Author Archive: Sean Dolinar

Members-Only Game Thread: ALCS – Oct 13, 2026

by
October 13, 2026

Welcome to our Open Game Thread for the ALCS games today. Chat with fellow readers as we watch the Guardians play the Rays! Only Members can participate, and unlike our usual staff Q&A chats, your messages will be posted immediately.

Our Member community is made up of thousands of incredibly knowledgable baseball fans, and we think this is a great way to follow a game with like-minded baseball enthusiasts. We might even have some FanGraphs Staff drop in and join the fun. Please be courteous to your fellow Members, or you may find your chat privileges revoked.

soddingjunkmail

The response (as of this writing) to the 2nd poll is peak Cleveland.
6/6 respondents want Cleveland to win but only 1/6 believe it will happen.

Sean Dolinar

Hello everyone! We got a few polls for you. The likability ranking from last night, we'll let that ride for at least another day. Then we have the standard who ya got for the game and the SP poll.

Phil

I've been thinking about possible ranked polls. If there's an all-midwest WS you'll definitely need some food polls and they will have to feature cheese curds (does Tampa have a cuisine?). I'm also mulling over one on the poignancy of loser heroics–Randy Arozarena, Rajai Davis, Carlton Fisk. I know there are other good ones I'm forgetting.

Matt Martell

Bob Gibson in the 1968 World Series is the all-timer

Phil

Yes, absolutely.

Matt Martell

Also Chase Utley in 2009

lzfreak

Any word on if Caminero and DeLuca are banged up at all after the collision yesterday? Looks like both are good to play at least which is a good sign

Jon Becker

Caminero just got the wind knocked out of him, DeLuca was fine

Jon Becker

Hi everyone!

Keaton Arneson

Who else is doing Star Wars Legos during the game?!? I assume the answer is just me.

Sean Dolinar

What are you making?

Keaton Arneson

My son kind of wrecked the AT-AT Walker so I'm rebuilding it. I just got the Tantive IV in the mail yesterday

Benny The Jet

Every time I see the Billy Bob Thornton commercial I think the cops are coming for the crazy guy who keeps bothering people trying to relax in the massage chairs by presuming they want to hear about T-Mobile

Sean Dolinar

Jon, what do you think about this camera angle? For the pitcher-batter matchup?

Keaton Arneson

Didn't Tropicana have an almost perfect straight on angle before the hurricane? I could be wrong. Maybe I need to replay MLB the Show for the answer.

Jon Becker

Pretty good but it's perfect in the regular season, yeah

bosoxforlife

I have a strange question for the group after watching Diaz lope down the line. Should a player go hard on such an easy play and risk a hammy or give himself up?

Phil

Depends on the state of his hammies going in. I was OK with Willson Contreras taking it easy when it came up with him–he was clearly hurt, and he's not in the lineup to get infield hits.

lzfreak

I remember Tony La Russa taking a lot of heat in Chicago when he told his players not to hustle on routine plays. Then they fired him and the next season the 3 best White Sox players all got hurt running the bases in April. Sometimes you just can't win

bosoxforlife

I lean to the don't risk injury side.

Benny The Jet

What was that commercial!

drplantwrench

i feel like dodgers sorta have to play shohei at this point, whats there to lose

Rollie's Mustache

Well this is a bad challenge.

ncphl

Good thing they get two

bosoxforlife

The replay coach needs a pair of glasses.

Dan Szymborski

G'evening

lzfreak

Messick only retired one batter that inning but still faced the minimum

Phil

Dan, obviously there's a long way to go in the NLCS. But from what we've seen so far, do you think projection systems need better ways of accounting for players not on the IL but playing hurt? I feel like all of them, not ZiPS particularly, have been projecting LA at their best and not as they are.

ncphl

A rare Walls hit!

Dan Szymborski

Phil, it would definitely hurt, but the problem is the actual data itself.

Dan Szymborski

I've always wondered if there's something that can be done here, such as sudden change in playing time over a seven-day-period, but I haven't really dug into it

Dan Szymborski

errr, it woudl definitely HELP

drplantwrench

how would you even predict injury?

Phil

Yeah, I recognize that reliable data is a huge problem. You don't want ZiPS scouring the papers.

Dan Szymborski

Maybe some day AI can figure that out, but that day is not now!

Phil edited

The problem is that both players and teams lie. I don't know that AI will ever get to the point where it can see through an obvious lie. Our greatest advantage over the machines!

bosoxforlife

I just checked Eric's 2023 Guardians prospect list and a remarkable 14 players on that list are on the roster today. The Rays have only 4 from that year.

Phil

RosterResource has CLE second to STIL in number of homegrown players.

Phil

Rays dead last.

Dan Szymborski

Oooh, I should check my 2023 Guardians prospects

Dan Szymborski

From ZiPS Top 200

Bo Naylor
Brayan Rocchio
Logan Allen
Tanner Bibee
Gavin Williams
Daniel Espino
Angel Martinez
George Valera
Juan Brito
Gabriel Arias
Tyler Freeman

Sean Dolinar

That’s an impressive list.

lzfreak

Lotta double plays already

Sean Dolinar

This won’t be one though

coldbagel12

Messick doesn't look as sharp as he usually does. The double plays are bailing him out.

lzfreak

First to third on an infield hit!

Dan Szymborski

That seemed fast even for Simpson

lzfreak

Yeah as soon as that bounce went way up he hit another gear

Dan Szymborski

It looked like he ran through first by liek 50 feet too

comradeyurika

Ramirez not having a good inning

Sean Dolinar

Bucknered

Sean Dolinar

Bucknered

Matt Martell

Oh my – rough two plays for J-Ram

lzfreak

It's the green glove

Dan Szymborski

Buckner's wasn't hit as hard!

Nick Smith

I'm seeing double, 4 Seans!

Sean Dolinar

4? Did the message send 4 times?

Nick Smith

Simpsons reference.

Sean Dolinar

lol, scared me that something was more wrong than just client sending twice.

Benny The Jet

Yikes

lzfreak edited

I wonder if Tyler Wells ever takes an at bat for Taylor Walls just to see if anyone is paying attention

bosoxforlife

The ball Ramirez failed to come up with hit the edge of the infield grass and stayed down. It is impossible to foresee that and it is more like bad luck, but still an error, than anything else.

Dan Szymborski

The Megan Fox commercial leaves it kind of ambiguous if she's trying to sell us the drug or she's actually the drug

Dan Szymborski

J-Ram kinda has to wonder how come that's an error and the other 750 bloopers not by the Yankees are hits

Jon Becker

Oh hell yeah Junior

Jon Becker

☝️😏☝️

Dan Szymborski

I liked the competent inelegance of the Caminero catch as he kinda just threw his body in the general direction as a reaction and then caught it

Benny The Jet

"That first pitch to Jo Adell was the fastest pitch of Freddy Peralta's career, including playoffs, at 99.4 mph" via the great Sarah Langs

Dan Szymborski

I don't know how Sarah does it, she's way faster and more productive than 99% of us that don't need health aids.

bosoxforlife

Fastball Freddy's heater is the definition of carry.

Nick Smith

Hot take: HBPs shouldn't count if it hits your armor.

asf123

I had the same thought, but I don’t think we want to incentivize “Wear it!” culture more.

bosoxforlife

Don Baylor used to make no effort to avoid being hit by the pitch. Of course he was made of concrete.

asf123

It’s at the point now where Little League kids are being pressured not to get out of the way.

Nick Smith

That's fair.

asf123

Jeez. Yet another inane challenge.

Dan Szymborski

I was always told to not get out of the way in Little League tand that was 35-40 years ago

asf123 edited

Your coach was a sociopath ahead of his time!

Sean Dolinar

I looked away for a second and not sure why you'd waste a challenge on that. At least it's not the first 3 innings.

Dan Szymborski

And I didn't. I was an overcompetitive kid. I would lose my s%#@ about the mercy rule even if we were on the bad side of it

BigHurtBeer

Fastball Freddie really needed to get away from the Mets. Put a bow on that performance.

jcathtraverse

Where on earth did Petey Halpin come from? I've now watched a game and a half with him in the starting lineup, and I still have no idea who he is.

asf123

San Mateo, CA, sez here.

asf123

Man, they’ve really doubled down on that Sydney Sweeney ad.

Nick Smith edited

I almost feel bad for her. It's like she blew her Euphoria money on ice sculpting lessons or something.

Sean Dolinar

That sounds like investing in herself.

lzfreak

Oof that's the shortstop's ball

Sean Dolinar

We had Messick and Peralta going 5 IP for the median, and almost 5 IP for the mean. We were spot on for Messick. And short for Peralta.

asf123

Wow, a pinch hitter without a mound visit? How often does that happen? It’s almost like they knew Palacios was on the roster before the game!

Dan Szymborski

Guardians bats gotta do better than pop on toast

Pedantic A-hole

This is a good series for undersized sluggers. Palacios , Mesa Jr., Hicks, and of course the great J-Ram

Dan Szymborski

not so great for J-Ram's D!

Dan Szymborski

Arby's commercials always make me a little sad because I'm reminded of my cat Galileo

asf123 edited

I saw your story about Galileo and Arby’s in a chat recently. It made me smile, surprised to know that Arby’s has done some small bit of good in this world. I’m glad you have those memories.

asf123

I was saying how there’s no way Hicks should be starting against a lefty, but SSS >>> my brain.

bosoxforlife

The Guardians started Hedges at catcher so they could use Bailey as a PH. I hope that sounds as ridiculous to others as it does to me as I write it.

Nick Smith

Gotta keep the other team thinking. Zag when they expect you to zig, etc.

lzfreak

It's amazing how often in recent postseasons Vogt has had Hedges at bat in extremely high leverage situations. Now he has competition for that spot!

Dan Szymborski

"I put my hand on the stove because it feels so amazing when I take it off!"

Phil

Was that punitive for heading to first early?

Dan Szymborski

He LOOOOVED Arby's. I couldn't eat Arby's for a year after he died. I mean, he was 20, so he was a really old cat, but still miss the guy because he was the cat who was invariably around me when I was working, including all ZiPS work from origin to 2019.

coldbagel12

Vogt has been having Hedges and Bailey pinch hit for each other all year. Drives me up a wall

asf123

Gotta think of it as more of a catcher funging than pinch hitting, I guess.

coldbagel12

Yeah, that's how he uses it. I just wish he'd pinch hit someone else then make a defensive sub. Although it's not like there's a slugger on the bench.

Dan Szymborski

I was gonna dispute the factoid, but I didn't realize that Kwan was THAT good total in the second half. 155 wRC+

lzfreak

You are allowed to pinch hit with a non catcher though

Dan Szymborski

I mean, he turned it on, but I didn't see the number

Dan Szymborski

I like when they mention Booser, because it's always in a situation where saying boozer sounds funny

Dan Szymborski

THERE'S A BOOSER GETTING WARMED UP

asf123

He’s actually a recovering alcoholic.

Dan Szymborski

OH geez, I didn't know that

asf123

True story.

Dan Szymborski

Not a convenient name to have

asf123

I know, right?

Dan Szymborski

My dad drank himself to death, but he didn't have an ironic name.

Nick Smith

How would you explain changing it, though?

Dan Szymborski

"Call a lawyer?"

asf123

I just read an article about him the other day. He was out of baseball when he was 27 due to injuries, which led to depression and addiction. But he made it back. So, major hat tip.

Dan Szymborski

Seems like it's a story i should have remembered. Good story

asf123

I mean, these days there’s always a chance that the article was a total AI fake, but it seems unlikely that a fake article about a Rays reliever would be real high on anyone’s AI priority list.

bosoxforlife

Not the matchup Cash would want here.

Dan Szymborski

Man, Adell looked horrible on that changeup

Matt Martell

I want to see another Jo Adell triple

Dan Szymborski

That was not a good at bat for Adell

Matt Martell

Yes, I'm still here – just went down a deep rabbit hole looking for the best World Series performances from players on losing teams

jj1986

Lenny Dykstra was tearing it up in 1993

Matt Martell

Yes, Dykstra is on the list

Matt Martell

A 6-inning rabbit hole

Phil

Sorry if I sent you down it! But I'd be curious to see the answer. Wondering about CWPA, too.

Matt Martell

Send it as a mailbag question!

Nick Smith

Yikes! Terrible bunt.

bosoxforlife

I mentioned that I watched him several times in Worcester and thought nothing of it. He was just an old never-will-be. Perusing his history shows he did not appear in organized ball between his 26-28 year old years.

lzfreak

Armstrong is a good name for a pitcher

Rich Hill's Fastball

Certainly better than Flimsyelbow

lzfreak

The Twins used to have a starter named Kevin Slowey

asf123

And the guy actually named Tommy John ended up having to have Tommy John surgery. How ironic is that?

Dan Szymborski

Don't get me started on Lou Gehrig!

lzfreak

Cy Young never won a Cy Young award

Nick Smith edited

I hate to break it to you about Bill Goodenough.

asf123 edited

In retrospect, it seems inevitable.

Keith

Why wasn’t Kwan sent home on the double? I thought he was fast.

bosoxforlife

I couldn't believe he wasn't sent. I guess the 3rd base coach was afraid of him being thrown out in the 1 in 10 chance that might have happened. I hate 3rd base scared 3rd base coaches as you might have ascertained.

asf123

Will there ever come a point at which people decide they’ve had their fill of Day-O, “boom boom boom and let me hear you say hey-o” and “Everybody clap your hands!”? Can we poll that?

jcathtraverse

I much prefer "everybody clap your hands" to the relatively recent alternative "I can make your hands clap"

lzfreak

Yeah I don't love a disembodied voice bragging about how he has control over my body

asf123

Rotten potato, rotten potahto.

Solitaire

Jeff Sullivan once live-blogged a Mariners game which included a post "everybody clap your hands clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap" and I will never not laugh about that now

Sean Dolinar

We’ll do a stadium chant poll tomor

asf123

The “free mound visit for a pinch hitter” rule is such a farce.

asf123

“Gotta give the pitcher the scouting report,” my ass.

Dan Szymborski

I'm grumpy and never ever participate in fan things, even as a kid

Phil

One of my earliest memoried is my older brothrr explaining why the wave is stupid.

asf123

I just genuinely don’t get why people apparently like the same five sound bites over and over and over and over again for years on end.

bosoxforlife

Another of life's imponderables. How did Bryan Baker morph into Mariano Rivera?

Phil

That's just Ray Magic.

lzfreak

You should see what they did with the Butcher and the candlestick maker

asf123

Patrick Bailey, pinch hitter, folks.

lzfreak

Mesa is entertaining even on the routine plays

Rich Hill's Fastball

Ballgame

bosoxforlife

See ya' all tomorrow.

Rich Hill's Fastball

Excited to suffer through a Snell start?

Phil

Good night, all.

Dan Szymborski

I would go see a band called Bryan Baker's Primal Scream, though the actual band might be unhappy

Dan Szymborski

NIght!


Members-Only Game Thread: LCS – Oct 12, 2026

by
October 12, 2026

Welcome to our Open Game Thread for the LCS games today. Chat with fellow readers as we watch the Dodgers play the Brewers and the Guardians play the Rays! Only Members can participate, and unlike our usual game chats, your messages will be posted immediately.

Our Member community is made up of thousands of incredibly knowledgable baseball fans, and we think this is a great way to follow a game with like-minded baseball enthusiasts. We might even have some FanGraphs Staff drop in and join the fun. Please be courteous to your fellow Members, or you may find your chat privileges revoked.

Rich Hill's Fastball

Poll results have 0 faith in the Dodgers' bats to disappoint

Solitaire

Even after losing Game 1, Fangraphs has the Dodgers at 53% to beat the Brewers (and an implied 76% to beat whoever comes out of the AL). Surely this is crazy right? Even with the Dodgers rotation? More likely the Dodgers win 4-of-6 than the 103 win Brewers win 3-of-6?

Solitaire

Having a 53% of taking at least 4-of-6 implies ~60% of winning for each game. 60-40 is an awful lot for a single baseball game and all its randomness. The Dodgers had a 61% win rate against all teams. Surely you expect that to be more than a single percentage point lower against the strongest opponent?

Benny The Jet

I've been meaning to ask, is the poll question for the game, or for the series?

Sean Dolinar

Welcome everyone! I'm excited we get two games tonight. We got some polls today, including the SP poll I wish I had yesterday with Misiorowski not getting through the 5th.

Sean Dolinar

Game.

Benny The Jet

Thanks Sean, and thank you as always for hosting these chats, excited to talk baseball for the next 8 hours!

Sean Dolinar

Thank you all for being here (these chats would be quite lame otherwise) and being Members.

notbrandonzink

I think it makes sense when you line up the pitching matchups, especially with the Miz looking vulnerable (though projections probably don't take it into account). The Brewers are essentially doing a long opener into bullpen game for games 3 and 4 while the Dodgers get Snell and Glasnow, not to mention that the Dodgers have a deeper bullpen.

war2d2

Is it just me or did MLB somehow manage to time these games to get the lowest possible ratings? I live on the west coast and I’m going to completely miss the Dodger game and probably miss half or more of the Guardians game before I get home from work.

Sean Dolinar

I'm guessing MLB is about as happy about this as you are.

Sean Dolinar

These broadcast schedules for the LCS are setup and released in August.

lzfreak

If the Dodgers lose this series, how much falls on Ohtani? He's been underperforming for awhile now

Sean Dolinar

Isn't this the part of the movie where the superhero loses his powers and you have to find a way to prevail anyway?

Rich Hill's Fastball

Man, he really has lost his powers 🙁

Matt Martell

Interestingly, this is the only two-game day that has the Dodgers-Brewers playing the early game.

Matt Martell

Also hi

Christiaan Honig

brutal

war2d2

Seems weird that they wouldn’t be able to talk to the networks and get consensus on moving game times. A 6pm EDT start for CLE vs. TBR and 8pm EDT start for LAD vs. the amoral deviants should work for everyone.

Sæder

perhaps because it's a holiday for some?

war2d2

You know what, I didn’t even consider that. I don’t get it off so I wasn’t thinking of it. You’re almost certainly right.

Sæder

i think it's my first time off, to be sure

Sean Dolinar edited

I don't think TBS wants to lose a prime time game.

Rich Hill's Fastball

I'm not off with the holiday. No one tell my boss I'm here!!

Benny The Jet

Random thought: how fascinating would it be to see these two managers switch dugouts and have to manage the other team

Matt Martell

This is a fun thought. I think Roberts could manage the Brewers, but I don't know if Murphy's schtick would fly with the Dodgers' superstar roster

war2d2

Where do you think Roberts ranks on all-time managers list? My personal feeling is that managers pretty much never add victories (even Francona couldn’t make the Reds a winner), but they absolutely can remove them (early-2000s Cubs eg). Roberts seems to be able to at least keep the egos all pointed in the right direction.

Matt Martell

I think he's one of the best there is. I think his job is significantly more difficult than it seems, beyond just the egos. It's also the expectations the team has every year, the mixing and matching his lineup requires, the dealing with injuries, etc. He also is the best around at criticizing his guys publicly and privately when they need it. He doesn't coddle

Rich Hill's Fastball

He also has more press personnel to manage on a daily basis, just due to the media market

Matt Martell

Yes, and from my experience (only covering him on the road), he's very good at that compared to other major market managers/head coaches I've covered

Jon Becker

One thing that this (bad) camera angle does show really well is Yamamoto’s step back as part of his delivery

Rich Hill's Fastball

I'm gonna see Brice Turang in my nightmares

Doug Gray

It is Spooky Season

Matt Martell

Lol Contreras checked his challenge

brewersbibliophile

Got me. I thought he committed to it.

Benny The Jet

How did he hit that?

Jon Becker

Smoltz describing competitive two-strike pitches as “putting pressure on the umpire” was a very interesting way to put it, gotta give him credit where it’s due

Rich Hill's Fastball

For all his [many] faults, Smoltz is a good pitching analyst

Matt Martell

Some players described it to me earlier this year with ABS similarly, oddly as a reason to hold onto challenges for later in the game. I thought that was funny but didn't think that would last as a strategy

drplantwrench

seeing yamamoto give up any runs in the postseason feels strange

Anonymous Member #46

Given all of your flair, this must be an incredibly exciting development for you.

Jon Becker

And immediately thereafter Smoltz makes me roll my eyes by saying the art of pitching is declining

beanbong

It's hard to imagine Tampa or Cleveland going toe-to-toe with either of these teams (especially Cleveland), this kinda feels like the de facto World Series. At least it's the two best teams this year

Matthew Tobin

Been having severe gastric issue the past few days, But at least I have baseball to watch while I am in the hospital. It make my day!

Matt Martell

Hope you get better soon!

Christiaan Honig

Does anybody like Smoltz?

lzfreak

I actually think he did a pretty good job in last year's World Series when he was enjoying the baseball in a fantastic series. And he's good at breaking down pitching mechanics. But 95% of the time he's either making things up, complaining about the modern game, or both.

Sean Dolinar

Tangential, but I muted the pregame because I'm tired of the Yankees and Red Sox players.

Benny The Jet

Does he have high approval? Not even trying to hate, but how has he held on to the top job for so long while being so obviously ill-equipped to everyone who watches?

Sean Dolinar

But I'm slightly indifferent to Smoltz. There have been a few times, though.

beanbong

he's putting up ba'athist party numbers in front of older gen x/boomer focus groups

drplantwrench

idea for poll: who are the most and least likable teams left in the playoffs?

Rich Hill's Fastball

Maybe we don't need the "least likable team?" 😆

drplantwrench

doth thou protest too much? (actually think dodgers are underrated in their likability)

brewersbibliophile

Compared to the Yankees team that ruined baseball, the Dodgers are extremely likable.

Sean Dolinar

Let me see if I can build out a ranked choice poll.

Sæder

not having A-Rod helps.

war2d2 edited

I mean, on a player-by-player basis it’s hard to be less likable than these Brewers. I realize I’m heavily biased, but almost all of them come off as classless jerks. Contreras, Miz, and Uribe in particular.

drplantwrench

this is my main *gulp* pro-dodgers argument – all their top talent and stars are nearly lovable (shohei, betts, freeman, yamamoto, teo, etc.) personally i dont like will smith and max muncy but thats about it really

war2d2

Agree on Smith, he just never seems to be having any fun. Muncy however is kind of a lovable weirdo.

lzfreak

Dodgers are doing a good job of making these Brewers starters throw a lot of pitches. Could pay dividends down the line this series even if they aren't putting up big runs scored totals yet

Sæder

i really like JRAM

Sæder

glasnow and snell are a hoot

war2d2

I don’t know if there’s a bigger delta between perception and reality than Snell. He looks like he should be selling meth behind a 7-11 in Redding CA, but by all accounts (specifically from Eno) he’s a wonderful guy.

Sæder

totally agree. i didn't think he'd be someone i'd find compelling. turns out he's just a video-gaming rapper bro down to get weird with adolescent humor.

drplantwrench

i of course am the self appointed Mayor of Jo Island, so its gonna be hard for me not to say the Guardians are the most likable with Jo and Jram. but i think its actually closer across the 4 teams than one might have assumed

war2d2

JRam is probably my favorite non-Cub in the game (assuming Scherzer retires). And I like him a fair bit more than most of the current Cubs.

lzfreak

Where does Yamamoto rank among all time Japanese baseball players already?

drplantwrench

already 11th in all time bWAR just in front of angels legend Shigetoshi Haegawa. more seriously, everyone in the top 5 has played for almost 10 years, hes on year 3. i think hes got a good chance of being top 3

drplantwrench

but right at this moment, maybe 5 thor 6th?

brewersbibliophile

As a frequent radio listener, Tom Hamilton is my most likable Guardian. I’d be really conflicted as to which broadcast to tune into if it came down to Guardians and Brewers

Sæder

I think Nicole Kidman should do one of these sincere prose ads

Sæder

We come here to find out how many days there are in October

Rich Hill's Fastball

Heartbreak does feel better in a ballpark

Michael Baumann

Back to the manager swap question: Doc would do fine with the Brewers. The Dodgers would beat Murph to death with hammers by Memorial Day

bosoxforlife

WOW!!

Rich Hill's Fastball

Nice catch Sal

Sæder

my annual reminder that Sal Frelick exists and can blow my mind

Rich Hill's Fastball edited

Does that count as smallball? /joke

lzfreak

The smallness of the ball is inversely proportional to payroll

Sæder

Tommy and Mookie are playing diminutive ball

drplantwrench

why would you even try that

wenz

Me, watching on the couch after recently dropping the remote while trying to turn up the volume: Bauers should've caught that

moomin

good thing for the Brewers it's Ohtani up here (/s)

Rich Hill's Fastball

Shohei seems so compromised (injury) that I want JDP to start…which is wild

moomin

I kind of want that, both because JDP's approach has been fun to watch and because I would love to see pinch-runner Ohtani

lzfreak

I've felt that JDP is such a weird fit on this roster. Is his defense really bad enough that he's completely unplayable in a corner outfield? If so he almost has to get traded or improve considerably. The dude can hit!

Rich Hill's Fastball

I have a feeling the Dodgers will move Teoscar over the offseason

beanbong

I get he's Shohei but at what point do they have that uncomfortable conversation if he doesn't show up somewhat in this series? If ohtani's 3 for 23 with 11 Ks after this series and the Dodgers move on, do you really sit him down and tell him he's coming off the bench in the world series? probably not

bosoxforlife

I think that will be difficult and they will have to take a beating value wise.

Sæder

is that a spike lee thing? do the right thing?

Ostensibly Ridiculous

Why is this game on so early!?

drplantwrench

the simple solution is for the dodgers to move off of shohei. simple solution is to trade him back to the angels (unbiased take)

bosoxforlife

I really enjoyed David Hamilton when he was on the Red Sox. Jus ta little more offense and would have been a very good player.

Sæder

what is the reflector on the forehead of the catcher's mask? i've never seen a catcher pull down a visor?

wenz

Solar panel to charge the pitchcom

bosoxforlife

Turang is going to get quite a bit of down ballot MVP votes. I see him around 5th-7th overall.

lzfreak

Think I'd have him around 3rd

beanbong

got curious and saw the Vegas o/u on this game is 6.5. Maybe an overreaction to all the low-scoring games this year, this game could blow the lid off that

drplantwrench

>2 base runners
> nice catch to prevent damage
time for yamamoto to throw the ball away on a pick off

wenz

Almost!!

Rich Hill's Fastball

He almost did lol!

drplantwrench

i am nostradamus

bosoxforlife

When I first saw ABS in AAA there were several pitcher challenges. Yamamoto wanted to challenge ball 4 to Turang so badly but they are as rare as a unicorn.

drplantwrench

who benefits more from having to go to the bullpen early? id assume brewers?

Sæder

is that woman with the spiral notebook the famous front row amy?

bosoxforlife

Yamamoto proved he has a rubber arm in last year's WS but at 70+ through 3 he isn't long for this game.

Rich Hill's Fastball

What an at bat!

drplantwrench

bauers is making yamamoto work, and also muncy work (chasing down foul balls). genius move

wenz

Do pitchcom replacements count as a mound visit? They should

Phil

Blatant stalling like this especially.

lzfreak

They do not and I strongly suspect pitchers feign a pitch com issue to get a break/mound visit pretty frequently

mr. burrito

the pitch calling device failing on the 414th pitch of this at bat might be strategic…

brewersbibliophile

I see what you did there

Sean Dolinar

That solar panel failed!

Sean Dolinar

Our SP IP poll isn't looking great.

Matt Martell

That was an incredibly exciting walk

Sæder

major

Rich Hill's Fastball

Are we sure swear words aren't allowed in this chat? (/s)

bosoxforlife

This matchup is what we come to see and Yelich wins.

Phil

That walk was huge.

mr. burrito

this is the least yamamoto game he's pitched in awhile… sign..

Sean Dolinar

I love these lead changes.

Benny The Jet

Man this series has the juice!

wenz

Wow, what an inning

Sean Dolinar

(Just a reminder, you can delay the chat using the cog/gear icon in the top right corner. If you a lot of latency on your streaming source.)

Rich Hill's Fastball

Same number of outs as his game 7 relief appearance…in a start

Benny The Jet

Wow

Sean Dolinar

We had Yamamoto Med: 6, Mean: 6 1/3, Real: 2 2/3.

wenz

I know what everyone is thinking after that hit…why is Yelich's captain C squeezed in above the Nike logo when there's plenty of room on the other side?

lzfreak

I think this Brewers team is the best Dodgers postseason opponent in quite awhile

Phil

I got home from work 20 minutes ago but I feel like a lot has already happened since then

Brian Reinhart

Would it be exaggerating to call that a career-defining hit for Yelich? There's something magical about the team captain guy whose prime was years ago becoming the guy who steps up.

Sæder

do you throw Roki for multi innings?

Matt Martell

A 36-pitch 2/3 of an inning for Yamamoto

Sean Dolinar

18 pitches per out.

Rich Hill's Fastball

This game, and potentially series, changes a lot if Teoscar or Muncy catch one of those foul balls

jtrichey

Turang could have had called strike 3 in both at bats if ump/or Will Smith had made the call. All 3 runs have scored because of those.

bosoxforlife

Or Yamamoto who clearly indicated he wanted to challenge but apparently is not given the opportunity.

mr. burrito

have the dodgers struck out in this game? i'm probably jinxing something by asking, but…

Rich Hill's Fastball

Ohtani struck out in the first

jtrichey

Ohtani struck out

wenz

Wow, this is my first time seeing Sasaki's clown glove. I do not like it

brewersbibliophile

That is pretty wild

Brian Reinhart

It looks like he stole it from Bernie Brewer himself

war2d2

Is it the same as the massive red glove Gausman had at the end of the season? I’m at work and can’t look.

mr. burrito

muncy is best fielding gnome in baseball and gardening history

Lagom

Even if they don’t hold on to this lead, really fun to see such resiliency from MIL. Will really make LAD earn it

Davy Andrews

Just got here. What's everybody talking about? Baseball?

Sæder

my goodness

Matt Martell

Bulworth, actually

lzfreak

Small ball!

Davy Andrews

Alright, it's been fun everybody.

Sean Dolinar

Henderson should only be throwing the ball toward home plate.

Sæder edited

i guess i guessed right about Henderson. 4+ is the same as 4IP. certainly didn't guess right about YY going 7

bosoxforlife

Pitchers throwing to 1st is an adventure in and of itself.

Benny The Jet

This game is drunk already

David

So all 3 Dodgers runs are the result of Henderson's throwing errors/wild pitches

springtraneing

"watching baseball" – jon bois

Matt Martell

baseball rules

bosoxforlife

I would like to see a stat on the percentage of bad throws pitchers make on bunt attempts.

moomin

sometimes I idly wonder how well a strategy of "bunt to the pitcher every time" would go

Sean Dolinar

We were high on Logan Henderson too. Mean 4.45, Median 5, and actual 4+.

Phil

We were influenced by yesterday. Had that game been higher scoring we would have expected a messier game today.

Sæder

do Roki and May count to the SP innings?

Benny The Jet

Who is starting Game 3?

bosoxforlife

Gasser for the Brewers.

wenz

I'd think about an IBB here

Matt Martell

That fist-pump was incredible

Sæder

SMOL BOL

Sean Dolinar

Didn't seem that close, but you get two challenges in the postseason.

JakeDubois

You gotta try

bosoxforlife

That last angle shows the foot on the plate. Looks safe to me.

Sean Dolinar

As much as I think of the production quality as cheap, the ACC football review system with the audio between the ref and the command center is great to learn about their process.

Sean Dolinar

I want to know what these umps are talking about. And see the relevant angles, just not just multiviewers in their room.

brewersbibliophile

I’m guessing this won’t be the last lead change tonight

Davy Andrews

Are you at the game again?

brewersbibliophile

Unfortunately not. I’ll be back Sunday if it goes that long

Sæder

is smoltz thinking of Weird Science?

Phil

I don't understand the earned run rule. Henderson has three ERs. But the errors influenced more than one run, yes?

Patrick Burke

Pretend like the error hadn't occurred and it was just a groundout. Tucker scoring is considered earned, because he likely advances to third on the grounder to Henderson, then scores on Mookie groundout.

millvillemeltdown

what is a baseball

millvillemeltdown

i'm still supposed to be doing thermo homework. i am pretty bad at this student thing

Sæder

entropy?

Phil

All I know is you're not allowed to have perpetual motion machines.

millvillemeltdown

first week on cycles! i love me some heat engine

drplantwrench

imho one of the great skills of academia is learning when to delegate time to doing your homework and when not to (im just advocating for baseball really)

millvillemeltdown

it's due in 2 hours, i'm afraid i'm well and truly cooked

drplantwrench

then another greak skills of academia is to face the music and accept failure

Sean Dolinar

At least you can measure and calculate how much you are cooked.

millvillemeltdown

ΔHvap of a millvillemeltdown is… not very high as it turns out

ichiro262

Does any part of the glove count for the tag? Like the strings? Or just the main body of the glove?

millvillemeltdown

oh hello ichiro, big fan of your work. i heard about the statue though, what a shame

Davy Andrews

Strings don't count.

Phil

Yep.

lzfreak

This game already feels like it's been 3 games

drplantwrench

BAAANG

Davy Andrews

Every team should have a Contreras brother.

Patrick Burke

What a fun game! One of my favorite ballparks to watch on TV.

drplantwrench

the Rays lab scientists are building the Contreras cloning machine as we speak

millvillemeltdown

i think yama having such trouble this time out is enough of an indictment of like. "grr starting pitchers these days" like

Phil

This was the first year since 2022 that Willson had more fWAR than William. On the other hand William looks really good right now. Who would you rather have next year?

Davy Andrews

Sorry, I'm too busy coming up with names for the 28 other Contreras brothers. Willton, Willbur, Willgernon, Willnando…

millvillemeltdown

willyer for extra confusion

drplantwrench

angels would be the team to end up with the Wilbur…

brewersbibliophile

Willenium

wenz

I tried to get tickets to this game from his brother Willcall

millvillemeltdown

willsmith

Matt Martell

Willians?

Brian Reinhart

Willt Chamberllain

millvillemeltdown

la tortuguita!!!

Davy Andrews

There is only one Willians.

millvillemeltdown

and he's a stud, illo

millvillemeltdown

is he in npb? i feel like i heard he was playing in npb

Phil

Looks like only until 2023. Since then Astudillo has played in Mexico and Venezuela.

Matt Martell

I covered Willians Astudillo' major league debut when the Twins were playing the Cubs at Wrigley during a crazy weekend heatwave on Saturday, June 30, 2018. He only entered the game because multiple Twins left the game due to heat illness. He replaced Eddie Rosario in LF and later had to move to CF when Max Kepler left the game. He started the next game at 3B.

Anonymous Member #46

Willians Astudillo is the perfect Immaculate Grid answer for Twins/center field

lzfreak

I was at this game! Miserably hot

Matt Martell

That whole weekend and the days after were also brutal

lzfreak

My friend and I were at the Lincoln Park zoo a couple days before the game and it was a survival battle just to find shade. It was a dangerous few days

millvillemeltdown

if the rubberiest-armed guy, known for having rubber arm, cannot do the thing where his arm is rubber for 5 innings in the post season, maybe the hitters have just gotten better to the point where 200ip is just not that common anymore

Phil

And also, would William have a similar hitting resurgence to Willson's if he quit catching?

millvillemeltdown

also, like, huge credit to the brewers, but still.

Davy Andrews

@Baumann This has got to be the headline of your gamer.

millvillemeltdown

oi, i don't work for free

millvillemeltdown

i want press box cookies

Davy Andrews

Matt didn't get any!

Davy Andrews

They were gone! Such a tragedy.

Matt Martell

I left the stadium at 3:15 AM after filing my column, and stil no cookies. I was destraught

Sean Dolinar edited

this was Yankee Stadium not Am Fam? (I feel weird calling it that, I didn't even get the name right on my first try.)

Davy Andrews

That first pitch looks like the best one Frelick will get in this AB.

Davy Andrews

As I was saying.

Brian Reinhart

this would be a good time for a ball to hit a bag or some such nonsense

Brian Reinhart

welp

Davy Andrews

Ohtani looks unwilling or unable to pull the ball. Surprised they're not going inside more often.

Brian Reinhart

thanks Tom, I forgot which band did "Hey Jude"

Phil

Wings?

Brian Reinhart

recently learned that if you get "Hey Jude" stuck in your head, your head will never fade the outro

millvillemeltdown

paul mccartney is riffing "jooo-jooo-da-joo-da-jooo-joooo-da-" into oblivion

Patrick Burke

Yeesh Ohtani looks really rough.

AdvantageSchneider

Boo hoo

millvillemeltdown

tbh to my untrained eye he seems like he's… not having fun this year

millvillemeltdown

idk if it's a pain thing or a home life thing (having young kids can do things, so i hear) but i'm just used to ohtani displaying a bit more joie de vivre

Anonymous Member #46

Can we all just take half an hour and have a neutral third party put on some PFPs before we restart the game?

Sean Dolinar

I do love a good interference call.

ooglyman

tough night for pick off throws

wenz

Walk to get to the guy who hit the home run? Interesting…

AdvantageSchneider

Yeah that was dumb

Phil

Well, that IBB didn't really work out.

lzfreak

I wonder if this series gets William over the hump to become the most famous Contreras brother

millvillemeltdown

i remember being excited for sean murphy (he of the ass hbp) to join a larger-market team but man. will the younger really is a helluva ballplayer huh

AdvantageSchneider

Will Vaughn pinch hit for Yeli after Bauers?

Dan Szymborski

I can't fully accept William until he gives back one of the l's his family stole for Willson. Either Willson has to be Wilson or he has to be Wiliam.

millvillemeltdown

consider that two Ls make a W and When you're a Will* Contreras You Gotta Win

lzfreak

Well Willson is on the Red Sox this year, so the 2 straight L's must have been contagious

millvillemeltdown

i think i may be a bit delirious

Sæder

this is stressful

AdvantageSchneider

The entire brewers postseason has been played within 2 runs up or down.

xandercho23

Dodgers offense is iceeeee cold

millvillemeltdown

abner uribe one of the better name tools in the league. ratings, 20-80?

Davy Andrews

This may seem harsh, but I'm only at a 60 because it doesn't scan all that well.

millvillemeltdown

i was gonna give 65, it's certainly unique/outlier but as a package i'm not selling the farm for it

Matt Martell

Hey, at least that one Polymarket commercial shows that parlays don't always hit

Matt Martell

in an ad for 20-combo bets

Matt Martell

wild

AdvantageSchneider

Betting site ads = 1950 commercials for cigarettes.

millvillemeltdown

i'm going to put one cent on a 10^23 leg parlay and pray

Anonymous Member #46

you're gonna want to do your thermodynamics homework too, just in case

millvillemeltdown

hey, chances of me hitting are better than (checks paper) the air in my room configuring itself such that half of it is vacuum

Nick Smith

I like those odds!

Sean Dolinar

The WS starts on mol day!

Anonymous Member #46

That was about two inches away from a hospital stay.

Davy Andrews

They're calling it the most Brewers hit in the history of the Brewers.

Davy Andrews

I am loving how pissed off Pat Murphy looks during this game.

AdvantageSchneider

He should be pissed. Wind sprints for the entire team after the game. Should be a 5-1 laugher.

millvillemeltdown

i think pat murphy would only be happy if his team literally never made an out

Dan Szymborski

I just don't care for gambling. I'll put something down if see a real +EV opportunity, like I did two over/unders this year, putting a tidy sum on over 72.5 for Twins and over 69.5 for Cardinals. But I don't get any adrenalin rush for gambling; I don't care apart from making the numbers in my account go up

Nick Smith

But the dizzying highs! The nauseating lows! You're missing out.

Nick Smith

Just kidding. I don't gamble either, so I can't back that up.

AdvantageSchneider

Maybe you should start betting the brewers over.

Dan Szymborski

feels disloyal to zips

AdvantageSchneider

Ashby for Ohtani or does Megil come in?

Nick Smith

Oh, good, baseball stats filtered by lunar phase. Can we get some "mothers' basement" jokes ready while we're at it?

Sean Dolinar

Is this a splits leaderboard request?

Nick Smith

Goodness no! Just a reaction to a Google ad.😆

AdvantageSchneider

Thank you Red Sox

Davy Andrews

I'm on the Rays-Guards game tonight, so I'm likely done chatting for the night. Nice to be with everybody!

lzfreak

Hamilton is not throwing away his shot

wenz

Related to Billy Hamilton?

bosoxforlife

Squeeze!

Jeremy Fox

COME ON SQUEEZE BUNT

Jeremy Fox

or base hit, that's good too

Sæder

wow. this brewers team

Jeremy Fox

How many do the Brewers have to get for their closer to sit down? 2 more? 3 more?

Phil

More. Day off tomorrow.

wenz

Bauers pushing for that NLCS MVP award

Phil

I honestly thought this would be a tight, well-played game.

AdvantageSchneider

I’m happy with this rock fight.

Bryan Baldwin

Finally!

Nick Smith

Daaaaaaaaaaang!

Jeremy Fox

Pages with a pretty casual-looking basket catch on that fly ball. Did he get a bad read and have to basket catch it?

Bryan Baldwin

So yesterday we were talking commercials, today I’m hoping we can talk about the proliferation of bad haircuts

Nick Smith

I miss the playoff mountain-man beards.

Jeremy Fox

Brandon Marsh got knocked out in the wild card round.

Nick Smith

It used to be that every team had a guy who looked like he had strong opinions on who really ran the banks. Shame.

Matt Martell

I, too, would wipe Biberty off my windshield

Jeremy Fox

Here in Canada I'm watching ads for Konto Furniture and an Italian grocery store in Calgary.

wenz

Might as well leave Ashby in there to face the pitcher

Jeremy Fox

Leaving Ashby in to face Will Smith? I guess it's Ashby's game until someone reaches?

Sæder

brutal. gg

Antonio Bananas

I'll watch nothing but Biberty ads if it means I dont have to see these political ads (I live in Texas, so just imagine)

Anonymous Member #46

Governor Bovernor? Senator Benator? Congressman Bongressman?

lzfreak

Congressman Bongressman would have my vote

Keaton Arneson

As a guardians, I love the TB sac bunt. But even 12 year old Billy Heywood in 1994 wouldn't have done that.

branflakes

Love seeing America be introduced to this wonderful bullpen I've been watching all season

Bryan Baldwin

ChiSox be like “maybe we dodged a bullet”

Sean Dolinar

I just switched over to Guardians/Rays…and I missed something.

Sonny L

Listening to the ALCS on radio while I watch soccer practice, anyone have a rec on which team’s broadcast is better?

Anonymous Member #46

Cleveland's broadcaster is a recent Hall of Fame honoree.

bosoxforlife

Tom Hamilton is the absolute best! His calls reverberate over the airwaves like none other.

Jeremy Fox

I find the Cleveland play-by-play guy to be an acquired taste.

bluestraggler

Rays radio guys are excellent

docgooden85

I just logged in to say I hope the Dodgers keep losing purely since I think it will improve the odds of an earlier post-lockout start to baseball next year. (And Dodgers suck)

bosoxforlife

It is rare to see the batter surprised when the umpire has tot ell him he was hit by the pitch.

lzfreak

Getting clipped in the loose part of the jersey on a 1-2 count is good living

docgooden85

A Yankees-free ALCS is a breath of fresh air too. Baseball is so good. I wish there was more.

Bryan Baldwin

International leagues?

docgooden85

I am not above watching some Caribbean winter league when I can find it.

wenz

The TBS app crashed for like 1 minute with one runner on, and now the bases are loaded??

bosoxforlife

I was watching on the Spanish network.

Phil

I cheated on the poll because it was already 2-0 when I saw Sean had posted the new one. Sorry.

Sean Dolinar

Someone answered the pitcher IP poll for Henderson as he was being pulled.

Rollie's Mustache

Mesa Jr just showing off with that throw. Cannon.

docgooden85

Lineup thoughts: 1. Vilade cleanup is Very Rays. 2. I don't think I would have batted Rocchio after Bailey and Halpin with 184 career ABs. 3. Bottom half is light on both sides.

Phil

Guards getting surprisingly good swings.

Rollie's Mustache

Petey Halpin sounds like a baseball name from the deadball era.

Jeremy Fox

Why do catchers not put their throwing hand in a fist behind their back the way I was taught in Little League centuries ago, to prevent taking a foul tip off the hand?

Phil

I was wondering about thay. The answer to all such questions is "framing," but I don't see the advantage in this case.

docgooden85

His nickname should be Second Halpin' (this might only to be funny to me because I'm fat)

Nick Smith

That looked painful! My hand hurts now.

Jeremy Fox

No one has ever been happier catching a routine low leverage foul pop than Jose Ramirez just now.

Ben Clemens

You know a throw is good when they show multiple angles of a cutoff throw that didn't even produce a tag play. I gasped out loud at that throw

Ben Clemens

(little delayed on the reaction, I had to get to my phone)

Sean Dolinar

Hi Ben!

Bryan Baldwin

Can I just say how much better this chat is than MLB Discord? Holy cow.

Sean Dolinar

Is there an official MLB Discord? I know there are a bunch of places that have them.

Bryan Baldwin

Yes, and there are chats for each game.

Ben Clemens

Hi Sean! Just dropping in briefly, I have dinner plans tonight, but I had to say something about that throw

Ben Clemens

I watched a ton of Victor Mesa Jr. tape for fielding bible voting this year. He's electric, but I don't think I saw a throw that good

Ben Clemens

It's not quite playoff Randy, but really fun debut-into-postseason-success arc

Davy Andrews

It's not too late for him to do some pushups and eat some chicken.

Rollie's Mustache

I can't articulate why, but Brian Anderson is easily a top 5 pbp announcer imo. He's just… really good? (Benetti, Davis, Cohen, Shulman up there too)

bluestraggler edited

Joe Davis? I find him utterly forgettable. But all those other guys are great. Shulman and Benetti are elite.

Jeremy Fox

It's so weird that there's a big puff of dirt every time a ball lands in the outfield.

Phil edited

I think it's little pieces of rubber, or something like that.

Rollie's Mustache

Used to be rubber, the new turf is a mix of coconut husk and sand apparently.

Davy Andrews

Yup. Having played a lot of soccer on turf like that, I can tell you that those little pieces of rubber get in your shoes and stick to your socks forever.

Sean Dolinar

Oh, artificial turf!

Bryan Baldwin

I thought the field was just perpetually wet!

asf123

That’s only when Brandon Marsh is playing.

Nick Smith

The Manual is a pretty good nickname. No Second Halpin, though.

lzfreak

It's a good nickname except that it implies he's not Automatic

Jeremy Fox

Why was Espino warming up without his hat?

Davy Andrews

I see this surprisingly often. I wonder if it's because somebody's busy putting the PitchCom in their hat.

lzfreak

This reminds me of when I was in high school and I used to help coach my little cousin's little league team and one of his teammates hated wearing his hat. He'd be standing in the outfield mid game and just take it off, then would demand that we show him where in the rule book it said that he had to wear a hat when we'd ask him to put it back on. And like… we definitely didn't have a rule book handy nor knew where the hat clause is so it was hard to argue with this 11 year old.

Rollie's Mustache

I think that's exactly it. But the number of times a reliever comes into the game and motions to the ump before throwing a pitch that he can't hear anything leads me to believe they are not very skilled at doing this.

Davy Andrews

Wow, Cleveland's defensive positioning cards are enormous. They're the size of bingo cards.

millvillemeltdown

printing my defensive positioning cards in dyslexia fonts (legitimately not terrible idea)

Jeremy Fox

All the ads for Google Cloud "insights" are such overfitted small sample nonsense that if I were in charge of buying web services for some big company I'd go with AWS instead.

Nick Smith

Agreed! Did we learn nothing from Fire Joe Morgan?

asf123

Anyone want to go in with me on FireJohnSmoltz.com? IP reboots are all the rage these days…

Jeremy Fox

Smoltz has improved, I think. I used to find him unlistenable, and now I think he's ok. Curious what others think.

asf123

The biggest thing for me is how he constantly positions his aesthetic preferences (contact, small ball, yada yada) as facts of good strategy.

Nick Smith

He's a good analyst. But if he gets going, his back-in-my-day nonsense is a killer.

Rollie's Mustache

If Smoltz isn't hating on something about the modern game by the 2nd inning I start to worry that he's been replaced with AI.

asf123 edited

Also that he will without fail start talking about “slow heartbeat” by the third inning.

Jeremy Fox

Jose Ramirez is great, but his green glove is terrible. Your glove should either be brown, black, or your team's color.

Jeremy Fox

Wait, the Rays have a tank of rays at their ballpark? How did I not know that?

bosoxforlife

I am dumbfounded that you didn't know that. The team was the Devil Rays for years and there have been rays in the tank since the franchise was first organized.

lzfreak

Yeah it's the one fun thing the Trop is known for

asf123

What causes a comment to get hung up in review?

Sean Dolinar

Weird website urls.

Yer Main Guy

www.asf123pleasestoppostingyourweirdwebsiteurls.net

Sean Dolinar

That url is available for purchase.

Jeremy Fox

Juuust a bit outside.

bosoxforlife

It seems like a decade ago when Daniel Espino was the #1 pitching prospect in the game. Then his arm fell off and the doctors had a tough time reattaching it.

Matthew Tobin

I know this is the whole “Ship of Theseus” problem, Bur How many surgeries before we admit a player is just fundamentally different? Where is the line? We surely can or will just invent a better ligament. Wouldn’t that be a huge issue?

Rollie's Mustache

Can't wait for a fight over PEL clauses (performance enhancing ligaments) when the CBA is up in 2032.

lzfreak

I didn't know Rasmussen was allowed to give up a run

bosoxforlife

Speaking of players whose career has been disrupted more than once by injury, Chase deLauter certainly fits that template.

Nick Smith

Wait. Is it possible for a park to be difficult to go opposite field regardless of which side of the plate you hit?

millvillemeltdown

i think it is harder to go oppo *in general* because the spin doesn't help you as much. don't know if there's an "uphill both ways" way to do it though…

Sean Dolinar

Got that most likable and least likable poll. You'll probably have to refresh this page / reload this page for it to work.

Phil

Did you invent that ranking thing just for this poll? We will have to think about other things you can do with it.

Rollie's Mustache

That worked. When I first saw it with the checkboxes I thought it was a trick question.

millvillemeltdown

i'm still shocked that someone thinks the miz gives bush league vibes… he's literally a small, 6'6 child chewing a wad of gum the size of my fist and throwing harder than anyone in history. he rips packs of pokemon on road trips.

Sean Dolinar

Yeah, it was a good suggestion, so I made it tonight. It can do ranked choice voting, too, and that's like rounds eliminating the lowest vote getting. This is just an MVP-style voting with 4,3,2,1 points given out.

Sean Dolinar

But yes, I want to have it used for a lot more things!

Sean Dolinar

I'm going to reuse that poll through out the week.

Jeremy Fox

It would be insane for any pitcher to drop that bunt on purpose to try to get two.

Davy Andrews

Really proud of Ramírez for sniffing the baseball just now. I think he read my article.

asf123

I, for one, am a fan of Ramirez’s glove. It’s Christmasy!

Jeremy Fox

We need a poll on whether Ramirez's green glove is good or bad.

Matthew Tobin

Bye bye Walls

Phil

Everly Brothers deep cut.

bosoxforlife

I am such a big fan of Ramirez that he could play with a cesta and I wouldn't complain.

lzfreak

I think it's bad but it's Jose Ramirez so he's earned the right to have a mismatched glove

Nick Smith

Funky glove colors are an inalienable right.

Jeremy Fox

Did Bazzana forget how many outs there were for a moment? Or did he think he had time to get the third out at second and then think better of it?

bosoxforlife

Thought he could beat the runner.

asf123

I like Abner Uribe’s electric blue model too.

Sonny L

I know I’m asking this on the every stat is available site but is Carson Williams that much worse than Walls right now? Rays seem to think he’s not ready to go C Montgomery for them w a 30 HR/220k season.

Jeremy Fox

Blue is a Brewers color tho.

asf123

Not that blue!

millvillemeltdown

does jram get a pink glove now 🙂 i hope he does 🙂

bosoxforlife

We have an entirely new ballgame!!

Rollie's Mustache

Ah yes. Noted slugger Patrick Bailey.

Rollie's Mustache

Huh. Just checked and surprised he had 10 this year in just 345 PA. That's one more than Vlad Jr!

bosoxforlife

Sorry Blue Jays fans

Benny The Jet

Wow

millvillemeltdown

clutch is a skill, this is known

Jeremy Fox

I don't see what's so hard about hitting Rasmussen if Patrick Bailey can do it.

asf123

Patrick Bailey, AL Kiké Hernandez.

Jeremy Fox

This is why the Guardians traded for Bailey.

millvillemeltdown

has bailey even seen a postseason before

lzfreak

Maybe on tv

Nick Smith edited

"Do you know the postseason? " "….I know of it."

Davy Andrews

More Scott Pilgrim references.

millvillemeltdown

every time i have a hunk of a really good bread in my hand, i take a big bite and scream around it "BREAD MAKES YOU FAT!?!"

millvillemeltdown

speaking of, my roommates just made some incredible bread. i'm over the moon with the crumb texture.

GammaDraconis

Thought Rays were going to run away with this thing the way they handled Griffin in the first, but he settled in nicely. Aces not doing their usual seems to be a theme in this round. Is it possible that hitters on top teams are catching up to the pitchers?

Rollie's Mustache

I'm always suspicious of tipping with starts like Yamamoto's today where he got just 4 whiffs.

Sonny L

LA had Miz’s grips whenever they were on 2nd yesterday. Helped foul off pitches but he was still Miz :shrug:

Jeremy Fox

We need an article on the most shocking long home runs/hard hit balls of the season. Bailey's HR just now, Bryson Stott's 464 foot jack earlier this year…

millvillemeltdown

i don't know how i'd optimize it but i want to see, like, minimum bat speed, maximum tank, optimally squared up and backspun and pulled

jcathtraverse

@Sean if you're implementing changes based on this chat, maybe a show results button for polls? Could cut down on the votes in the who will win polls after there's already been scoring.

Sean Dolinar

I could do that. Though I don't think responding later is necessarily bad…like it's tied right now.

drplantwrench

oh did i miss the most and least likable team vote

Sean Dolinar

Yes and no. I shipped that about 20 minutes ago, but you can still respond!

drplantwrench

it says "This question is unavailable" fwiw

GammaDraconis

You might need to reload the page.

drplantwrench

Ope, that worked thanks!

bosoxforlife

I watched Cam Booser pitch for Worcester a couple of years ago as a 32 year old never-will-be and here he is in a high leverage situation in the ALCS at 34. "Don't give up, don't ever give up".

lzfreak

It's weird seeing a Rays series where the other team has more Lowes

asf123

Not sure that slide got him there faster.

drplantwrench

slide was for style not for speed

millvillemeltdown

aura farming, slidemaxxing, dirtmogging, etc.

ncphl

Maybe he expected a bad throw and a swipe tag?

lzfreak

Is there a way for new polls to trigger a message? When you add polls mid chat, it can be hard to notice right away unless someone points it out

millvillemeltdown

i think sean has been manually doing that, idk if it necessarily wants to be automated? could be wrong, i have been somewhat tuned out/foggy

Sean Dolinar

I've thought of making them louder. Like I can have it expand on its own or have NEW! tag in bright red on it.

Sean Dolinar

And yeah, I did send a message about the ranked likability poll.

millvillemeltdown

i am strongly considering logging off, walking into the forest, and calling it a night

drplantwrench

my top two likable are the bottom 2 vote getters …….

asf123

You know what? Ramirez should use a green bat too. That would be awesome.

Rollie's Mustache

Players Weekend allowing hitters to use funky looking bats is delightful . Ernie Clement's pencil bat is 80 grade.

millvillemeltdown

not because the baseball has been bad but i should probably take care of myself and my deliverables

millvillemeltdown

good night all, the forest beckons

keenej

Question for the Fangraphs writers who are way smarter than me: would it be fair to say there's a little Vlady Guerrero, Sr. in Jose Ramirez? It's been on my mind since Jose hit that homer not even a foot off the ground

drplantwrench

as a huge vladdy sr fan, i feel like theres some similarities, but i always thought vladdy's approach was a little wild whereas JRam is under control

drplantwrench

but maybe i was too young and its just nostalgia

Rollie's Mustache

You could run a Baseball Savant query, filter for chase/waste pitches on contact and xwoba (or stat of choice) to maybe get a rough idea of guys like Vlad Sr?

lzfreak

Nice outcome for the infield positioning

Benny The Jet

Wow I did not realize the 2B was standing there off the bat

Jeremy Fox

Contact play on now?

bosoxforlife

Man on 3rd – one out, you go on anything on the ground.

lzfreak

These pitching decisions are interesting. Cash not going with his A relief team yet

danodea

It's very funny that MLB is running a pro-salary cap ad talking about how small market teams can’t compete during the Rays vs Guards ALCS

SadaharuWhoa

They have zero feel

drplantwrench

THE GUARDIANS ARE UNSTOPPABLE

bosoxforlife

0-2 and he gets a pitch in the zone? Not good.

Jeremy Fox

It'd be hilarious if Bailey went yard again here.

Jeremy Fox

Successful catcher ABS challenge after a backpick!

Snerd

I don’t understand that defensive playcall on that Lowe at bat

Rollie's Mustache

Like playing in or the way they shifted? I thought it was standard for the situation.

Snerd

Shift was standard for sure but both MI’ers were way in on the grass. If they’re playing normal thats a soft lineout to SS

Rollie's Mustache

Gotcha. Seymour isn't a ground ball pitcher either so I get your point. It's the Rays so I'm assuming the percentages still say that's the best alignment given all variables.

Snerd

Yea it just felt like peak getting too cute with it

Snerd

Playing the MI way in on nothing but pitches above the zone??

Phil

Many events in this game.

danodea

Cedriiiiiic

Rollie's Mustache

If Mesa were to go long and tie the game here his bat flip might hit a roof ring.

Rollie's Mustache

Alas.

bosoxforlife

Cedric Mullins against a tough lefty is just the match-up the Guardians would want so………boom. Nobody ever said it better than the late John Sterling.

Keaton Arneson

Who wants to be the millionaire, ask the audience was the true #1 lifeline… The poll tonight says 91% think the Rays will win. I thought wisdom of the crowd was king?

lzfreak

There's a decent chance we get a central division team to the World Series for the first time since 2016

bosoxforlife

To paraphrase a great philosopher "It ain't over till it's over".

Phil

Woah.

danodea

Oh nooooo

lzfreak

Oh this is bad

ooglyman

oh no

Jeremy Fox

oh no

Nick Smith

Ouch.

Benny The Jet edited

Edit: Oh no

Benny The Jet

Oh no

bosoxforlife

Shoulder to the ribs and pretty solid contact.

Bryan Baldwin

Wow what an epic miscommunication

Nick Smith

Whew!

lzfreak

Honestly feels like that could've ended way worse

bosoxforlife

Caminero could still be compromised. He has to be hurting.

dalewilson13

I don't understand the Rays decisions this game: Aranda bunting in the first, Ras going back out for the 7th, where is Kevin Kelly (one of the best Rays relievers all year), using a rusty Tyler Walls and Cole Sulser in a tight game.

asf123

Anyone else think this new “oooh, we’ve got two strikes on the batter” sirens and whistles etc. thing has gotten a little out of hand?

Bryan Baldwin

Generally yes but it is the post

Bryan Baldwin

Welp.

Phil edited

Challenge here but where was he going? [Edit: never mind.]

danodea

I was rooting for the White Sox and now I'm rooting for the Rays, but Jose Ramirez getting hot at the right time is pretty cool to watch

Snerd

I think this is getting overturned

Nick Smith

A good Ramirez is so much fun!

bosoxforlife

His loyalty to Cleveland when he could have left for a lot more money has endeared him to me.

bosoxforlife

If he left the bag he was pushed off?

Bryan Baldwin

The Guardians can win the World Series, they still won’t be the best team in baseball.

Phil

To me, the Dodgers' creakiness, particularly Ohtani's, show what a contingent definition that is. The Dodgers are the best team in general, but they don't seem like the best team right now.

Bryan Baldwin

Good point

GammaDraconis

Baseball is so wonderfully unpredictable!

Bryan Baldwin

I suppose…or it’s gonna give me a heart attack.

Bryan Baldwin

These pitches in the dirt are really disappointing.

Nick Smith

I'm lightly rooting for the Rays, but still disappointed he didn't get that triple.

lzfreak

Ramirez seems to be enjoying himself

soddingjunkmail

I did not expect this.

SadaharuWhoa

14 hits. That feels like a lot of hits! #analytics

soddingjunkmail

And I really don’t get Cade Smith here. Why give the Rays extra looks at him, plus put inning on his arm?

Phil

You'd have to have him warming anyway to back up whoever else you brought in.

asf123

Yeah, Vogt’s refusal to adapt to changes in leverage is a surprising postseason storyline.

lzfreak

Eventually this guy is gonna get tired from pitching so much

Phil

Good night, folks!

lzfreak

Or not

Nick Smith

G'night!

asf123

Game’s over, guys. You don’t have to talk into your gloves now.

SadaharuWhoa

It's just a defense against Jomboy

soddingjunkmail

I guess he was already up before the insurance runs, but still

SadaharuWhoa

I like baseball.

Sean Dolinar

Great chat everyone! See everyone tomorrow!


Members-Only Game Thread: NLCS – Dodgers vs Brewers – Oct 11, 2026

by
October 11, 2026

Welcome to our Open Game Thread for the NLCS game today. Chat with fellow readers as we watch the Dodgers play the Brewers! Only Members can participate, and unlike our usual game chats, your messages will be posted immediately.

Our Member community is made up of thousands of incredibly knowledgable baseball fans, and we think this is a great way to follow a game with like-minded baseball enthusiasts. We might even have some FanGraphs Staff drop in and join the fun. Please be courteous to your fellow Members, or you may find your chat privileges revoked.

Jon Becker

Hi everyone!

Sean Dolinar

Hey Jon!

Michael Baumann

Hello from the press box at AmFam

Michael Baumann

I just wanted to wish you both good luck, we're all counting on you

Jon Becker

How's the press box food up there, Baumann?

Michael Baumann

It's the voucher-and-fend-for-yourself system, unfortch

Michael Baumann

at the workout day yesterday they did have pizza in the media dining room, which saved me from a hypoglycemic emergency, as I hadn't eaten anything since I left for the airport at 7 a.m.

brewersbibliophile

Checking in from section 419. Go Brewers! Sad to miss out on EW chat

Michael Baumann

They had a real bald eagle flapping by the Dodgers dugout. It's funny to think about how we imbue this animal with such weighty symbolic meaning and you look at one and it's clearly just thinking "Fish?"

Sean Dolinar

How is Milwaukee? It’s one of the few cities I haven’t been to.

brewersbibliophile

Is that why Mike Trout won’t play in an LCS?

Michael Baumann

I love Milwaukee. I love just about every medium-sized Midwestern city and even within that context Milwaukee is one of my favorites

Sean Dolinar

Is Pittsburgh on that list

Michael Baumann

I like Pittsburgh, the thing is if you stay there for more than a day you start running into Steelers fans and it ruins the vibe for me

DavidRifkin edited

find that most football fans of a particular city are not actually urbanites

bosoxforlife

Pittsburgh is most definitely on my list. PNC Park from the Clemente Bridge is locked in my memory for eternity.

Sæder

This chat box tech is a major upgrade from the one i saw during the wild card games. Well done folks and thank you!

Rich Hill's Fastball

I know we get a marquee SP matchup every October, but this one feels extra fun

Jon Becker

What in the world is this camera angle, respectfully

bosoxforlife

major league play!!!!

Sean Dolinar

Is this angle a Fox thing, not a a MIL park thing?

Jon Becker

I think just a FOX thing

Jon Becker

Usually a good angle there

Sean Dolinar

Is this angle a Fox thing, not a a MIL park thing?

Jon Becker

Not a fan of this new score bug either

Sean Dolinar

I feel like the networks still think this is better for the average viewer.

Gregg

Perhaps this is more of question to ask the Baseball Savant people, but I think it's inevitable that we get "arm velocity" data from pitchers. It's fascinating to me what the relationship between pitch velocity is with arm velocity + torque. Do we (royal we) understand mechanically everything about how pitch velocity is generated?

bosoxforlife

Part of last night's chat included over-used baseball cliches. I would like to add "Tailor-made double play" to that list.

Michael Baumann

Just for you, I'm going to call that a "bespoke" double play in my gamer tonight

Sæder

And I would add to that: "[Pitcher] struggles in the first inning"… yes, the highest scoring inning on average across all games

Sean Dolinar

Jon has used bespoke non-stop in our dev meetings.

Matt Martell

The Polymarket commercial clearly used The Wolf of Wall Street in-office party scenes, with the marching band and all, as inspiration, and I think that's more on the zone that they think it is

Michael Baumann

this guy said "on the zone"

Matt Martell

I did, and I'm leaving it as is

Matt Martell

Also, hi

docgooden85

Lara in RF. Thats some serious OF defense for the Brewers tonight.

Jon Becker

Hi Matt 🙂

Jon Becker

Matt saw Digger today, everyone

Matt Martell

Guys, go see Digger. It's very good. Don't let the haters prevent you from having a great time

Sæder

I'm already iffy on Inarritu so i've been hesitant

Matt Martell

I am also iffy on Iñárrritu, but this is different. If I came in blind, without knowing who made it, my best guess would've been Wes Anderson.

Sæder

ah! the other guy im iffy on lol. But I am happy to hear that someone enjoyed it. It's done so poorly which is a shame

Sæder

Don't mean to be a hater. But I went from being an angsty teen loving Rushmore and Tenenbaums to absolutely hating French Dispatch. I can't watch anymore

Matt Martell

It's also a baseball movie

Michael Baumann

You will not see two plays that look the same on the scoresheet yet look so different in real life as the 4-3 groundouts in the top and bottom of the first inning

GammaDraconis

Tonight we find out how much the Brewers will regret not getting Skubal for themselves, but, man, what a pitching matchup!

bosoxforlife

He would have cost them too much. The Brewers understand where to put their money and their prospects.

GammaDraconis

There's the cost in prospects and there's the cost in World Series opportunities.

darksheep

Tomorrow would be more indicative because it would have cost Hendo.

docgooden85

Ohtani hitting weak grounders in the batting cage doesn't inspire confidence.

Lanenator

If Miz had existed towards the beginning of the foundation of baseball and was out there sitting 100+, what are the odds that he would have been accused of witchcraft?

Rich Hill's Fastball

We really need less ump cam mid-pitch

bosoxforlife

Miz isn't looking too sharp in the early going.

wenz

I wonder if we'll eventually learn that early challenges are good because they correct a bad zone for the rest of the game

bosoxforlife

I can barely make out the fake zone but a couple of those pitches looked good.

Anonymous Member #46

I wonder if LCS/World Series umps are more likely to have a tight zone in the playoffs than they do themselves in the regular season.

Sean Dolinar

I can't see the umps changing anything, with all the scrutiny in the ABS era. Which, it is still remarkable how good most of those umps are.

Anonymous Member #46 edited

(comment didn't thread right)

Phil

Does the poll refer to who will win this game or who will win the series? I am fascinated that it is leaning MIL (I voted that way but felt I was going out on a limb).

bosoxforlife

Is this an unusually low percentage of whiffs on Misiorowski's stuff? It seems that way to me.

Rich Hill's Fastball

What an at-bat from Tucker here

Doug Lampert

I assumed series and went Dodgers, game, I'd probably have picked the Brewers till the Dodgers scored.

Doug Lampert

Need to remember that I can reply on these things rather than just post.

bosoxforlife

It is for the game.

brewersbibliophile

I assumed it was for the game.

Jon Becker

They are sorta getting there by talking about all the foul balls but the broadcast hasn't really said anything about Miz being down a lot of fastball carry today (not that I really expect them to)

Rich Hill's Fastball

What would cause vert to be worse while maintaining velocity? Mechanics, wrist torque, something else?

Jon Becker

Spin axis, which I believe is largely about hand position

Davy Andrews

Hello, baseball friends. My daughter is asleep, so I am watching the game and making mini waffles for dinner.

Sean Dolinar

Leggo my Eggo!

bosoxforlife

I thought the umpires were better earlier in the year but when they realized the hitters were being told not to challenge they are back to calling a lot of balls strikes.

docgooden85

The runners on 2B are doing a lot of signaling

Rich Hill's Fastball

Pages does this fairly often

Anonymous Member #46

Teoscar was too.

Jon Becker

Broadcast hasn't said a single thing about that either

Sæder

Tailor made double play

Matt Martell

brb going to the store to get mini waffles now

Jon Becker

That was a disjointed as hell double play

Jon Becker edited

Could've gone wrong three different times

Davy Andrews

I mean, I have more than enough batter over here.

Jon Becker

— Dave Roberts making a lineup

brewersbibliophile

Pocket pancakes or bust

Davy Andrews

I forgot about that! How can he not win MoY?

Matt Martell

and by get mini waffles i mean edit Jay's ALCS preview for tomorrow

Michael Baumann

I'm trying not to get hyperbolic, but that janky-ass double play could end up being the turning point in the series

Sean Dolinar

You have it in writing. You can reference this in Game 5/6.

Jon Becker

Acuña Kalshi commercial oh BROTHER

brewersbibliophile

I think Jake Bauers uses his walk up music to put the defense to sleep

comradeyurika

Getting out of that with only one run is a massive swing

Michael Baumann

Enrique has lost several steps since his youth, but did he swing by CVS on his way to first?

Jon Becker

He had to get mini waffles

Davy Andrews

Update: Mini waffles are so good. I'm so happy I did this.

Jon Becker

Wait do you have a mini waffle maker?

Jon Becker

Or were these frozen

Michael Baumann

I'm really asking, I'm sitting directly behind the storage point for the folded-up press box window so anything that happens to the right of second base I'm hearing about secondhand

Anonymous Member #46

The possibly superior syrup ratio cannot be worth the fourfold increase in cook time.

bosoxforlife

Waffles are great with pure New England maple syrup straight from the Sugar House.

Matt Martell

We all need to acknowledge that @brewersbibliophile is at the game and participating in this chat. Our Members are the best

Davy Andrews

Legend.

brewersbibliophile

I feel like I should be told to put my phone away

Davy Andrews

We'll tell you what commercials you're missing so you get the full experience.

brewersbibliophile

Kalshi, followed by DraftKings, followed by whatever Sydney Sweeney is selling I assume

Sean Dolinar

I need to ship a mobile apupdate. Need to finish it first. But it makes this easier.

Sæder

WOW

Davy Andrews

These are from scratch. I would love it if they were regular waffles, but we don't have a regular waffle maker. We have this tiny one that makes heart-shaped mini waffles that my wife got for her friend's bachelorette party a few years ago. So I get one tiny waffle every 90 seconds or so, and I am constitutionally incapable of waiting and eating a bunch of waffles at once. I just eat them as soon as they come out.

Doug Lampert

Waiting to build up a bunch at once would defeat the point. Fresh waffles should be eaten fresh.

Michael Baumann

Making tiny heart-shaped mini waffles with batter made from scratch is the most Davy Andrews activity I've ever heard of

Davy Andrews

I…cannot argue with that.

Anonymous Member #46

not until the single comes out about this

Phil

This might be more of a mailbag question, but am I correct in assuming that, by Fangraphs playoff odds, the Dodgers in this series are the most favored lower-seeded team ever?

Michael Baumann

I don't know about that, but the number PECOTA spit out for this series is one I did not think it was possible for a projection system to produce in any series, let alone in favor of the road team in a series against a 103-win team

Sean Dolinar

That's definitely something we could compile. Might have to join a few things to get the dates rights for series start dates.

Davy Andrews

I will be happy to answer it if somebody else is doing all the work.

Davy Andrews

Fox LOVES to talk about pitcher extension and stride length. I wonder why that's the one metric they care so much about.

Rich Hill's Fastball

It's a metric that's easy to showcase on TV

Davy Andrews

No doubt, but I think you could make cool graphics for a bunch of Statcast measurements.

docgooden85

Freddie wasn't ready (for that 2 strike pitch)

Rich Hill's Fastball

Camera angle made that curve look like a changeup

Sæder

i'm just hearing Alec Guinness' voice in my head… "Lara"

Michael Baumann

See, Matt? This is the good stuff

Matt Martell

This is very good

Sæder

we need to tell him got get balalaikas for his entrance music

Benjamin

Why do they keep showing drone shots from behind the lights, it's utterly pointless

darksheep

Been a part of the Brewers broadcast all season

docgooden85

Incredible challenge for Contreras the Younger there

sloejoe

I just did an internet search on "Front Row Amy" and the back stop seats at American Ball Park. $245 per seat. 81 games. About $20,000 per season. This is my math contribution to Fangraphs this year.

bosoxforlife

Would it have been possible for Skubal to win a Cy Young if he had compiled a great resume between the two leagues?

Benny The Jet

CC came close in 08… I believe Rick Sutcliff did it, though they only count stats in one league or the other

Jay Jaffe

I think it would be nearly impossible because the AL and NL Cy Youngs are voted upon separately, and while he was excellent, he wasn't overwhelming in his stint in either league.

Jay Jaffe

Sutcliffe's numbers did have a pretty massive contrast between AL and NL, which helped his cause.

Jay Jaffe

And Dwight Gooden got screwed because Sutcliffe went 16-1 with about 2/3 the innings of Gooden

Benny The Jet

Thanks Jay! Think the bigger question is probably whether a pitcher could get enough volume these days in half a season, plus I'm not even sure if <100 innings of ~1.00 ERA pitching would be enough with the resistance to giving the Cy to relievers

brewersbibliophile

With starters getting less and less innings, I could see someone like Sabathia getting the Cy Young if they have a run like he had in ‘08

Jay Jaffe

Hey folks, just popping in here for a bit

Sean Dolinar

You're a pop-in guy?

docgooden85

Derek Jeter doesn't need Polymarket's money. Classy! /s

jonmberra

The Brewers keep living up to their postseason reputation

bosoxforlife

I forgot Sutcliffe's 1984. Thanks Benny and nice catch

Rich Hill's Fastball

What in the world?

Matt Martell

There's a slight flinch of Miz's front leg before he steps off

docgooden85

I don't understand what Miz did wrong.

brewersbibliophile

Was that called a balk?

Matt Martell

That's a great call

Matt Martell

Yes, called a balk

Benny The Jet

Made me think of an interesting question: what's the fewest games a pitcher could start and win the Cy Young if they somehow literally threw a perfect game every start? Like Brenden Fraser in The Scout, 27 up, 27 down, 27 Ks… would 3 be enough?

Rich Hill's Fastball

That's 27 perfect innin\gs, I feel like you'd need a couple more games?

Anonymous Member #46

However many Eric Gagne had when he won his Cy Young.

Matt Martell

Send it to the Mailbag!

Jay Jaffe

wow, that's a break for the Dodgers, Teoscar is not the guy I want stealing a base

Matt Martell

Miz's front leg moved first. He began to lift his front leg slightly, the equivalent of a false start in football.

Phil

Send him back out for the fifth, or no?

bosoxforlife

I doubt it. It isn't like he is lights out tonight.

Rich Hill's Fastball

Guessing they go with Patrick

brewersbibliophile

A wild Charlie Berens has appeared!

brewersbibliophile

Turang!

Rich Hill's Fastball

Swear word!

Phil

!

bosoxforlife

Szymborski touted Turang in the spring and he was spot on.

Jay Jaffe

I guess I'd have been surprised if you told me the Dodgers would get the first hit with runners in scoring position in this series while the Brewers chalked up the first homer

John Church

Can’t predict baseball, Suzyn

Sean Dolinar

Re: favored lower seed. This isn't exhaustive, but THIS isn't the most lopped sided. Because the Dodgers happen to face the Brewers in the NLCS quite often as the lower seed.

Sean Dolinar

2018: 71.3% https://www.fangraphs.com/standings/playoff-odds?date=2018-1…

Phil

Wow. That's pretty extreme.

Phil

Also, I had no ides the Astros were favored in the ALCS. The Benintendi series.

Sean Dolinar

2025: 70.6% https://www.fangraphs.com/standings/playoff-odds?date=2025-1…

Phil

I did wonder about last year.

Sean Dolinar

2026: 70.3% https://www.fangraphs.com/standings/playoff-odds?date=2026-1…

Sæder

ready-to-wear double play!

Sean Dolinar

Now, these are saved from the previous night and we could have updated depth charts the day of.

Phil

Thanks, Sean! Very interesting.

Sean Dolinar

But these three match ups are by far the most extreme from my quick search.

Sean Dolinar

Also think it's amazing that the Brewers have played the Dodgers three times in the NLCS as the higher seed.

brewersbibliophile

They’re bound to win one of them, right?

Sæder edited

nice vaguely remembering that 2018 side. Yelich and Lorenzo Cain! and Hader!

Rich Hill's Fastball

I remember that team for Jhoulys Chacin haha

Sean Dolinar

@brewersbibliophile: past performance is not indicative of future results

Benny The Jet

I remember getting a jump scare when some kids named Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, and Freddy Peralta were starting play-off games… I was expecting Jhoulys Chacin, Wade Miley, and Chase Anderson lol

pgburant edited

All Brewers fans will remember that Brandon Woodruff hit a home runoff Kershaw in that 2018 series

Sæder

is it odd to say that the 2018 LAD squad was more "home-grown" or "diamonds in the rough," led by Grandal and Muncy; than the 2018 MIL team that had acquired Yelich and Cain?

Davy Andrews

Has anybody watched that show Doc? The one where the doctor has amnesia but is somehow allowed to keep practicing medicine? Seems like a flawed conceit, right?

Dan Szymborski

DL Hall sounds like someone who writes obnoxious Slate articles

Davy Andrews edited

Did you read the one where the guy reached out to all the commenters who were mean to him and asked why?

Phil

I did read that one. There was a couple that met in the comments.

Jay Jaffe

I keep thinking DL Hall is the famous poet who wrote the book Dock Ellis In the Country of Baseball, but that was Donald Hall. I think it's because my favorite high school teacher was DL and his real name was Donald.

Davy Andrews

Wait, they fell in love through hating on that one writer?

Phil

I am not sure it was his stories specifically. But hating on Slate, yes.

Davy Andrews

Let me just say this right now: If anybody falls in love during this chat and ends up getting married, I will bake your wedding cake.

Sæder

full sized? or mini heart shaped?

Davy Andrews

Full-sized cake, decorated on the outside with mini-heart waffles.

Dan Szymborski

I'm against shows that just say what they are. Doc. FBI.

Davy Andrews

The Office?

Rich Hill's Fastball

Chris Taylor-made double play!

Dan Szymborski

Bailin' out the Miz

Phil

A Fred Astaire classic.

Dan Szymborski

Like I've never watched the show, but Harlan Coben's Final Twist is a good name for a tv show

bosoxforlife

Cliche alert! That was The Pitcher's Best Friend".

Dan Szymborski

I also don't like the name Sheriff Country because fire country is a thing, but like everywhere has sheriffs. It makes as much sense as Police Country or Government Country

Rich Hill's Fastball edited

Where does "Severance" rate on the Szym TV show name scale?

Dan Szymborski

The show's fine but I want better names!

Dan Szymborski

I don't want a burger from Burger. I don't want a car called The Vehicle.

Sæder

except for legit ethnic diaspora restaurants. I was once sent by a Beijing-origin pal to a peking duck restaurant called Tasty Duck. It was fantastic.

fuzwoz

So Miz looks like Lars Ulrich's grandson, right?

Dan Szymborski

I need to check the archives, but is Skubal's butt getting a little bigger every year while the rest of him stays the same size?

Anonymous Member #46

what a bum

Jay Jaffe

Do we archive butt size now?

Rich Hill's Fastball edited

Statcast has a metric called xwoButt

Dan Szymborski

LARACIOUS

Davy Andrews

SpectacuLARA.

Sæder

yowza

Dan Szymborski

I mean like videos

Dan Szymborski

Though I bet statcast has ass size somewhere

Dan Szymborski

dang that's way better

Davy Andrews

I'm sure Baumann will top us both.

comradeyurika

I thought that was a terrible spot to bunt, so of course it immediately works out.

bosoxforlife

Of course! Everyone here at Fangraphs knows the sacrifice is a terrible play.

comradeyurika

Sacrificing with your number 7 hitter generally feels odd though

Dan Szymborski

They key question for a bunt is already what is the probability that the hitter gets a bunt hit. The calculus for a bunt changes wildly in that case

Dan Szymborski

something like a 10% beating out rate on a sac bunt makes it pretty plausible in most base/out situations

Dan Szymborski

Ron Johnson ran the numbers way back, but I dont' have them at the moment

Dan Szymborski

Nor do I want to do that when there's a game on!

Doug Lampert

An error is as good as a bunt hit, and also comes up pretty often with a fast runner.

GammaDraconis

This game already has had more offense than I expected.

Dan Szymborski

Muncy had murder in his eyes after that

Benny The Jet

No run support and bad D behind him… Skub could've just stayed in Detroit for that

comradeyurika

All part of the process to lead to him returning to Detroit in the offseason. Trust the process

Matt Martell

Smoltz said that has to be a hit… That does NOT have to be an hit. Should've been an error

Dan Szymborski

Things that are not errors in 2026: errors

Dan Szymborski

As long as you make incompetence look like it was a hard play, you'll get the hit

comradeyurika

Muncy overran the ball. Definite error

Davy Andrews

Ooh, Contreras wanted to challenge there.

Davy Andrews

I love a good challenge-that-turns-into-a-helmet-adjustment.

Michael Baumann

My conspiracy theory is that MLB has instructed official scorers to give out hits more liberally to exaggerate the effect of the shift on BABIP

Dan Szymborski

It's not like Muncy made some spectacular dive and it caromed off his glove, he was there, ran past it, and shoudl have had it

Dan Szymborski

I don't believe MLB is competent enough to successful execute a conspiracy successfully

Worm Burner

It's not like they are the NBA

Michael Baumann

Huh, weird, there's a guy in a dark suit and sunglasses with an MLB league credential coming up behind me, let's see what he wants

Davy Andrews

Don't look at the flashy thing!

David (formerly Sonoma State)

It’s @brewersbibliophile

Dan Szymborski

I mean, the actually did collusion by having Peter Ueberroth gather them in a room and yell at them. And then GMs would actually tell agents "those deals you got last time are not available anymore"

Dan Szymborski

..and that was the last time anyone heard from or saw Michael Baumann.

Sæder

omg. stop looking at skubal's butt!

Doug Gray

Ever since I saw Rookie of the Year and heard "Pitcher's got a big butt!" it's an impossible thing that you are asking of me

Dan Szymborski

I mean, pitcher butts are the center of the screen

Sæder

that ad oh my

Matt Martell

Putting Cal Raleigh in an ad about screening for colon cancer is very smart

Dan Szymborski

I did my Cologuard recently!

Benny The Jet

Oh my god please tell me someone else just saw the Albert Pujols/Cal Raleigh Cologuard butt commercial

Dan Szymborski

It was harder than I thought because I kept thinking about that Cologuard Saturday Night Live commercial.

Phil

I did it and was glad to realize that you remove the receptacle from the box.

Dan Szymborski

The whole box was in the bathroom and I just kept imagining it telling me to "Unleash"

Dan Szymborski

Did he say free-peat?

Matt Martell

Related to both that commercial and DIGGER — John Goodman says "a** cancer" multiple times

Davy Andrews

Capsule review of Digger, please.

Anonymous Member #46

I think that means "more askance"

Matt Martell

I used asterisks so Sean wouldn't have to approve a comment with a** cancer in it

Dan Szymborski

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMWAUmlKDAE

Sæder

outrageous. Radiohead doesn't fly

Dan Szymborski

Oh dang, since we're just regular chatterers, we can't self-ignore censorship things

Dan Szymborski

I sometimes drop an F bomb in my chats

Doug Gray

I don't know why my initial thought was that f bombs were farts but it was and it's time for me to take a vacation and just shut off what's left running around in the cobweb-filled skull on my shoulders.

Dan Szymborski

Andy Pages needs to thicken his mustache, the mustache beard thickness ratio is too low

Dan Szymborski

Truck commercials are real turnoffs to me. They're all like TRUCKS ARE FOR SERIOUS ADULT WORK THINGS, and I don't want to do any of that

Doug Gray

They don't make commercials for trucks that people use for actual serious adult work things.

GET A TRUCK DAN

brewersbibliophile

Go Bratwurst!

Dan Szymborski

So…uh…is Mike dead?

Phil

Does Appelman carry worker's comp insurance?

Dan Szymborski

See, Vesia has a proper ratio. A mustache should be thick enough that it looks like it could hold up the beard if it had to be used as a handle

David (formerly Sonoma State)

How does his butt to body ratio look?

Rollie's Mustache

I'll be the judge of that!

Dan Szymborski

If a food place wants to sponsor a thing in a broadcast, it should also have the possibility of earning free food from viewers

brewersbibliophile

I wish I had the confidence of a home crowd thinking they know what a balk is when it’s not called on the other team

Anonymous Member #46

You have about 1/40000th of that confidence, so that's *something*.

Dan Szymborski

If someone held me a gunpoint and demanded I explain a balk, they'd find my corpse

Dan Szymborski

Every time you think you know all the balk reasons there's some other thing

Dan Szymborski

OH THE PITCHER RUBBED HIS BELLY WITHOUT ITCHING HIS ASS THATS ACTUALLY A BALK

brewersbibliophile

I’m glad there’s no balks in trucking or I’d be leading the world in them!

John Church

This will be the next frontier of video review, after they do it to check swings. Did the knee cross the midpoint of the body? Did the foot move more than 45 degrees towards home? Instant balk.

Doug Gray

I hope they bring the check swing review to MLB with the same way they are testing it in the minors/AFL. It is going to completely break the brains of so many people how far you are allowed to "go" with the way it's written. I want to see the chaos.

Dan Szymborski

Hey, we can say ass

Dan Szymborski

HAS the world embraced Bills mafia?

bbCardz

So far not disappointed

Dan Szymborski

They didn't ask Christopher Walken insane, they just filmed him normally

Dan Szymborski

I was really upset back in the day when I found that Andy Ashby and Alan Ashby weren't related after thinking they were for like 15 years

Dan Szymborski

They need a brain chip that checks intention and then they can time it against where the pitch was

brewersbibliophile

I don’t think I’ve seen a single checked swing get called a swing in these playoffs.

wenz

PCA had one in the wild card round that made him quite upset

brewersbibliophile

Ah yes of course

Benny The Jet

Can you request ABS after a check swing apeal?

Sæder

or ABS on a throw down to 2nd? i sometimes wonder if strikes are more often called balls on a throw down

Doug Gray

Nope. You need to meet the "time" requirement after the pitch.

Anonymous Member #46

You can ABS on steals, and those calls are more erratic than average.

Benny The Jet

So would you have to appeal the check swing after the ABS challenge effectively? Simultaneously?

Doug Gray

You need to challenge the pitch within the allotted time. It's out there, but I've seen the hitter and catcher both challenge the same pitch because they both understood the situation at hand and knew they needed to get it in before the decision was made and did or didn't go their way.

Sæder

tap head with one arm, point to the other ump with your other arm

Seuss2004 edited

I just turned the game on TV after following on gamecast while doing other things, and saw the Polymarket win probability plot at the start of the inning. So I just came here to ask, like, what the f— are we doing here man?

bbCardz

Not sure what you’re asking.

Doug Gray

What are doing here? Trying to ruin the lives of people for profit!

Anonymous Member #46

We're the sucker fans paying for those graphs.

wenz

I believe he's asking why MLB/Fox thinks it's ok to push gambling on us and also why a gambling site's betting activity would be used rather than traditional win probability

Benny The Jet

I'm anti-gambling in general, but after seeing some of the "probabilities" they've been advertising I'm almost tempted lol

bbCardz

Boy he sure likes to pitch low!

Dan Szymborski

Yes, it's best to hit it over the wall NO MATTER WHO the centerfielder is

Seuss2004

Works against everyone except the legendary Pete Grows-Armslong.

Dan Szymborski

I miss the zoom-zoom commercials. I don't have a Mazda just for not dying, which is kinda boring

Doug Lampert

Not dying is a good point in favor of a product. On the other side, are you going to trust ChatGPT to tell you how to sail a boat while at sea?

Doug Gray

I wouldn't trust ChatGPT to spell Szymborski correctly.

Benny The Jet

Every time I see that commercial I just think that those poor old ladies would be found drifting away three days later

Dan Szymborski

I just have trouble caring either way

Dan Szymborski

One of nice things about getting older is you can care about a lot fewer things

bbCardz

Very true

Dan Szymborski

I can't wait until I'm the age when I can not care that someone tweeted something stupid at me and not feel required to get into a stupid fight

bbCardz

Same

war2d2

My kid is playing Maddon on the big TV. He’s winning 70-0. He is mechanically disassembling whoever it is he’s playing, taking no joy in the violence wrought upon his foe. At the same time, there is no sense of shame, no sense of remorse. Does gravity apologize to the steelworker who decided this was the day he wouldn’t use a safety harness? He just scored again. And a conversion. It’s 78-0. I’m watching the NLCS on my phone. I’m not sure he’s even having fun. A pick-6. It’s now 86-0.

war2d2

I suggest we turn on the game. He scores again, 93-0. A moment, two moments later he says “no.” He scores again. it’s 101-0. I wonder if he knows how much I love him.

brewersbibliophile

Funny enough, I think I lost my last game of Madden 86-0

Anonymous Member #46

he's just showing you where replacement level is

war2d2

He says he's going to try a "weird" play. They all look weird to me. His player breaks away and high-steps the last 20 yards. My son holds his controller up and high-steps in place in front of the TV that isn't playing the NLCS.

war2d2

He was so small not so long ago, and now he's a dozen years old and bigger than his mom. I want to watch the NLCS. I'm just watching him. I try to remember what he looks like now, commit it to memory, so when he changes in the morning and wakes up a different person I'll remember the boy that he was, high-stepping in front of the TV that isn't playing the NLCS. He scores again.

Dan Szymborski

Hey Doug, the Grokipedia biography of me is peak.

Doug Gray

atGrok is this true

Dan Szymborski

"Daniel John Szymborski (born June 19, 1978) is an American baseball analyst and sabermetrician renowned for developing the ZiPS (Zebulon Igor Projection System) projection system, "

Seuss2004

To quote Maxwell Smart. "Missed it by THAT much."

Dan Szymborski

"Szymborski graduated from high school in 1996 and demonstrated early independence by self-financing much of his college education through physically demanding construction work, including digging ditches"

Matt Martell

Digger Dan Szymborski????

Dan Szymborski

Also did not do that, I don't even like the outside if there's no beer or baseball

Dan Szymborski

now, it would be awesome if my name was Zebulon Igor

Doug Gray

I have some good news about something you can do about this

wenz

Perhaps they mean that you physically demanded that someone do construction work

Dan Szymborski

I'm still disappointed my dad didn't want my name to be Alexander because i could have been Zander Zymborski

bbCardz

What do we think of Cooper Pratt?

Phil edited

His name sounds like a white shoe law firm.

war2d2

He looks like a Cooper pratt.

Dan Szymborski

It took me 30 years to get people to mostly spell my name right, I'm not starting from square one

Phillip Denny

88 mph sliders I can abide because it's almost a cutter and I can wrap my head around that. 88 mph sweepers, however, is where I draw the line. Science has gone too far.

Benny The Jet

MLB could run low on championship-less teams soon… Of the 5 teams to never win a World Series, two have a chance still this year, one was in the NLDS, one was in the ALCS last year, and one plays in Colorado

Phillip Denny

What's next, 100 mph splitters? Wait…

wenz

The nub on the top of the Brewers hat is the same color as the rest of the hat, but the nub on the Dodgers hat is a different color. I think I like the different nub color better

Dan Szymborski

I think Dodgers pitchers generally have bigger butts than Brewers pitchers. Given the cities, shoudln't it be the opposite?

Phillip Denny

Junk in the trunk is the new market inefficiency.

Sæder

the kardashians do live in LA

brewersbibliophile

LA has the injections to make their butts bigger. Milwaukee has to rely on bratwursts.

Lanenator

Ryan Braun had -28.5 FLD as a rookie 3B. Do we think that if he came out or retirement right now that he could beat that playing a full season at 1B?

Dan Szymborski

I wonder if ChatGPT is going to make up the answer to "Give me a chart of ass size by city"

bbCardz

That was NOT a strike. Bring on the AI umps.

Dan Szymborski

Are there enough kardashians by now to skew it?

Sæder

we are all kardashians

Dan Szymborski

I don't endorse AEDs

Dan Szymborski

People with big butts shoudl have to be tested to make sure they have high cholesterol

wenz edited

The Pujols Cologuard commercial seems to have infected Dan's brain

Dan Szymborski

My brain was destroyed decades ago

Sonny L edited

Ever since I read that Luzardo’s glasses aren’t prescription I can’t trust any of these pitchers.

Phil

I don't trust any pitcher. They don't tell you what pitch they'll throw (except Greinke).

Dan Szymborski

Andy and Alan! Aaron is Andy's nephew but not Alan relaetd

Dan Szymborski

Now the other Andy/Alan pair, the Beneses, are releated

Phillip Denny

I know it's his jam, but trying to push Ashby for 1+ here seems like an unnecessary risk.

Matt Martell

Any relation to Hal?

Sæder

exactly my question!

bbCardz

Maybe institute a rule that you can’t have the same last name unless you’re related.

Dan Szymborski

sorry endaround, I can't approve your link!

Dan Szymborski

I didn't set up the chat

Dan Szymborski

when he makes it an error it's a Cooper Pratfall

endaround

Not an issue-just link to Athletic piece about Aaron's uncle Andy

bbCardz

I HATE walks. Such a waste.

Sonny L

Every bit of that was stressful

Dan Szymborski

how did that lady in teh state farm commercial only have the hail damage on ONE wall?

wenz

Their fraud unit is sleeping on the job

war2d2

“Funny, these dents are all precisely 1/2 inch, almost like you went crazy with a ball-peen hammer.”

Dan Szymborski

the other wall facing the same direction had no hail damage

Dan Szymborski

I never want to see that Trolli commercial again

Doug Gray

Let's give it a lil kick….. off of the airwaves

Sæder

i have this year been subjected to a lot of mahjong gossiping

Dan Szymborski

Are we all getting the same commercials?

Sæder

i saw that hail damage / mahjong commercial. and the trucks and the mazda. i'm streaming on foxone

war2d2

I’m on YoutubeTV, and all my commercials have been matching yours.

Benny The Jet

I knew Ohtani was hurt but I didn't realize he was THIS hurt… really does kind of change the way you look at LA's lineup if he's basically just Rowdy Telez with speed right now

Sonny L

Fast Rowdy Tellez sounds awesome and that’s Ohtani’s like 20% outcome. Amazing

Phillip Denny

There is a genuine argument for starting JDP over him. It won't happen, but it's an argument.

Benny The Jet

Ohtani being pinch-hit for in a big spot against a lefty feels… not impossible at least, which is crazy

bbCardz

The number of bad throws to first in the postseason has been epic.

Dan Szymborski

I always like when food companies have commercials saying "you know that thing you've been eating for years? Well, we know it was %#@#, so we made it better now."

Dan Szymborski

yeah, I stream it from foxone too

bbCardz

Chuuuurio

Phillip Denny

Lord give me strength I am arguing with someone that the Dodgers bullpen having the 9th ranked bullpen ERA =/= the Dodgers have the 9th ranked bullpen in the league.

Sonny L

Tanner Scott did not skip PFPs this week. That was smooth

bosoxforlife

I knew the Brewers were playing a different type of baseball, but 1950's style?

John Church

Guy who homered earlier in the game sacrifices… it isn’t the worst decision of the playoffs, but it’s something

AdvantageSchneider

Do you think he’s going to homer twice against a lefty?

wenz

Jon Smoltz is so so so happy with how the Brewers play. For a moment I think he briefly forgot that he hates modern baseball

Phillip Denny

I know you mean the sport but I am choosing to interpret this comment about the emo band to give it more layers.

war2d2

Man with the KZone turned off this weird camera angle makes all the borderline pitches that are outside to lefties look like strikes.

bbCardz

Bauers…

GammaDraconis

Dodgers playing the numbers, or playing with fire?

Seuss2004

WHAT.

Sonny L

“Maybe Mitchel surprises us”

bbCardz

It’s the smart decision statistically

Matt Martell

This is a bonkers decision

Sæder

Mookie my gosh. It's amazing that he looks like a real SS

Matt Martell

Even if it works out, it's still wild

Doug Gray

OK, let's commercial track. 1st one if the F1 commercial for HP self driving network.

war2d2

Yup. Second is the Geico couch commercial.

John Church

Can’t wait to see how many times two intentional walks in the same inning pays off.

bbCardz

Not impressed with Mitchell.

Doug Gray

2nd commercial for me is a Geico commercial

Sonny L

I mean, he scorched that ball up the middle

Sæder

did he eat van gogh's ear as a chip?

Doug Gray

SURE DID

Doug Gray

3rd commercial is a Wendy's commercial

bbCardz

HP then Geico

Benny The Jet

Dave Roberts decided there wasn't going to be enough heat on him tomorrow for a play-off game, just had to do something about it

Phillip Denny edited

Quick, someone do the RE math of 2 out 123 with the platoon advantage versus 2 out 12- without it.

Anonymous Member #46

In that vein, I'm more interested in what the odds are of a scoreless inning are in both scenarios.

Phillip Denny

Whoever is doing to post game article, this would be a nice thing to see if it's readily available.

Doug Gray

4th commercial is the kid gamers teaching their parents how to play DOTA (I think that's what this is) – AT&T commercial

Benny The Jet edited

Can confirm HP -> Geico -> Wendy's watching FoxOne on Fubo

Sæder

then Wendy. then weird ATT gaming with your parents ad. that could be you, war2d2

war2d2

I should be so lucky.

Doug Gray

5th commercial is the nutrafol
6th commercial is a Harbor Freight commercial

psweeting

FWIW Fangraphs win expectancy graph has it increasing the brewers odds from 86.5% to 87.9%

bbCardz

So, what did you do on Fangraphs? We listed the commercials.

Anonymous Member #46

Rigorously, with peer review!

David (formerly Sonoma State)

We talked about the pitcher’s butts

Dan Szymborski

"Hi, I'm Corey Seager. I'm a MLB SS, the better Seager, and the second-earliest balding man behind Michael Chilkis, and I'm here to talk about Nutrafol."

Seuss2004

I recently realized the Seagers are the only pair of MLB brothers with 200+ HRs each and I definitely had not expected that.

Dan Szymborski

Asses are one of the things that are universal to the human experiences

John Church

Opinions and…

Sonny L

Nobody challenges the pitch after the one they should have like Contreras. Auto tilt challenges

Sonny L

Did this crowd think they were going to win? Feels like they’ve been holding their breath from the first pitch

brewersbibliophile

When you get your ass beat the first time around, you’re next as excited going into the second.

AdvantageSchneider

What would you do?

Dan Szymborski

I wonder if being Joe's brother causes Dom DiMaggio to be really underrated in history

Sæder

i was just rewatching The Last Goodbye, and Marlowe asks his bud to name the DiMaggios. And Joe was the one the guy forgot of the three. Oddball scripting!

Matt Martell edited

You mean The Long Goodbye?

Sæder

yes! too tense right now

bbCardz

Cmon man.

Phillip Denny

JDP could write a legend here if he does the thing….

Sonny L

Shook off to throw the curve he hadn’t executed all AB. Maddening

bbCardz

Better to throw it in the dirt apparently

Sonny L

Those curves under the zone set up a bottom rail FB really well. You just have to throw it.

Phillip Denny

JDP like most power lefties has a happy zone low and inside.

Sonny L

THATS what you throw Tucker 3-2

Seuss2004

"No pressure kid. If you miss this, we lose."

bbCardz

For the love of God

bbCardz

Don’t GIVE them the game

Benny The Jet

Nothing better than when these games live up to the hype in October

war2d2

Gameday says my TV feed is two pitches behind. I think that’s the sweet spot actually, I like being ready to watch a big moment.

war2d2

Or not. Welp.

bosoxforlife

Back tomorrow for more entertaining interaction with the great fans and writers at Fangraphs.

Dan Szymborski

Megill was pop on toast but made it

Sæder

wow. low scoring with short outings by Cy Young starters. not what i imagined.

bbCardz

Finally, Jesus

comradeyurika

What a game!

Dan Szymborski

Baumann has the gamer tonight, so hopefully the MLB official didn't kidnap him

war2d2

He’s on Bluesky, he’s just shunning us.

Phillip Denny

If you're the dodgers, your takeaway is you made their best pitcher work and you got somewhat into the bullpen. If you're the Brewers, your takeaway is you looked and felt like the better team innings 5-9.

Sonny L

2 judges had it a draw. 3rd gave a 10-9 advantage based on Ashby

Dan Szymborski

Ah, yeah he skeeted 14 minutes ago

Benny The Jet

And we get two games tomorrow!

Dan Szymborski

Do we get a Whopper or something now?

Phillip Denny

Never forget that they took away "Steal a Base, Steal a Taco" from you.

bbCardz

At least it wasn’t endless pharmaceutical and betting app commercials

Dan Szymborski

OK, game over so I'm gonna go play Trails of Cold Steel II


Members-Only Game Thread: ALDS – Guardians at White Sox – Oct 10, 2026

by
October 10, 2026

Welcome to our Open Game Thread for the ALDS game today. Chat with fellow readers as we watch the Guardians play the White Sox! Only Members can participate, and unlike our usual game chats, your messages will be posted immediately.

Our Member community is made up of thousands of incredibly knowledgable baseball fans, and we think this is a great way to follow a game with like-minded baseball enthusiasts. We might even have some FanGraphs Staff drop in and join the fun. Please be courteous to your fellow Members, or you may find your chat privileges revoked.

Keaton Arneson

UND football is blowing it's chance for #1 after next week.

Sean Dolinar

Sounds like you are only missing heartbreak.

Keaton Arneson

And our All American caliber QB is hurt. He was probably going to get $ million+ next year from a big school.

Brian547

What is the community consensus on whether the bullpen management by Vogt has been horrible, or horrible enough to warrant his immediate removal?

Keaton Arneson

I have hated bullpen management this series, but no way I would let Vogt go. I assume bullpen management wasn't just a Vogt decision, but a game plan worked out with the front office.

Sean Dolinar

Good evening! Appreciate everyone being here.

Brian547

It was worked out that you would only use your BEST pitchers in the LOWEST leverage situations???? What?

Keaton Arneson

I agree. I think it's been too much of win now and not to win the series.

Brian547

Why is Festa on the roster?

Keaton Arneson

If he wasn't hurt, I would have pitched him over Smith and Williams in the 9th

Keaton Arneson

I don't know if he's hurt

Brian547

Or 8th or previous game 8th or 9th… ok end rant… I am just venting a bit and looking for feedback. Cheers for the platform, everyone enjoy the game!!

Sean Dolinar

This is good content, thought!

Phil

I guess my mild defense of Vogt would be tbat, given the state of CWS's pitching, they have a decent chance of a blowout win in game 5. So all in in game 4 made some sense, maybe. Nevertheless, I agree that even with that assumption, some of the details were perplexing.

John Church

They were already in a “big lead” situation, up by 5 in the 8th (or at latest, in the 9th). How big a lead do you need to use your lower leverage guys?

Brian547

umm… not buying the "Hey guys tomorrow is guaranteed to be a blowout win, so its fine if I'm stupid today" defense.

Keaton Arneson

The real question is over/under 3 innings from Williams today and over/under 1.5 runs from Smith? These are the consequences of the previous decisions.

Brian547

The only good idea I have had is that maybe – and this is a real conspiracy theory- the assumption was that hurricane is coming and there will not be a game on SAT.

Phil edited

The only hurricane I can remember making it to Cleveland was Sandy, which came from the other direction.

Brian547

like I meant to imply its a horrible horrible explanation… just the only one I have.

John Church

It’s an extreme application of “Don’t save your pitcher for tomorrow; tomorrow it may rain.”

Phil

It might, in fact, but probably later, I think.

Rich Hill's Fastball

Happy Sam Antonacci Appreciation Week to everyone!

small e

my read on Vogt is he got stuck in "we can't plan for game 5 unless we make sure to win today", which makes a small amount of sense, but if you increase your odds of winning G4 from 99.1% to 99.9% by using your best pitchers but maybe dramatically reduce your strength for G5…

Brian547

Right this is catastrophically bad management… no?

small e

for me not fireably bad since he's proven to be very well respected at the job otherwise and this is a kind of strategic choice that could be corrected next time

Brian547 edited

If actively making your team less likely to win the series is not fire able can you give an example of something else, within the realm of could plausibly happen, which would rise to that level?

si.or.no

As a card carrying member of Team Entropy (still waiting for my flair), I really enjoy the chaos created by the, um, non-traditional bullpen usage.

Phil

Rays probably have no objection either.

bosoxforlife

I followed college football until the hated NIL turned the game into the NFL minor league but with major league salaries in the Big 4 conferences. There was a time that App. State could beat Michigan in the Big House. Today every game between majors and mid majors is 70-0. I haven't watched a game, even UConn, this year.

Keaton Arneson edited

What about Michigan "losing" to Western Michigan this year?

Benny The Jet

Could we get another pivotal rain delay in a winner-take-all game in Cleveland?

Sean Dolinar

I want to say if they delay, it will be suspended until tomorrow afternoon. But I'm not sure what this hurricane is going to do. I'm thinking about Sandy dumping rain on this region for like 2-3 days straight. This one looks more scattered.

Rich Hill's Fastball

Maybe a midge delay?

bosoxforlife

I will never forget it. It was so much fun to watch.

Keaton Arneson

Vogt is vindicated. Williams is going 7 shutout innings tonight and Smith with a two inning save.

Brian547

I will gladly issue a public apology if this happens.

bosoxforlife

I do not understand why everybody got so lathered up over Williams throwing some pitches on what is normally his throw day anyway.

Brian547

Its much more the usage of the best pitchers in the lowest leverage situations. Smith was a waste in both games… same for Williams.

bosoxforlife

I agree that Williams was not the best choice there but he isn't made of glass as many seem to think.

Rich Hill's Fastball

That was some high-octane rocket fuel from Williams

Matt Martell

Here's my question to everyone advocating for firing Vogt, or Boone or others: Who would you hire to replace him?

Brian547 edited

For Vogt… I would keep him as a bench coach/personality manager and just remove him from every strategic decision going forward. I have nothing against the guy, he seems genuinely likable and a decent person… I just cant defend the decisions and have not heard anyone suggest a way that they can be defended.

Benny The Jet

Vogt and/or Boone in that scenario

Matt Martell

You would want them to swap teams?

Matt Martell

Also, hi

Sean Dolinar

Matt, you aren't at the white out?

Matt Martell

Nope – I have a job that keeps me pretty busy in October.

Matt Martell

Also, I don't think watching Penn State football is good for my mental health

Davy Andrews

I'm on the gamer tonight, so I can't do much chatting, but I wanted to jump in and say hello to everyone.

bosoxforlife

The radar appears to show rain at the corner of Carnegie & Ontario but I don't see any falling or any umbrellas in the stands.

small e

There was a little visibly falling around first pitch time. I can't see it now

Sean Dolinar

There are some drops on their batting helmets

Davy Andrews

If anybody has any thoughts about what I should write tonight, just let me know.

Sean Dolinar

Everyone take a paragraph!

Keaton Arneson

Williams + Smith perfect game of course

Davy Andrews

I'm sure they can hang on.

Sean Dolinar

jinxed, scrap that idea.

Davy Andrews

No-hitter still intact.

Brian547 edited

Why "Cleveland Rocks" is objectively the best localized ballpark/team themed song… sorry Boston. Or at least a comparative piece involving the options. I would read that.

Sean Dolinar

This is a good lockout article idea.

Sean Dolinar

🔥

baycommuter

Could do a March Madness-type bracket poll with it.

Rich Hill's Fastball

If this isn't 80-grade stuff for a starter, I don't know what is

bosoxforlife

Williams, at 6'6" and a sturdy 250, doesn't mentioned with Misiorowski, Tolle and Skenes as much as he should be. Just another strikeout machine.

Matt Martell

Do you think the guy who plays Doug in the Liberty Mutual commercials has any regrets about how his life turned out?

Brian547

Mayhem guy made it into John Wick… so it may be working out brilliantly and we just don't know the endgame.

Sean Dolinar

It's super hard to get any steady work in that industry. That's a decent gig. It's no Flo from Progressive.

Sean Dolinar

Incidentally, I went to high school with Mara from those Progressive commercials.

MinClea

I work with a guy who reminds me of Doug. I mentioned this to him. He said – "the guy with the ostrich?" – I laughed and he left the room………….oops.

small e

well, there's the rain

Rich Hill's Fastball

Anyone know where Jason Heyward is?

Sean Dolinar

Was there any talk about moving this early today?

Tommyfastball

5:00 on west coast is kind of a dead zone

Sean Dolinar

More bad, low leverage challenges!

bosoxforlife

A challenge on the first pitch in the 3rd inning? What is he thinking?

small e

fooled himself with where he caught it, maybe? it fell to top of the zone height by the time it was in his glove

Sean Dolinar

He framed himself?

Doug Gray

This was the first draft of Who Framed Roger Rabbit and it didn't play well with audiences so they had to do a re-write.

si.or.no

Colson Montgomery said he wears his pants extra high to draw bad challenges from catchers.

si.or.no

Which makes me wonder:
They use some % of height for the zone, but are there hitters who fall on the edge of the bell curve in torso/leg proportion, where a catcher setting up (or an umpire) is fooled more often about where the auto-zone is?

(Like, not the tall/short guys)

Davy Andrews

CLEAT CLEANER.

Brian547

Muddy boots is the appropriate penalty for pitching in VELCRO high-tops.

MinClea

Least favorite baseball sayings. I will start………."Flashing the leather"………I don't know why – just bugs me.

Doug Gray

"Great piece of hitting" when used to describe a ball that if you hit in the cage your coach would drop his head in disappointment but that ball somehow found the magic spot 107 feet from the plate to land where a glove wasn't.

Seuss2004

My dad always hated when they said 'he had to cover a lot of real estate out there'. It was an unreasonable amount of hatred, like, he couldn't move on after hearing that. Would just soliloquy about the quality of announcers these days and how they don't paint the picture like they used to. I feel obligated to adopt that unhealthy, unbridled rage in his honor.

Brian547

I like that we all went silent to watch the marvel that is tonight's version of Williams.

Benny The Jet

Man Williams looks sharp- what a treat to get an old school pitching duel (so far) in this series, of all series

Rich Hill's Fastball

My jaw's on the floor

Phil

Record for strikeouts in an LCS game seems to be 15 (Clemens).

Rich Hill's Fastball

I think Cole had 15 or 16 in 2019 as well

Phil

That was LDS. Looks like Livan Hernandez and Mussina are the other LCS game with 15.

coldbagel12

Love how Gavin looks, but if this is a 1-0 game I'd take Chicago's chances at a solo shot

Seuss2004

I have nothing to add but want to see if a team shows up next to my name.

Seuss2004

Rats.

Davy Andrews

Click the little settings gear at the top right.

Davy Andrews

There you go.

Rich Hill's Fastball

Seuss, you can use the settings cog in the top right to select your team

bosoxforlife

How come Williams carried a 3.76 ERA and a 3.48? I have seen a 100 mph fastball, a 90 mph slider and 12-6 curveball, the likes of which is seldom seen today, that all look untouchable. Maybe in 2027 starters will be asked to make a relief appearance 2 days before each start if this is what comes out of it.

Matt Martell

A ton of homers

Brian547 edited

That is what a Cricket swing normally looks like!! oops meant to post below… apologies

Phil

There ya go.

Doug Gray

Streaming strikes again! I saw this about 30 seconds before contact was made on my TV.

Phil

Sorry. I'll be more careful.

Doug Gray

No way man! Live in the moment!

Sean Dolinar

You can delay the chat up to 3 minutes with the gear in the corner.

Benny The Jet

Thank you again for this feature, it is awesome! For me at least, 15 seconds seems to line up perfectly

moomin

Wow

Sean Dolinar

Those soccer-style chants worked!

Benny The Jet

Man how did he hit that

Rich Hill's Fastball

Wow!

MinClea

man…….that was a great 9 iron !

small e

That pitch was on the ground

bosoxforlife

That is what I was waiting to see! My favorite non-Red Sox player delivering yet again.

bosoxforlife

Matt, I saw the HR's which confused me all the more. How can anyone even hit his stuff, much less take it deep?

Matt Martell

Now this is the question… my guess is batters sell out for 100 up in the zone, and when they guess right, it goes a long way

Ben Schneider

Hi everyone, this game has been fun so far. Williams is absolutely dealing

mlommler

To paraphrase Michael Corleone, all men can be taken yard

Benny The Jet

He's giving strong Verlander vibes right now, and JV always had a bit of trouble with the HR ball

Brian547

They are starting to take better swings…

Phil

So. . . how deep does Vogt let him get if things stay this way?

Yer Main Guy

As long as he's got his foot on their necks

Brian547

I fully expect he will be pulled for Festa right now.

bosoxforlife

72 pitches through 5 is too many in today's game, Vogt will be under the gun if Williams keeps this up. Of course if it was Bob Gibson on the mound Vogt would know that he should stay in the dugout and keep quiet.

Ben Schneider

Vogt always has a quick hook, and I wonder if he'll take Williams out too soon

MinClea

He has to get the 6th……….then see how that goes. If he gets the 8,9,1……..good to go

Doug Gray

I know it's not the newest thing but it is still wild that they will be those quick 5-10 second in-inning commercials. (Rhetorical question) Is there no end to how much we will be subjected to advertising the rest of our lives?

Benny The Jet

If I'm Vogt I'm hoping Williams and Smith are the only two pitchers to touch the ball at this point

moomin

ah… deja vu

MinClea

oops……..

Ben Schneider

Why is the 9 hitter going for three there?

Sean Dolinar

Ooof, that's rough.

Brian547

I have a new scapegoat if CLE loses!!

bosoxforlife

That was a good gamble with one out. It would have been hard to get him in from 2nd.

Brian547

much harder from the dugout

bosoxforlife

As I said, it was a gamble but a good one.

Ben Schneider

8 hitter; point still stands

Sean Dolinar

Gotta be a hero.

bosoxforlife

While we have been enthralled with the pitching of Williams, Burke is actually the first White Sox starter to get past the 5th this post-season.

Phil

This has been a much better-pitched game than I was expecting all around. Just the one swing from the best hitter in this series.

Ben Schneider

I don't recommend that on an 0-2 count

bosoxforlife

Williams hadn't thrown many sliders and that wasn't the time to throw one.

Brian547

That is not CADE SMITH!

jonmberra

I don’t care who wins but j want a hit so we don’t have Blake Snell 2.0 discourse.

Phil

With this pitch count it's not going to be that controversial, I don't think. He's also kinda pitching like he's not expecting to pitch the 7th.

John Church

You can breathe a sigh of relief

Ben Schneider

When Javier was pulled with a no-hitter in the World Series I don't remember many people saying he should have stayed in

Rich Hill's Fastball

Especially with multiple series after this one (you'd hope if you're Vogt), can't risk Williams getting hurt or tiring after today

Matt Martell

And there it is

Brian547

WHY ISNT SMITH WARMING UP???

bosoxforlife

As much as I hate to say it, the White Sox are getting much better swings and there is the first hit.

Phil

Vargas his last hitter either way?

jonmberra

Williams was a victim of his own strikeouts in pursuit of the No-hitter. Hard to do it when you throw that many pitches.

Benny The Jet

Green light here?

Brian547

If Vogt brings in Sabrowski of the 6 bb/9 in with the bases loaded here can I then have him fired please?

Benny The Jet

Oof that could be a huge missed call

Benny The Jet

Nvm

Matt Martell

What a turn of events

John Church

I’m not sure if Murakami is the guy I most want up if I’m the Sox or least want up.

Rich Hill's Fastball

Does Williams run out of gas if he doesn't throw a couple days ago?

Seuss2004

Well that escalated quickly

bosoxforlife

This is an instance when it appears Williams gave it his all from pitch one and has run out of gas. Vogt is definitely making the right move here and that comes from an old school fab who believes in letting the starter go very deep.

Brian547

No the right move is bringing in SMITH… anyone else is a error

bosoxforlife

Closers close!

Brian547

New candidate for my answer to least favorite thing baseball people say!

grill marks

I gotta wonder if hitters don't challenge because they know the pitcher is gonna go back to that spot and then they will just challenge if it's called a strike again.

grill marks

Kind of like baiting the pitcher.

Ben Schneider

No trouble finding the zone there

Phil

Made it, but they're going to miss that challenge I think.

Matt Martell

Great situation to challenge, bad pitch

Brian547

Glad it worked but that should have been smith.

coldbagel12

Gaddis would have been my pick, Smith likes closing. Just not the high walk guy.

bosoxforlife

A lefty against Murakami is the better choice.

Brian547

Smith in addition to being far better, walking fewer batters, HAS REVERSE PLATOON SPLITS!!!

Yer Main Guy

Dude it worked and Smith is still there. You have no argument

Benny The Jet

To play devil's advocate, you can afford a walk there (theoretically), but you absolutely cannot afford a homer

CJ edited

I don't see this game ends in 2-0 or 2-1, but it may be my wishful thinking

coldbagel12

Hard to see it right now. But we'll see

Matt Martell

I really want Jo Adell to hit another triple

Ben Schneider

Murakami has pretty big splits, so I think bringing in a lefty made sense

bosoxforlife

Almost a 50% K percentage against lefties.

Brian547

what are you talking about its a lower Xwoba vs righties

Brian547

and higher K rate vs righties

Brian547

dont just make crap up

bosoxforlife

No Brian, Murakami fans a higher rate against lefties.

Ben Schneider

I was basing the splits on OPS, which I know some FG people wouldn't approve of

Brian547

https://www.fangraphs.com/players/munetaka-murakami/37120/sp…

Brian547 edited

34.9 <35.7 both less than "almost 50%"

bosoxforlife

Try Baseball- Reference.

Anonymous Member #46

HERESY

Brian547

dude

John Church

It matters if you divide by PAs or ABs.

Benny The Jet

In my experience as a Tiger's fan, there is now a 100% chance that runner will score, most likely on an infield hit of some kind

Seuss2004

Its hard to generate much enthusiasm when the White Sox have a 117% strikeout rate today

grill marks

Sam A will be the ultimate floor next year.

Rich Hill's Fastball

Here you go Brian547!

Matt Martell

Forget about strikeout rate with two outs and Murakami up:

vs. LHP: 110 wRC+, .328 wOBA, xwOBA .364
vs. RHP: 138 wRC+, .368 wOBA, xwOBA .344

Results say Murakami is better vs. RHP, though xwOBA says the opposite. Cade Smith is the best pitcher in the bullpen and that was a crucial spot. I get it. But I like the Sabrowski matchup.

Matt Martell

I also don't think any major league manager is going to bring in the closer in the sixth inning, no matter the leverage or whether it's the correct move. Teams just don't do it.

bosoxforlife

That is how I was looking at it. The 6th was simply not the right time for Smith.

Ben Schneider

Wasn't that Andrew Miller in 2016? haha

Matt Martell

I don't want to say that it's definitely not the right time. It's just not the way managers do things rn

Benny The Jet

I've never really understood this… it seems like the best RP should be the first RP brought into a leverage situation regardless of inning

Matt Martell

This is a completely fair conclusion to draw. It's just not how teams operate

Matt Martell

FWIW: Andrew Miller wasn't Cleveland's closer in 2016, even if he was the team's best pitcher. The closer was Cody Allen. Having two guys like that makes it easier to use one of them early

bosoxforlife

Pitchers are not machines. They are people just like the rest of us and a closer reacts to a closing situation differently that he would to a non-close situation. The rush that he gets from closing just isn't the same earlier in the 6th.

Sean Dolinar

That inverted xwOBA is crazy.

Yer Main Guy

Could it be directional? Like a tendency to pull against righties that would make wOBA beat xwOBA?

Matt Martell

Definitely could be

Matt Martell

Truly — I think that will align with the rest over time. Small samples, etc.

Matt Martell

Hahahahahaha Petey Halpin against a lefty again!

Phil

How many runs would CLE have to score here for Smith to get pulled?

Brian547

Given prior indications… ~42

coldbagel12

Yeah, this is strong "the limit does not exist" territory

bosoxforlife

I think we can say, without question, that Smith owns the 9th here.

Matt Martell

Halpin OWNS Sean Newcomb

Ben Schneider

Apparently at least 5, since he was left in with a six-run lead

bosoxforlife

Gotta walk Kwan here!

Brian547

Ok I legit think this is a troll

Ben Schneider

Not a fan of intentionally walking the bases loaded

bosoxforlife

Kwan is the best contact hitter in the game and you don't want him getting the bat on the ball with the infield in.

Brian547

man that Jose guy sucks right

Seuss2004

This is a whole lot of drama to serve as a prelude to three White Sox Ks to end the game.

bosoxforlife

I would like to see 21 K's which would be a first in a 9 inning game.

Anonymous Member #46

One, ah-ah-ahhhhh.

Anonymous Member #46

TWO, ah-ah-ahhhhh.

Anonymous Member #46

THREEEEEE, ah-ah-ahhhhh!

Phil

This has been a very enjoyable game from a neutral perspective.

grill marks

yikes

bosoxforlife

I find it nearly incomprehensible that a team that has reached the LCS could strikeout at least 19 times in two out of three games.

jdbolick

The White Sox are a great story but a very flawed team. They're here because the Astros were that bad.

MikeS

96 in just 7 games in the postseason.

grill marks

are you not entertained?

Seuss2004

Luis Arraez struck out 21 times in 2025

Phil

Benintendi is, sadly, not very good. This is not the career I thought he'd have c. 2016.

bosoxforlife

I thought he was going to be something special as well.

jdbolick

Nailing the projection for Benintendi, Moncada, and Devers in 2016 with pretty much perfect accuracy is my favorite victory lap.

Brian547 edited

serious question time… would benintendi be allowed to wear that belt if he was pitching? oops guess they all are

Phil

21!!!!!

grill marks

rays in 4.

Ben Schneider

Rays will be massive favorites

bosoxforlife

Now I hope Jose Ramirez can continue his magic in the ALCS.

jdbolick

Cade Smith is nasty. Cleveland is going to be a much tougher matchup for the Rays.

Rich Hill's Fastball

Chicago K Sox

Brian547

maybe this smith guy is pretty good

Seuss2004

Cleveland, sworn enemy of the Holy See

Brian547

Bring it

Phil edited

Rays will definitely be favored. But an all-midwest WS would be fun, to me.

grill marks

The rays have 3 Cade Smiths.

Sean Dolinar

Thanks everyone for showing up today! See everyone tomorrow for the start of the NLCS!


Members-Only Game Thread: ALDS – Guardians at White Sox – Oct 8, 2026

by
October 8, 2026

Welcome to our Open Game Thread for the ALDS game today. Chat with fellow readers as we watch the Guardians play the White Sox! Only Members can participate, and unlike our usual game chats, your messages will be posted immediately.

Our Member community is made up of thousands of incredibly knowledgable baseball fans, and we think this is a great way to follow a game with like-minded baseball enthusiasts. We might even have some FanGraphs Staff drop in and join the fun. Please be courteous to your fellow Members, or you may find your chat privileges revoked.

Phil edited

Moves set in Chicago: The Man with the Golden Arm is interesting and worth watching. It is not as daring as the book. But Sinatra as a not especially likable character is very surprising casting that works pretty well in the end.

Sean Dolinar

Hey everyone! We had some exciting games yesterday. Specifically the Yankees fan interference. I’m hoping this is almost as entertaining.

Phil

Can't think of any non-baseball movies set in Cleveland right now, though I'm sure there are some I'm not thinking of.

Sean Dolinar

A Christmas Story?

Sean Dolinar

Guess that was filmed there not set there.

Phil edited

Is that the one with their air rifle–"you'll shoot your eye out"?

Sean Dolinar

Yup! You can’t miss it if you turn on the TV on Christmas.

bob

Abe Froman

millvillemeltdown

i don't see a lot of movies. i tried to go to movie nights but i kept getting spooked and overstimulated. shame, because they're a really fantastic artform

millvillemeltdown edited

the word that comes to mind is "Gesamtkunstwerk"

Sean Dolinar

I’d prefer to watch movie at home. Watch the NFL at home. Baseball is better in person. Postseason baseball is something else

Matt Martell

Hi everyone!

Matt Martell

For Chicago, my no. 1 is The Fugitive

Matt Martell

Draft Day is set in Cleveland!

Matt Martell

Kyle Teel, nooooooo!

Matt Martell

2.2 inches is terrible

jzmaxson27

Doesn't Howard the Duck take place in Cleveland?

Sean Dolinar

It does! I barely watched that. Can’t believe it’s a Marvel property.

Sean Dolinar

I’d think everyone would be on point with ABS. Maybe all that pressure.

Matt Martell

I just posted about this on Bluesky. But when I reported on the different strategies teams and players were using when deciding whether to challenge, the White Sox told me their strategy was to be more aggressive with them rather than waiting for a moment that might never come.

The challenge to Lowe aligned with that strategy, in that it made sense from a leverage perspective, especially in the playoffs when scoring first is so important. The problem was that pitch was nowhere near the zone.

jzmaxson27

I still remember when the Dodgers made Vargas go to the plate during spring training to get a feel for things when he was hurt and couldn't swing the bat in spring training, and Grienke just f'd with him by throwing eephus pitches and laughing. I miss Grienke.

Matt Martell

Here's the link to that story, from June: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/to-challenge-or-not-to-challenge…

bosoxforlife

I can understand that strategy but continue to be stunned at some of the challenges. It makes sense to only use them in high leverage situations but, even after a full season, there seems to be no rhyme or reason in far too many instances

Matt Martell

Was… was Jerry Reinsdorf smoking a cigar in his owner's box?

Matt Martell

Reminder that Austin Hedges had a 100 wRC+ this season

Philip Christy

The White Sox don't get enough crap for being one of the most historically terrible franchises

Sean Dolinar

I remember people hating the Hahn years with the Star Trek 2 meme.

Phil

Sesn, I asked this last night and Davy said to ask you–have you looked into creating a live scoreboard in Fangraphs? Would it be hugely expensive? Just curious, though it would be useful since I often have FG open while watching a game anyway.

Sean Dolinar

Live scoreboard? Like at the top of the site? Or just in general like our scores page? https://www.fangraphs.com/scores?date=2026-10-08

Phil

Yes, I guess I was imagining it built into the banner, like at a certain red-branded site that starts with an E. But the scores page is very cool! I should bookmark it.

Sean Dolinar

We've kicked around having the scores in the header. It might be a customization feature, just so we don't force everyone to have a thicker header. I fought for about a year to get the header sized down back in 2017.

bosoxforlife

Doyle was definitely not looking for a fastball down the middle on 3-2.

bosoxforlife

Montgomery quickly pulled his hand back even though he knew it was a ball.

Matt Martell

Teel's incorrect challenge earlier put Montgomery in a bind

bosoxforlife

Most definitely.

Sean Dolinar

This has happened a few times this postseason.

baycommuter

The Blues Brothers is probably Chicago's favorite movie.

Ice Cream Helmet

Does anybody else just pull up to the stats on those 90's Cleveland lineups every so often and nod approvingly?

bosoxforlife

MLB did an essay on those Cleveland teams, "The Dynasty That Almost Was".

Sean Dolinar

🙂‍↕️ https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?pos=all&stats…

Dan Szymborski

Is Blues Brothers more loved in Chicago than Ferris Bueller's Day Off?

asf123

They’re both loved here. I don’t know if you could say one more than the other.

Sean Dolinar

Something happened! Finally. What a hit!

asf123

I went to the game yesterday, and if you don’t love Seven Nation Army and the Cha Cha Slide, it is…not the place for you.

bosoxforlife

The men on MLB radio today were raving about Meidroth. That trade is going to be remembered for a long time on the South Side.

Dan Szymborski

@Matt, I could probably use a new kneecap too.

Rollie's Mustache

The fan wearing the gaudy M&Ms bomber jacket and a giant, novelty-sized cap is a vibe I'm strangely jealous of.

bosoxforlife

I don't know how any catcher can make that play.

Phil

Some command issues in this game.

Sean Dolinar

I kind of hoped that was going to go out and just clear the bases.

bosoxforlife

This is a good challenge.

Rollie's Mustache

Home Alone needs a shoutout for Chicago-set movies. Every couple years that's a holiday re-watch.

Sean Dolinar

Can't believe this didn't cross my mind until now.

bosoxforlife

There are good fastballs and good sliders but the best pitch a pitcher has is the atom ball.

millvillemeltdown

similar-sounding but unrelated: the demon core slider, which creates a little supercriticality event when the bat meets the ball. you may give up a nuke but the batter won't feel so good the next day

Dan Szymborski

Good idea to actually get a hit

Yer Main Guy

M&M jacket man has been at every game for many years.

Sean Dolinar

Is this like Marlins Man but not at all?

Philip Christy

Re: live scores in the header – this might make some people avoid your site sometimes, if they have DVR'd their game and don't want it ruined. If people want live scores they know how to find it

Dan Szymborski

The best pitches are the ones from NES Baseball Simulator 1.000 that nobody can throw…yet

Rollie's Mustache

That game came out just as I was developing serious baseball fandom as a 9 year old. The number of hours I was allowed to play it is shocking in hindsight. That was straight up bad parenting, tbh.

millvillemeltdown

it's a shame it happened before the advent of mainstream esports too.

Dan Szymborski

Maybe a clicky option?

mockcarr

The Sting was mostly in Chicago

Yer Main Guy

Chicago suburbs classics: Home alone, Sixteen Candles, Uncle Buck, some of FBDO.

Yer Main Guy

Pretty in Pink , Breakfast Club

Rollie's Mustache

National Lampoons Christmas Vacation

Sean Dolinar

They really don't make Midwest movies (or TV) like they used to.

millvillemeltdown

i'm supposed to be watching a movie for class but i nearly had a panic attack so i'm calming down by checking baseball scores

millvillemeltdown

unfortunately, i doubt The Hurt Locker (2008) is a midwest film

Phil

To me, a real Chicago movie has to have an L scene. The one in Blues Brothers is perfect. Fugitive also.

Dan Szymborski

A new version of it would be awesome

bosoxforlife

Two weeks ago I watched Snow White with my 4 year old great-grand daughter sitting on my lap, Now that was a great movie experience. I am getting to visit her and her 2 year old sister again on Saturday

Dan Szymborski

OH geez

Dan Szymborski

Oh, Fedde's OK

Dan Szymborski

From the reaction, I thought he had gotten it square in the face

asf123

It was funny, he watched the liner go past him into center, but then opened his glove to see if it might have also ended up there somehow.

bosoxforlife

Jose – Jose -Jose – Jose. !!!!!!

Dan Szymborski

Turns out homers are good

Sean Dolinar

I hope Keaton is watching and happy.

Matt Martell

José is AMPED!

Dan Szymborski

I was heartbroken back when he was coming up and found out his name wasn't pronounced Bibby

Matt Martell

You mean Bibberty?

Keaton Arneson

I'm too busy trying to replace our Meidroth/sistene chapel picture with Jose Ramirez

Keaton Arneson

https://bsky.app/profile/keatonarneson.fangraphs.com/post/3m…

asf123

Do people not mind all these seven-pitcher games? I’m not a fan aesthetically.

Sean Dolinar

I was looking through our articles from 10 years ago, because I know we advocated this idea more or less. https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-al-wild-card-game-should-be-…

Sean Dolinar

A little be careful what you wish for.

Sean Dolinar

A little it becomes uncool once everyone does. Defensive shifts were the same way. Once everyone did it. It wasn't a competitive edge. It was just lame.

Dan Szymborski

It'll be funny if the White Sox end up scoring 10 and none of them via hit

millvillemeltdown

chase meidroth's name sounds like a very rude imperative

millvillemeltdown

probably uttered by bart simpson or similar

millvillemeltdown

joey bart simpson. is this anything.

millvillemeltdown

d'oh. chandler was also right there.

Dan Szymborski

Sabrowski games drive me nuts, because I have a reflexive reaction to every time his name is said because it's a common way people mispronounce my last name if they don't really read the order of the letters right

bosoxforlife

There is nothing that I find more useless than the 1st base penalty. There are two plays a 1st baseman has to do that no other fielder has to make. Scooping and avoiding the runner on the throw to 2nd. Murakami has surprised me with his deft fielding .

Matt Martell

This game rules!

bosoxforlife

Yesterday I complained to Sean that I couldn't find a "neither" button when asked who I wanted to win between the Rays and the other team. Today it is a "both" button that is needed because I will be rooting for whichever team wins this series when they meet the Rays

Sean Dolinar

I'm going to start just putting in teams that aren't playing in the game.

Matt Martell

Good challenge by Kwan!

bosoxforlife

Used at the proper time.

Phil

This game is insane. I have lost track of the number of lead changes. Though some of that is I am not sure I know how to define a lead change. Does tying count? But does that mean tying and then going ahead counts as two? Hmm. (Maybe there won't be any more, though–this game is getting out of hand as I'm typing this.)

asf123

Yeah, that slipped away quickly.

Sean Dolinar

Just made a poll for this!

Dan Szymborski

I run the bathroom and hell breaks out

MikeS

Unsurprisingly, the White Sox have run out of pitching.

SadaharuWhoa

Yes, the game feels wild. I told my wife "There's just so many hits!" which is dumb because it's a baseball game and hitting baseballs is kind of the thing they do. And Chicago doesn't even have that many hits! It just feels like there's so much happening on the bases. I'm know this easy easy to quantify, but I prefer "total base vibes" and the vibes are large

Sean Dolinar

We need to add TBV to the leaderboards.

Sean Dolinar

There's been 4 lead changes. One each inning that a team scored. I'd say tying doesn't count, but it doesn't matter, because it was never tied after the inning finished.

Matt Martell

I think DeLauter is out

Sean Dolinar edited

I called him out and did my little hand signal at my TV.

bosoxforlife

Thanks everybody. There have been a couple of late nights here on the east coast and this one is ovah so I will be heading off. Can't wait for Saturday night. Grandma and Great grandpa will be back from the family visit just about in time for the start.

Jon Becker

I just went 1-1 in my kickball doubleheader, pitched very well in the second game, and I’m here and ready to party

Dan Szymborski

10.242

Dan Szymborski

3333333333333333333-6+

Dan Szymborski

0

Dan Szymborski

0

Dan Szymborski

ack

Jon Becker

Hello to Dan’s cat

Dan Szymborski

Yeah, that was Justinian

Sean Dolinar

The spam filter caught the repeated messages.

Sean Dolinar

I thought maybe you were loading ZiPS data into the chat.

Phil

Justinian is good at Live Game Thread.

mattmc510

Do we have some analysis of RPs being overexposed in playoff series? I'm sure it's been done plenty of times but the Grant Taylor of it all this series seems like a fascinating case study

Phil

There's this: https://www.theringer.com/2023/10/27/mlb/world-series-previe…

MattStats5

This is hard to watch….can't see the Sox recovering in Game 5 in Cleveland.

Ostensibly Ridiculous

Bet ya didn't see them making the playoffs either

Dan Szymborski

I've thought about looking to it, but I've never been able to pin down a good methodology

Antonio Bananas

If Liberty Mutual really wants my business, they'll run a spoof ad of the Sydney Sweeny "sports" ad but with the himbo dude they have

Matt Martell

But all the balls the himbo holds up is Bibberty

Antonio Bananas

Haha amazing

Davy Andrews edited

There's also this article from SABR's Baseball Research Journal.
https://sabr.org/journal/article/balancing-starter-and-bullp…

Davy Andrews

Also, hello everybody.

Antonio Bananas

Whats the scuttlebutt on how much the White Sox will be willing to spend moving forward now that the competitive window is open? Dark horse on Skubs?

David

Maybe if the Catholic Church is pitching in funds.

Davy Andrews

I don't have any intel, but I'm inclined to agree with David CHW.
(I'm choosing to believe that the team you root for is part of your name.)

Antonio Bananas

So basically get the Vatican to sell off some of their art collection and see what they can get. Is Jeffrey Loria still around? Whats the surplus value of a Raphael painting?

David

You have to differentiate in the sea of Davids

Phil

There have to be some players in MLB who would sign a below-market deal if personally asked to do so by the Pope. I'm guessing quite a few.

danodea

I have lived all over America and never met anyone with an accent like the people in George and Mandy's First Marriage

Alan Sherman

If Grant Taylor just got the overwork penalty, Cade Smith may be due for his in game 5

David

Vogt certainly does not deserve big points for how he's deployed his guys most of this series. Back to back days in effective mop-up for Smith.

Matt Martell

This is a crazy pitching decision

HappyFunBall

Cool

danodea

Man I love baseball

Keaton Arneson

I blame Gavin Williams coming in and ruining game 5 due to Cade Smith pitching yesterday with a 6 run lead.

HappyFunBall

So now Smith is likely burned for game 5? Wild…

Antonio Bananas

So give them more looks at your closer, exhaust your closer, have your do or die game starter use bullets 2 days before said game. That's the strategy

mattmc510

This pitcher usage has all felt so extreme panic button from Cleveland

Keaton Arneson

Is Matt Festa hurt? He should have pitched the 9th yesterday and now today.

HappyFunBall

Festa must have kicked Vogt's dog or something

drplantwrench

late to the game, but if the white sox come back i'll eat one (1) walking taco

asf123

Managering.

Rich Hill's Fastball

Pulled this chat up to complain about this bullpen management but looks like y'all have that covered

danodea

I think this is great. Pitchers should pitch!!!

asf123

Benintendi was just hopeless there.

danodea

Incredible curves. These guys can pitch more pitches and more often than they do, so let's see it. Go White Sox though

Keaton Arneson

I understand you NEED to win tonight to survive, but you also NEED to win the next game to survive. I just can't believe 1 inning in a 4 run lead is better now than getting 5 innings the next game in another must win game.

danodea

Whatever happens here they should absolutely start him game 5. Ligaments are replaceable but flags fly forever

Matt Martell

This is beautiful

asf123

It's not just a matter of injury risk, though – it's a matter of effectiveness in an elimination game.

danodea

These curveballs look pretty effective to me

asf123

Today, yeah…

asf123

Where's Emmanuel Clase when you need him?

danodea

House arrest? I think?

Keaton Arneson

I was mad last night about Cade Smith in the 9th, and now I'm really mad. Also, I didn't love Smith in the 8th with a 4 run lead, but it's defensible.

danodea

They get a day off they'll be fine

danodea

Both these dudes are 27 years old, peak physical condition

Sean Dolinar

Thanks everyone! Looks like we got another one of these on Saturday!


Members Only Game Thread: LDS – Oct 7, 2026

by
October 7, 2026

Welcome to our Open Game Thread for the LDS games today. Chat with fellow readers as we watch four baseball games for the last time all year! Only Members can participate, and unlike our usual game chats, your messages will be posted immediately.

Our Member community is made up of thousands of incredibly knowledgable baseball fans, and we think this is a great way to follow a game with like-minded baseball enthusiasts. We might even have some FanGraphs Staff drop in and join the fun. Please be courteous to your fellow Members, or you may find your chat privileges revoked.

We are going to open the chat up at 3:30 PM ET and it will remain open until the final out of the Brewers-Padres game.

Jon Becker

Hi everyone! And for the record, my favorite Midwestern foods are cheese curds, Juicy Lucys, and buckeye candies

Eminor3rd

Midwestern-style pizza is underrated. There's Detroit-style, but there's also this generally square cut, sort-of-but-not-super-thin standard MW pizza that just hits the spot.

Jon Becker

I would know, I have been a Midwesterner all my life

Sean Dolinar

Have you gone to an Elvis game?

Jacquehammer Jones

Which World Series Game in Chicago does the Pope go to?

Sean Dolinar

Game 3 or 7? Feel like those are the most Catholic numbers. Unfortunately, there is no game 12.

Broken Bat

What WHITE Sox celebrity I’d throwing out first pitch? Luis Aparicio… MJ ?

Jonathan Vander Lugt

MJ in the red City Connect jerseys would be sick

Eminor3rd

Bumpy cake!

Jeremy Fox

Dan's not in this chat, so I guess we can say Cincinnati chili

Sean Dolinar

I had Skyline back in July. It definitely gets too much hate.

Keaton Arneson

Is it called a casserole or hotdish?

Eminor3rd

As a child I used to get the little Skyline hotdogs, but without the chili. They came in sets of 2 or 3 and would have like a full block of cheddar grated on top of them. So good.

Sean Dolinar

I'd say casserole. But I'm from Pittsburgh.

Eminor3rd

Also casserole, from Columbus

Keaton Arneson

Sean are you adding features mid chat with the team flairs?

Sean Dolinar

I added it this morning. But yes, team flair. Someone kept on saying "As a [TEAM] fan, I want this…". And I'm like we make that simpler.

Keaton Arneson

The answer is hot dish (north dakota/minnesota)

GarageCat

Imo's pizza and frozen custard

Sean Dolinar

I've hosted a few parties with Imo's that I had shipped in. Along with a block of provel.

macseries

playoff odds graphs has small fluctuations since october 5. is this a weather situation, starting pitcher or pure vibes?

Sean Dolinar

It looks like it's like a 0.1% – 0.3% fluctuation. That's just randomness in all likelihood. We can adjust the playing time projections based on an injury or news. But there's always going to be some flux from run to run.

Bacterun

After googling 'popular mid western dishes' and clicking on an AllRecipes list i am going with Tater Tot Hot Dish as the best

James

Hot dish is a good choice. Hard to go wrong there.

Jorge Fabregas

So…who was the mystery first pitch thrower?

tjcook87 edited

Also came here to ask. (And for, you know, the baseball chat)

Anonymous Member #46

After all of his injuries, it's so cool to see Daniel Espino starting a playoff game.

wenz

I love when teams do [color]-out games. Always looks so cool

Jacquehammer Jones

Crowd really committed to that BlackOut

macseries

crowd sounds very loud on the radio broadcast

Bacterun

Someone named Belmont Cameli from "Off Campus" threw out the first pitch…no idea who that is

Jorge Fabregas

Thank you. I had seen that name speculated, but likewise have no idea.

Jorge Fabregas

Apparently a square-jawed actor from Naperville

Bacterun

It was a lobbed throw that would hit a LHH but did make most of the way there, catcher reached a little so might have landed at the back of the batters box

wenz

As a Cubs fan, I was very sad when Len Kasper left. He got a lot of mockery for leaving to be able to call playoff games on the radio because the team fell apart right after he switched. I'm glad he's getting to finally do it

drplantwrench

the height of Midwestern food is the walking taco, an abomination of all cuisines involved

tjcook87

Skyline Chili has entered the chat.

drplantwrench

skyline chili is known by all, walking tacos is not known outside of the midwest. people like skyline chili, despite it not being chili

wenz

Socktober may be inevitable

wenz

Wow, less than an inning

Jorge Fabregas

Pretty sure the plan was just for 1 inning.

wenz

Ah, ok. I thought Vogt was panicking haha

drplantwrench

oh wait, you can add your team to your name? did i miss that

Jorge Fabregas

New thing today

Jorge Fabregas

Chat settings top-right gear

eandy

Are we in agreement, the White Sox are the team that everyone is rooting for if they don't have a dog in the fight?

bosoxforlife

That is when you challenge!

Jorge Fabregas edited

Darrin Jackson: umpire gave Peters the big ringy-ringy and has to take it back and apologize

Jorge Fabregas

Just early

drplantwrench

i enjoy the new team thing. before i always wondered what team other people like. like who knows what team "bosoxforlife" is rooting for

tdmoc edited

huge bovine guy (bos/ox)

Alan Sherman

Hotdish. State fair fried food on a stick. Cheese curds

moomin

ooh, that was a silly little play

drplantwrench

total aside, huge fan of the moomintroll series

Alan Sherman

I think this is the only series where the teams are evenly matched cuisine wise

Anonymous Member #46

really depends on your stance toward Tampa Bay-style pizza

Alan Sherman

You're going to say that one type of dish can make tampa better than the most diverse food city in the hemisphere? I've had great Southern barbecue in Brooklyn in my admittedly very limited experience of NYC

Anonymous Member #46

I don't think my sarcasm warning was quite high enough!

Alan Sherman

sarcasm is very difficult to detect in text, sorry.

wenz

I know it isn't midwest cuisine, but the Korean corndogs at Rate Field are delicious and I highly recommend them

addctedtoglove32

The footlong Chicago dog at Rate Field is also very good

Raysfan42069

is it too late to say a giant tenderloin sandwich or a bowl of chili with a peanut butter sandwich on the side.

Alan Sherman

I will go for a sandwich alongside a sandwich.

Raysfan42069

I did a poor job of writing that sentence. The PB sammy goes with a bowl of chili. The tenderloin is a completely different amazing dish.

Alan Sherman

Anyone got some ballplayer food names? Ben Rice relevant today

Rich Hill's Fastball

Does Bryan Baker count?

Sean Dolinar edited

Boxberger was a good one.

Sean Dolinar

Ooof, out of challenges this early.

Jacquehammer Jones

Tim Salmon

Alan Sherman

first you send your Rice to the Miller, then it goes to the Baker, and then you have rice bread to go with your Salmon

Rich Hill's Fastball

You can eat it Fried too!

Asa

This is very advanced level stuff. Well done

drplantwrench

Hank Conger (if you eat eel)

bosoxforlife

Or Trout

tdmoc

Pretzels Getzien

Alan Sherman

Also Zach Wheat is an old Brooklyn hall of famer (Lighting the Jaffe signal)

Alan Sherman

Salmon Fried Rice is a great dish

Phil

Sean, it looks like Brendan's chat from earlier today disappeared–it's not in the main feed (not sure it was even while going, just linked from the banner at the top of the page). Just thought you'd want to know in case there's a glitch or Brendan neglected to click something that needed to be clicked.

Sean Dolinar

Thanks, here's the link: https://www.fangraphs.com/chat/brendan-gawlowski-prospects-c…. We didn't make a blog post for it. I'll remedy that.

bosoxforlife

Back to baseball. Fastballs away are not a good pitch.

Alan Sherman

Ben Clemens wrote that article earlier this year?

tdmoc edited

I'm curious what pitches in what locations draw the fewest swings – I figure it's stuff that never looks like a strike, like breaking balls above the zone or fastballs below it.

Alan Sherman

fried catfish hunter too

Alan Sherman

and he hunts rob deer?

bob

Sox too confident?

Alan Sherman

I am loving the Hagen Smith/Grant Taylor/Ray Kerr bullpen surprise aspect of these playoffs

Rich Hill's Fastball

Smith's slider is *snapping* wow

bosoxforlife

He is unhittable if he can throw strikes which is still in question.

drplantwrench

JOOOOOO

Keaton Arneson

White Sox need the no triples defense that is being experimented with in the Fall League

bosoxforlife

That experiment is beyond the pale. I will stop watching if that is ever put in place.

HappyFunBall

Jo Adell should just try to hit triples every time

Alan Sherman

Let them load the bases again and finally got punished

drplantwrench

fun fact: when jo adell hits it, its called a jriple

tdmoc

man, that oppo groundball down the line is such a killer

.280 xBA and probably not much more xSLG

bosoxforlife

It doesn't look like much to a computer but gets the job done more often than not.

macseries

white sox make an out by contact challenge

Sean Dolinar

You don't see the dropped called third strike too often.

bosoxforlife

This has to be first in the history of baseball. Four different lefty pitchers in the first four innings of a game.

Benny The Jet

We back! Very cool touch with the team affiliations, thank you as always for putting these together!

bosoxforlife

Sean, how do I get my real team affiliation attached to my moniker?

Jon Becker

Settings cog in the top right!

Sean Dolinar

We didn't think you needed one!

bosoxforlife

Thanks!

Jon Becker

(I am not Sean but I am helpful)

Benny The Jet

I'll admit I tend to be skeptical of former players hired in the front office, and was doubly so in the case of Getz, having come from the previous mess of a FO, but he has done a phenomenal job it seems

Phillip Denny

White Sox still have some life left in them!

bosoxforlife

Ha Ha, love it!

Sean Dolinar

Double Challenge! 🚨🚨

Anonymous Member #46

These are total time sucks. MLB should be replaying the totality of plays when adjudicating challenges.

Sean Dolinar

Agreed it's too legal system-ish.

Phillip Denny

double uno reverse card

Rich Hill's Fastball

What a silly few minutes

Phillip Denny

Is *runner at 2B turns his head to look at the bag* the universal sign for telling the hitter it's a FB?

tdmoc

@Jon – I have to ask, do you and Jason have automations set up to track roster moves and lineup projections, or are you glued to your computer at all hours F5ing ad nauseam

Sean Dolinar

You should see them at dinner during Winter Meetings.

Sean Dolinar

I'll take that double over catcher's interference!

bosoxforlife

Peters loves those long AB's. Not quite 18 pitches but he delivered again.

wheelhouse

So Jazz Chisholm Jr. has likely played his last game as a Yankee

Phillip Denny

If you're the Yankees do you QO Jazz? If you're Jazz, do you accept?

Rich Hill's Fastball

I think they'll QO him and he'll decline it.

tdmoc edited

haven't followed him much, but at a glance I'd say yes and no – he's only 29 next year and looks like a 2+ win guy moving forward

wheelhouse

Yes and yes but I am neither the Yankees nor Jazz Chisholm Jr.

drplantwrench

jazz has to have a free agency market, in spite of everything. i could def see the angels go after him

Sean Dolinar

I don't see someone who talks about having 50/50 season this year just accepting the QO.

wheelhouse

It obviously will depend on what other offers are on the table, but I think the appeal of accepting it would be a chance to redo his walk year after this year’s performance

bosoxforlife

if I was a GM he is not someone i would want on the team. He seems to dance to his own drum and isn't so good that you want him around at the price he is going to ask for.

Anonymous Member #46

I wouldn't mind a high-value, shorter contract if you trust your organizational culture, clubhouse leaders and manager, but I wouldn't want to be on the hook for six years and nine figures.

wheelhouse

I think that’s overrated, at least specifically in his case, but I do think the yankees are done with him. He objected hard to being benched for one postseason game in 2025, and now he’s going to have been benched for multiple postseason games in 2026, so they’re clearly past caring how he feels about it

Phillip Denny

if he has a QO attached to him I could definitely see him being one of those "unsigned into March" guys, let along the lockout playing a part

bosoxforlife

Not starting tonight is absolutely a ticket out of New York.

lzfreak

He's sitting against a RHP today. Not sure if that's happened before in the playoffs. Not a good look

bosoxforlife

Which is exactly why I made my comment.

Benny The Jet

Had me thinking about it so I just did the research and nobody has been stuck waiting until the season to take less $$ because of the QO since Keuchel in 2019- feels like it used to be 3-4 guys every year with the old CBA

lzfreak

Some of this is more guys accepting it too

bosoxforlife

Just a routine major league caliber play but still pretty nice.

Rich Hill's Fastball

Horrible way to allow the first run

Rich Hill's Fastball

That might've been even worse but I guess we'll take it?

bosoxforlife

The pitch of the year coming up

Sean Dolinar

I can just feel the leverage.

bosoxforlife

and that is what great players do!!

Nathaniel

did the ump rule that a catch? i couldn't see on the broadcast. not that it matters, i guess. what a recovery

bosoxforlife

I simply can't say enough about my appreciation of Jose Ramirez. He stayed with Cleveland when he could have got much more elsewhere. It is too bad that he didn't make that play in front of the home crowd.

war2d2

I have an unreasonable dislike for Chase Meidroth for the sole reason that his name has terrible mouthfeel.

Dan Szymborski

I still think J-Ram is the most underrated player of this generation and I hope he doesn't get shafted in the Hall vote

Dan Szymborski

Meidroth pronounced sounds like the name of a demon in an Elder Scrolls game

war2d2

Cleveland has been my AL team since the days of Albert “Don’t Call Me Joey” Belle, but it feels like a frontrunner move to add them as flair on my name.

TKDC

They haven’t won a World Series since the Truman Administration. I think it’s okay.

war2d2 edited

J-Ram has an outside shot at 400 HR/400 SB, and maybe 2,500 hits if he really rebounds. I think he’ll get in.

Davy Andrews

Hey I'm writing up the LAD-ATL game tonight, so I'm just stopping in to say hi. Also, I'm glad you got that BOS tag next to your name, bosoxforlife. Now we'll finally know who you're rooting for.

bosoxforlife

I am very proud to have been a Red Sox fan since my first game at Fenway in August 1948 and am not afraid to show my loyalty through thin and, finally, thick.

Nathaniel

ok i'm switching to the LA-ATL game

Jon Becker

Asking for two innings from Cade Smith up four runs feels a little much

Rich Hill's Fastball edited

How many non-Grant Taylor relievers have attempted this in the last week already and gotten hit? Duran, Miller, etc

ktriskett

Hate it.

war2d2

Also the correct answer for “favorite Midwestern food” is Italian beef ordered wet, hot and sweet.

TKDC

Hotdish is my favorite Midwest food.

bosoxforlife

I am still trying to find a way to answer "neither" when asked who I want to win in the Rays-Yankees game.

Sean Dolinar

I’ll try to remember for tomorrow.

macseries

walking ten and striking out 16 times (and counting!) is not a good way to win a baseball game

Phillip Denny

feels like the Dodgers hitting plan for today was "sit on the splitter and wait for a bad one"

Rich Hill's Fastball

This broadcast totally forgot about Tyler Anderson 🙁

Dan Szymborski

So do GMs, most years

Phillip Denny

remember when he randomly popped for 4 WAR in 2022 and got way overpaid by the Angels? Pepperidge Farm remembers.

Jos

i was at his near no hitter vs the angels and its the one time ive ever been actively mad at shohei since he broke it up in the ninth

TKDC

Smoltz says players will evolve in “when, how, and why they will challenge” in ABS. I want him to expand on this “how” element of the challenge system.

tdmoc

accidentally while adjusting their helmets

TKDC

I was thinking maybe more taps? Like at least five or six.

Benny The Jet

Cleveland is Clevelandmaxing

Rich Hill's Fastball

Gotta sit Cade now, right?

Benny The Jet

I don't much want to watch him broadcast baseball, but I would absolutely watch Smoltz try to play a video game

Nathan

He was proudly Smoltzsplaining how to get a big lead and force a throwover. I would watch that.

bosoxforlife

How fate twists and turns as life goes on. Early in the year Davis Martin was a leading candidate for the Cy Young and now he is relegated to mop up duty.

macseries

mop-up guy came in in the third

tdmoc

wow! still Cade Smith? with a 6 run lead?

bosoxforlife

Stephen Vogt is usually one step ahead but this is definitely a questionable decision.

Sean Dolinar

Great response with the CLE/CHW poll! Most of you were wrong. But I like the participation!

Alan Sherman

Has Davis Martin made a start in the playoffs yet?

lzfreak

3 hard hit outs against Mahle that inning

Phillip Denny

the BABIP gods giveth, the BABIP gods taketh away.

TKDC edited

Muncy hit a really good pitch 390 feet. Braves should be very worried about third time through but are very inconsistent about how much they consider that.

Phillip Denny

Could we *not* check in on the prediction trends, driven by Polymarket?

Phillip Denny

5 walks is bad and all, but ultimately 4.2 IP 1 ER from your #4 starter in the playoffs is perfectly adequate

Matt Martell

Hello from Yankee Stadium

Matt Martell

Here's a poll question:
Will the Yankees make more errors than I eat press box cookies tonight?

Davy Andrews

If I were there and this question were about me, it would be no contest.

Matt Martell

For those of you who don't know, during last year's ALDS, Davy carried multiple plastic cup's worth of cookies out to the auxiliary press box in the right field upper deck stands. It was inspiring

Davy Andrews

Cookies are my favorite food.

lzfreak

Teoscar looks hurt

danodea

Can't believe that wasn't a triple. Did he not run out the box? Tbh I guess that's fair cause I *really* can't believe it wasn't a homer lol

bosoxforlife

He didn't go into his HR trot but he never hit high gear.

Antonio Bananas

Feel like we should find a way to tax ad spend for gambling sites. Consider it a pigouvian tax.

Antonio Bananas

So twice ATL wont score because a baserunner didnt get to 3rd when they should have

Davy Andrews

Wait, Harris scored on the first one.

bosoxforlife

Last night it was easy to find time to have dinner between games but I am befuddled by what I am going to have to do to fit my chicken alfredo into the schedule.

Davy Andrews

How was the pizza?

bosoxforlife

It was, as always, just right. Crisp and loaded with meats of all kinds.

TKDC edited

Brandon Gaudin clearly saw the criticism of Joe Davis and didn’t want the same.

wheelhouse

Well, time to watch the judge yankees die

wheelhouse

they gave fried schlittler’s numbers in the tv graphic

lzfreak

I was so confused by this

bosoxforlife

It looks like Fuentes is beginning to show some fraying around the edges.

TKDC

I think it was 47 pitches and then two days rest. That feels like a lot of pitches to only rest two days.

Nathaniel

i think he was safe

JakeDubois

Yeah, but seriously Teo, come on

bosoxforlife

Too close to overturn.

lzfreak

Closer than it needed to be though. Would've been a total tootblan

Schmegs

I'm happy anytime there's a chance to say TOOTBLAN

wheelhouse

What was that, 6 pitches?

wheelhouse

New lineup fixed everything

bubbles

Keys to the game. Don't walk guys with 2 outs

TKDC

The Dodgers are just absolutely mocking that conventional wisdom this series.

MattStats5

F*** the Dodgers! That is all.

Benny The Jet

Wow

bosoxforlife

What type of cookies? I am partial to rea Toll House.

Davy Andrews

They're very much cafeteria cookies. Usually chocolate chip (but those go fast) and oatmeal raisin.

TKDC

Pages should have ran through second there.

lzfreak

One of my favorite baseball-isms is guys throwing "the kitchen sink." I just love the idea of people who don't know the sport blinking at the idea of a "kitchen sink guy"

Antonio Bananas

Say what you want about Smoltz

Antonio Bananas

Why is Acuna batting 2nd?

TKDC

Where should he be hitting? He was fantastic in September. If we are moving guys down based on the postseason, are we moving Olson and Baldwin down, too?

Antonio Bananas

Has Acuna even hit a ball hard? Olson, Baldwin, and Albies have at least made hard contact

TKDC edited

Yes, he has hit a ball hard.
Edit: his hard hit rate coming into today in this series is 50%, tied for highest on the team.

wheelhouse

Fried’s hurt

lzfreak

Fried still out there. Any source on the injury?

MattStats5

Acuna a non-factor….tough to see.

MattStats5

What happened to Fried? Watching Braves game….

wheelhouse

Unclear but Cole just jogged out to the bullpen

MattStats5

As much as I hate the Yankees (I'm an Orioles fan), good to see Lombard post up since his call up.

wheelhouse

He’s been bad

ncphl

That changeup for strike three by Martinez was pretty

MattStats5

Fried back out for the third.

wheelhouse

Lombard making a mistake on the field again. That throw was both futile and wide and could’ve given deluca an extra base if garcia didn’t bail him out

jthornton

Are you guys watching Yankees exec Mike Pinsky on Survivor 51?

wheelhouse

No, I’m watching Dua Lipa in the second row

wheelhouse

Maybe Lombard is too

millvillemeltdown

"dula peep" "i can't [field a ground ball]"

MattStats5

Playoff baseball, and we have someone invading the chat who's watching Survivor….LMAO!

millvillemeltdown

could a player theoretically go on the injured list for insomnia

millvillemeltdown

the basis for this question is that i felt my game iq slide into the negatives as i attempted to play frisbee on 30 minutes of sleep last night

jthornton

for sure, right? I think I can recall some sleep apnea diagnoses helping players get right

wheelhouse

Rays win

Michael Baumann

What's happenin', hot stuff?

Michael Baumann

As much as I'm frustrated by not having a dining table at hand when I go to a baseball game, I find the Chop House slightly offensive. It feels antithetical to the communal peanuts-and-cracker jack mode of live baseball

millvillemeltdown

if you aint balancing an aggressively laden tupperware and thermos of scalding soup precariously on your lap you aint livin

millvillemeltdown

i think the only viable solution is a lecture hall style desk that folds out from in between, and is inevitably covered in gum et cetera

marqueefgrissom

atlanta would never have an offensive chop

marz

Diaz again. Do the Dodgers think he’s back?

jms4

rice is nice!

marz

Well damn, maybe he is.

danodea

He was pretty good to close out the season

Rich Hill's Fastball

Popping back in just to celebrate!

GoatBenRice

🙂

millvillemeltdown

alas, my "hometown" "team", the cobb county hatchets, have fallen

GoatBenRice

nice George

Rollie's Mustache

The funny thing about the Yankees is that they *can* play good defensively. Great even, at times. But they can also look like a DSL club some nights.

wheelhouse

That was some great defense right there

danodea

Congrats to Ryan Vilade, former Indianapolis Indian

lzfreak

Scorebug got fooled there

Phil

How do we feel (aesthetically) about the moment of ambiguity when it's not clear whether it's a home run or a robbery? Extra fun 'cause suspenseful, or annoyingly anticlimactic?

moomin

I'm a fan

lzfreak

It's super fun when they actually catch it and play it cool for a second or two

ncphl

I only like it when it's a catch

millvillemeltdown

i'm not a huge fan bc it feels like doing the pitcher dirty

millvillemeltdown

but im sure lots of pitchers are chiller than i imagine. i'm just socially anxious and a mess

millvillemeltdown

lombard feels like a bwj type situation to me. he might grow into ss really nicely

millvillemeltdown

at least that's my hope, bc i find defense aesthetically pleasing

Sean Dolinar

TBS messed up and put up a third out on that HR. Oops.

wheelhouse

Ben Rice deserves to be on a better team

millvillemeltdown

wheelhouse deserves to root for a better team

millvillemeltdown

ftr i think it's like a law of nature that wheelhouse must be a yanks fan. like fermions having half-integer spin. if you put another hat on their head they become a non-wheelhouse

lzfreak

The Yankees had the best run differential in the league this year by a lot. This isn't a bad team. I wish for the day when the Yankees have an actual bad team

wheelhouse

I didn’t say they were bad, I said Rice deserves better

millvillemeltdown

rice deserves a whole bibimbap of accompanying characters

millvillemeltdown

rice deserves to be the staple grain of entire continents and their diaspora

millvillemeltdown

i'm so hungry.

millvillemeltdown

the yankees are certainly a very frustrating team i will grant

Phil

Is this one of those injury replacements that really isn't 'cause they were going to take him out anyway? And does the reliever still get the extra warmup pitches in that situation?

millvillemeltdown

extra warm up pitches feels almost… counterproductive to me. if the guy's already warm, save his bullets, i guess? i don't know how arm health works, though

wheelhouse

Why would you be playing jones shallow

millvillemeltdown

i am sure aaron boone has seen 10^23 times more baseball played than i have, and has billions more neural connections related to it than i have, and knows subconsciously more than i will ever consciously know about the sport. but every so often he makes a decision that's a real head-scratcher, even to me

millvillemeltdown

did you know that neutrinos change flavors. i didn't even know neutrinos had flavors until today. what do you think they taste like

Rollie's Mustache

I heard it was considered as a secret ingredient on Iron Chef but producers worried that it would be the most disappointing and confusing reveal.

wheelhouse

Should Boone pull Fried for the sixth

Davy Andrews

Hey everybody, just filed my Dodgers-Braves gamer. What'd I miss in New York?

Phil

Rice is a good hitter. Kevin Cash has a quick hook.

jms4

ben rice is still the goat

millvillemeltdown

some yankees fans might hate the yankees more than i do

Matt Martell

Wasn't a quick hook. Martinez left after getting hit by the Volpe line drive

Matt Martell

He seemed to be on the ropes anyway, but I think that prompted it.

jms4

another hard hit lineout for trent grisham. i will not be looking at the average social media take on trent grisham

wheelhouse

Boone should pull Fried, right?

millvillemeltdown

i am trying to use the new flairs to create words instead of watching real baseball. the psychologists continue to insist that this constitutes normal behavior.

Matthew Spence

I love this for you

millvillemeltdown

"i'm creating value for society!" i scream, while they drag me back to the basement

wheelhouse

Fried’s back out there

millvillemeltdown

if you stitched fried and rodon together do you think they'd be injured more or less frequently

drplantwrench

not sure, but theyd make a great circus act

drplantwrench

BAAANG

Davy Andrews

Oh my goodness, the way Mesa watched that ball.

wheelhouse

Hey Boone should’ve pulled Fried

danodea

That was awesome

wheelhouse

God I hate being a better manager on my couch than that numbskull

Benny The Jet

Did something happen between Mesa and Wells bc that was aggressive

danodea

I thought he was looking at his bench

Rollie's Mustache

I uh don't think that's where Fried wanted that sweeper.

wheelhouse

I uh don’t think that the mound in the sixth inning in a win-or-go-home game is where I wanted Fried

millvillemeltdown

i remember him melting down in the atl/sdp wild card in… '24? i think it was yom kippur as well; idk if he's observing still

millvillemeltdown

my friend's cat bernie is not impressed.

Phil

Victor Mesa is a very fun Rays Magic story.

nicstone

I have rarely been so shocked by a HR. Might be the worst pitch I've ever seen Max Fried throw. I wonder if the Caminero hot shot back at him messed him up

wheelhouse

Good hitter third time through the order

nicstone

Not better than Aranda or Diaz. And not a better hitter than Fried is a pitcher. And Fried was cruising until the the liner at his face

wheelhouse

“He was cruising”? Are we in pre-SABR times?

nicstone

The first 2 batters of the inning were sat down easy. And the previous inning was 1-2-3 with two nasty strikeouts

drplantwrench

good guy fried wanted to make sure he could be home for his new kid

lzfreak

Is Fried really that bad of an option there? He's a top 10-15 starting pitcher in the game and he had the platoon advantage over Mesa. I love to rail on Boone as much as the next guy but this one wasn't an obviously bad call

millvillemeltdown

clearly, because he gave up a homer /s

Phil

I didn't think it was obvious, but I'm generally skeptical of the 3rd-time-through orthodoxy (and I wanted Gray to be left in, so it would be hypocritical to say Fried clearly shouldn't have been).

wheelhouse

It’s the third time through the order, against the top of the order, in a tied win-or-go-home game, with a fully rested bullpen. Inexcusable

wheelhouse

Oh, and Fried has been on the IL twice this season and hasn’t regularly gone deep into games

lzfreak

Wasn't Jax going to start tomorrow? If there's a game 4, who starts?

wheelhouse

I guess we’ll never know

millvillemeltdown

it aint over til, uh, what was it?

GoatBenRice

Mr. wheelhouse the odds of max fried giving up a left on left homer to victor mesa are like 0.1%. This series is just hell

Rollie's Mustache

Fist LvL home run Fried's given up this year I think.

GoatBenRice

Put the ball girl at third

GoatBenRice

actually kill me

NATS Fan

Go Rays! defeat the evil empire!

GoatBenRice

you're all invited to my funeral

lzfreak

Nice challenge by Hicks

GoatBenRice

evil empire you're stuck in the 90s brotha

GoatBenRice

AHHHHHHHH|

Michael Baumann

I love it when the ball girl makes a nice catch. It's one of my favorite bits of baseball mundanity

drplantwrench

wow

GoatBenRice

ANTNEE

danodea

oh my

Rollie's Mustache

Volpe, of course.

Michael Baumann

Where the heck did that ball go? Live, it didn't look like the fans got it either

Matthew Spence

Hit the roof

lzfreak

Mesa had an odd reaction there

lzfreak

If this gets overturned I'm excited to watch Boone get tossed

GoatBenRice

bout to def wasn't over

drplantwrench

i cant wait for it to get overturned plz

Jon Becker

I think that's a double

Jon Becker

If they can split the difference there

Jon Becker

Definitely not a homer

Benny The Jet

Jeffrey Maier is looking old

GoatBenRice

Yea no way where does Lombard go

Michael Baumann

It looked good head on but the guy in the jacket was clearly way over.

Sean Dolinar edited

I’d call him out.

GoatBenRice

if its a double Lombard definitely would have score no?

Sean Dolinar

I’d call him out.*

Rollie's Mustache

Over/under on items thrown on the field when this is overturned?

Rollie's Mustache

Two beverages, a container of popcorn and counting.

NATS Fan

they will always be the evil empire to me! Although now the dodgers also qualify.

Michael Baumann

Right call, imo

Sean Dolinar edited

Really just out of spite for the fan that reached into the field of play.

nicstone

Literally everything is going against us today. I hate this

Jon Becker

Boone asking for an explanation for a perfect call in which the run scored is interesting

wheelhouse

Eyewash

Benny The Jet

We might need a poll for that

Jon Becker

Maybe he wants Volpe on third?

Michael Baumann

Also, come on, we're at least another 75 years from the Yankees not being the Evil Empire

GoatBenRice

Being a yankee fan who wasn't alive for the dynasties is odd

Michael Baumann

I feel ya. It's got to be unsettling to be the Nebraska football of baseball

NATS Fan

Go Rays!!! Tampa needs some love!

GoatBenRice

holy changeup Jesus

Michael Baumann

They've been a normal big-market team for at least 15 or 20 years now but the metaphysical inertia they built up from 1920 to ~2009 is the size of a planet

lzfreak

For Twins fans it continued into 2010, 2017, 2019. I will never not despise the Yankees

nicstone

As someone born in 2000, I do remember 2009. But fans of other teams really underestimate the sense of how fans of my age feel just like any other team. We genuinely feel we have seen barely any success. Yes we appreciate being good every year. But a lot of other teams are good every year (or most, we are abnormally consisten). But at some point we want WS titles, and we just feel like we consistently fail in the playoffs. Because we don't remember the 90's. It not relevant

GoatBenRice

No we have it so much better than most. The bad thing about the past few years is how uniquely humiliating the losses have been.

lzfreak

Try living through one losing season then we'll talk

GoatBenRice

Exactly we got it good but the laugh factor of the recent losses sucks a lil

GoatBenRice

As I am also a fan of sports teams that miss the playoffs I can say id rather them miss the playoffs than lose to a huge rival because they make 5 errors in a game with the cy young winner on the mound

NATS Fan

You get to pitch Cy Young pitchers and see home run champions every year. Have the Yankees ever traded away at the deadline?

wheelhouse

They were very stupid not to in 2023

lzfreak

They got Gleyber Torres from the Cubs for Aroldis Chapman in 2016

NATS Fan

They did not know it was an option probably

Alan Sherman

hey you kids get off my lawn! /snark

Benny The Jet

The Yanks definitely aren't the same Evil Empire to the rest of the league anymore, but respectfully, a Pirates fan born in 2000 has seen 6 playoff games in their lifetime and they lost 4 of them… there's levels to it is what I'm saying

GoatBenRice

Thank you Michael I am stealing metaphysical inertia. this is why I subscribe to this service

Jon Becker

Manny Machado did WHAT

Eric Brooks

At minimum the consequence needs to be that they confiscate the ball, right?

Jon Becker

(he bunted for a hit)

NATS Fan

I know a few METS fan who still think the Yankees are evil. They will always be evil. Baseball is more fun when you hate or love the Yankees.

wheelhouse

Now imagine if that third run had been to take the lead, instead of not being enough to make up for Mesa’s HR

Phil

I take it personally that the Red Sox were denied an opportunity for another World Series because John McGraw refused to play them in 1904. A few mildly underachieving years for the Yankees are not going to change how I feel about them.

GoatBenRice

Okay Boston sports fan experiencing literally the most sports success ever of all time and still complaining

Phil

Not being a football fan changes things a bit, but point taken.

GoatBenRice

Fair fair

wheelhouse

The Red Sox have completely dominated the Yankees for most of my living memory

lzfreak

Didn't the Yankees just obliterate them last week in a playoff "series"

wheelhouse

That was AI

fincampbell05

Even as a Red Sox fan it kind of feels that way with what so often happens to the Yankees right after they beat the Red Sox soundly (in the regular season just as much as the playoffs, it feels like)

si.or.no

Can we get a flair for team entropy? I just want every series to go to the last game. Maximum baseball.

Sean Dolinar

What would it be? ΔS?

millvillemeltdown

Ω_max(Baseball)

millvillemeltdown

ΔS is really good i appreciate this (currently in thermodynamics)

Sean Dolinar

Yeah, I was wondering if you got your homework done when I wrote that.

Alan Sherman

Does Yankee Stadium even have parking lots?

millvillemeltdown

for once!

wheelhouse

That was a nice last Yankee AB for Jazz

lzfreak

Well we got to see Jazz Chisholm

GoatBenRice

He was in there to homer or walk and took a good aggressive homer swing just missed it

Matthew Spence

The Yankee fans seem nice.

wheelhouse

Would you be

Matthew Spence

TBF the Dodger fans would have left already to beat traffic

wheelhouse

Now a nice last Yankee AB for Grisham, and Bednar’s warming up for his last Yankee innings, right after Blackburn’s last Yankee inning+. Considerate of Boone to get everyone in the game so we can all say goodbye. Maybe he’s not so bad of a manager after all

misterjohnny

Yankees fans booing their own team is so Yankees fans

GoatBenRice

idiot fans

NATS Fan

I have always felt Jazz Chisholm was a great name.

GoatBenRice

its a one run game stop booing

Matthew Spence

So true

wheelhouse

Could’ve been a one run game the other way if Boone had pulled Fried when he should’ve

GoatBenRice

Brother if you want to play the odds game the odds of mesa hitting that homer are so slim. if Diaz or caminero hit it id get it but he mowed down Diaz and Aranda to start the inning

wheelhouse

At worst, it should’ve been batter-to-batter with a reliever ready as soon as one reached base.

GoatBenRice

If its batter to batter you're absolutely leaving him in against a lefty with a runner on first

GoatBenRice

damn Jax so nasty

nicstone

Jax is nasty. Can't be too upset at Grisham or Rice

GoatBenRice

Curveball averaged 86 w -16 tn

David P

I love that MLB doesn't stretch out the playoffs games ridiculously like the NBA does, but is it too much to ask to avoid overlapping games?

lzfreak

I love the overlapping games. Feels like March madness

Alan Sherman

I went to a night dodger game at the end of a spring break road trip and we were in the parking lot until midnight and then had to drive all night up I-5 to the Bay

Matthew Spence

It is honestly the worst postgame experience

GoatBenRice

public transit >>

Alan Sherman edited

In full agreement that public transit is the way to go to a ballgame

millvillemeltdown

there's this song called "LAX" by vulfpeck. the hook goes "i love my baby, she's the best / she picks me up at LAX". it sounds like a love song, and it is, but even more it's a condemnation of lax as a feat of extreme endurance

jcathtraverse

I haven't been to a Dodger game, but have spent enough time in LA to say I don't think you want to take public transportation there.

Antonio Bananas

Car dependency + NIMBYs = awful everything

NATS Fan

I believe Tampa Rays are the best run team in sports. Go Rays!

GoatBenRice

Them and MIL. Rays strategy of getting a bunch of scrappy guys and elite pitching seems to get them a legit run every 5 or so years. Can't ask for much more when you don't spend

Antonio Bananas

Only one 90 loss season since 2008. In the last 10 years they haven't had a 90 loss season or finished last. So they do this without long periods of high draft picks…in the AL East

wheelhouse

Victor Mesa Jr. had reverse splits this year btw, just fwiw. 146 wRC+ vs. LHP

GoatBenRice

Yeah but it's max fried who famously does not give up home runs. I get taking him out but its not like leaving him in is bringing in Nestor cortes to face Freddie freeman

wheelhouse

Bringing in Nestor there was more defensible than leaving Fried out there here

NATS Fan

Victor Victor Mesa Mesa

millvillemeltdown

victor "victor mesa" mesa

millvillemeltdown

vick table

NATS Fan

I'll bet the Marlins miss Mesa

GoatBenRice

Clean shaven gerrit Cole jumpscare

millvillemeltdown

i wish for a midwest funfest world series

Sean Dolinar

If that happens, we are going to have so many Midwest themed polls in here.

GoatBenRice

I hope its finally the brewers year

NATS Fan

I hope your right, but the dodgers exist!

wheelhouse

He wasn’t hit there

GoatBenRice

Weird one because it sounded like it did but didn't look like it

wheelhouse

That won’t be overturned and Boone should get himself tossed

Rollie's Mustache

Aranda's elbow guard didn't move and the spin of the ball didn't change. Don't like that call.

wheelhouse

If he doesn’t he’s quiet quitting

nicstone

That's terrible. Pretty clearly didn't touch him

GoatBenRice

Junior is so scary

Matthew Spence

Not a HBP

millvillemeltdown

i am somewhere within a day's round trip of the twin cities, so i went to kramarczuk last time i was down there. good soup. excellent soup.

comradeyurika

Looked like the ball changed direction slightly

wheelhouse

I wonder whether Bednar gets the QO. Velo was down from his peak all year

millvillemeltdown

between bednar and r. iglesias who do you figure is the better true talent closer

GoatBenRice

it'll be interesting to see. velo down but splitter took a huge step forward. doubt they give a reliever that money

NATS Fan

I'd guess Bednar

wheelhouse

Bednar but they’re both in the great, not elite tier

millvillemeltdown

i think they are very similar. one could even say close.

NATS Fan

can Adrian Morejon close as well as them?

wheelhouse

I think they either trade for a brand name who hasn’t hit FA and gotten paid yet (there was so much noise around Miller), or sign someone who’s gotten saves for someone to go into a competition with the likes of Headrick and Lagrange for the spot

millvillemeltdown

in my mind, based on exactly 0 data, morejon feels like a better closer candidate than either

wheelhouse

Morejon will also get paid as much or more than either

NATS Fan

My gut feels the same

wheelhouse

I believe that was Volpe’s first-ever putout at 3B in the majors

fincampbell05

Red Sox legend Cam Booser

GoatBenRice

That story on him on mlb.com was really cool

jms4

RARE RAYS DEFENSIVE MISCUE

millvillemeltdown

a win for team entropy

Michael Baumann

Not an awesome throw but Aranda's got to pick that. Caminero did a pirouette for God's sake

Matthew Spence

They called it an E5?

millvillemeltdown

everyone knows that the more you spin the more obligated the 1b is to pick it

Michael Baumann

I would not have, obviously

millvillemeltdown

i think TΔS works maybe? being part of the thermodynamic identity if you swap d for delta

wheelhouse

Lombard actually swinging at a first pitch fastball strike for once in his entire career. He missed it

GoatBenRice

Great time for an ad break

Matthew Spence

Hated it

ncphl

Makes me mad

GoatBenRice

you know I just really wish it was a gambling ad

NATS Fan

They are prediction markets

GoatBenRice

u right u right my bad

wheelhouse

Nice for Stanton to get one last AB as a Yankee.

GoatBenRice

lighten up, Francis

wheelhouse

I said it’s nice

wheelhouse

Hope he doesn’t strike out

Matthew Spence

Whelp

wheelhouse

It was still Nice

millvillemeltdown

0.7^3 is a shockingly small number, and i wish people who bet on parlays understood that better

Matthew Spence

What are we talking about here

millvillemeltdown edited

sorry i meant to reply to the thing about gambling ads. parlays preying on a "near miss" fallacy etc. the more legs to a parlay, no matter how good the chances of an individual leg hitting, the worse the chances get, invariably.

nicstone edited

Stanton up. This is cinema. Does a HR here materially effect his HOF chances?

millvillemeltdown

giancarlo "notnats" stanton

GoatBenRice

legendary social media presence

millvillemeltdown

i was trying to show my friends photos of his batting stance and came across his nude photoshoot. that was an interesting day

GoatBenRice

Interesting…. but not bad

danodea

He should lay down a bunt

Matthew Spence

Hold on doing a parlay on that

danodea

Dang we both lost money

wheelhouse

Thanks for nothing G

millvillemeltdown

the cleveland series was legendary though. i wish he could have kept hitting nukes forever

millvillemeltdown

g. stanton > 0.5 bunts, g. stanton > 0.5 hrs, g. stanton > 3 Ks. surely that'll hit

nicstone

Ugh. A HR would have been so crazy. Wasted chance

GoatBenRice

kelly was a brutal matchup. no homer off those bowling balls

wheelhouse

7, 8, and 9 in the order up in the ninth against Baker

Russell

they yankees have them right where they want them

danodea

Rays would have been so flummoxed by the bunt attempt that they'd throw it away. Yes I am available to manage the Yankees, if only they'd ask

wheelhouse

Would you have pulled Fried prior to the sixth? If so you’re disqualified for knowing too much ball

danodea

I would not have cause I only learned about the reverse splits after the fact when the announcers mentioned it

Benny The Jet

Can I get a fact check on there having been no new options for motion sickness in the last 40 years

Matthew Spence

I mean, I know they had Dramamine in 1986 so….

millvillemeltdown

i wasn't aware i even had options! i've just been carrying my plastic-lined bag around in case…

Michael Baumann

Phoebe Bridgers is new as of the past 40 years

millvillemeltdown

tbf so am i

nicstone

Fried couldn't have done THAT??? 😔

GoatBenRice

muk frid

millvillemeltdown

mac feed

danodea

You're tellin me a Max fried this rice??

millvillemeltdown

srimp

danodea

Oh Tatis Tater to tie it up, nice

GoatBenRice

word?? I gotta turn that game on

NATS Fan

Are Singles Tater Tots?

millvillemeltdown

infield hit has to be, like, a single shred from hash brown

Schmegs

So Kelly finished the inning and can now be removed from the game. If he comes out next inning can he be removed after facing a second batter if he's previously finished an inning? Or does he then have to face a third hitter?

wheelhouse

Three batter minimum is only waived to start an inning

wheelhouse

I.e. the latter

wheelhouse

If that’s the last we see of Bednar I would like to congratulate him on having been A Good Yankee. Rare these days

wheelhouse

Not that rare. Hit-and-miss for big trade acquisitions maybe.

Michael Baumann

Love Bednar. Though going to commercial with him on the mound and coming back with Baker on the mound made me think the aspect ratio on my TV had gone off

wheelhouse

2

jms4

Baker does not look unbeatable tonight, which is a start

danodea

Throw strikes

wheelhouse

Can we get a Yankee GIDP to end it all

danodea

So close

wheelhouse

Jones should steal here

jms4

Babe Ruth 1926 World Series Game 7 caught stealing would ruin me rn

jms4

i concede

danodea

Future Pirate Jazz Chisholm Jr

wheelhouse

Ooooooh almost

wheelhouse

1

Michael Baumann

Another rotating Rays infielder, another botched pick by Aranda

lzfreak

Ah thought that was it

Sean Dolinar

Are all you Yankees fans gonna come back the rest of the playoffs after tonight?

wheelhouse

Which would you prefer

nicstone

Absolutely not

jms4

probably gonna have to use tomorrow to weep

Michael Baumann

Whoever said a spin should oblige the first baseman to catch better, I don't care if you were being sarcastic: It should

millvillemeltdown

more spins more better was my thesis. i am unprepared to defend it

wheelhouse

Oh, it’s over

Russell

WOOOOOO

wheelhouse

I’m less upset than I was after game 2 by far

Phil

Congratulations to the St. Petersburgians!

NATS Fan

Go Tampa!

Davy Andrews

I take it Junior Caminero doesn't use a broom very much in his day-to-day life.

danodea

Is that what he was doing?? I thought he was golfing for some reason

Davy Andrews edited

Ninety-nine percent sure it was a sweep, but yeah, he shouldn't take up miming.

millvillemeltdown

the children yearn for the mimes

Matthew Spence

Is the roof the series MVP?

Davy Andrews

Maybe the turf?

wheelhouse

Boone “shaking up the lineup” meant that Grisham took that AB instead of, you know, Ben Rice btw

Russell

tactical genius Aaron Boone

danodea

Should have just slapped a fake mustache on Judge and sent him up. "Yea I uhhh had a growth spurt"

wheelhouse

People really think it’s yankee fan overreaction to say he’s terrible at the job. I don’t see one thing he’s good at

nicstone

What a terrible at bat from Grisham and Jazz after a game full of them. Mind boggling that Boone thought putting Trent first instead of Rice was a good idea. Imagine Rice taking that at bat instead…

millvillemeltdown

what happened to grish even

wheelhouse

Oh, this one’s easy: they bit hard on an outlier year and ignored concerning trends w.r.t. his defense and general athleticism, and then sunk-cost fallacy meant they kept playing him

Davy Andrews

There's a little more to this one. He looked great, then he strained a hammy and didn't hit as well afterward. And some of the advanced numbers say he just got unlucky even after the injury.

millvillemeltdown

i know last year was kind of an outlier but he just totally cratered

Phil

The Rays' radio guy is suddenly complaining that the Rays don't get enough love from the "national writers." Is that true? I thought everyone agreed that the Rays are the most efficient franchise in baseball?

JBigs

I would assume they're talking more about ESPN/FS1 types not Fangraphs.

LaBellaVita

I can't speak about the media. But I can say TBR didn't receive as much love from the bettors. Going into the season, even though the Rays had won more games than NYY and had home-field advantage, more money was put on NYY than on TBR.

wheelhouse

That’s because bettors bet for their team and there are more Yankees fans than Rays fans in the country. That’s all that is

LaBellaVita

And that is how smarter bettors make money.

wheelhouse

Sure, but dumb bettors are not a demographic whose respect I’d care about

Michael Baumann

I dislike the implication that I'm obligated to "love" anyone

Michael Baumann

It's why I don't have a dog

millvillemeltdown

they are a bit tricky to root for tbf. churn etc

NATS Fan

so Yankees fans hate dogs?

wheelhouse

How long do you have if you want to get to the bottom of what Yankees fans do and do not hate

millvillemeltdown

yanks HATE bark @ the park

misterjohnny

My son Is a rays fan. Keeps needing new jerseys bc all the players get traded

millvillemeltdown

hopefully caminero is around for a long time

NATS Fan

just get him a Wade Boggs devil Rays Jersey. He is in the hall of fame.

Rollie's Mustache

That's like buying a Pete Rose Expos jersey!

millvillemeltdown

zobrist? longoria?

misterjohnny

He’s off the payroll he buys his own jerseys now. But in 2020 we went to the WS together in TX and it was great. ( for me the Dodger fan)

NATS Fan

I know

tdmoc

Erasmo Ramírez

Matthew Spence

Will Boone be back?

millvillemeltdown

no comment on his game iq but i personally find him a bit unpleasant

wheelhouse

Yes

Davy Andrews

Chat, I have an important update from Matt Martell: The Yankees made zero errors and I, unfortunately, ate zero cookies.

wheelhouse

Boone made several errors on their behalf

millvillemeltdown

davy, i used to work at a place known for its purportedly unlimited cookies. i'll invite you someday somehow

Davy Andrews

There are few things I wouldn't do for cookies.

millvillemeltdown

funnily enough i am not a very good baker of cookies. i mostly made bread.

Davy Andrews

You still have my attention.

jcathtraverse

Obviously the Yankees have a ton of faith in Boone, and I would imagine this isn't quite what it takes to break it, but it does seem at some point you'd have to give another manager a shot to win a WS in the Judge era.

wheelhouse edited

Talking about winning a WS in the Judge era is approaching the same meaning as saying the Nationals won the WS in the Ryan Zimmerman era.

LaBellaVita

Is it Boone, who was, I read, credited with completely outmanaging Tracy in the previous series, or does it start with Cashman? Do the Rays outplay the Yankees because they have better players, or are the players better prepared?

jcathtraverse

Yeah, you're right it's more a general staleness. Not sure what the solution is or if it's enough of a problem to need a solution. But most teams do eventually make change even if just to make it.

Rollie's Mustache

Bradgley Rodriguez is an early contender for this year's postseason Louis Varland. Will he pitch in every single game? I'm leaning yes.

wheelhouse

This is the 4th time in 5 years that a rival team has celebrated eliminating the Yankees from the playoffs on the field at Yankee Stadium. The only respite was missing the playoffs entirely

wheelhouse

Like it’s getting boring

jcathtraverse

congrats on being bored of watching your team in the playoffs?

NATS Fan

So you would prefer to lose

wheelhouse

Would you have found that series enjoyable

wheelhouse

They just lost

jcathtraverse

Yeah, I just watched it, it wasn't a very good series. Not worse than watching your team suck all year.

NATS Fan

I'll feel sorry for you if you go through 7 consecutive 95 loss seasons and sell at all 7 deadlines.

Phil

Eh, it sucks to lose, regular season or playoffs. I get it.

NATS Fan

then you finally get a winning team and they sell at the deadline!

Davy Andrews

You guys, Junior Caminero just did the Vladdy "Theeeeee Yankees lose!" thing in the clubhouse.

Rollie's Mustache

Oh no. Cursed 2027 season incoming for Junior.

Phil

Sterling will live to be mocked, forever.

Ben Schneider

Checking in late night to celebrate the Yankees being swept away!

Ben Schneider

And to watch the best series

Benny The Jet

If Miller and Morejon are healthy and available, why are they not getting these next 12 outs?

Jos

asking miller to get 6 outs didnt go well last time, not sure stammen is going to try that again

Nate

Seems like the Padres using their high leverage arms in every game in this series is finally coming back to bite them

NATS Fan

Do not abuse Morejon! i want him to be a healthy National next season.

war2d2

Man, I’m sorry but Wainwright adds absolutely nothing to this broadcast. Pierzynski is annoying and has a terrible voice, but at least he sounds like he’s got more than two synapses to rub together. Continues to be the worst booth in this postseason.

NATS Fan

It's a shame. Nobody was better at following Molina's commands.

jcathtraverse edited

the FOX booths both suck despite basically fine play by play. would be happy to see Peacock expand it's playoff portfolio when the rights all get renegotiated.

CurrentlyAtABar

Best way to avoid an underwhelming booth? Watch the game from a bar loud enough to drown it out.

war2d2

The name checks out.

wheelhouse

Yankees lineup in 2027 is probably:
1. Rice DH
2. Judge RF
3. Garcia 1B
4. Bellinger LF
5. Lombard SS
6. Jones CF
7. Volpe 2B
8. Wells C
9. McMahon (lol maybe it’ll be Caballero) 3B

That sucks

lzfreak

Yeah woof. Probably only top 3 in runs scored. With a top tier pitching staff. Tough times

wheelhouse

5 down is terrible

NATS Fan

You mean like Yankees fans that complain about have two of the best power hitters in baseball leading off and batting second followed by a guy that will slug over 500 against rhp?

Rollie's Mustache

Whoa. Boo birds are out in San Diego. Who do they think they are, Yankee fans??

Ben Schneider

Yankees must upgrade at third, but there aren't many options out there

wheelhouse

They need two infielders

NATS Fan

I'm sure you could get my Nats to trade you YoYo Morales 1b/3b. We are planning on giving him hundreds of at bats next year.

millvillemeltdown

i know it's mo-re-hon but i keep reading it as "more jon"

CurrentlyAtABar

There are so many ways in which I cannot relate to professional athletes, but watching Mason Miller pitch here with a baby whose age can be measured in hours really makes the comparison stark.

NATS Fan

I took zero time off 22 years ago when my daughter was born. Not because I wanted too.

war2d2

If he’s anything like I was after my first kid was born he’s probably seeing three catcher’s mitts while he’s standing up there.

millvillemeltdown

my sincere condolences. parental leave should be a guaranteed right.

millvillemeltdown

i seen dansby swanson throw frisbees as part of his hitting coaching thing. i seen pitchers throw footballs, javelins, etc for their warmups. do you think pitchers should throw frisbees

Rollie's Mustache

Baseball has a lot of food-related slang – cookie, meatball, can of corn, cheese, cup of coffee, oppo taco, grand salami, ribeye… as someone who doesn't watch a lot of other sports, does this also exist in them? Or is it a baseball-only thing?

Ben Schneider

Uber Eats had that commercial last year with food terminology in football

jzmaxson27 edited

Tom Brady just added meatball sub to the football lexicon this year. In hockey the puck can be referred to as a biscuit, flowing hair is lettuce, teeth are chiclets as in spittin' chiclets. I think humans are just pretty food focused.

millvillemeltdown

ben rice

Davy Andrews

Every time they cut to a closeup of Miller, I think, "Now there's an exhausted facial expression I definitely made in the first 24 hours of my daughter's life."

millvillemeltdown

i've been asked "baby now or baby never" more times than i can count of recent. i love kids but at this stage of my life i think i would actually perish if i had to take care of a small child in addition to full-time studenthood

Anonymous Member #46

a crash course in thermodynamics as your life melts down before your very eyes

CurrentlyAtABar

Just become the best reliever in MLB and apparently someone else will take care of them for you?

millvillemeltdown

unfortunately that someone else is almost always "wife" and she's almost always stretched way too thin

NATS Fan

Those wives are better paid than mine was

CurrentlyAtABar

True, I guess you need to hit FA first and get that guaranteed contract.

millvillemeltdown

similar to more-john, i always read it as brajlee and not brad-gley

NATS Fan

Well i do not think i can stay up late enough for the game to end. As long as the dodgers lose, I'm fine with whoever they play. Goodnight!

millvillemeltdown

i must take my leave as well. i have to be in class at 7:30 tomorrow (not thermo this time). goodnight all

Phil

Has there been any thought about a live score tracker on Fangraphs? Or do you have to pay MLB to license that?

Davy Andrews

This might be a question for earlier in the night tomorrow. I'm sure Sean will have an answer.

Ben Schneider

Back-to-back curveballs is super gutty

Davy Andrews

I loved it.

jzmaxson27

Moments like that I really miss Vin's "Like a house by the side of the road."

Davy Andrews

And with that, I've got to head to bed as well. Goodnight, all!

Anonymous Member #46

This game makes me wonder how Ashby didn't stick as a starter.

Jonathan Beilfuss

Sadly, my two favorite teams both lost today, the Braves and Not the Dodgers. Thank goodness for Not the Yankees!

Antonio Bananas

So everybody asleep? Is this when we get the good liquor out?

wheelhouse

We can talk about the 2027 yankees’ dearth of bullpen options

war2d2

Cubs are also in that bucket. I think Morejon is a free agent, and if so I think he’s going to get paiiiiid.

wheelhouse

The yankees don’t pay relievers anymore

Rollie's Mustache

AJ just said Chourio's "gonna be" a star. Who wants to tell him?

Ben Schneider

That's like all the years Smoltz called Kyle Tucker underrated

jzmaxson27

Stammen isn't thinking of bringing King back out for the 9th right?

lzfreak

I'm pretty sure most teams go into the offseason with an incomplete bullpen

jzmaxson27

Contreras so mad.

Rollie's Mustache

That might be the first mound visit I've seen by a catcher who wants to cool down himself instead of his pitcher.

JBigs

Contreras is mad he wasn't able to lose two more challenges

lzfreak

Machado thought it was gone

Rollie's Mustache

OHHHHH MY GOD

Ben Schneider

Missed it by that much

Anonymous Member #46

YOINK

CJ

I somehow didn't know there is a chat.. This series has been VERY enjoyable

Dan Szymborski

We only started doing this very recently! Outside of the normal game chats of course.

Dan Szymborski

Sean made this from scratch, unlike our Jotcast chats, so it should be more flexible and we can do more of these.

jzmaxson27

Morejon looks rough.

JBigs

Does he have the flu?

jzmaxson27

I feel like he looks like he does.

Rollie's Mustache

Just your run of the mill shoulder "stickiness". Evidently.

CJ

I'm glad I didn't know there is a chat before Yankees lost – I might have started ranting uncontrollably

jzmaxson27

You wouldn't have been alone.

lzfreak

There was plenty of that here. It was amusing

Anonymous Member #46

It briefly turned into group therapy in here, which was clashing with the early innings of the late game.

Benny The Jet

Man I don't want this series to end

CJ

One more game, please??

Ben Schneider

Get Buffalo Wild Wings to rig the game

jzmaxson27

Yeah, was just wishing this was a 7 game series.

lzfreak

I feel like managers get their aces throwing in situations like this just to troll us

Ben Schneider

The Miz coming in would become the most memorable moment of the postseason

JBigs

Just not sure why they would do that when Megill exists

CJ

Being lazy here – did anyone bring up the definition of insanity and Boone in a sentence?

lzfreak

Just you!

CJ

Thanks – As I said, I am glad I didn't know there is a chat until that abomination of a series is over

Rollie's Mustache

These two bullpens are nutty. Just a cornucopia of lab-grown mutants throwing 101 with breaking balls that make hitters regret their life choices.

Antonio Bananas

Sounds like a quote from Bull Durham

jzmaxson27

Megill always amazes me. How he can throw such darts while his delivery makes it look like he's falling backwards always messes with my brain.

Rollie's Mustache

And now it comes down to a less-than 100% Holy Sheets. The run may be over.

jzmaxson27

I feel like AJ is flirting dangerously with Joe Morgan logic right now

jcathtraverse

ARod logic even

CJ

NO

Benny The Jet

Brewers-Dodgers should be fun!

JBigs

MLB doing re-runs now?

CJ edited

IMHO with that ball hitting the roof in game 1 and Machado's ball today, Padres can be excused for feeling like they were robbed. – good night everyone!

marz

I don’t watch the Brewers often, but my impression after watching this series is that there is a magical vortex that surrounds them that forces everyone to play “good fundamental baseball.” None of this walking and home run hitting. You might beat them at their game, but you are forced to play it.

marz

Crap, ARod agreeing with me on this point is not a good sign,

Rollie's Mustache

I wanted a Padres-Dodgers NLCS for the higher likelihood of tempers and shenanigans but the Brewers deserved it. Helluva team.


Members Only Game Thread: NLDS – Oct 6, 2026

by
October 6, 2026

Welcome to our Open Game Thread for the NLDS Game 3. Chat with fellow readers as we watch the Dodgers at the Braves and the Brewers at the Padres. Only Members can participate, and unlike our usual game chats, your messages will be posted immediately.

Our Member community is made up of thousands of incredibly knowledgable baseball fans, and we think this is a great way to follow a game with like-minded baseball enthusiasts. We might even have some FanGraphs Staff drop in and join the fun. Please be courteous to your fellow Members, or you may find your chat privileges revoked.

We are going to open the chat up at 5:30 PM ET.

si.or.no

What's the difference between a chat and a game thread? Is a game thread a no-moderation-queue chat?

Sean Dolinar

Correct, this is just an open game thread. So more casual. People can interact with each other rather than having staff facilitate everything. Less friction.

Paul

The MVP Yeti arrived last week. Looks great! Thank you and keep up the good work!

Sean Dolinar

Welcome everyone!

Bacterun

Wishing all a happy "hope the dodgers lose" day!

lzfreak

This is such a juicy pitching matchup! Feels like a game 1

Sean Dolinar

I gotta get some polls up!

Rich Hill's Fastball

The pitching matchup is so good that this game will definitely end 11-6

lzfreak

Thoughts on Ohtani batting 5th?

TKDC

Yeah, is that a “he’s not himself” thing or a “he’s not a good matchup with Sale” thing?

Rich Hill's Fastball edited

All the Sale discourse has people underrating the heck outta Yamamoto today

Bacterun

I voted for him to get pulled early….but thats more a hope than thinking he's not amazing. As a Jays fan i know all to well how he can take over a game

Bacterun

Don't expect it to change to much, but maybe he'll benefit from seeing a few batters worth of pitches before he goes to bat

Phil

Before checking just now I had no idea when this game started, or when the next one did, and these two start times would not have been in my top ten guesses. Definitely not staying up for the late game.

lzfreak

MLB's reluctance to have multiple playoff games on at once is annoying

Sean Dolinar

I don't get why CLE game started at 5PM yesterday and today's is 6PM. Dodgers being a West Coast team vs midwest teams? 🤷‍♂️

lzfreak

I think both games being pacific time is the difference

Jon Becker

Hi everyone!

Sean Dolinar

I still haven't put the 👋 emoji in yet!

Rich Hill's Fastball

Hi Jon!

lzfreak

Oh wait this is in Atlanta lol

Matt Martell

If Sale were a wide receiver, he would've gotten his foot down on the bag for the first out

Matt Martell

Also, hi

Jon Becker

Hi Matt!

Jon Becker

Sean hasn't added the 👋 emoji yet

Sean Dolinar

Someone submitted 4 PRs today that I need to review.

lzfreak

Kim paying homage to the Yankees defense

hamandcheese

Sure would rather have Jorge Mateo…

rhyde1990

Lets say the Rays and Dodgers ended up meeting in a 2020 rematch. Could the Rays style of play (lots of contact, small ball, etc) end up being a bad matchup for the Dodgers pitching (swing and miss stuff), or more of a repeat of how last year's WS turned out?

Rich Hill's Fastball

A factor here is that the Dodgers' fielding is generally much better than, to pick a random team, the Yankees'.

rhyde1990

I thought the same thing since the Dodgers IF ranked well in OAA this year, but so did the Yankees and then last night happened 😂

Jon Becker

Ohtani is certainly capable of taking ugly swings but goodness that was especially ugly

Matt Martell

Yes, I think, especially if Ohtani is broken

Jonathan Smith

That Sale arm angle and slider movement will break a man

Rich Hill's Fastball

Camera angle won't do hitters any favors tonight

Jon Becker

Looks beautiful in Atlanta and it is in fact 25 degrees colder there than it was in LA for Game 1, so everything is weird about this series so far

bosoxforlife

This has to be the best matchup, pitcher wise, in any Game 3 ever played.

Phil

Good mailbag question. Could be investigated with career WAR or same-year WAR, maybe.

Jon Becker

It's been DAYS since Matt asked me to do a mailbag question, I may have to look into this for this week

Matt Martell

@ me next time

Matt Martell

If you submit this as a question to mailbag@fangraphs.com, we'll answer it this week!

Jon Becker

That is a very emotional challenge from Acuña

bosoxforlife

Has anybody ever seen a left-handed hitter who was a good matchup for Sale? 6'6" from deep down. I would pull a Kruk and just head back to the dugout.

Jon Becker

Eric Hosmer absolutely owned him somehow, .346/.370/.538

Rich Hill's Fastball

Because Hosmer didn't use "analytics," Jon!

Jon Becker

Just cannot burn that with nobody on and one out in the first

hamandcheese

Acuna is awful at challenging.

Jonathan Smith

Not a good challenge there

bosoxforlife

What a ridiculous challenge!

Matt Martell

Bad challenge

Rich Hill's Fastball

Do we think Smith's glove movement could've impacted Acuña challenging there?

bosoxforlife

I will attempt to put together a coherent question.

rhyde1990

Great pitching matchups that come to mind for me in the last 25 or so years- Clemens vs Schilling, Beckett vs Pettite was pretty tight in 03, Lee vs Sabathia in 2009, Lincecum vs Lee a couple games, Lester vs Wainwright had a good duel if I remember correctly

RonaldRaygun

Randy Johnson faced Greg Maddux in 2001

rhyde1990

oh thats right Ronald, forgot about that

bosoxforlife

Please identify that breaking pitch that Sale throws. It has been called a slider for years but doesn't look like any slider, short quick break, that I have ever seen.

Rich Hill's Fastball

I dunno what to call it besides "filthy" (okay, maybe a slurve)

bosoxforlife

That fastball under the hands to righties is pretty tough to hit as well.

Phil

Pedro-Roger in the 99 ALCS was a game 3, now that think of it

bosoxforlife

Great catch! That does beat this and by quite a bit.

bohs and os

Why just casually toss it over to first the second time given the rules?

Jon Becker

Sale has the Goods tonight

Jon Becker

These are the insights your Membership fees pay for, folks

Rich Hill's Fastball edited

Credit to the Dodgers for at least running up the pitch count

lzfreak

What makes this particular game 3 matchup crazier for me is that it's the first series for the Dodgers. They're set up and Yamamoto is still only their third most trusted guy. Their rotation is absurd!

Matt Martell

The greatest miracle in sports is whenever anybody gets a hit off Chris Sale

bosoxforlife

I am beginning to think that when Sale's arm is attached he could be similar to the God of Arms, Nolan Ryan. Sale might pitch into his 40's.

Phil

Just take away his bicycle.

Jonathan Smith

Pumping 99 at that arm angle at 37 is just incredible.

lzfreak

He did miss quite a bit of time in his 30s. But this Atlanta chapter has been impressive

lzfreak

Smoltz: "That was a true sacrifice"

Ben Clemens

That was a sweet play by Yamamoto there. I mean, totally unnecessary and no added value. But man, fun to watch

Ben Clemens

How can he even get close to first with that setup? impressive

Rich Hill's Fastball

Harris had that stolen standing up, wow

bosoxforlife

The chats haven't mentioned the explosion in offensive bunting. I am of the opinion that as pitching continues to get tougher to hit we are going to see more and more attempts, but hopefully not pure sacrifices with a man on 1st

Rich Hill's Fastball

Bunting for a hit has always been a relatively smart gamble if the pitching is good enough. Sacrifices…not so much, and I think these playoffs have generally demonstrated that teams agree

fincampbell05

I imagine the run expectancy proposition from straight up sacrificing (runner on first, none out -> runner on second, one out) would get even worse as pitchers get better, right

lzfreak

Nice play by Dubon

bosoxforlife

Dubon is my choice for the most underappreciated player in the game today.

Sean Dolinar

I wish they wouldn't cut the ump cam in the middle of a pitch like that.

Ben Clemens

That was a super fun play by Dubon and I am really divided about how tough it was. Like, pretty tough! But surely not the best catch we've seen these playoffs. That low wall makes it hard for my brain. Because I'm like what a robbery

Ben Clemens

but actually the really hard part was getting there and absorbing the contact, not like he had to leap super high

lzfreak

This postseason has had more catcher's interference than expected

Jon Becker

Anyone else spot Baldy on Baldwin's chest protector? Not sure I'd love that nickname if I was him

TKDC

I think it’s a rule that every catcher’s nickname is just the first syllable of their first or last name plus a “y”

bosoxforlife

They must be taking lessons from Jacoby Ellsbury on how to induce catcher's interference.

Rich Hill's Fastball

If memory serves, Ohtani last reached on catcher's interference in game 5 of the '24 World Series

Antonio Bananas

How many pitches does Weiss give Sale? Lots of stress so far

Ben Clemens

I'm super interested in this!

Ben Clemens

I've had Sale on my mind a lot, what with writing about him and all. Feels like there are not a ton of moving parts to atlanta's strategy, but 'what do we do with Sale' is a massive and variable question

Rich Hill's Fastball

I feel like Weiss will push Sale a bit too far, whenever that is

trmackey

I feel like Sale will push himself further than Weiss will.

beanbong

Provided he doesnt start getting knocked around, I think you could see 110-115

beanbong

After the Freeman & Hernandez flyouts, kinda looks like they got the juiced ball in this one

lzfreak

That splitter is filthy

jzmaxson27

I feel like this is the sickest pitching matchup I have watched all year.

jzmaxson27

It's so rare that a highly billed on really lives up to the billing. But damn.

Antonio Bananas

These quick Yamamoto innings gotta be making Sale's stressful innings even worse right? No breaks

fincampbell05

Definitely but Sale is also a sicko

Antonio Bananas

He hasn't really been hit all that well which is encouraging. 3 infield hits

Antonio Bananas

Does Dubon make these plays at SS?

beanbong

I don't really understand what they're hoping to get out of Kim. What does he provide that someone like Jarvis doesn't other than standing in the right handed batters box

bosoxforlife

I have a very warm spot in my heart for Enrique Hernandez. His 2021 season with the Red Sox was something special and since I have no rooting interest I will enjoy his moment.

lzfreak

I guess we're doing October Enrique Hernandez again

Ben Clemens

Yamamoto is just DEALING. Was looking at Savant and this stat is kinda wild. He has 9 whiffs in 17 swings. Sale has 8 whiffs in 31 swings

Ben Clemens

And like, Sale looks sharp too!

Ben Clemens

worrisome stat for Sale, though: he's allowed 5 hard-hit balls so far, which is how many he allowed in his whole last start. Yamamoto has allowed zero, because jeez

Ben Clemens

er, six….

Rich Hill's Fastball

Can't rob that one!

Ben Clemens

I must not have been paying attention in previous Freeman visits to Atlanta but man, lot of booing!

Rich Hill's Fastball

Oh, this is new!

Ben Clemens

ah, well that explains it

TKDC

Did he say something? It’s weird. But at the same time this is the playoffs not the regular season.

Davy Andrews edited

Hello, friends. How is playoff Erique possible? How is it possible?

lzfreak

I wonder if someone told him every day in the regular season that it's a playoff game if he'd be a Hall of Famer

Ben Clemens

like I guess I kind of remember it? But in my head it was kind of a mixed reaction, not this

lzfreak

Freeman was in quite a power outage before the playoffs. Seems to be back to normal now

Antonio Bananas

This feels insurmountable

trmackey

Well I think there's less curiosity on how deep Sale lasts now…

Phil

Davy, your article today has me looking to see if infielders are smelling the ball. I hope you're happy.

Davy Andrews

This makes me deeply happy. Honestly, that was some of the most fun writing I've done in a while and I stand by the idea one million percent.

Ben Clemens

Tough inning here for Sale, Weiss needs to start thinking about what to do. Last six hitters all put the ball in play:

103 mph grounder single xBA .380
94 mph liner out xBA .730
107 mph homer xBA .870
98 mph groundout xBA .230
103 mph homer xBA .580
108 mph lineout xBA .880

Davy Andrews

Ben, how are you doing?

Ben Clemens

I'm good. Getting all amped up for tonight's recap

Davy Andrews

You get amped? I get stressed.

Jon Becker

This has very quickly devolved from “alpha pitching duel” into “Sale is probably going to be out of the game after five innings trailing by multiple runs.” Gonna see a lot of The Raptor (Brent Suter) today, methinks

Davy Andrews

Hey Becker! I almost asked for your help coming up with puns for my article this morning. Did I blow it?

Jon Becker

I thought you did great 🙂

Davy Andrews

Oh, I just meant is that a particular skill of yours. Seems like it would be.

Sean Dolinar

We can wave now.

Matt Martell

Becker is FanGraphs' leading Pun-dit!

Matt Martell

Baumann doesn't count – there is no word to describe what he does

fincampbell05

I'm sure this is not a popular opinion, and I'm sure it's colored by anti-Dodgers sentiment, but I really don't like watching Yamamoto pitch. Something about these weak contact/BABIP merchant pitchers just grinds my gears. And his windup is weird too.

lzfreak

As a neutral fan I completely disagree

jzmaxson27

He says right before he blows a high 97 mph fastball by Albie's for his 7th K of the game.

bosoxforlife

I am the antithesis of you. I grew up watching Mel Parnell and Whitey Ford do exactly that and prefer that to today's TTO game.

fincampbell05

I mean yeah he's very good of course

Ben Clemens

Yeah I'm with you, @lzfreak. Yamamoto is one of my favorit pitchers to watch

Ben Clemens

In the same way that I love watching Soto hit

Ben Clemens

like probably my least favorite pitcher to watch, relative to skill, is Blake Snell

lzfreak

I used to be on the anti-Snell-watching train but last year's playoffs won me over. Felt like he was attacking the zone better and working quickly and effectively

MadMonk

as a Padres fan, the year he won the Cy Young with us, it was frustrating whenever he pitched, not enjoyable to watch.

Ben Clemens

and Yamamoto is kind of reverse Snell

Jon Becker

I still can’t really fathom how he can spin a curveball that beautiful from that arm slot

Antonio Bananas

With the infield hits, catchers interference, quick Yamamoto innings, all stressing Sale it's not a surprise he got hit hard.

Antonio Bananas

Was exhausting just watching those innings

Phillip Denny

how much longer does Kiké do this before we grudgingly admit that clutch *may* be a thing for *some* players?

Antonio Bananas

Or is he incredibly un-clutch the rest of the time?

Rich Hill's Fastball

fwiw, Kiké has discussed how his ADHD does negatively affect his focus during the regular season but helps him during the playoffs. Take that for what you will.

Phillip Denny

this may be a tomayto – tomahto situation tbh

lzfreak

I wonder if there's an inefficiency in sports psychology or something where a team could try to unlock value by getting guys to focus/perform at peak more often. Not sure what that looks like

Phil

I think it's well established that there is such a thing as clutch–it's just not predictive. Just because it's not predictive doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

fincampbell05

Yeah personally I really enjoy pitchers like Snell. Guys who look like they're launching grenades rather than pea-shooting, if that makes any sense. Just a random person-to-person thing I guess

Ben Clemens

100%. personal preference is why baseball is fun. if we all liked the same stuff, the sport would not grab me the same way

Phillip Denny

Man Shohei frequently gets spooked on the inside corner like that

Matt Martell

Hate to say it, but I agree with Smoltz there — bad challenge by Ohtani. Don't challenge in a 3-0 count with nobody on and your team up 3-0. Clearly an emotional challenge there

Antonio Bananas

I think he's pressing a bit because he's not hitting up to his standard. Same reason why Acuna challenged his IMO

TKDC

Ohtani and Acuna both made bad challenges on essentially the same pitch.

Phillip Denny

Shohei's plate knowledge up, down, and out are very good. Inside, it's very poor.

zapper

Best inning of the game for Sale. The Dodgers need to knock him out in the 6th and put that Braves' bullpen to work.

David

I will be curious to see the evolution of challenging pitches if it stays around for very long at all. The other night there was a pitch clock violation and, it happens so rarely now, I had nearly forgotten it was a thing.

zapper

Nice game by Dubon, stellar catch and now a leadoff single.

Rich Hill's Fastball

I haven't adjusted my emotional priors enough from 2021-2023. Austin Riley still terrifies me as an opponent.

Jon Becker

I really like Snitker using the Rowdy card here, Yamamoto has reverse splits but ultimately is great against everyone and Rowdy has a better chance of running into one

Jon Becker

Apologies to Walt Weiss, who is the actual manager of the Braves

Antonio Bananas

Rowdy Tellez looks like the bad guy Mets hitter from Rookie of the Year

Ben Clemens

Dubon for Nick Allen was a great trade for the Braves, huh? They basically won on both ends

Davy Andrews

Losing Nick Allen is never a good thing.

Ben Clemens

like, they got Allen's best year, then moved him at the high point

Anonymous Member #46

selling high =/= selling tall

cashgod27

If you're pinch-hitting HSK with a guy who has 11 PAs this year, why start him at all?

jzmaxson27

Man, really had that rowdy stinger locked and loaded.

Davy Andrews edited

I love that Rowdy ended the year with a .506 xwOBA.

bosoxforlife

I missed the Braves moving Dom Smith for Rowdy Tellez.

Matt Martell

Of all people to walk

jonmberra

Surprised that wasn’t a double play.

zapper

So Yamamoto can speak more English now. The interpreter stayed in the dugout for that mound conference.

jonmberra

It would be funny if they weren’t talking and it was just stalling/rest move.

lzfreak

Maybe the pitching coach learned Japanese

zapper

Acuna left his playoff hits on the field for Venezuela during this year's Classic.

Jon Becker

A 3-1 perfectly placed splitter is just diabolical

Davy Andrews

Weird how diabolical is so much better a word than devilish.

Ben Clemens

One of my playoff resolutions was to be less annoyed by Smoltz. And for the most part, I think I've done it well. But I've been spiraling since he compared Ozzie Albies to Chipper Jones

Ben Clemens

Look, we know you don't know many players that aren't Braves. But can he be Terry Pendleton or something?

Anonymous Member #46

Mark Lemke with power

Ben Clemens

i mean, perfect

Ben Clemens

Chipper is 6'4"

lzfreak

One thing I haven't seen mentioned with all the Sale discourse: might he be in play for a potential game 5? It would be somewhat similar to the game 3 wildcard series move, but an inning or two from him in that scenario could be huge for the Braves

Rich Hill's Fastball

He'd definitely be available for this, yeah.

Antonio Bananas

I think the WC series is the plan moving forward. Start on 5 days rest and use his throwing day to put him in relief

Anonymous Member #46

I love how these chats feel like we're just running amok in the FanGraphs work Slack.

Sean Dolinar

Our Slack isn't typically this interesting.

Jon Becker

The most exciting our Slack gets is when Meg accidentally sends the main channel that she’s getting lunch and then she’ll get to Baumann’s piece, so we all get to ask what’s for lunch. Riveting stuff

Anonymous Member #46

Asking what's for lunch is a time-honored FanGraphs tradition.

bosoxforlife

I got the chicken and the veggies cut up for the between games stir fry and I will rejoin this very interesting chat.

ruddurball

I got my dan dan noodle prep done before first pitch. Hope your dinner is tasty!

Ben Clemens

dan dan noodle? tell me more

ruddurball

I use the recipe from kenji Lopez alt “the wok” but sub peanut butter for tahini becuase of a sesame allergy. Super fast and easy. They also suggest using capers instead of pickled mustard root and it works!

zapper

If the Dodger's have the lead in the 9th who will get the save opportunity, Diaz or "shaky lately" Tanner Scott?

jzmaxson27

Darkhorse option of Evan Phillips

Rich Hill's Fastball

This NLDS features two of the game's best organists.

Ben Clemens

I think I'd even be willing to say 'the game's best two organists'

lzfreak

Having been to all 30 parks, this was my take as well

bosoxforlife

I envy you. I have been to 67 ball parks with my passion for minor league ball.

Rich Hill's Fastball

Roberts is going to have some VERY interesting bullpen decisions coming up

lzfreak

Let Yamamoto go 9!

bosoxforlife

I upvote that!

zapper

Wow, no challenge.

Jeremy Fox

Is Matt Olson the highest-waisted player in baseball?

Anonymous Member #46

Sean Hjelle

Jeremy Fox

Sean Hjelle is long-limbed all the way round. Olson combines long legs with a (comparatively) short torso and short arms.

Ben Clemens

how about Carl Edwards Jr? or is his an optical illusion based on being so slender?

Jos

watching players do ABS calculus in real time is such a fun new aspect of baseball strategy

Antonio Bananas

How good are we at measuring the impact of challenges? Olson probably challenges that high strike and wins if Acuna hadn't wasted one

Neat

Very cool ump cam curveball

zapper

Do the umpires get told during the game about calls they missed that did not get challenged?

Jos

id imagine they get some kind of game report afterward breaking down all the calls rather than anything mid game

Davy Andrews

Yeah, postgame report. Also, you might recall that last year the league tightened up the buffer zone around the edge of the plate, which resulted in more strike calls.

beanbong

I’ve never seen a switch hitter change sides against the same pitcher in all my life.

Antonio Bananas

Freeman could have had 3 HRs this game as hard as he's hit them

Davy Andrews

I was just thinking of that line from Moneyball, when David Justice would come back to the dugout after hitting one as hard as he could and watching it die on the warning track: "That used to be gone."

Antonio Bananas

If you could add 20 minutes of that movie to cover Hudson/Zito/Mulder, who do you cast?

Davy Andrews

This is a Matt question if I've ever heard oe, so I'll just say Andy Serkis for all three.

Matt Martell

I like the idea of casting one person as all three, because they were so inconsequential to the season that they might as well all be the same person — in the eyes of the filmmakers anyway

Keaton Arneson

They also ignored Chavez and Tejada… So their 5 best players. And Lidle by WAR

Matt Martell

Back to FanGraphs Slack for a moment… Here's a real thing Baumann asked me two weeks ago: "Do you think you and I talk about Bulworth more than any two coworkers in the world, or do we just talk about Bulworth more than any two people in the BBWAA?"

Davy Andrews

I have never seen that movie, but in ninth grade, when the JV basketball team went to preseason camp, my friend Justin and I roomed together and he brought the soundtrack. He played Ghetto Superstar on repeat for the entire week.

Matt Martell

Great news, Davy – I just bought the DVD on eBay. Come over and watch it during the offseason

Davy Andrews edited

Is it…good? Isn't there a part where Warren Beatty raps? Am I thinking of the right movie?

Sean Dolinar

Slightly late to this. We had Sale at 5.65 for innings pitch…so 5.2 IP in our written convent. And he pitched 5.0 IP.

Sean Dolinar

Median 6 IP. The 5.65 was the average.

Davy Andrews

Smart chat.

Matt Martell

You are thinking of the right movie. And it is good! It's absolutely bonkers, but good!

Jonathan Smith

I know they set this up for the CS but Yama as your number 3 is just downright disgusting. This guy is an ace of all aces.

jzmaxson27

I feel like there is a legitimate argument to be made that he is the most important player to them during this run of back to back titles and the attempt for the third.

lzfreak

Oh yeah they definitely don't win it without him last year

Jonathan Smith

And if I recall he struggled early on in his first year? What a massive payoff for him to be this strong.

Michael Baumann

Hi guys, heard you were talking about Bulworth

Davy Andrews

I just laughed so hard.

Matt Martell

If you command+F "Bulworth" in my Slack messages with Baumann, you get 14 hits

Michael Baumann edited

I'm shocked it's not five times as many

zapper edited

Yamamoto starts the 8th to deal with the nine hole pinch hitter and Vesia comes in for Baldwin.

Matt Martell

Guys… Bulworth features an original score by Ennio Morricone!!!

zapper

Guess not with all the hand slapping in the dugout.

Michael Baumann

Gotta run. I just took out a hit on myself so my daughter can collect on my life insurance policy.

jzmaxson27

I figured with your article titles you were already living a life unencumbered by focus groups and handlers. I'm excited to see where it all goes from here!

Matt Martell

Well done

Rich Hill's Fastball edited

Organist honoring Mii-guel Rojas 🙂

Matt Martell

^This is a Bulworth reference for those of you who haven't had the pleasure of seeing it yet

David

My (disingenuous) pet theory on Ohtani's poor second half is that he had a second kid in June and is just not sleeping well at all with the adjustment. Ask me how I know.

Davy Andrews

Has anybody on staff seen The Rock 150 times or so? Would be nice to have someone to talk to about that particular movie.

jzmaxson27

It is the best Bruckheimer movie. Honorable mention to Con Air of course.

Matt Martell

Put some respect on THIEF

Davy Andrews

Oh, I have been meaning to see that!

Matt Martell

I also own Thief! We can do a Bulworth/Thief double feature!

jzmaxson27

Guess I've got an addition to my watch list!

Davy Andrews

This sounds fun, but the whiskey taste test has to come first. Also, I have been informed by an interested party that it needs to be at your apartment.

Matt Martell

Whiskey taste test DURING the Thief/Bulworth double feature!

Davy Andrews

No way. The taste test is a serious work assignment.

Davy Andrews

Which we should probably get on the calendar, actually.

Matt Martell

Wow this has really turned into FG Slack

Phil

I just saw Longenhagen's piece about restricting outfield positioning in the AFL. Sounds very fishy to me (I don't mean Eric's reporting, I mean the idea reported on). Might not teams want outfielders to work on their defense, inckuding pre-pitch positioning, in Arizona?

Matt Martell

Teams might want to, but MLB views the AFL as a low stakes place to try stuff out. That is more important to the powers that be than whether minor league outfielders can correctly read a card telling them where to play.

Doug Gray

This is probably why they are only doing it in one stadium (this year). It's 14 games unless I counted wrong. The Salt River guys will get a little less "normal" outfield work, though.

Phil

Yeah. But then I also wonder whether that's enough games to see if it has an effect. But I guess it's nore of a heck, why not move than a carefully developed experiment.

Ben Clemens

Davy I make a decent number of The Rock references. But my wife has somehow not seen it even though we live in SF. It's a travesty

Davy Andrews

My wife fell asleep while watching it, and it hurt my soul.

Davy Andrews

She also fell asleep during Raiders of the Lost Ark, and I have an amazing cell phone video of her snoozing peacefully on the couch while John Williams' thrilling Indiana Jones score blares in the background.

Matt Martell

I know he has played in four MLB seasons, but I refuse to believe Brewer Hicklen is a real player

zapper

Don't let Hicklen on, 70 speed.

Ben Clemens

I mainly remember Hicklen because when we did the crowdsourced OOTP Brewers in 2020, I traded for everyone with Brewer in their name: Brewer Hicklen and Colten Brewer

Phil

I just realized Hicklen was in fact a Brewer. . . for 5 PAs in 2024.

Rich Hill's Fastball edited

Who faces the Olson-Albies-Harris corridor in the ninth? Ideally that'd be Scott so I'm surprised he's being deployed here. Edit: meant to submit this at the start of the inning.

lzfreak

We getting Diaz in the 9th?

Yer Main Guy

Why can't position players just stand where they wanna stand, Manfred?

Rich Hill's Fastball

For those unaware, Mason Miller was just placed on the paternity list

Rich Hill's Fastball

His Padres play an elimination game in half an hour

Keaton Arneson

I know why teams put in their best relievers when losing a close game, but at what point is letting a team see that reliever over and over in a series a hindrance?

Phil

There's a name for this but I can't remember what it is

Phil

Familiarity penalty, I guess. Discussed in an Effectively Wild episode, looks like (and which I vaguely remember).

Davy Andrews

Yeah, there have been some SABR Research Journal articles about it as well.

jzmaxson27

Should have challenged that one right?

Rich Hill's Fastball

Down 0-2 in the count, with one challenge left, you have to be DAMN sure you're right

bosoxforlife

But if the game went extra innings the Dodgers would get another challenge so he should have used it.

zapper

The Braves' pen owns the Dodgers.

Davy Andrews

Austin Wells would have stretched that into a triple.

Phil

Not dead yet.

Matt Martell

Maybe Ozzie Albies actually is Chipper Jones!

bosoxforlife

Diaz has been good (okay?) recently but I see this a risky move by Roberts.

lzfreak

How do the Dodgers always spend like 9 figures on the bullpen and come October nobody is trustworthy

Rich Hill's Fastball

I choose to watch (and love) the Moneyball movie as a piece of narrative art, not a documentary

bosoxforlife

I would trust Yamamoto in this spot.

lzfreak

Wonder if Kershaw is available for a token high leverage relief inning

Rich Hill's Fastball

Glasnow vs Mahle tomorrow!

bosoxforlife

The wok is hot and I will be back for the Brewers-Padres.

Ben Clemens

I ran off for a bit to set up for the next game. And to keep with my bit of criticizing the bad television personalities, did everyone else hear Derek Jeter bragging about how he 'told everyone about Yamamoto'? Oh, you mean the freaking world series MVP and one of the best pitchers in the world?

Ben Clemens

I like pizza. I don't go around yelling "I told you about pizza, don't act like I didn't" to people. Because, like, yeah.

Sean Dolinar

I have a friend who brags about their skill at finding pizza.

Ben Clemens

like, a specific pizza place? Because I think I'd accept 'i told you about yamamoto's ability to land a split for a strike' or something similar

Davy Andrews

Hey Jack!

Ben Clemens

or like, just their incredible food knowledge that pizza is good?

Ben Clemens

that said – hey, being compared to Derek Jeter isn't the worst thing in the world

Sean Dolinar

Not something specific. Though it tends to be Neapolitan/wood fire type pizza. Not like hole-in-the-wall finds.

Sean Dolinar

I had another friend that wanted to go to all the VPN-certified pizzerias she could find. One was near me. I went it and it was delightful.

Jack Dorfman

VPN-certified?

Jack Dorfman

Googled it, that seems like a good way to find new spots

Davy Andrews

Hey Jack! (This time in the right place.)

Jack Dorfman

Haha hey Davy!

bosoxforlife

Lunch tomorrow with my friend of 56 years will be at our favorite pizzaria. Great thin crust after a bowl of the best pasta fagioli I have found in my extensive travels.

Sean Dolinar

I should have added the pizza emoji too.

Davy Andrews

Everybody in this booth looks like their mom combed their hair for them on picture day.

MattStats5

Freddie Freeman just sealed his future as a studio analyst….helluva postgame interview.

Jack Dorfman

Excited for Playoff Piv feel like he'll come out chucking

lzfreak

So how should the Padres approach the lack of Miller here? Lean extra hard on Morejon and Rodriguez? Get weird with a starter in relief?

MattStats5

I get the paternity list thing, but now? Your team is facing elimination…tough decision, for sure.

Davy Andrews

Easy decision. Only decision.

lzfreak

Is anyone else bothered by how Amin pronounces "Contreras?" Sounds like he's saying "Contrerez"

Davy Andrews

Ok, yeah, I hear that.

bosoxforlife

Pivetta always frustrated me during his 5 years with the Red Sox. He always looked like he would do what he has shown with the Padres.

Davy Andrews

Yeah, how many Positional Power Rankings talked about his stuff versus his results?

lzfreak

Exciting Jackson play

Jack Dorfman

That did not feel like it was going to get caught wow

Sean Dolinar

I thought that was going to drop. He almost overran that too!

Davy Andrews edited

Can't believe he held onto it given where it hit his glove.

bosoxforlife

Bauers isn't a contender for Comeback of the Year because he never was anything but he is a contender for biggest surprise of the year.

Jack Dorfman

Does Bryan Baker win AL Surprise of the Year?

bosoxforlife

He is on the ballot.

Brendan Smith

William Contreras being 28 and in the league for 7 seasons is shocking. Equally shocking is his 18.1 career bWAR. Quietly a top 5 catcher in the league consistently

bosoxforlife

He was #1 on the MLB position rankings at least once. I know I would like him to join his brother on the Red Sox.

war2d2

On the “bad broadcasters” topic: this booth. Pierzynski and Wainwright make me wish I wasn’t a baseball fan. Absolute tire fire.

lzfreak

Oh wow the Padres are batting an actual good major league hitter second in their lineup!

lzfreak

Is it just me or does Dustin May look leaner than the last time I saw him?

bosoxforlife

Who is surprised that the Brewers chose May over Harrison?

Jon Becker

Hopping back in quickly to say that’s the worst challenge of the year I think

Jon Becker

Now back to my snack of saltines, which are genuinely good even when not sick. No further questions

Davy Andrews

I finished the Saltines last night.

Davy Andrews

Though I was slathering them in sweetened hazelnut butter.

David

This is definitely the correct take

war2d2

The Nabisco mini-saltines are wonderful. Like un-cheesed Cheez-its.

war2d2

“I’m here to chew bubblegum and make terrible ABS challenges, and I’m fresh out of bubblegum.” — William Contreras

Brendan Smith

Dustin May 100!!!!

Davy Andrews

Must have killed Contreras not to challenge that one.

war2d2

Someone reminded him that the dugout is full of bubblegum. Literally littered with it.

bosoxforlife

It has been discussed so many times but what are these players thinking with these meaningless challenges. Are the coaches to blame?

Davy Andrews

I suspect there's a real concern about getting them too in their heads here. You want them to be aggressive, and you don't want them thinking about challenges when they're supposed to be hitting or catching. It's important, but not as important as driving the baseball or calling a good game!

Brendan Smith

Does Ty France Comeback Player of the Year count if he was coming back from mid?

Phil

The definition of a comeback should be the new controversy to replace the definition of a breakout. How good do you once have to have been to have a comeback?

war2d2

Man, Pivetta’s throwing some real wiffleball curves.

Jacob Richey

Brewers doing a great job working the count. Bauers and Turang both struck out but on 9+ pitches each. What’s Pivetta’s expected pitch count? can’t imagine it’s high given coming back from injury.

Davy Andrews

He hit 87 in the start before last, so it might be fairly high if he's dealing.

bosoxforlife

Another challenge in a low leverage situation. ????? What is going on with these guys?

Davy Andrews

What a bummer that pitching coach Chris Hook never gets to be the one to take out the pitcher.

lzfreak

My favorite was when Craig Counsell was the Brewers manager. You'd have Hook out to give council then Counsell would come with the hook.

war2d2

God willing he’ll aspire to managing, and then score one for nominative determinism

bosoxforlife

Which contract is a worse albatross, Bogaerts or Riley?

jzmaxson27

Depends on which owner is more spending averse.

Jacob Richey

ZIPS 3 yr projections still like Riley… or at least don’t factor in this year. Think Bogaerts contract is worse. More money, more years remaining, bogaerts is older, and decline to sub 2 WAR projected pretty quickly.

lzfreak

Murphy with the hilarious sound bite there

jzmaxson27

🤣🤣🤣

Jon Becker

Just have Murphy call the game

Davy Andrews

This is why he's manager of the year every year.

lzfreak

Is he gonna win it a third straight year? I'm not sure who else you'd give it to

jzmaxson27

Every now and then we get rewarded for having the sound on.

Jon Becker

Nothing against this booth, which I like, I just think they'd rather he call the game too

Jack Dorfman

Playoff game in Petco going on my bucket list

Jack Dorfman

atmosphere is so consistently fantastic

jzmaxson27

I guess the bunt paid off? I still don't like it.

bosoxforlife

It isn't luck that the Brewers and Guardians exceed their projections every year and often by a large amount. Vogt and Murphy haven't missed the playoffs yet. Why these teams mystify all the projection systems is impossible to quantify and it has to come down to something these managers understand that only a few have ever figured out.

Davy Andrews

This would be a good place to mention Jarrett Seidler's recent front office rankings, because he has a lot to say about how those two teams keep running out successful teams.
https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/110449/2026-…

jzmaxson27

This is historically where May starts tilting. But he seems like he has kept his cool a little better this year than years past

Jon Becker

May just jumped about eight feet in the air

jzmaxson27

He for sure thought it was gone off the bat.

Jack Dorfman

was going to say may must have a 50 inch vertical haha

bosoxforlife

Already down to 37 here in central CT. Time to bid adieu to my tomatoes. I will NOT waste my hard earned money on those red baseballs sold in a store.

Jack Dorfman

Looked like Salas tried to fake him out inside, set up away, then the pitch hung inside

jzmaxson27

Can only throw 92 down the pipe so many times Pivetta.

war2d2

This is dumb, right? I can’t be the only one who thinks this is dumb.

bosoxforlife

Davy, I dumped Prospectus when I found Fangraphs so the article is hidden to me. The system must be more important than the people or the Mets wouldn't be the laughingstocks they were this year with David Stearns, who got all the credit, at the helm. I strongly believe there are managers who instinctively know when and where to put the players in the best spots to maximize their production much more efficiently than computers. The Red Sox players, in their postmortem, appeared to almost have a mutiny over what they saw as the excessive use of computers in decision making.

lzfreak

Whoa that was ballsy

jzmaxson27

Exciting stuff!

Benny The Jet

Wow

bosoxforlife

Sending the runner on such a short fly ball is just what I was saying and is part of the reason the Brewers win. I don't think many 3rd base coaches would have sent Pratt. As a group 3rd base coaches are afraid of being seen as the man who sent the runner if he was thrown out

Antonio Bananas

Is PetCo the best of the corporate-named ballparks?

Antonio Bananas

By name I mean

Phil edited

The problem with "best" is that there's a certain pleasure to be taken in the confusion of a bad one. In this regard the newly renamed Fifth Third Field (edit: it's actually Fifth Third Park) in Detroit should be a lot of fun, since it does not remotely sound like a meaningful three-word sequence.

Jack Dorfman

Used to love Safeco and Miller, Petco up there with Busch and Citizen's bank maybe?

Benny The Jet

Coors is good, plus the corporations who happened to be named pleasant sounding ballpark names like American Family Field and Great American Ballpark

asf123

Wrigley 😜

Phil

I was disappointed to realize that Great American is insurance. For some reason I was absolutely sure it was a hot dog brand, which would be much better and funnier.

Jack Dorfman

OFs playing deep stealing doubles

Jack Dorfman

Reminds me of Ben's barrels article from the summer, wonder if that's even more true in the yoffs

Ben Schneider

Joining now, what I've seen of the last couple innings has been a fun, tense game

Phil

This whole series has been like that.

Benny The Jet

We need 5 games of this series

antihustle

Absolutely

Ben Schneider

No one likes a parade of pitching changes, but they're more tolerable when both teams have a lot of electric guys coming in

Alan Sherman

reading the chat well behind, but I think the best corporate ballpark name was the original Arizona one. I think it was Bank One Ballpark and we got to just call it "the Bob"

David

Yeah, the local nicknames are where it's at. I thought "The Juice Box" was great in Houston.

Alan Sherman

Not just a local nickname, I called it the Bob as a Bay Area Giants fan

Alan Sherman

Also jokingly called the Coliseum "the Virus" in the years that McAfee had the naming rights

Phil

I spend a lot of time in Chicago for work–no one I know there bothers to learn the ever-changing name of the ballpark on the South Side. "Sox Park" is common (which also reflects the CTA's abbreviation for maps and schedules, which is just "Sox"), as is, naturally, "Comiskey."

Ben Schneider

I just read Eric's new article and now I'm thinking how that batted ball would be a boring routine out

Pedantic A-hole

Do you think that Cooper Pratt paid to have someone do that to his hair?

Antonio Bananas

Does PetCo have a local nickname?

Alan Sherman

I lived in San Diego for 8 years in college and after and I never heard one from other residents or at a couple of games a season

Alan Sherman

the radio announcer would often say "from the gaslamp quarter" but that's the neighborhood not the ballpark and obviously he's required to use the corporate name

Ben Schneider

Chisholm should learn from Turang there

Alan Sherman

If we could all learn second base defense from Turang, the world would be a better place

Jack Dorfman

Michael king in the game to close it down is fun

antihustle

Why is King so likeable

Ben Schneider

That looked like a swing to me

Antonio Bananas

We know Miller not being available hurts the Padres chance of winning. We know he did a thing about 9 months ago. Knowing those 2 things, what's the negative WPA of that thing he did 9 months ago?

Anonymous Member #46

Would be hilarious for the Padres to lose because of their closer's daddy issue.

Sean Dolinar

I like how wild these chats get after midnight.

showbusiness77

Yankees fan sad career of King traded for one year of Soto. Although if we would've won the dance, would've felt a BIT differently. Hindsight

showbusiness77

Why King used though? no tomorrow. Maybe treating it like a bullpen session. Would still be available for game X?

jms4

my king, Mike King

Ben Schneider

I think King will pitch in Game 5 on short rest if they get that far

Pedantic A-hole

Is Lara running?

Ben Schneider

Yes

fishnchips

Wowowowow

antihustle

So that's what defense should be like

Jack Dorfman

A great series

Jack Dorfman

ray and musgrove piggybacking tomorrow?

Pedantic A-hole

What a great ballgame! And series. Hope we get a game 5

Biscuit

What was the velocity on that last hit from Yelich?

Jos

107


Members Only Game Thread- Phillies vs Braves

by
October 1, 2026

Welcome to our Open Game Thread for the Phillies-Braves Wild Card Game 3. Chat with fellow readers as we watch to see who will advance to take on the Dodgers in the NLDS! Only Members can participate, and unlike our usual game chats, your messages will be posted immediately.

Our Member community is made up of thousands of incredibly knowledgable baseball fans, and we think this is a great way to follow a game with like-minded baseball enthusiasts. We might even have some FanGraphs Staff drop in and join the fun. Please be courteous to your fellow Members, or you may find your chat privileges revoked.

Sean Dolinar

Hello Everyone!

Seuss2004

Hi!

sadhulk

Which of these teams has a better shot against the Dodgers?

lzfreak

I'll say the Braves because I think they were just better this year. The Phillies do have the "built better for the playoffs" thing since they're so top heavy. I think the Dodgers would be heavily favored either way of course.

Honkus Wagner

JT Realmuto implies the existence of a TJ Fakemuto

Matt Martell

I appreciate this even if no one else does

JU Jazz Hands

This gambit is pop on toast

Sean Dolinar

I've got Steelers on the TV and baseball on laptop. So much PA.

Dan Szymborski

Aaron Nola feels like a bad idea, but sometimes bad ideas work out hilariously well in the playoffs.

lzfreak

Short leash presumably

Rich Hill's Fastball

How many outs do we think Nola and Holmes get combined? 15?

Jack Dorfman

Hard to see both of them pitching that well for me

Sean Dolinar

I can make that poll. At least an O/U poll. Set at 15?

JU Jazz Hands

14.5

Dan Szymborski

As I said in chat, I'm interested in seeing if they try to keep Kerr in there through second time Harper/Schwarber instead of start burning Dylans

Dan Szymborski

They give him quite a few three inning stints

Jon Becker

I thought this bar didn’t have the game on and now it’s on and now I’m here everyone!

Rich Hill's Fastball

If Kerr allows Schwarber or Harper to get on, that'd be pop on toast

Antonio Bananas

Guessing he'll walk at least one of them

Dan Szymborski

I'm going to continue to use pop on toast from chat

Jack Dorfman

Oppo schwaboo makes me feel like it'll be a big night for him

Matt Martell

Good piece of hitting ™ by Schwarber

JU Jazz Hands

Oof

Antonio Bananas

How much does the 1pm start times theyve had negate the home field advantage? Smaller and quieter crowds

Dan Szymborski

I've never actually looked at day vs. night home field

Dan Szymborski

Or attendance based.

Jack Dorfman

Certainly a different atmosphere

Jack Dorfman

that's an interesting question

Dan Szymborski

Maybe I'll add to that the to do list for Things to Write About in a Very Long Offseason

Antonio Bananas

Can this be a mailbag submission?

Dan Szymborski

If you were a doordasher and saw a note that said "Only buy the Chessmen cookies if they have the chess shapes, I don't want to eat the limited edition shapes like those stupid gardening theme they had in the spring" would you swipe by, assuming I'm a psychopath?

Doug Gray

We don't need to assume, Dan.

marz

I don’t really have anything to add right now, but hey, members only!

Rich Hill's Fastball

Not a gambling gal myself, but I would be interested in a "more liberty biberty ads than hits" line

Matt Martell

Take the over, only because we're watching Aaron Nola vs. Ray Kerr

Dan Szymborski

Oh, hey Doug! You already knew I was a psychopath because of the Boyardee note.

Doug Gray

We still love ya buddy!

Matt Martell

I think they would write your name in on election day

Davy Andrews

Hey everybody! I'm working on my Yanks-Rays preview right now, but I'll try to keep an eye on the chat as well.

Davy Andrews

Hello again, Jack.

Matt Martell

And I'm here until Davy finishes his Yanks-Rays preview — then I'll have to edit it

Phil

Dan, is this the first time you've participated in two chats in the same day? It's kind like pitching in both games of a double-header.

Dan Szymborski

One thing fun about these chats is that sometimes Sean updates the software in real time

JU Jazz Hands

I'm in Zanzibar

Jack Dorfman

Howdy Davy

Dan Szymborski

I once did eight hours of a chat in one day for one of these playoff megachats. And that was when ESPN was paying me!

Dan Szymborski

JU, the country or the club in New Jersey?

marz

Actually, I do have something. What’s it going to take to get an Atlanta fans to stop doing performative caricatures of indigenous human beings? It’s the 21st century and people shouldn’t suck this much.

Russell edited

hell freezing over. they have stuff at their park about how "it's actually totally fine and indigenous people actually like it"

Antonio Bananas

At what point does it just become a "sports" thing? Chiefs, Florida State, and Im guessing other college schools do it too. I wish it wasnt a thing, but intent has to be factored right?

Matt Martell

I edited this piece from Stephanie Apstein during the 2021 World Series at SI, and it got a lot of ppl talking about it for a bit, but then nothing happened https://www.si.com/mlb/2021/10/28/atlanta-braves-tomahawk-ch…

JU Jazz Hands

Dammit. I'm in Zanzibar. It's 3:30 AM I'm supposed to go away (to another part of the island) for the weekend with someone I met here tomorrow. If I don't go to sleep soon I'm going to be very tired tomorrow. Should I go to bed or watch baseball?

Rich Hill's Fastball

Might be the wrong crowd to pose the question too, JU!

Tyler Madsen

As a Cubs fan, I guess I root for the Phillies solely for Schwarber.

My lost son, how we miss you so.

war2d2

Our collective Large Adult Son.

Russell

aaron nola in a playoff game is a wild time

JU Jazz Hands

Or the right one

beanbong

If Nola walks Harris, they should probably pull him

Ben Clemens

wait until you hear what happened

Russell

looks like they keep him in

beanbong

Mattingly should let him die out there. none of that whimpy reliever BS

Dan Szymborski

If you see Bert Lahr's Christopher Columbus Lay's commercial, the Tomahawk Chop chant seems tame by comparison https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R139Gf-Xf4

Benny The Jet

That was quick

JU Jazz Hands

Didn't walk him

Jack Dorfman

Well…

bosoxforlife

Nola feels like a bad idea

Rich Hill's Fastball

Boom

beanbong

that pitch was in the dirt lol

Davy Andrews

Well this was fun.

cashgod27

Zach Wheeler seems like he might've been a better choice to start the game

Russell

hell, i'd take zack on two hours of rest

Ben Clemens

huge shout out to the announcers for just shutting up and letting the crowd go nuts

Dan Szymborski

Aaron Nola's pitching like someone who knows he's like 30 minutes away from having diarrhea and he needs to get out of the game quickly

lzfreak

I don't think 3 will be enough tonight. But it's a good start

jjryan6

Grant Holmes will give up some, but how many?

Jack Dorfman

Nola' s pitching like he accidentally ate some pop on toast

jdbolick

That pitch was two inches below the zone. That's a gutsy swing after two straight walks.

mockcarr

Wasn’t even a strike

Meg Rowley

If the Phils lose, can Kruk just rove and be in a DS booth?

Dan Szymborski

They showed Dubon making a face like I do when I hear about free tacos

mockcarr

Nola may already have tickets to NOLA

beanbong

that pitch was absolutely tipped

Matt Martell

Hi Meg!

Russell

These chats are absolutely fantastic y'all, a tremendous perk to being a member!

Meg Rowley

Hi Matt!

Davy Andrews

Hello, Meg!

Dan Szymborski

It's funny how this seems to be the most FG writer-dense chat, more than the ones actually designed to be

Meg Rowley

Hi Davy!

Rich Hill's Fastball

As a Dodgers fan (yeah, yeah) I'm just rooting for this to stay close so the winner exhausts their pen.

Meg Rowley

I figured I'd pop in and say hi since I wasn't able to yesterday.

cashgod27 edited

What do you even do here if you're Mattingly? Too early to put in Wheeler, you can't keep Nola in, non-Duran pen stinks.

mockcarr

Chopped meat vs tomahawk chop. No easy answer..,

Doug Gray

Philly has some GREAT pizza. Easy choice.

mockcarr

I prefer the Phillies’ pretzel game

Anonymous Member #46

Anyone else get a little bit sad watching end-stage Aaron Nola?

onewil

Yes. He’s done well with what he has and sometimes it’s still enough. Not today tho…

Davy Andrews

No, 46, I find the inevitable decay that awaits us all quite enjoyable.

Rich Hill's Fastball

Feature idea @Sean, reaction flags! Such as an "!!" for Anonymous' message

Sean Dolinar

Definitely a good idea.

Davy Andrews

I love that Harris is just on the iPad watching himself rock that pitch again.

Ben Clemens

Davy, I saw an interview with Roger Federer where they asked if he watched film of his matches. He said 'Yes I do, but to be honest, it's mainly for my own enjoyment.' Really stuck with me

lzfreak

Justin Morneau on Twins broadcasts often talks about how before a game/AB he'd watch video of himself hitting homeruns to identify what he was doing mechanically well. Apparently teammates made fun of him for it a lot.

JU Jazz Hands

Yeah. They should change the [Enter] as submit function.

Sean Dolinar

We can possibly change that, but Enter to submit and shift + enter for a new line is somewhat standard. Maybe we can make that an option.

JU Jazz Hands

Are people on mobile devices really using shift+enter?

How many people are on mobile vs computer?

onewil

This is such an odd series. Neither team feels “good” in the old playoff sense.
And then I remember that’s what wildcards are!

Russell

I really don't get how the braves won 94 games

Antonio Bananas

My brother is in his lucky chair with his lucky hat ans 2 backup hats. So if the Braves lose, it's his fault.

Dan Szymborski

I'm so happy that there's not a Line of Fire commercial every single break

Rich Hill's Fastball

"I'm a little teapot, short and stout" for Stott is great

Jack Dorfman

If there's such thing as a wipeout cutter this might be it

shh31

Is there hope still that Kruk says "slutter"?

Russell

what do y'all think: is nola coming back out for round two?

Rich Hill's Fastball

No one was even warming in the first, so yes

mockcarr

I was gonna say it chews scenery

bosoxforlife

Surprised to see Sosa. He looked like he came up lame in Game 1

Antonio Bananas

Do they make Liberty Biberty pinatas?

Meg Rowley

WHY DOES IT HAVE TEETH

Davy Andrews

Meg, your comment says it's awaiting review, and I wonder who gets to review it.

Sean Dolinar

I do.

Meg Rowley

It didn't like that I was yelling

Meg Rowley

but also, why does it have teeth!?

Dan Szymborski

TESTING THE YELLING

Rich Hill's Fastball

I appreciate MH2 just admitting "I was trying to homer there" haha

Meg Rowley

It doesn't have a digestive system, does it? Why does it need to chew?

Rich Hill's Fastball

It eats up airtime, Meg!

Biscuit

It’s giving Sonic The Hedgehog teeth

Jack Dorfman

thankfully I don't think most mascots have teeth right?

Anonymous Member #46

which would be most horrifying with teeth

Russell

i mean, it has to be the phanatic, right?

Anonymous Member #46

eww yep

Davy Andrews

Hi Sean!

Jack Dorfman

Gritty and the Phanatic don't

Jonathan Smith

How do we think Votto has been in this “on the field” role?

Davy Andrews

I've been digging it.

Jack Dorfman

Yeah I've liked Votto

Davy Andrews

Does your comment have to await review if you talk about BUTTS? (Just checking.)

Jon Becker

Extremely uncertain as to why Mattingly has a low leverage lefty up if not for Smith, this is perplexing

Rich Hill's Fastball

Mattingly making perplexing pitching decisions? More at 11.

beanbong

5/6 balls in play off of Nola have been hard hit

Davy Andrews

Hi, Jon!

Davy Andrews

I'm going to say hi to everyone.

lzfreak

Once the Phillies season is over, remember they have the incredibly awkward dynamic of Don Mattingly's son deciding if his dad should keep his job

Biscuit

Did Ryan Dempster pioneer the glove shake mid windup?

Matt Martell

Meg saw the commercial and wondered why the mascot had teeth. I saw it and started wondering how Liberty got from a commercial of a struggling actor flubbing his lines and saying "Liberty Biberty" to now having a Biberty mascot.

marz admin edited

They too seem to be doing a weird version of throwing **** at the wall. They’ve got that whole other set of ads with the cheesy 80s cop and the emu. Is this maybe just the game in advertising these days? They’re trying to find something that’ll go viral and they got some focus group data that a mascot from Critters 2: The Main Course tested well.

mockcarr

Don Smith looks a lot sadder than he actually is

Jonathan Smith

Man, what a weird season for Nola..

Jon Becker

Liberty Biberty? Jason Benetti’s interviewee?

mockcarr

Well, I guess Dom doesn’t exist as a name and I’ve spent no time in New Jersey

Biscuit

The phanatic but with the mouth of a sea lamprey

Anonymous Member #46

I am never recovering from this visual

Matt Martell

I'm fascinated by the decision to start Nola

Matt Martell

If Wheeler is available tonight, why didn't the Phillies just start him?

Russell

well why would you not want 1.2 high-quality innings from prime aaron nola?

Benny The Jet

It just kinda felt like this was the inevitable conclusion to starting Nola- trailing by multiple runs before your best pitchers even get a chance to throw, and still having to go to the pen early

mockcarr

Great, now there’s ANOTHER word in that stupid Liberty song…

Matt Martell

They had to have known Nola wouldn't last line. Baffling

Jon Becker

Mattingly’s reasoning was that they think Wheeler profiles better out of the bullpen, which may well be true, but it’s gonna matter a helluva lot less down three than tied

Rich Hill's Fastball

Was there a case to start someone like Bowlan? Feels like a much likelier clean 6 outs.

Benny The Jet

If I'm Philly, I want Wheeler and Duran getting the maximum # of outs possible, then praying that your line up gives you enough that you feel comfortable piecing together the end of the game

Matt Martell

Yes, Wheeler profiles better as a reliever than Nola, but he also profiles as a better starter

wiguy94

Do you think the Phillies considered Mayza opening for Nola? Feel like it would have made plenty of sense with the top of the Braves order being quite LHH heavy.

Dan Szymborski

Yeah, my feeling was that if they were only going to use Wheeling for an inning or two, it makes sense to strategize where you deploy him. If you're willing to use him for four innings, I think you just start him

lzfreak

Why not start Duran, have him go 2, then Wheeler?

Rich Hill's Fastball

Heck, why not start 2008 Joe Blanton?

Doug Gray

Do….. do you have a time machine and you aren't sharing it with the rest of us?

Rich Hill's Fastball

I used it to introduce Liberty Biberty into this timeline

Doug Gray

Oh no

Meg Rowley

Has Bowlan pitched at all this series?

wiguy94

No but he warmed up multiple times in game 1

Antonio Bananas

There should be a limit on political TV ads. Like only within 4 weeks of an election. Or none

Meg Rowley

We started getting them in AZ in July lol.

Russell edited

Isn't bowlan out with a groin injury?
edit: i am wrong

Jon Becker

I gotta say, the incessant promoting makes me want to watch The Traitors even less than I did, which was zero

Hazmat Corntail

My only guess is that they thought Nola’s been good enough of late that they could get at least once through the order with him.

Dan Szymborski

Well that was fun

Benny The Jet

I can't believe I am saying this, but I miss the days of Big Bang Theory promos

Antonio Bananas

Phillies IF doesnt make that play.

Jonathan Smith

Was just thinking this. That was an incredible play.

Antonio Bananas

I dont remember which jabroni wrote the series preview for this, but they didnt mention defense at all. Its been a story all series though.

Jon Becker

Check this pun out: Dubie Thursday

mockcarr

The brothers would be proud

Rich Hill's Fastball

Mauricio Dubon is fantastic

mr. burrito

As a Dodgers fanatic, I'm thrilled with the Harris homer. Respectfully, of course.

Rich Hill's Fastball

Interesting. I'm a Dodgers fan and I'd much rather face Philly!

mr. burrito

Yeah, I'm probably misremembering the season. The Braves probably smoked us. But I'm thinking that, after Sale, the Braves starters aren't particularly scary…

Jon Becker

Sean, we need to get upvotes in here so my humor can be feted

Sean Dolinar

I'm leaning toward emoji reacts or something. So you can get 😂 instead.

mockcarr

Maybe this is Ray Kerr’s moment before he goes back to groundskeeping

bosoxforlife

Please don't tell me that just anybody can play 1st. Olsen is as valuable a defender as there is on the team.

lzfreak

Do we know if first base defense ages well? I love the idea of Matt Olson being an elite defender into his 40s

Jack Dorfman

Looked like Ray Kerr said he wants to keep going as he walked into the dugout, love that

Davy Andrews

Goldy's defense is still good.

Benny The Jet

Does Kerr get Schwarber and Harper in the 4th now?

Rich Hill's Fastball

He's got to

bosoxforlife

Ray Kerr goes 5 and gets the win.

Dan Szymborski

The warning that it's from the *commissioner* of baseball really makes me want to broadcast the transmission without expressed written consent

mockcarr

That guy just implies EVERYTHING

JU Jazz Hands

THIS Dodger fan thinks the Phillies are a slightly bigger risk than Atlanta. Because pitching

Dan Szymborski

I love how TV show commercials tend to discourage me from watching the advertised TV show

Dan Szymborski

I remember when Arrested Development debut way back. The commercials for it were *awful* and made it seem like a schlocky sitcom.

Dan Szymborski

I didn't watch it until several episodes in and only then by accident

Antonio Bananas

Braves defense makes that play.

lzfreak

Oh hey another defensive play not made by Philadelphia

Davy Andrews

In his defense, they hit the ball RIGHT at him. Must be scary.

Dan Szymborski

It's been awhile since Mattingly has managed; I hope he's not saving Wheeler so he can be fresh for Game 4…

Jay Jaffe

Hey hey, party people!

bosoxforlife

Turner is turning into Story, heaven forbid.

Rich Hill's Fastball

Hi Jay!

Dan Szymborski

yo jay

Davy Andrews

Hi, Jay!

mr. burrito

So, if Mattingly Jr. has to whack Mattingly Sr., does that f-up Thanksgiving?

lzfreak

Oh Jay is here! I was just about to ask the chat if we think Acuna is on a Hall of Fame trajectory? Feels like it could go either way at this point, and health could be the most important factor

bosoxforlife

Dubon gets my vote for most underrated player. He is just so valuable.

Jonathan Smith

Did the Phillies need Nola at all tonight? Not completely tracking their bullpen usage minus Painter and Duran

jonmberra

Zack Wheeler's gray beard makes me feel very old.

Jay Jaffe

These two pitching staffs feel so thin I could read a newspaper through them

Jack Dorfman

What an image

Matt Martell

Haven't we as a society progressed beyond the need to make a Scrooge movie starring Johnny Depp in 2026?

Davy Andrews

Haven't we progressed past the need for Johnny Depp at all?

Jay Jaffe

Acuña got a great start to a HOF trajectory but he's totaled 5.0 bWAR since his MVP season — that's 3 years worth. He's still got a decent shot if he can get back on track but his bat has rarely been special lately, his defense has deteriorated, and he can't stay on the field.

Benny The Jet

I'm sorry but the rationale being that "Wheeler is a better relief option than Nola" is still so confounding to me!

"Why are you eating garbage?"
"Because I thought food would be a better dessert than garbage."

jonmberra

I think the problem is they didn't really have any good options if Wheeler can't throw 5 innings.

lzfreak

I'll be honest I had never heard of Ray Kerr before today. And I follow baseball very closely. Could probably name 500-600 current major league players. But not him

JU Jazz Hands

Samsies

Jay Jaffe

I had barely heard of Kerr either.

Jay Jaffe

One thing about covering Yankees-Red Sox WCS with those 8 pm games is that you really don't get to watch much of any of the other series, particularly not with sound because you're just catching glimpses of it during stray moments.

Davy Andrews

If there's one player you could read a newspaper through, it's Kerr.

Jay Jaffe

he's a Giacometti sculptue on the mound

Jack Dorfman

Ray Kerr may just be Cristopher Sanchez

Rich Hill's Fastball

Halloween isn't for 30 days, Jack!

Jack Dorfman

Haha good point

bosoxforlife

As an expert at the obvious. I don't think Weiss expected to get 3 1/3 from Kerr.

shh31

Do we think the booth makes a Kenny Powers reference?

Hazmat Corntail

The only good progressive commercial these days is the one where she warns college kids about how they’ll have to decide what to have every night for dinner for the rest of their lives

lzfreak

Fun play there by Holmes

Jon Becker

That play was sick

Jay Jaffe

Grant Holmes arriving late because he spent a million dollars on two chicks at the same time.

Jack Dorfman

that fan new exactly how to make an out call

lzfreak

Does that go down as 1-1-1-1-3?

Rich Hill's Fastball

We need that laugh react

Davy Andrews

I was waiting for Holmes to throw up his hands because the ball got lost inside his hair.

ncphl

Bohm being slow has helped the Braves twice tonight

Matt Martell

I need to assign Baumann a mailbag question about a hypothetical rule for when a ball gets lost in a player's hair

mockcarr

His hair looks like it’s attached to his hat

Matt Martell

So someone step up and submit one!

bosoxforlife

My brother's late wife's sister is a hairdresser in Conway, SC. I wonder if she did Holmes hair when he was in high school?

jonmberra

I know that game was much closer but this feels like 2011 all over again for the Phillies. I hope it goes differently

lzfreak

How are we still talking about "rest vs rust" on these broadcasts? Like why would you want to have to play an entire extra series where you can lose?

beanbong

the discourse about whether it's good to play in a wildcard series is infuriatingly stupid

Jay Jaffe

<broad gesture at everything>

Davy Andrews

Hear, hear. But just to be clear, I'm not deleting that paragraph from my Rays-Yanks preview.

lzfreak

Both those teams will be pretty rested

mockcarr

This isn’t the Wheeler I remember from Taxi

beanbong

if you win, is the momentum worth not being able to rest your pitchers? Maybe, probably not, but you can also lose

Jay Jaffe

welp

Antonio Bananas

Joey "The Braves aren't going to score any more runs" Votto

Rich Hill's Fastball

Uh oh

lzfreak

This might not be an electric finish

Meg Rowley

I think if Ozzie Albies is hitting dongs against you in 2026, might not be your series…

Phil

Listening to the Atlanta radio broadcast. They are a bit worked up. "Ascend into the heavens. . ."

Doug Gray

This one feels like it's over

Jack Dorfman

is this what a window slamming shut sounds like?

Davy Andrews

Surely you know what that sounds like.

Jack Dorfman

I'm usually fairly gentle with my windows

Anonymous Member #46

he's more of a Dorfman than a window guy

beanbong

Votto really should give up on doing Romo predictions during the broadcast

Jay Jaffe

Ozzie Albies may be only four feet tall but he can hit the ball a long way once in awhile.

Doug Gray

He hit that 104.75 Albies (if he were actually four feet tall)

onewil

Ouch…

Rich Hill's Fastball

Nice swing from Ounce-Pound

Rich Hill's Fastball

OZ LB, for those raising their eyebrows

Antonio Bananas

Harris catches that

Jay Jaffe

I'll not have you impugn the Phillies defense!
<checks notes>
Ok, I'll allow it.

Antonio Bananas

Im going to harp on it until Dan apologizes for not covering defense at all in the series preview

Jack Dorfman

Umpire cam on these homers during WC has been great

Hazmat Corntail

Now I miss How Many Altuves

Davy Andrews

I've always wondered what will happen to Albies' fish if he ever gets traded.

Rich Hill's Fastball

Isn't he finally a free agent in a month?

beanbong

their own wing in the Georgia Aquarium

whatmonster

Braves have a 7m option for next year

beanbong

option's cheap, they'll pick it up

Dan Szymborski

A dedicated moving truck with full garbage cans full of water?

danodea

Just read the Ray Kerr wiki page and wow what a story he's got

Meg Rowley

It's really amazing – night of that dude's life.

beanbong

there's already a paragraph for this start, those editors are on the ball

Phil

I googled "aquarium movers." Apparently there's a company called Tank Me Later LLC. Of course.

Jack Dorfman

Do they list the Rockies as a part owner?

Rich Hill's Fastball

I wonder what positions his fish would play on the diamond? Potential mailbag or offseason EW question

Meg Rowley

Oooooo, other than them being labeled as vaguely "exotic," do we know what sort of fish?

beanbong

he's got a youtube channel dedicated to the fish: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClRj8Cp2HHjXrqRIdy6SvYw/vid…

Matt Martell

How am I just learning about this now?!

Rich Hill's Fastball

He lists a lot in here too: https://richeisenshow.com/read/exotic-fish-expert-braves-2b-…

Jack Dorfman

Saltwater?

Jack Dorfman

Or freshwater not actually sure

Meg Rowley

"Fish."

Jack Dorfman

Confident in that at least

mr. burrito

Can I repeal my opinion that I want the Braves to play the Dogs? Forgot about the tomahawk chop crap.

Meg Rowley

The lack of frizz on Grant Holmes' curls is so impressive to me.

mr. burrito

I Holmes related to Weird Al?

Jonathan Vander Lugt

Anyone else watching the CBS reality lineup on a different screen?

Meg Rowley

Have Thursday Night Football on the small TV, and boy is it a throwback bad Thursday game…

Jonathan Vander Lugt

I forgot there’s football too! We’re TV rich tonight it seems

Dan Szymborski

I was just thinking of Weird Al too

danodea

That Realmuto contract is lookin pretty bad

Benny The Jet

Man the bottom of this Phillies line up is brutal

bosoxforlife

That might have been the Phillies last gasp.

Rich Hill's Fastball

Before they enter Ozzie's fish tank?

Meg Rowley

Alright, time for dinner. Back later!

Phil

It's going to take a lot of Schwarber and Harper solo home runs to pull this one out. A third hitter would be helpful

Dan Szymborski

I don't mind the Traitors commercials as much as the Line of Fire commercials since you don't hear the same song over and over again

bosoxforlife

With Ohtani leaving stage left, a case could be made for Harris to be second to PCA in the MVP voting.

Jay Jaffe

Elly De La Cruz was 2 wins better and went 30-30, he's a much more plausible runner-up to PCA than Harris

Anonymous Member #46

Grant Holmes looks so much like Rod Beck from the back, and that makes me nostalgic.

Rich Hill's Fastball

Where do you think Miz finishes in MVP voting?

lzfreak

I'd put him behind Turang but I'm biased against pitchers for mvp in most circumstances

bosoxforlife

I forgot the Reds were still in the league.

Doug Gray

Some days I wish they weren't. But then I remember that I have bills to pay.

Rich Hill's Fastball

There's the Kenny Powers!

ncphl edited

The O/U is final, at 12 combined outs from Holmes and Nola

Sean Dolinar

This was closer than I thought. 68.18% of those who responded to the poll were right!

Seuss2004

This game is really the Phils philsing as hard as they can phils.

Jack Dorfman

Anticlimactic double

Jonathan Vander Lugt

I feel like Schwarber had a shot at home if he’s really booking it? Idk feel like they need the run there

Benny The Jet

Feels like you need these 2 here to have a chance

lzfreak

Not a ton of urgency from Schwarber on the bases

Anon21

Dylan Dodd to face those two looking like a missed opportunity

Doug Gray

Kyle Schwarber was running the bases there like I was running after knee surgery.

whatmonster

Does anyone else think the sound mixing is off? Seems like the stadium noise and organ are so loud you can’t hear the commentary

Jonathan Vander Lugt

Bohm rolling over one to kill the rally feels apropos

bosoxforlife

I certainly expected to see Dodd.

Jack Dorfman

Haven't heard from Juicy Drop Pop in a while

bosoxforlife

I hope the screen unfreezes before the game starts again.

cyanocitta

I realize that the sequencing is unlikely to be in alignment, but if we're moving on to a Braves-Dodgers NLDS, who would you rather have as a SP: Sale or Yamamoto? I would say the latter, but it could be a generally fun series for fans who enjoy ace-watching.

beanbong

Sale's got the better numbers since Yamamoto came over, but the 2 CGs in the playoffs last year were crazy. I'm biased but give me Sale and the Ks

cyanocitta

To me, Sale has raw dominance (better in topline stats this season) and Yamamoto has consistency (most QS in MLB). I like Yamamoto, because he gives you the best distributed probability of a G1 W. I can understand the other viewpoint, though

Rich Hill's Fastball

Not to beat a dead horse but…how do you not start Wheeler?!

danodea

When you have the opportunity to start a guy with one of the highest HR/9 in the league in a win or go home game, you simply have to take it

cyanocitta

Mattingly implied that he favored Nola's rest over Wheeler's potential output. I understand that rationale, but you would think that they could have skipped a rest day or two in the past month to ensure that the timing was aligned

danodea

They had him lined up to start game 1, but then they had to run him out in game 162 cause they failed to lock a playoff spot before that. Oops!

danodea

The rest thing is crazy to me though. Did he not watch Yamamoto in the World Series last year?? This is the playoffs, dawg, there is no tomorrow. Leave it all out there.

cyanocitta

Exactly, Dan! Give him a 70- or 80-pitch limit and the start

Benny The Jet

I'd argue neither will even be the best pitcher in the series

lzfreak

Ray Kerr >>

Rich Hill's Fastball

Justin Wrobleski!

cyanocitta

Mr. Regression to the FIP

bosoxforlife

Wheeler throwing 70 pitches , at least, makes the Phillies decision to start Nola very suspect.

ncphl

Ray Kerr's name is wasted on a pitcher

Antonio Bananas

When I was a kid I didnt think Kruk was an actual major leaguer. I thought he was an actor like the mean guy in Rookie of the Year. Still not sure

Phil edited

The Wheeler situation shows what a huge disadvantage it is to be in a race that comes down to the last day.

Jay Jaffe

that's part of the penalty of getting in via the Wild Card. You may not be able to set up your pitching and you have almost no margin for error.

Phil

I just realized you can edit your typos now! Don't think Sean is here but someone please praise him for that.

Sean Dolinar

Oh I'm here! I'm just working on mobile app integration. And making sure everything else is working.

Anonymous Member #46

Why would you throw Chris Sale in a four-run game here?!

Antonio Bananas

If Schwarber/Harper come up this inning, it'd be huge. But next inning? I dont know why. Maybe just 15 pitches?

bosoxforlife

I just knew Sale would play a role.

Rich Hill's Fastball

Sean did an incredible job with this

whatmonster

Sale is throwing up 4 runs with 8 outs to get…?

bosoxforlife

This is such an added bonus. I can't thank everyone involved enough.

Dan Szymborski

I dunno how you would justify Sale unless the game was closer maybe even then.

Rich Hill's Fastball

Dodger fan here: thank you, Mr. Weiss, for foolishly warming Sale!

cyanocitta

You have to play the long game if you're the Braves. Assume that you don't need Sale today, and keep him ready for the Dodgers. Long way to go, esp on the NL side

Dan Szymborski

Right now, you'd just burn him to be a mopup. I don't like the idea. It's too cute

lzfreak

Are they Alcantara-ing Sale?

bosoxforlife

Except that it is not his throw day.

Jack Dorfman

Gotta have other arms they trust besides Sale

cyanocitta

Is there a remote chance that Sale in the bullpen is a decoy? Has he done his throwing session yet today?

whatmonster

I certainly hope this is just weird 3D chess and not a real plan

Antonio Bananas

If Weiss sees ShwArper as such a threat, just pitch Iglesias?

lzfreak

I feel like the Braves could really use Strider and Schwellenbach

bosoxforlife

Ya' think.

beanbong

even if they don't want Lee, which is probably wise, you've got Suter and Dodd who haven't thrown this series. If 2 reach, you go to Iggy

Jonathan Vander Lugt

Great play by Bowlan there

beanbong

really important to scratch a couple across here with the top of the lineup agaisnt Bowlan, if only to keep Sale in the pen

Anonymous Member #46

Ask and you shall receive.

beanbong

hit it in the pen too so you could see Dodd warming. what a guy

whatmonster

Sit down, Sale

Benny The Jet

That'll do it

Seuss2004

The guy who kept giving up hrs so frequently that he was effectively shelved, gave up a hr. I, for one, am shocked.

Seuss2004

But seriously, why not Duran and McFarlane? There is nothing to lose.

cyanocitta

It's an interesting question

Jack Dorfman

Dubon tried something there

Benny The Jet

I don't see how Mattingly can survive this game

lzfreak

Mattingly manager or Mattingly general manager?

Anonymous Member #46

Do you prefer "Gone-y Baseball" or "Done-y Baseball"?

Matt Martell

I can't wait for the Phillies to come back here and have the Dubón kicked ball be the turning point

Jack Dorfman

that'd be fantastic

lzfreak

Not great by Acuna there

McColin

Does the wind swirl extra in RF there?

Rich Hill's Fastball

Does Harris catch that? /s

bosoxforlife

In his hip pocket.

Antonio Bananas

Yes

lzfreak

Sale up again

whatmonster

Is this really necessary

Antonio Bananas

Wtf why

Dan Szymborski

Needlessly cute

lzfreak

This is a bit ridiculous

Matt Martell

this makes no sense

Benny The Jet

Why

Rich Hill's Fastball

No way

whatmonster

There is nobody else who can get 4 outs before giving up 4 runs???

bosoxforlife

Memories of 2018.

danodea

Here he comes! For some reason!!

McColin

I’d think they want him for Saturday more than now

lzfreak

I do love watching Sale pitch but come on

Matt Martell

Up four with two out, nobody on in the eighth inning — why?

Phil

One of many problems with this is the 3-batter minimum. If Sale doesn't get him he could throw many more pitches than is probably planned.

Anonymous Member #46

so dumb

Seuss2004

Dodgers day thankx.

whatmonster

I guess the idea is this just pushes his start from game 2 to game 3 of the DS? But, maybe even game 4?

Antonio Bananas

Does this do anything at all to the psyche of the other bullpen arms?

Jon Becker

Bringing Sale in here is cool as hell and also wildly unnecessary

Phil

Did he just insist, Scherzer-style? And no one can say no?

whatmonster

haha might be that actually

Jay Jaffe

Sale? Wow that's a choice

Jon Becker

I would think it’s for the one out/three hitters but what if that takes 20 pitches? I would’ve just left Dodd in for Harper and gone to Raisel after

whatmonster

Well, he looks sharp at least

beanbong

maybe he's just in to face Harper? Would make more sense, he just has to get him out

Matt Martell

That's poor by Harper

danodea

Not great, Bryce

bosoxforlife

If Harper was awake Sale would have had to throw more pitches.

Jon Becker

All right Chris great work, your day should be done now

Seuss2004

Now I'M the one saying, "BOOOO-urns"

Matt Martell

Just watched Spencer Jones reach off Crochet that way last night. I'm sure Harper not running will go over well in Philly

danodea

He didn't even run hard when he did get goin lol

Rich Hill's Fastball

The pitching decisions this game have been baffling

Seuss2004

I mean if this were the Nationals, Phillies would have like a 60% win probability down 4 with 3 outs to go.

Antonio Bananas

Does Weiss know that if Sale starts game 2 of the LDS then he can also start game 5?

Solitaire

Can someone explain to me Brandon Marsh's hair? Does he fill it with some kind of slime before each game? I have long hair, my head sweats plenty when I exercise, my hair has never looked like his

danodea

He pours water all over it constantly

Matt Martell

Jake Mintz wrote about it back in 2022! https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/why-brandon-marshs-wet…

Rich Hill's Fastball

I believe Marsh just dumps water on himself

lzfreak

Does he do this when it's cold out too? Sounds miserable in a cold weather October game

Solitaire

Well, I guess I'm pleased it's just dumb not gross

Anon21

I don’t love using Sale for the 9th, if that’s the plan. When you ask guys to do stuff they don’t normally do, it’s always a risk. But Iglesias for a third day in a row is also risky.

lzfreak

If Sale somehow blows this there will be a narrative

Antonio Bananas

Even if he doesnt, if he cant pitch until game 3 thats a story. If he gets hit hard in game 2 thats a story.

bosoxforlife

Grady Little would get off the hook.

Antonio Bananas

Just dumb

Benny The Jet

The managerial decision making in this series has been… interesting. You can't say that often anymore with the homogenized modern strategy.

Rich Hill's Fastball

Don Mattingly brings the juice!

bosoxforlife

Sale was throwing a sweeper before anyone knew what a sweeper was.

Dan Szymborski

And that is that

Jack Dorfman

Sale didn't need many pitches

Dan Szymborski

cyall for the next ones

danodea

Can't believe we gotta wait til Saturday for more baseball

Phil

Thanks for doing this, guys.

Rich Hill's Fastball

Been a pleasure, everyone

Jack Dorfman

excited for the DS!

Jack Dorfman

Great to watch with y'all

Davy Andrews

See you everybody!

Sean Dolinar

We know you have many choices when you watch baseball; we are glad you chose to spend it with us!


We’ve Updated Our Custom Teams Feature

by
June 24, 2026

Site customization has become an increasingly important part of our development strategy here at FanGraphs; it’s also one of the core benefits of becoming a Member. Today, we’re introducing our revamped Custom Teams feature, a tool popular with fantasy baseball managers as they track the statistics and projections of the players on their roster.

This tool shouldn’t be confused with the Custom Reports you can create in our leaderboards. Custom Teams are collections of players that can be accessed across different FanGraphs tools; Custom Reports are a collection of specific stat fields and players that can only be accessed in the leaderboards.

What’s new?

We’ve rebuilt the Custom Teams interface from the ground up to utilize our current player search functionality, while also introducing additional improvements to make the tool more useful:

  • We now have three different types of teams: Manual, Ottoneu, and Legacy.
  • Manual teams are the default team type, where you enter player names to create your team. We’ve updated the player search so that it performs the same as the main search bar on the site:
  • We’ve also added a “Paste names” section to the interface. You can now copy and paste player names to import many players at once, including a column of player names from Excel or Google Sheets. The name and spelling has to be an exact match to what’s in our database (though it doesn’t require the use of diacritical marks), and you must have one player per line with a return separating them:
  • Ottoneu integration means you can now import your teams directly from Ottoneu. This automatically connects if you are logged in with your FanGraphs/Ottoneu account. You can then preview your roster and select a sync mode:

  • The Ottoneu sync mode has three options:
    • Auto Sync – This mode will reload your teams every time it is used (in the Custom Teams interface, loading a leaderboard, etc.), so it will pick up any changes you’ve made to your team.
    • User-Controlled Sync – This mode gives you more control over when your team updates.
    • One-Time Import – This mode effectively makes your team a manual team, but it keeps the reference to your team intact, just in case you want to change the update mode.
    • Please note, if you are using Auto/User-Controlled Sync, you cannot edit your team in this interface; you can only do that in one-time import mode. Any updates will need to made on the Ottoneu side.
  • Legacy teams are the temporary bridge between the current tool and the new one. All the teams that you’ve created on the legacy myteams.aspx page are accessible here, but you still need to use the old page to modify them:

The Legacy myteams.aspx Page

What will happen to the legacy myteams.aspx page?

  • We are phasing it out. We do not want to disrupt people’s use of the tool during the season, so the legacy page will remain available through the end of the 2026 season. It will be removed after the conclusion of the World Series.

What will happen to my old teams?

  • Before we remove the legacy page, you will only be able to modify your team through the old interface. You can view or use your team through the new interface, but the team information only flows in one direction.
  • Once we remove the legacy page, whatever legacy custom teams you have will be migrated to manual custom teams in the new tool.

Who can access the new Custom Teams tool?

  • We developed this tool for FanGraphs Members, so you’ll need to be a Member to access all of its features. Non-Members can try it out, however. They will be able to create teams with a maximum of 10 players, and are limited to manually created teams only. The legacy tool doesn’t have any Membership restrictions, but as noted above, it is being phased out.
  • After we phase out the legacy tool, you will still be able to access your old teams regardless of team size. However, non-Members won’t be able to add or change players if their team already has 10 players.

FanGraphs Changelog: Prospects Are Now in the App and RosterResource Additions

by
June 1, 2026

Welcome to the latest installment of FanGraphs Changelog, where we update you on some of the recent improvements we’ve made to the site as we work to build a better FanGraphs.

First, a few things you might know about already:

App Updates!

We’ve added The Board to the FanGraphs mobile app, which can be download here: App Store (iOS) or Play Store (Android).

In adding prospects to the app, we’ve outgrown the bottom tab bar, so you can now select between a few preset tab bar configurations; Members can fully customize the tab bar. To customize the tabs, go to the More Menu and select “Customize Tabs.” As a reminder, all features in the app can be found within the More Menu.

We’ve also implemented a new Member feature that allows users to set their default player page view options, while also allowing for temporary changes:

One of the challenges of fitting a data-intensive website into a mobile app is figuring out how to allow users to view the ever-growing number of tables they want to see. For example, I might have default tables that I typically look at for a given player (in the image above, it’s the Standard table), but today I need to see that player’s wRC+, WAR and Win Probably Added to settle a debate with a friend. Using the Temporary view option, I can temporarily enable the tables to see those stats. The next time I use the app, however, it will reset to the default view that I’m used to.

We’ve also implemented push notifications for both Android and iOS. After enabling notifications at the OS level, you can find the main controls for the notifications in the More Menu under “Notifications.” There you can choose to follow updates based on a scoring change in a selected team’s game, see when that team’s game goes final, or both:

If you are using iOS, you can enable Live Activities within the Scores tab to follow a live updating Win Expectancy Graph on your lock screen. Note that iOS limits Live Activities to five at a time:

You can also get a notification when we publish a new article, or follow a writer by tapping the subscribe (bell) button on their byline. Note that co- and tri-bylines are considered distinct from individual authors:

You can also now submit feedback directly in the app to report a bug or request new features:

RosterResource Contracts on Player Pages

Last month, Jon Becker added player contract details to the RosterResource Payroll pages. We’ve now integrated that feature into the player pages. If you go to a player page, find the RosterResource section on the side bar, and click Contract History, you can find the contract history for the player contracts we have tracked since 2020, when we integrated RosterResource into FanGraphs:

We’ve also upgraded the Closer Depth Charts to include more information about a given appearance, including how many innings the pitcher pitched, which innings they pitched, the number of batters they faced, and the leverage when they entered the game:

Legacy Team Usage Lineup/Def

We’ve moved the two player usage tools — Batting Lineups and Defensive Lineups — from the team pages into RosterResource:

These offer different views than the Lineup Tracker, showing the batting and defensive lineups vertically. The “row banding” allows you to see usage streaks more easily.

Flair

We’ve continued expanding our customization options for Members. We wanted to do a black header to go with our Dark Mode, which might have been inspired by some of the recent City Connect uniforms. But unlike the City Connects, the header and theme is totally up to you, the FanGraphs Member!

If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below, and if you have any suggestions for site features, please be sure to let us know. And lastly, a thank you to our Members! Membership is the best way to support our staff, and ensure that we can continue to grow and improve the site. We couldn’t do any of this without you!


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