Division Series' Day 2: Conveniently Placed Longballs

 After limiting the Cubs to 1 run through 2 games, the Marlins gave up 9 to the Atlanta Braves yesterday, setting the tone for a very explosive NLDS grouping. From an opening Ronald Acuna homer off of Sandy Alcantara to a 4-RBI-day from Travis d'Arnaud, the catcher who, until last year, was thought of as a liability due to his injury-prone nature. Max Fried had a solid start, despite giving up some runs. It was a solid look for the statistical leader of the two, and a big start for this series.

Monday was Carlos Correa's day to hit 2 home runs. Tuesday was George Springer's. One off Sean Manaea, one off Yusmeiro Petit. Yes, Reddick and Correa also helped, as did a fine start by Framber Valdez, but the A's were once again afraid to elaborate on an early home run by Khris Davis. The A's seriously need to figure out how to get past this team, because...they had such a head start over Houston, and now they're once again falling victim to Houston's October momentum. And I seriously thought they were better than this.

Game 3 is today. The A's haven't decided who they're putting up against Jose Urquidy. If he didn't put in 2 scoreless innings yesterday, I'd suggest Mike Minor, but hopefully either Jesus Luzardo or Mike Fiers has a good start left in them. 

I was never expecting my Yankees to sweep the Rays.

Especially considering how good this Rays team is. I mean, talk about getting a nice assortment of useful players rather than big names. Mike Zunino, Randy Arozarena and Manny Margot all hit home runs for them last night. Tyler Glasnow had the nice start. All these anonymous relievers are keeping the STAR-STUDDED YANKEES at bay. So a win like this, where even if the Yanks put up 5 runs, 4 of which coming from hot-as-hell Giancarlo Stanton, they still lose to Tampa...I imagined we'd get one of those.

I honestly wish Boone had let Deivi Garcia run out the start. I think he's ready. 

Because these days, if the starter doesn't run out the start, there's something seriously wrong. And Mike Clevinger's arm tensing up after an inning and change is the sort of thing that warrants getting pulled. So instead of getting prime Clevinger material, the Dodgers went against middling Garrett Richards material, and scored a ton of runs off of him and Matt Strahm. Not to say the bullpen strategy didn't otherwise work out for San Diego, as they still have an awesome 'pen, but...that pen against peak Walker Buehler seemed a bit lopsided last night.

Buehler went only 4 innings, but struck out 8, and only let through the game's sole Padres run. I'd say that's the kind of pitching performance the Dodgers were looking for from him. Hopefully Kershaw continues his reliable streak today against...whoever the Padres put up. 

Division Series Update: Good News for People Who Like Bad News

 [loud sigh]

This is why a sub-500 team shouldn't be allowed into the playoffs. Because that team might be the Astros, who could thrive in the postseason, despite absolutely no one wanting another Astros postseason run. 

Carlos Correa hit 2 homers today against the superior Oakland A's. The usual suspects, like Michael Brantley, Alex Bregman, Yuli Gurriel, George Springer and Jose Altuve were responsible for the RBI. Even a good pitcher like Chris Bassitt got lit up by these guys. The momentum us there, and if the A's don't spring into action themselves, they could let the Astros slip right back into another ALCS. 

I talk about this with a horrified tone because...

The Yankees had a big win tonight over Tampa. Solo homers from Clint Frazier, Kyle Higashioka and Aaron Judge laid the ground work, but a stellar ninth from Aaron Hicks and Giancarlo Stanton broke the Rays' bullpen wide open and the Yanks' 'pen shut down Tampa. So...a Yankee team that seemed stymied by the Rays all year is finally figuring out how to get to them, and beginning to look like their old selves.

And yet...the Astros are also gaining ground. Which means this postseason could be leading to YET ANOTHER Yankees-Astros meeting in the playoffs. Only one Yankee postseason run HASN'T been cut short by the Astros since 2016. So even if this Astros team isn't as good as prior ones, even an inkling that they could somehow beat the Yankees in ANOTHER ALCS is scary as hell to me. We've lost enough playoff games to the Astros, at least give us the higher ground this time.

But again, this only happens if the Yankees pull out over the Rays, and if the A's don't snap to life in the next few games, which I'm hoping they do. Yanks-A's could be an interesting series, but...part of me thinks we can take the A's more than we can take Houston. 

Watch me be way off, like usual. 

Topps Cards That Should Have Been: 2008 Midyear Deals

 The 2008 Trade Deadline was relatively well-documented in 2008 Updates and Highlights. The big guns received cards, like Manny Ramirez in LA, Ivan Rodriguez in New York, Ken Griffey Jr. in Chicago and, of course, Bartolo Colon in Boston. Also, some smaller deals were made into Topps cards, even questionable ones like Chris Snelling and Tadahito Iguchi landing in Philly, or Yamid Haad getting called up right before the print deadline before being called back down again. It would be the last time the Update set would be so needlessly comprehensive while also leaving out obvious choices. 

Some were just oversights because of deals made right after the print deadline, like Felipe Lopez being released by Washington only to sign with the Cardinals a week later. The veteran utility infielder would hit .335 in 43 games with the Cards, with 21 RBIs and 60 hits, becoming a trusted asset for a team that would fail to make a playoff run that year. 

Similarly, after a down year in Philadelphia, former Mariners All-Star fireballer Freddy Garcia was a midyear sign for the Detroit Tigers, a team the sportswriters expected to win the World Series but wound up in last. The signing happened, again, after the print date. And to be honest, it's not a TON to write home about. Garcia started 3 games, posted a 1-1 record, a 4.20 ERA and 12 strikeouts. Topps has given cards to Philippe Aumont in 2015 before, but I can see why they thought that wasn't worth it. 

2008 also counts as a crossroads for Garcia, sort of like Colon's 2009. After this year, the White Sox pick him back up, and Garcia becomes a trusted low-velocity trickster for the White Sox, Yankees and Orioles for the next 4 years. The 2008 season is Garcia looking at his poor 2007 and moving on, which is the best thing to do.

For me, this is the biggest omission.

Topps does give Matt Stairs a Phillies card in 2009, a commemoration of sorts, but...come on. Matt Stairs' career year with Philly is 2008, and he deserves a card for it.

Stairs began 2008 as a DH in Toronto, close to his home, and in August he's packed in a waiver deal to Philly to be used as a bench bat [you try starting a 40-year-old in the outfield]. In 16 regular season games, Stairs hits .294, with 5 RBIs and 2 home runs. Not bad at all. But then he makes the postseason roster, has that magical game-winning home run in the NLCS against the Dodgers, and is proclaimed the hero, even if he doesn't make much of an impact in the actual World Series. It's still a fantastic moment, which Stairs is still riding high on even 12 years later. 

And I wish Topps could have known it was coming in August.

Topps Cards That Should Have Been: 2009 Topps Bartolo Colon

 In another universe, this would have been Bartolo Colon's sunset card.

After a strong career, a Cy Young, and a few injury plagued seasons, Colon returned to Chicago as a starter in 2009, pitched 12 games, and came up with a 4.19 ERA, a 3-6 record, and 38 strikeouts. Not bad, but for a team with great performances from Mark Buehrle, Jake Peavy and John Danks that year, it wasn't enough.

While Topps does make a card of Colon as a White Sock in its Heritage High Number series, which should benefit from being released later in the year this year, it doesn't make a flagship release of him. The 2008 Update card of Colon in Boston evidently was enough for them.

As Colon spent his 2010 season in independent leagues, trying to make it back...there was an indication that Colon's 2009 season may have been his final one. So Topps not cooking something up for 2010 Topps is also suspect. Colon's eventual return with New York in 2011 must have felt very unlikely, and if he doesn't come back for a minor league deal with the Yanks, Colon never achieves his late-career appreciation with the Mets. 

This Sox card could have marked the end of Colon's initial run in the majors. And I wish it existed.

Wild Card Series' Day 4: Deciding Outcomes

 This is the underdog shit we've needed from this postseason. The Miami Marlins, whom everybody sort of counted out this year, just took down the 1st place Chicago Cubs, nullifying the third of four NL Central playoff campaigns. Garrett Cooper and Magneuris Sierra had the winning RBIs against Yu Darvish and Jeremy Jeffress, two brick walls for Chicago this year. Sixto Sanchez had the winning start, and made a statement as a rookie no one wants to screw with. I have no idea how they'll do against Atlanta, as they're pretty tough, but...the Marlins' playoff streak has, in fact, continued, and...take that for what you will.

As for the Cubs...I'd hoped they would do better than this, but they were a team based on momentum, and they'd stayed strong the entire time but...the Marlins were the one detail that did them in. Even the big parts of this team, like the rotation and bullpen, petered off once the postseason began, and...I'm sad to see it, but the team wasn't ready for this. Maybe they will be next year, but...it's just a sad sight. 

I'll give the Padres this...never would have predicted they'd make it to the next round on a bullpen day. Sure enough, the entire bullpen switched off blanking the Cardinals while Eric Hosmer and Jake Cronenworth teed off late after Flaherty slowed down. It was exciting to watch as someone who's despised the Cardinals for the last 10 years, as well as someone who just enjoys fun teams that haven't won in a while, like the Padres. Seeing Cronenworth become the first Padres rookie to hit a home run in the playoffs was insanely cool, and I hope for similar milestones up ahead in a...admittedly doomed series against LA. 

As for the Cardinals...first of all, we're gonna have the first ever NLDS week with absolutely zero teams from the central divisions, which is weird, cause we came in with 7 of them and now we've got none left, so the playoffs are now gonna be essentially East v. West, which is cool. But, the Cardinals snuck in late, they lost momentum in September, and while having a nice team they just...didn't have enough to really sink their teeth into this playoff season. A shame, because Tommy Edman and Yadier Molina were just heating up. 

Excited for the Division Series. Only one team I actively despise is in the race [two if you count the Rays, who I go back and forth on], and we could have a very fun combination of outcomes. Of the teams left, one has won a World Series in the last few years, five haven't won in over 10 years, and two have never won a World Series. Sure to be exciting, especially if the Astros lose. 

Wild Card Series' Day 3: Wrap-Ups and Intrigue

The Braves beating the Reds was an outcome I had predicted, but not so mercilessly.

This was a series of two pitching battles, with great work from Trevor Bauer, Luis Castillo, Max Fried and Luis Castillo, and while the Reds had the better starters arguably, the Braves did what the Reds couldn't- they had their offense show up. And this time, it came in the form of Adam Duvall, Marcell Ozuna and Ronald Acuna. Three members of this team's core. And it proved that the Braves are a playoff team, and are ready for just about anything.

They play the winner of the Cubs-Marlins matchup which won't be decided until tomorrow or Saturday. I think they're gonna be very tough to beat.

As for the Reds...this was a fun playoff team, and a great team as usual to root for, but...in a playoff scenario with a lot of teams better than them, this was sadly bound to happen.

I love this team, I love Castillo and Bauer, and I love the youth slowly being ingratiated into the core of the team, and I really hope they can improve for 2021, because...it's much more fun when they're competitive. 

In a series where literally whichever team won would be rooted for in a series against Houston, a surprisingly sharp Oakland team tied it in Game 2 and won Game 3 against a hydra-esque White Sox team, ensuring that no AL Central teams would make it to the next rung of the playoffs, which is kind of heartbreaking considering how tough that division looked this year.

Olson, Pinder and Canha, the usual suspects, pulled off a nice win over the Sox, and ensured a date with the Astros for the ALDS. I...really...REALLY hope the A's can beat Houston. It would make my day. Hell, maybe they can head to a World Series as well. 

The White Sox should not be ashamed of their season, they made it further than most people thought, and despite a drop from 1st in August, they hit their way into the playoffs with a phenomenal lineup. They just didn't have as much going for them as Oakland, even with Jimenez surging. I'll be hoping for an improvement next year, perhaps with a stronger bullpen.

Just when I was fearing an early exit from these guys, the Padres' bats woke up, Myers, Machado and Tatis beat down on the Cardinals' bullpen, and the series was tied. Even if the Padres are running out of suitable starters, I'm still hoping they sneak a win out of the Cardinals. Yes, this means they'll have to play the Dodgers [or the Brewers but probably the Dodgers], but it's a better outcome than the Cardinals winning yet another playoff series.

All of y'all saying Kershaw's a bad postseason pitcher can shut up now. Clayton Kershaw absolutely owned the Milwaukee Brewers, shutting them out in 8 innings with 13 strikeouts and only 3 hits, then left it to Brusdar Graterol to close it out. Yes, Austin Barnes and Mookie Betts helped, but this was Kershaw's game to own, and he cemented more of his own legend. 

The Dodgers will play either the Cardinals or Padres. Either way, a great series to be had.

As for the Brewers, the team that snuck into the playoffs and then had to face the biggest, baddest team of them all...they did what they could. But they really didn't have it this year, and I think they knew it. Next year, with Lorenzo Cain back and a full-capacity Yelich, maybe they'll top this performance. I hope they do.

Tomorrow, hopefully we put a cap on at least one more series. And then we ease our way into Division Series' and make this one even more real. 

Wild Card Series' Day 2: A Heaping Platter of Baseball

...damn you Manfred. 

Can you believe it, an MLB commissioner that won't actually punish a cheating team, aside from like...executives and shit. The Astros, in a normal year, would sit out the playoffs, but Manfred HAD to insist on an 8-team playoff circuit, so that SOMEHOW the Astros would just be the 8th-worst team in the AL, therefore the 8th best, and weasel its way in.

And then they beat the Twins, an actual good team, in the playoffs and because it's a 3 game series, the Astros somehow wind up in the next stage of the playoffs. Manfred could have made it Top 6 with a team getting a bye in the second round, but he had to do this and continue to reward the team he's supposed to be punishing.

...It shouldn't be this simple for the Astros to make the playoffs. They were under .500 this season, a lot of their core underperformed, and they were technically a bad team...and yet they got momentum and kicked the Twins' ass for two games, and now they get to move on. Kyle Tucker and George Springer play amazingly, and they're deeper into it.

I...I....ah god...

And the thing is...the Twins weren't a bad team this year. They ended up 1st in the AL Central despite trailing Chicago and Cleveland for most of September, overcame injuries to Josh Donaldson and Jake Odorizzi and rode on awesome seasons from Kenta Maeda and Byron Buxton. But...this team had nowhere near the amount of firepower as the 2019 team, and they knew it. The Twins may have won the division, but the White Sox were the best team in that division this year, and their playoff numbers show it. 

It's still sad to see them go this early, as they had some promise, and deserved it more than Houston, but...you know...BS rules..

 Anyway, happier news. After a 13-inning game, and some of the best material of Trevor Bauer's career, Freddie Freeman got to Amir Garrett and walked off for the Braves. It was the kind of outcome I saw coming [Cincy has the better pitching, but Atlanta's the better clutch team], but it was still cool to see Freeman do it. Tomorrow will be interesting, because I want the Reds to stay in it, but I also know how unbeatable the Braves seem this year.

In terms of David-Goliath battles, the Miami Marlins won a playoff game against the 1st place Chicago Cubs. Sandy Alcantara pitched a better game than Kyle Hendricks. Jesus Aguilar and Corey Dickerson had RBIs. This is a phenomenal statement from one of the most unlikely playoff teams in the bunch. I'm not saying they're the best team out there right now, but they might be the most dangerous. 

As a response to Lucas Giolito's gem yesterday, Chris Bassitt sprung into action for Oakland, allowing only 1 run over 7 innings with 5 strikeouts. Tommy La Stella, Marcus Semien and Khris Davis helped him out with run support, and despite some White Sox batters getting to Liam Hendriks late, the A's stayed alive to play one more game. Exciting to see who wins this series, as these are two likable teams and I really don't want to lose either of them.

Meanwhile, the 1 seeded Rays continued to bring out more surprises, including a second consecutive run-scoring showing for Randy Arozarena, the guy the Cardinals traded to Tampa along with Jose Martinez, who's now got a lot more starting time and is coming into his own. Arozarena had 3 hits today, including 2 doubles, and is having a very promising postseason. Also, your standard guys like Tyler Glasnow, Manny Margot and Hunter Renfroe impressed for Tampa as well. 

And as for the team they beat...

Look...as cool as it was to watch this team get hot, this outcome was kind of inevitable. The Jays were fun, and young, and scrappy, but they were never gonna be better than the Rays, and...thanks to subpar starts from Matt Shoemaker and Hyun-Jin Ryu, never really got going. It'll be fun to see the second act next year, and how they recover from the pitching woes of the second half.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals rallied behind the old-timers like Yadier Molina, Dexter Fowler and Matt Carpenter, and let Kwang-Hyun Kim stay on for a bit, to beat the Padres. If you know me, you know I'm not exactly rooting for the Cardinals, and the Padres are the more fun team in this scenario. But...the Cardinals have been known to do better in the postseason, and have more momentum, it seems...and more pitching. Tomorrow the Padres are starting Zach Davies, and hopefully he'll keep runs down.

Well...it was close, but thanks to some late heroics from DJ LeMahieu and GARY SANCHEZ OF ALL PEOPLE, the Yankees squeezed past the Indians to move onto the next round and play the Rays. This is still a flawed team that let too many runs go by, but we still out hit the most dangerous clutch team in baseball, and we should be proud of that. I have no idea how the Rays series is gonna go, and I'm very worried considering our track record against Tampa this year, but I'm happy we won against Cleveland.

And even if they didn't advance, the Indians fought. They fought until the last out, and they kept putting more runs on the board. Josh Naylor was playing beautifully, Cesar Hernandez and Jose Ramirez were solid, Carlos Carrasco was a steady starter this game, and this was still a good team that just got beat out by a slightly better one. I do think they have a future next year if they keep the right people around.

And finally, this guy led a barrage of old postseason heroes for the Dodgers, including Corey Seager, Max Muncy and Walker Buehler, in shutting down the Brewers for Game 1. AJ Pollock, Will Smith and Mookie Betts had the big RBIs, Seager had a homer, Buehler pitched well enough [Arcia homer notwithstanding], and the team looked pretty great polishing off a solid 1-8 bracket matchup. I hope their luck continues, and I hope they continue to look this nice this postseason.