Good
morning. I’m assuming you know that the Tigers, Red Sox and Dodgers won. And if you don’t know that the Cubs won, you’re in the wrong place.
- Davy Andrews breaks down the Tigers win over the Guardians.
- Mike Axisa writes that the Yankees were a victim of their own inability to take advantage of opportunities.
- Of course, Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet played a big role in shutting down the Yankees, per Scooby Axson. Yankees superstar Aaron Judge called Crochet the best pitcher in the game.
- Winners and losers of Day One of the playoffs.
- Are you a cord-cutter who wants to watch every playoff game without paying? J.J. Cooper explains how to take advantage of free trial periods to get every playoff game. He also recommends just paying for YouTube TV for a month and then cancelling.
- Will Leitch has the “X-factor” for each playoff team.
- R.J. Anderson also has one “X-factor” for each playoff series.
- Mike Axisa has some “bold” predictions for the playoffs. His prediction that the Padres bullpen doesn’t allow a run is already wrong.
- Jeff Passan notes that the predicted Dodgers “superteam” didn’t come to pass and argues that the economics of baseball currently work against dominating teams.
- On the other hand, Andy McCullough argues that the payrolls of the teams that did make the postseason indicates that the teams that spend more win more. (The Athletic sub. req.) McCullough also repeats the arguments for a salary cap.
- Grant Brisbee puts each playoff team into one of four “tiers.” (The Athletic sub. req.) Brisbee explains, as only he can, that “these tiers aren’t necessarily about which teams are the best. They’re arbitrary groupings that are being used to create content for hungry, hungry eyeballs, and you fell right into my trap.”
- Bob Nightengale interviews and profiles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
- Chris Cwik reports that Dodgers rookie Roki Sasaki made the Wild Card roster as a reliever.
- Dan Treacy explains why Sasaki is relieving and not starting.
- Mike Axisa has the ten players who are under the most pressure to produce in the playoffs. Kyle Tucker is number two.
- Mark Feinsand has 22 potential free agents that could help themselves with a strong October.
- Dealing with teams that aren’t playing right now, Paul Casella wonders if Phillies shortstop Trea Turner will be healthy enough to take advantage of his speed in the playoffs.
- Phillies team president says that he is “hopeful” that they can bring back their “core” players next season. The Phillies have a lot of free agents heading into the winter.
- Mark Feinsand asks around what the market for free agent first baseman Pete Alonso will be this winter.
- Since the season ended on Sunday, the managers whose teams didn’t make the playoffs got the axe on Monday or Tuesday. The Giants fired manager Bob Melvin.
- Gabe Lacques has four candidates for the Giants job.
- The Rangers and manager Bruce Bochy mutually decided to part ways, according to the team. Normally I’d say that’s just trying to let a legend down easy, but there are lots of rumors out there that Bochy is headed back to San Francisco. Nothing firmly reported, however.
- Ron Washington will not return as Angels manager, Rhett Bollinger reports. Washington missed most of the season after undergoing heart surgery. There’s at least one report out there—not sure of how reliable—that the job is Albert Pujols’ if he wants it. Makes sense—the Angels are paying Pujols $1 million a year right now anyways.
- The Twins fired manager Rocco Baldelli.
- Dan Hayes reports that Twins team president Derek Falvey wants a manager with good player development skills. (The Athletic sub. req.)
- The Pirates announced that they were keeping interim manager Don Kelly for 2026, removing “interim” from his job title.
- Anthony DiComo reports that despite the team’s collapse and missing the playoffs, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza will return for 2026. There may be some changes in the field staff under Mendoza, however.
- Athletics general manager David Forst will return for 2026.
- I missed this story last week from Buster Olney and Jesse Rogers, but it’s still timely. It’s how the Colorado Rockies became one of the worst teams of all-time. They’re basically the worst-run franchise in the sport and Olney and Rogers look at what the Rockies need to do to get their franchise into the 21st Century.
- The sale of the Rays to Patrick Zalupski was finalized.
- And finally, William Weinbaum has the oral history of Satchel Paige’s final MLB game at age 59.
