What is the story about?
High drama is afoot in the MLB postseason, which is always a delightful thing to see unfold. Whether it’s Shohei Ohtani’s unexpected postseason slump (or was it really unexpected considering he’s been battling injuries the latter half of the season?), or Mason Miller tipping pitches (he claims he wasn’t!), or the Yankees just dropping the ball throughout their series against the Rays, it has been a very interesting week of postseason ball.
We’ll get into all that and more below, so let’s just jump
right into it.
- Michael Baumann looks at how badly the Yankees dropped the ball in their recent outing against the Rays.
- Will Sammon explains how the Rays are dominating the Yankees in October. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- Andy Nesbitt looks at how Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s postgame comments just made his on-field errors look worse.
- Sonja Chen tries to determine what’s behind Shohei Ohtani’s NLDS struggles.
- Jackson Chourio is becoming a postseason hero, writes Tom Verducci.
- Some hot takes after the first week of the postseason. (ESPN)
- This might be right up there with “game in a National Park” as the dumbest idea MLB has had this season.
- Matthew Roberson tracks the White Sox continued dream run through the postseason.
- Anthony Castrovince looks at how the Garrett Crochet trade is paying off for the White Sox now.
- How did things come together so quickly for the 2026 White Sox? Story by Anthony Castrovince.
- Jon Becker shares postseason report cards for the managers of the Astros and Red Sox.
- Dan Gartland looks at how hard it is, historically, for teams to come back from a 0-2 start to the postseason.
- Tim Britton reports that Josh Naylor and Cal Raleigh have both undergone offseason surgeries. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- Not ideal…
- Mason Miller, for his part, insists he was not tipping pitches. (MLB)
- Ben Clemens tries to make sense of the Braves’ go-for-broke approach to the postseason.
- Ty France can’t carry the Padres all on his own, writes Jay Jaffe.
- Anthony DiComo has five questions that will define the Mets’ offseason.
- Karl Rasmussen explains the glaring weakness that is sinking the Guardians.
- The Red Sox deny they are relying too heavily on analytics. (AP)
- Former Dodgers’ GM Fred Claire has passed away. (AP)
- Sam McDowell, the All-Star who inspired a character on “Cheers,” has passed away. (AP)
- Tim Britton and Sam Blum look at how broadcasters deal with accusations of bias in the postseason. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- Absolutely love stuff like this.
And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.
