pitch looked off. JoJo Romero entered and finished the inning, putting them nine outs away from the Commissioner’s Trophy. The final line on Misiorowski was 5.2 innings, two hits, one walk and two strikeouts with no runs allowed — far from what most would’ve predicted, but had he not cramped up he probably could’ve kept pitching into the seventh with excellent results. The likely NL Cy Young Award winner didn’t have the flashiest postseason performance, but he saved his best for the finale.
The march to closing the game out continued with Romero to start the seventh, and though Contreras allowed a man to reach on an error Abner Uribe took the baton and doused the embers of a rally. Then it was time for Trevor Megill to enter for the final six outs, and he got through the eighth with ease. The ninth proved a little more stressful, as Tampa got doubles from Hicks and Simpson to finally plate a run, but it was too little too late. Richie Palacios grounded one to second, Turang tossed it over to Jake Bauers in time at first, and the celebration was on.
The Brewers are your 2026 World Series champions, and the season is at an end. Contreras was named World Series MVP for his marvelous performance on both sides of the ball, including eight hits with four RBI throughout the five games. Oh, and congrats to old friend Gary Sánchez (his backup) on winning a ring!
Now that the offseason is in full effect for everyone, the looming specter of the CBA negotiations and a lockout are moving from the horizon to the forefront. It’ll likely be a long time until we can feasibly talk about moves being made, rosters being finalized, and the gathering of players towards Florida and Arizona once more. Strap in folks, this winter will be a long one.
Oct 28, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras (24) raises the World Series MVP trophy after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in game five of the 2026 World Series at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Meet the Mets
After the Mets considered going after hitting coach John Mallee, the Cubs reworked his contract to keep him in Chicago.
I will be on vacation the next two weeks. I want to thank Al, Ashley and Josh who will be filling in for me.
I just love small ball! What a great game!
I’m someone that is just watching the series for fun, not cheering for either team. I’m of course missing the emotional stress, but the general excitement was extremely contagious for Tampa Bay’s extra-inning comeback win in an elimination game Tuesday.
A 22-year-old rookie, Cooper Pratt, hit the go-ahead home run for Milwaukee in the top of the 12th, his fourth hit of the game. And in one of the great things about baseball, the Rays one-uppped the Brewers in the bottom of the inning. After a Brewer error, a single to left and a single to right tied the game. After a single to center loaded the bases, pinch-hitter Ben Williamson’s first-pitch single to right drove in the winning run. Four singles after an error, two runs, and it was beautiful.
I appreciate your reading. See y’all in a couple of weeks!
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PCA Fully Kicks Off the Award Season in a Big Way:
Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): Which Cubs can take home hardware? “Happ is the only outfielder in Cubs history with more than two career Gold Gloves.” (I didn’t know that — guess I missed that fact and thought I’d share)
Jason Ross (North Side Baseball): Offseason Primer: A State of the Union on the Cubs’ Bullpen. “As the offseason prepares to kick off, what is the State of the Union in the Cub’s bullpen? Will it be a strength or a weakness of the 2027 club?“
Carson Wolf (Just Baseball): Cubs Free Agents: Who Stays and Who Goes? “The Chicago Cubs face several free-agent decisions this winter. Here’s who they should bring back and who’s more likely to move on.”
Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): How Active Will the Chicago Cubs Be Before the Lockout Begins? “Will the Chicago Cubs be aggressive early in the offseason, given their robust set of needs on the pitching side (plus some questions in the corner outfield spots and behind the plate)? Let history be our guide.”
Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): As Cubs Consider Buying Low on a Bat, These 5 Names Stand Out. “The Cubs have a lot of work to do on their lineup as they look toward 2027, but much of their money and prospect capital will need to be spent on pitching. That could leave them shopping for bats in the bargain bin.”
Paul Niemiec (North Side Baseball): Corner Outfield Conundrum: What to Do with Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki. “The Cubs have decisions to make regarding their outfield, with both of Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ set to become free agents. There’s no obvious, easy way forward, so which path should they take?”
Samuel John “Lightnin'” Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him No. 71 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. The musicologist Robert “Mack” McCormick opined that Hopkins is “the embodiment of the jazz-and-poetry spirit, representing its ancient form in the single creator whose words and music are one act”. He influenced Townes Van Zandt, Hank Williams, Jr., and a generation of blues musicians such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, whose Grammy-nominated song “Rude Mood” was directly inspired by the Texan’s song “Hopkins’ Sky Hop”. In his own lifetime, Hopkins was one of the initial inductees in 1980 to the Blues Hall of Fame.
As a child, Hopkins was immersed in the sounds of the blues. He developed a deep appreciation for the music at the age of eight, when he met Blind Lemon Jefferson at a church picnic in Buffalo, Texas. Hopkins began accompanying Jefferson on guitar at informal church gatherings. Jefferson reputedly never let anyone play with him except Hopkins, and Hopkins learned much from Jefferson at these gatherings. In the mid-1930s, Hopkins was sent to Houston County Prison Farm, but why he was imprisoned is unknown.
Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 25: CJ Abrams #5 of the Washington Nationals warms up before a game against the New York Mets at Nationals Park on September 25, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome to a new series that I will occasionally run between the free agent profiles and random nonsense: plugging holes in the roster with trades. These trades might be unlikely because the Cardinals won’t pay the price, they may be unlikely because the other team is not actually interested in trading them, or a much more depressing possibility is the Cardinals are not actually that interested in improving the team this offseason.
My stance this offseason, which I don’t believe the Cardinals share, is that the Cardinals should try to actually win in 2027. I will bring up a past example, unfortunately a rival, but in 2014, the Cubs won 73 games. They had an emerging core with Jake Arrieta turning into an ace, Kris Byrant about to have his service time manipulated, Anthony Rizzo standing on top of the plate on the way to multiple All-Star appearances, and a very good farm system not very far away (led by Bryant, Baez, and Contreras). They signed Jon Lester, Jason Hammel, and traded for Dexter Fowler. They won 97 games.
So yes, I am going to spend most of this offseason acting like the Cardinals may make moves, both because it gives me something to write about and also to get it out there that some Cardinals fans want the Cardinals to make moves. Don’t sit on your ass. Please. Abrams is just one possibility, but please do something this offseason to show you care about winning. Rant over.
Let’s get the difficult part of this trade out of the way. I saw Abrams as a name that might be traded on the em el bee website and the rationale was that Abrams wanted to stay at SS and the Nationals are trying to move him away from SS. Which would obviously present a problem for the Cardinals if Abrams really is hung up on playing SS. The problem is that he’s one of the worst defenders in baseball at SS. He legitimately has no range defensively. He was 1st percentile in range this year, 2nd percentile last year, 1st percentile the year before, 3rd percentile in his first two seasons – like he just can’t play SS. He has never at any point looked like can play SS.
I feel like if I am delusional about my ability to play my position and then I’m traded specifically because of my stubborness about playing that position and I go to a team where the position I want to play is manned by a back-to-back Gold Glove winner – okay fine I’ll change positions. Abrams is going to face that reality at some point, probably next year quite frankly, and the Cardinals situation is about as smooth as you can ask for – it would be impossible to argue that no, actually, I deserve to play over the Gold Glover. So big hurdle, but should be the kind of thing you can figure out before you agree to a trade.
The bad news is that he has zero professional games at 3B – I hate that I keep proposing players with no experience at 3B, 3B is not in a good place right now across the league. The good news is that it’s hard to see how he could have much worse of a defensive impact than is already baked into his value. Range is less important at 3B than it is at SS or even at 2B and he has a strong enough arm for 3B, with 53rd percentile arm strength. Hardly a strength but he throws harder than either Blaze Jordan and Thomas Saggese. I think even without the presence of JJ Wetherholt, 3B might be the better move for him.
I don’t even think I have to do much work to figure out his value. He was worth 3 fWAR in 2025 and 3.7 fWAR last year. Last year came with what looks to me a bit of an elevated offensive line from what I would expect. He had a 17.6 HR/FB% (career 11.6%) and a much lower xwOBA than actual wOBA (.333 compared to .358). So he’s an above average hitter, but I think the current 109 wRC+ Fangraphs has projected for “rest of season” is basically right. He derives a lot of value from his baserunning too – 143 stolen bases to 25 caught stealing in his last four seasons (average of 35 a season). So he might be worth half a win from his baserunning.
So terrible defender, great baserunner, above average hitter – again I’ll defer to the Fangraphs rest of season projection, which is actually just a full season, but it has him with 3 WAR. That seems right to me. He will be 26 next year and has two years of team control. Because he’s 26, I’m relatively comfortable saying he’s a 3 WAR player in 2028 too. Even if that’s not what the projections will say, that’s probably his trade value. How much is he getting paid? According to MLB trade rumors, $10.2 million in 2027. Which means his 2028 value should be around $15.3 million.
That means in prospect value, valued at 6 wins across two years while getting paid $25.5 million, Abrams will be valued at $34.5 million. Fangraphs has posted an updated evaluation of prospects and that is almost exactly what a 50 future value pitcher is worth. The other option, at least by this system, is to give the Nats a 45+ future value pitcher ($15 million) and a 45+ FV hitter ($18.5 million). The numbers work out weirdly well.
Okay what do the Nationals need? Probably not a catcher. Keibert Ruiz is going to be in year 5 of an eight-year-deal and he was actually decent for the first time since 2022 last season. Top 100 prospect Harry Ford is behind him. They already traded for a big catching prospect, they probably are going to let Ford sink or swim before trying the next solution.
Look no further than the Nationals actually if you want to throw some cold water on relying on prospects. Dylan Crews sure looks like a bust. Daylen Lile had a promising rookie year and… then had a below average season in his first full season. Brady House took some big steps in his second year and was worth 0.6 fWAR in 95 games. Both Ruiz and Ford haven’t really justified their prospect ranking at all yet. Josiah Gray has been pretty underwhelming five years in.
Anyway, to answer the question of what they need? It’s kind of complicated, because of the above paragraph. You can never go wrong with pitchers and outfielders though and the Nationals could definitely use a 1B. Alec Burleson makes no sense on either side quite frankly, because the Cardinals would give up all the gains they made by getting Abrams and the Nats would presumably not want someone with two years of team control, cause if they thought they were close, they wouldn’t trade Abrams.
In theory, Blaze Jordan is perfect, except I don’t know if the Nationals are actually interested in him. He’s largely not expected to be able to play 3B (I know the small sample said he could, I am skeptical), and I’m not sure his bat is good enough for 1B. The Nationals probably think the exact same thing. Jack Gurevitch is also an option. If you’re wondering the Nats do have two top 100 prospects in the middle infield in AA, but maybe they’d be interested in one of the Cardinals utility players to replace Abrams in the short term. So with my two premises and a few possible proposals within that premise, here is what I came up with
50 FV Pitcher Proposal
CJ Abrams andRiley Cornelio for Jurrangelo Cjntje and Blaze Jordan
Yeah I tried to justify a different pitcher, but this is the prompt. I’m using Fangraphs, and of course other sources may think other pitchers are 50 FV, but the two options given by Fangraphs are Cjintje and Liam Doyle. There is just about no way Brandon Clarke or Tekoah Roby or Cooper Hjerpe have the value of a 50 FV prospect at this point. Tanner Franklin might but he’s no easier to stomach than Cjintje to be honest. I wanted to put Daniel Eagen here because I don’t have an attachment to him, but I don’t think he’s a 50 FV pitcher either.
Because Jordan is a bit too much technically, I wanted the Nats to throw in a reliever too. But holy hell are their relief options terrible. They had a worse bullpen than the Cardinals. Cornelio struck out 37% of batters in AAA and had a very strong September (31.3 K%), so maybe there’s something here. Clayton Beeter is a possibility too. Luis Perales would effectively be a Rule 5 guy, but he’s going to be 24 with no options and according to Fangraphs has a 65 fastball, 60 slider, and 70 cutter… with 30 command.
The specific relief pitcher is not important. Pick your most promising guy. And if the Nats aren’t interested in Jordan, I’ll give them Bryan Torres.
I already know most of you are saying no to this.
45+ FV Hitter and Pitcher Proposal
CJ Abrams for Brandon Clarke and Jesus Baez
I’m not setting out to trade Clarke or Baez… but if an opportunity presents itself, I’m cashing in my chips. I think most Cardinals fans are vastly overrating the likelihood that Baez is going to be good, which is funny because I was definitely the high man on him entering the year. But he was not good in High A for half the year before destroying the ball in Springfield, he doesn’t walk, he has always had low BABIPs, and the home run ball in the minors makes his numbers untrustworthy. Clarke speaks for itself, to the point that I’m not sure he’s actually considered a 45+ prospect at this point.
If Clarke is a no go in a trade, sorry Daniel Eagen, I have no attachment to you, you’re found money at this point. If you work out, I don’t think I’d care in the same way as the other 45+ FV guys.
Conclusion
Yeah I largely expect a pretty healthy dose of nos in response to my article. Just for the record, this is what it would take. If you theoretically want Abrams, but not any of these trades, you don’t want Abrams. You aren’t going to get Abrams for prospects that don’t hurt to give up. And granted, I’m sure a lot of nos are going to be of the “doesn’t make sense where this team is at right now” and yeah fair enough. I’m actually not crazy about making these trades either. I just thought it was interesting to explore.
Book Corner
One of my first comments about Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow was that I was simultaneously listening to a history podcast on Aaron Burr. The contrast was interesting. The podcast was more or less from the Burr perspective. Obviously, the book was from the Hamilton perspective. I suppose this had a negative effect on the book, because I kind of don’t buy into the book’s take on Burr or the duel itself. I have my own issues with the podcast, but this is the book corner.
I want to say this delicately but Chernow is clearly a Hamilton fanboy and I don’t think people who love the book would disagree with that. But I think the duel is a lot less clear than he portrays it. I happen to think it’s very possible Hamilton accidentally made a really bad shot, I think it’s very possible if he ended up dying, he knew he would come out looking the best if he acted like he would miss on purpose. Both sides agreed they fired at very similar times. I think Nathan Pendleton’s account is straight up unreliable because he wanted Hamilton to look good and Burr to look bad.
I just am making the point that the picture we get of the duel, and not just from this book to be fair, is almost entirely one-sided in Hamilton’s favor and it’s because he died. Everything Burr had ever done at that point was completely erased or colored with that fact. People with no ill thoughts of Burr prior to the duel suddenly might have bad things to say about things Burr did in the 1790s.
And I’m aware Hamilton is not the only one with negative things to say about Burr, but given the time period and the animosity of the Federalists and Republicans, it’s so incredibly easy to find negative quotes. I realize he never got along with Thomas Jefferson, but Burr was able to be vice president for a reason. He was reasonably well-liked. It’s tricky because I know his bias and overwhelming love of Hamilton is part of why people love the book, but when it came to Burr, it genuinely felt like Hamilton rose from the dead and inhabited his body to write those passages, which kind of just made me not trust anything he said about Burr.
Fundamentally, I believe both entered the duel for political reasons. I don’t agree with dueling of course, but if both parties agree to it, then I can’t view either side as the “villain” but Chernow so clearly portrays him as one. Like yeah he probably had murderous intent, kind of the whole point, kill or be killed and all? If Hamilton missed on purpose, how the hell was Burr supposed to know that? Both sides agreed both shot within a few seconds of each other.
Anyway just my two cents, I enjoyed reading it, didn’t love the Burr stuff. (I am aware he was later accused of treason, but that’s a combination of trusting the slimeball James Wilkinson and being an opponent of Jefferson, cause there was no real evidence for it)
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 21: Cristian Arguelles #26 of the Colorado Rockies catches a fly ball during the sixth inning of the Spring Breakout game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on March 21, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Bernacchi/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning, Purple Row!
Here’s what’s going on with the Colorado Rockies and the rest of Major League Baseball.
Cristian Arguelles (No. 5 PuRP) made a name for himself in the Rockies farm system in 2026. As it turns out, however, he’s had another Rockies name on his mind since he was a kid when Carlos González was his favorite player. The 19-year-old outfielder has modeled his game after former All-Star and is starting to see results reminiscent of a young CarGo with high a high batting average and a mixture of speed and power. If you weren’t already excited to watch Arguelles progression through the minors, this piece from Thomas Harding will make you a fan.
If you want a comprehensive, one-stop-shop overview of the current state of the Rockies roster needs and possible goals this offseason, Tyler Paddor has you covered. This lengthy piece digs into the current state of the roster as well as sorting through all the different avenues the front office could take in order to address its biggest needs. It’s a bird’s-eye view but one that provides a wonderfully all-encompassing view of the Rockies goals and options this winter.
The 2026 MLB season is officially over with the Milwaukee Brewers having earned their first championship in franchise history. Do yourself a favor and take a moment to soak in the joy and relief present in the recap and game thread comments over at Brew Crew Ball. That feeling of decades of waiting culminating in a triumphant moment of celebration is what all sports fans are in search of and it’s remarkably easy to lose sight of the goal when mired in the day-to-day minutae.
With the AFL in full swing, prospect evaluators have assembled enough data to start making adjustments to the reports on players that are showing changes to their skillsets. Eric Longenhagen does just that in this piece that combs through the most notable prospects present in the AFL and gives updates on how their stock has shifted. No Rockies made the cut for inclusion in the piece, but it’s still a useful glimpse at the state of prospects across the game.
As is tradition, Jim Bowden over at the Athletic has released his free agent contract predictions. The former GM has historically had a knack for getting the dollar figures pretty close to where they end up, though in recent seasons other publications may have caught up to his accuracy. Interestingly, Bowden lists the Rockies among the best team fits for two free agents: outfielder Taylor Ward and NPB starting pitcher Kaima Taira.
