Author Archive: Sean Dolinar

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.


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!


FanGraphs Changelog: App Leaderboard Updates and Lab Additions

by
April 24, 2026

Welcome to the latest 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, here are some important updates we’ve already announced over the past month, in case you missed them:

We’ve worked hard to get our tools updated for the new strike zone and the ABS challenge system. In addition to the new plate discipline metrics added to player page season stats and leaderboards, those stats were also added to the game logs and spark graphs cards. To see how successful players have been when they make ABS challenges, we added an ABS Challenges leaderboard.

We also made a significant update to the FanGraphs mobile app, which can be download here: App Store (iOS) or Play Store (Android).

  • We’ve added the full Major League Leaderboards to the app, including your custom reports. The custom report features are the same on the app as they are on the website. You have to be a FanGraphs Member to have more than 10 player or custom stat columns:
  • You can also set the default for all leaderboards in the app to show you the left edge of the data grid or the right edge. We put some of the most important stats on the right side and default sort data grids by the right column on the website, so we are giving users the option to change this. This can be found under More >> App Settings:
  • We also updated the RosterResource Closer Depth Charts in the app to reflect the updates on the site:

Speaking of RosterResource, the Closer Depth Charts now have more stats:

  • The Results section has most of the stats that were previously there, and we’ve added SwStr%, K%, BB%, Shutdowns, and Meltdowns.
  • The Arsenal section has individual pitch metrics, including Stuff+.
  • We also added the number of pitches thrown and innings pitched over the last six days for each pitcher.
  • There’s now a tooltip that has game-level information including innings pitched, total batters faced, innings appeared in, and leverage when the pitcher entered game.

We also made a small Member update. You are now able to download or copy a .png image of many of our graphs and charts, so you no longer have to screenshot them:

If you have questions, please leave them in the comments below, and if you have any suggestions for site features, be sure to let us know. And lastly, a thank you to our Members! Membership is the best way to ensure that we are able to continue to grow and improve the site, and support our staff. We couldn’t do any of this without you.


FanGraphs Changelog: The Offseason

by
March 12, 2026

As part of our effort to build the best possible version of FanGraphs, we regularly roll out new site features and refine existing ones. It can be easy to lose track of all the changes, so we thought it would be useful to start giving a semi-regular overview of what we’ve been doing on the development side of the site. This is the first of those updates, with a focus on the new tools we’ve added over the offseason, as well as the work we’ve done recently to improve Member features and your experience of the site.

First, here are a few important updates we’ve already announced, in case you missed them:

Member Customization Features

Members have been able to create their own player page dashboards since 2024, but now you are able to further customize the settings of some of the cards by pressing the gear icon (⚙) in the top right corner of the card:

  • Spark Graphs: You can now pick your stats based on what we have available in the Game Logs. You are even able to use the Spark Graphs in multiple slots in your dashboard and feature different stats on each one.
  • Heat Maps: You can now set your default stat.
  • Stuff+ and PitchingBot: You can choose your default model (Stuff+, Location+, or Pitching+ for Stuff+, and Stuff, Command, or Overall for PitchingBot).
  • News: You can filter by article type (FanGraphs/RotoGraphs), and choose to hide injury information or the Rotowire news lines.

As a reminder, custom cards currently need to be set separately for pitchers and batters, so you’ll need to configure your dashboard for a pitcher and a batter initially. You can’t change your cards as a non-Member, but you can open the dialog box and preview the available options.

App Updates

If you haven’t used the FanGraphs app in a while, a lot has changed. Over the past few months, we have made the following updates:

  • Added comments on articles
  • Added several RosterResource pages:
    • Platoon Lineups
    • Closer Depth Charts
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Offseason Tracker
    • Opening Day Tracker
  • Added some of the site’s simpler leaderboards:
    • WAR Leaders
    • Spring Training Leaders
    • College Leaders
    • KBO Leaders
    • NPB Leaders
  • Updated our Win Expectancy Graphs and Box Scores to match the site’s update (more on that below)
  • Added Pythagorean and BaseRun Records (available under Standings)
  • Added Playoff Odds Graphs (available under Standings)
  • Members can share articles from the app
  • Members can customize their bottom tab bar

Tool Updates

At the very end of last season, we updated the Win Expectancy Graphs to use team colors, and we flipped the y-axis to more naturally reflect the home and away teams:

We’ve improved our box scores to reflect more familiar formatting:

The individual full game stats lines have also been overhauled to look more like our current player page tables:

We updated and moved the Season Schedule and Results from the Team pages to the Scores pages:

The Playoff Odds Graphs have been updated to include all of the available projection systems we run for the Playoff Odds:

Speaking of graphs, our WAR Graphs tool, which allows you to compare players’ season and career WAR, has a new look:

We added the ability to look at previous seasons of Pythagorean and BaseRun Records. Because of stat limitations through the years, we currently only have BaseRun records back to 2002. We also spiffed up the Projected Standings page, though those are still only available for the upcoming or current season:

The RosterResource Coaches Breakdown has been updated to include information for 2025 and 2026:

You can filter players by their option status on the Opening Day Tracker, isolating those without minor league options remaining:

Flair

Ever since pitchers and catchers reported, we have given Members the option to have a Florida or Arizona banner at the top of their screen:


We have also given Members the option to hang the WBC Flags below the site’s header:

You can turn these features on and off using the User Menu in the top right corner with your user name in it.

Have questions? Leave them in the comments below, and if you have any suggestions for site features, be sure to let us know. And lastly, a thank you to our Members! Membership is the best way to ensure that we are able to continue to grow and improve the site, and support our staff. We couldn’t do it without you!


Test Post

by
April 1, 2025

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