Here are three things happening in baseball as we head into the weekend…
1. Phillies moving on:
Philadelphia knocked off their division rivals in Atlanta last night, which sends the Phils back to the NLCS for a second consecutive season. They now have a couple of days for rest and preparation, with the Diamondbacks coming to town for Game 1 on Monday night. Pitching matchups haven’t been officially announced but it’s possible that the series starts with Zac Gallen against Zack Wheeler. As for Atlanta, they now go into offseason mode earlier than hoped, with starting pitching likely to be a focus. Kyle Wright is going to miss all of next year, Max Fried is going into his final year of club control and Charlie Morton is undecided about continuing his career in 2024.
2. ALCS kicks off:
While the NLCS doesn’t get going until Monday, the American League counterpart kicks off Sunday night at 7:15 pm Central with the Astros and Rangers taking the Silver Boot series to the playoffs for the first time. It’s also the first time an LCS has taken place between two clubs in the same state. The Rangers are hoping to get back to the World Series for the first time since 2011. A victory for the Astros, on the other hand, would send them to the Fall Classic for an incredible fifth time in the past seven years. Justin Verlander takes the ball for Houston in Game 1 but the Rangers haven’t officially announced their starter yet.
3. Mariners Outlook:
MLBTR’s Offseason Outlook series continues to take a team-by-team look around the league, with the Mariners getting a post later today. This will be followed by a team-specific chat so keep an eye out for both of those.
Congratulations to Baltimore, Minnesota, Tampa, Miami, and Milwaukee for being too cheap to move on past the Division Series
Shoutout to Cleveland and Cincinnati for being to cheap to even go to the dance
Okay. Congratulations to the Dodgers and Braves for forgetting how to hit (the Braves remembered how to hit during the last 3 innings of Game 2). Additional pat on the back for the Dodgers, whove been known for Decades to have pitching, to run out of it when it counted.
Anything else, Omar?
BD
Muted
Don’t need to read baseball “fans” who just want to be negative
Especially, since good pitchers were scarce and very expensive. Almost every buyer needed pitching at the deadline.
No one cares if you muted someone, no need to make an announcement.
Watch it Chad, he’ll mute you.
Where did I say I was muting anyone? Calm down
He was talking to filihok
I think filihok is the guy I muted because he threatened to mute me lmao
I was rooting for the Braves. I now live only 2.5 hours from Truist. Best park in Baseball. Maybe next year
One can only hope.
BizzyDat: Lack of pitching and poor performances by Kershaw and Lance “Gopher Ball” Lynn hurt the Dodgers, but Betts and Freeman didn’t show up. Neither did Acuna for the Braves
Cleaver: That’s the result of too many teams. Most teams, even contenders, have two or three good SP. After that, they have to call up prospect or take a chance by signing has-beens and never-was. Can’t wait for the next expansion. Forty-plus year old players will be coaxed out of retirement just to fill rosters.
BizzyDat: Please don’t start using the cubs mantra. That”a all I heard until that unfortunate result in 2016. Now it’s back for the not-so-lovable losers.
Not really
Orioles had an active payroll around 100 mill this year. They could have made a few additions to bolster their chances. Which is the point. Some teams were too cheap to try and increase their odds of going far in the playoffs.
Twins sat around 163 mill
Marlins had 141 mill
Tampa had 92 mill
Milwaukee had about 155 mill
I wouldn’t consider twins Marlins brewers too cheap. Orioles and Rays definitely.
Milwaukee spent the wrong money, I’ll concede that one
The Twins committed to Jorge Polanco over Edouard Julien becase they were already paying Polanco. Julien was also blocked by Joey Gallo and Byron Buxton. The Twins fall for the sunk cost fallacy, and they’re about to not give Gray the $80 mil to keep him
The Marlins paid a lot of terrible Arb2/Arb3 players that added up. $10 mil on traded contracts and $25 mil on IL
The Rays traded for Civale. They shouldn’t be included at all.
They traded for Aaron Civale who’s making 2.6 mill this year
They could have spent some more.
Since when does spending equal success? The Padres and Mets and Yankees spent quite a bit and they didn’t exactly do great.
The 4 teams left have the #4, #5, #7, and #21 payrolls (tip of the hat to Arizona). It helps
BizzyDat: Me again. The problem with teams that have young players in their first or second seasons is that one day they will all be asking for raises at the same time. The smart thing might be to extend their top talent a few at a time.
Youre not guaranteed success in anything in life.
But adding to an already well playing team at the deadline does increase your odds. Especially when your payroll is significantly, low 100 mill or less.
In the orioles case they should have added some beef to the rotation.
In the Rays case a big bat would have been nice, possibly another starter for insurance.
Padres actually played really well in September. Just couldnt dig themselves out of the hole they created.
Mets sold and idk what the yankees did but feel like they either sold or stayed course.
@NoSubscriptions4Lyfe – I agree with adding pieces increasing you’re odds, but. . . .
The Phillies added just Michael Lorenzon at the deadline and outside of 2 stellar starts and a no-hitter, he was terrible. Kind of ironic that the best pieces that came to a “Above the luxury tax” team were from the farm (Rojas, Kerkering).
We’ll see how much smack you’re talking when the four remaining teams start magically being late on fastballs, can’t handle breaking stuff and have trouble with command that shouldn’t be issues with the so-called four best teams in baseball in Game 1, with the extended layoff.
Having said that, it’s not an advantage for either team, since they’re both dealing with the same layoff.
The problem is when the league is actively sabotaging the higher seed with a layoff, but not the other.
It’s not coddling higher seeds to just line up them on equal terms. But you can’t have one team on one schedule, the other on another, play them, and then act like the disparity has nothing to do with anything.
Sports writers never played the game, so they don’t know what they’re talking about. The only opinion I care to hear is of ex-players. And they’re saying it’s an issue.
It worked best when it was just the EAST and WEST in both Leagues. Then two Wild Cards.
EAST #1 vs WC
WEST #1 vs WC
Best record gets the WC team with the worst record.
Adding the CENTRAL threw the whole playoffs balance off.
What they need to do is realign based on time zones. I am in the Cincinnati “blackout area” so I watch a few Reds games here and there. The NL Central has 2 teams in the Eastern time zone and 3 in the Central time zone. That means Reds regular division home games start at 7 PM local and 75% of their division road games start at 8 PM local. And then you add the extra West Coast road trips and 10 PM starts because apparently everyone has to play everyone now and that is a lot of missed games for the local audience.
It’s fine if you want to play day games, but apparently outside of Wrigley that is forbidden outside of Sunday.
They should realign to get 4 divisions in each league with the focus on every team in the division in the same time zone. Expand the league by 2 and get rid of interleague play altogether. Each team plays 12 teams in their league 10 times and 3 divisional opponents 14 times. The 4 division winners make the playoffs, NO WILD CARDS! If you can’t win your division, tough. Try next year. You don’t play the other league until the World Series.
Rant over.
This could potentially work:
AL East
Yankees
Red Sox
Orioles
Blue Jays
AL Central
White Sox
Guardians
Twins
Tigers
AL South
Rangers
Astros
Rockies
Royals
AL West
Mariners
Expansion Team
Angels
A’s
NL East
Mets
Phillies
Pirates
Nationals
NL Central
Cardinals
Cubs
Brewers
Reds
NL South
Marlins
Braves
Rays
Expansion Team
NL West
Giants
Padres
Dodgers
Diamondbacks
That would work except for the fact that you put the Reds in the same division as all three Central time zone teams I was complaining about. The Reds would be better off in the NL South with an expansion team in Nashville joining the Brewers, Cubs, and Cardinals in the Central. Or put the Nats in the South and the Reds in the East.
Oops! I meant to move the Reds when I was writing that. Either one of those ideas could work.
I do love the idea of getting my Rockies away from the late West Coast games also. Never been a fan of the AL, but since the universal DH is around, I don’t guess it matters anymore because every team is AL.
@chad I want just 2 divisions in each league. Going to happen? Absolutely not. Just my desire.
hiflew: I agree with no inter-league play. It has obliterated the AL and NL which no longer exist until the PO. Hypocritical on bb’s part. I like it when the winner of the AL played the winner of the NL. That was the first time all season that they played one another. I don’t agree that there should be more divisions. I do agree with the way the current set up is. Texas and Houston, two Centrally located teams, in the West. Pittsburgh in the Central? Then there’s Seattle who travel more than any team in bb because the powers that be decided that, wouldn’t it be cute if the Ms played the Rays in Florida? And we don’t need the WS teams to play as many as four series.
It looks good with the exception of the Rockies. They’re more West than South.
The Rockies are closer to a Central team than a West team. Central time zone teams only start their games 30 minutes earlier than the Rockies who always start at 6:40 local time. West Coast teams start their games an hour (AZ) or an hour and a half (LA, SD, SF) later.
At this point though, since thier are no differences between the AL/NL, might as well split the leagues East/West. and have two divisions in each (North/South).
Add 2 expansion teams and have 4 divisions of 8 teams. Still have 12 spots in the playoffs with 4 Division Winners each getting a Bye, and 4 WC’s in both East and West that play a 3 game set 3 days in a row with one off day after the season ends.
I like it. Division winners, no wild card teams
No Braves, Dodgers, Orioles, or Rays, who won 404 games collectively. I’m torn between happiness for the Diamondbacks and disappointment that we won’t see the best teams in the LCS or WS this year.
The teams in the LCS won. The best teams have gone home. Maybe your definition of “best” needs to be revised.
No, I think it’s clear the best teams went home. That isn’t necessarily an indication the playoffs are broken or too large, it’s just disappointing to a lot of baseball fans.
Braves Orioles world series would have been amazing. Rangers v Phillies I couldn’t care less myself.
And we’ll see how long the league allows this to happen once it’s happening to the major cash cows (in addition to the Dodgers) like the Yankees, Red Sox and Cubs, for example.
The league only cares about ratings. It’s not an issue…until they decide it is.
Phillies played even with the Braves in the second half, and won their playoff series. It wasn’t even close. Clearly, the Phillies are the better team.
I just hope Harper’s elbow is ok.
What is clear is that baseball should not have a similar playoff system to basketball because they are not the same game. Basketball, the better team wins about 90% of the time in a 7 game series while in baseball it is about 50-50 because the game is much less dependent on a single star player. That is why the regular season is so much more important in baseball than in basketball. If you don’t win your division in baseball, then you should NOT be in the playoffs at all. If a team proves it is better than another in 162 games, why should they have to do it again in 5 games? It is just silly.
The regular season would be less important if more than half the teams tank after two months.
Thank you!
But now that 12 teams are getting in, and MLB is getting what it wants, which is more revenue and advertising space, we’re never going back, unfortunately,
MLB really needs 32 teams, to even things out. Say you have 4 divisions, like the NHL. Winning a division against 8 other teams is a pretty major accomplishment in my opinion. Division winners play a 7 game LCS, then the WS. I don’t think anyone is arguing if a 93 win division champion beats a 100 game winner. It happens. At least this way everyone starts from a similar point in time, so this “narrative” of a layoff and whether it’s a thing or isn’t won’t be a discussion.
But you’re also the only major sports league without a hard salary cap, and while money doesn’t necessarily equal wins, I’ll put my money on the team with resources vs those without over the long haul.
What I appreciate about baseball is that it’s not like other sports, and it shouldn’t be trying to be, if it really cared about its fans (but it clearly doesn’t)
What I find interesting from sports fans is how they can’t just be honest about their own team’s performance. I live in Pittsburgh. The Steelers got so lucky and pulled one out of their butt last week vs Baltimore. It’s not sustainable, and I’m not going to pretend they beat the Ravens by some huge margin, or that they’re really all that much better even. If the Pirates sneak in next year, and they pull some miracle in a short series, I’m not going to pretend that the other team can’t compete with them, or that the Pirates are even better. But I can be just as annoying as you Phillies fans pretending you’re better than the Braves if that’s how you want to play it.
Philly can’t beat the Braves in 162, or even a season series. So call me when you can beat them in more than a 5 game series that doesn’t have one team with a layoff and the other doesn’t. Then you’ll have actually proven something.
And in light of today of being the anniversary of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series:
The Yankees outscored the Pirates 55-27.
How long do you think that a +28 run differential doesn’t eventually equal the Yankees completely beating down the Pirates?
And I’m saying this a Pirates fan.
You see the problem with these short series and pretending they prove anything?
bhamb
The Braves were clearly the better team.
Such pretzel logic to decide that a team that was decidedly better for half of a season is inferior to a team that was better for 4 games
@Ted I’d argue that there are collectively more Texas and Philly fans than the former.
The question is, who are the best teams in BB for the first 162 games. Clearly, the Braves, Os and Dodgers. But who are the best teams in the PO? Arizona, Houston and Texas. So, who is the best team? The one that had the best record during the regular season or the PO’s? The Braves were clearly the best team in BB this year. Then they are given five games to prove it. Seeding the 12 best teams might help somewhat in solving the problem: Braves v #12, O’s against #11 Dodgers v #10, etc. eventually you would haventhe teams with best records play each other in round, what?, six? But that’s just theoretical. Upsets can happen in that format as well.
The Phillies pitching staff is and has been superior to the Braves’. The Phillies lineup was the equal of the Braves lineup over the second half of the season. They are the more complete team.
More than half the teams won’t be tanking after two months though. Name any season where more than half the teams were out of it by the end of May.
But if you are worried about that, perhaps they could incentivize winning by inverting the draft order and giving the top draft picks to the teams with the best records that miss the playoffs. I have always hated the idea of rewarding teams for being the worst. Instead of Oakland, KC, and Colorado getting the best odds at the #1 pick for not trying, they would get picks #16, 17, & 18. That would make each and every game very important all the way thru September for almost every team.
The most exciting World Series in history.
Maybe instead of being a sheep like every other casual sports fan, think about what’s the better accomplishment.
Beating your competition over 162 games, or beating them over 5. I’ll take 162. It’s just basic logic and math.
Honestly, this makes no sense. They play 162 to determine who makes the playoffs and seeding. From there, it’s the best against the best. Some teams get better as the season goes on because their players heal from injuries (Phillies – Harper), while others get worse due to the opposite (Rays- SP; Orioles-Closer). I certainly prefer a seven game series over five, but it’s head to head no matter what. Win and move on, or lose and go home. Complainers are getting tiresome.
All the wildcards should play one game elimination round. 4 teams in each division. The day after the last game of the year… they play against each other. The two winners play the next day. The winner of that plays the top seed. You could have it at an alternative site just to make it less of an advantage for anyone.
More of an incentive to win your division. Less rest between the regular season and playoffs.
Except it is not the best against the best. It is the best against a team that snuck in with 84 wins.
The east coast teams were complaining when the division winner had 98 wins and the second place team had 95. “Oh, we should get in too… Our record is better than some team that made it in… waaa…. waaaa.. Then they get swept in the first round. LOL
What people forget is that baseball is entertainment. The playoffs are entertaining. It’s not about a coronation for having had the best record over 162 games. A game between the Braves and Marlins in May should not carry the same weight as a playoff game. If you’re upset that your 100 win team choked in the playoffs, I understand. I’d be frustrated too. But teams with the most regular season wins aren’t necessarily the best teams. With a still unbalanced schedule, some teams have an unfair advantage based on who they play in the regular season. The AL Central is hot garbage, and the Twins only won 87 games. They got a home playoff series.
There’s no perfect system. The playoffs are the most fair way to determine a winner. Does the best team win? Maybe not. But the teams with the best records are given several advantages in the postseason, and if they can’t win with those handicaps, they don’t deserve to win.
Braves fans here are by the most toxic.
The fact they are seeing a 90s redux in terms of playoffs success has them in even more of rustling feathers mode.
Haha ok. I mean possibly if you eliminate Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Cubs, Phillies, and Mets fans.
Cubs fans are dormant with their team being so irrelevant.
Ive seen it all but when they face adversity.. the terminally online Braves fans that frequent the baseball sites are the clear worst. Just an opinion.
Mets every 5 years or so when they have a respectable season might clear that bar.
I’d say that dealing with other Braves fans they’re the most clueless about the game and how the business works than any other fanbase.
You obviously haven’t paid attention to the preseason Mets fans on this board that disappear when adversity strikes. But you must be a Mets fan, so I guess none of us here should expect better from you.
Now now, Yankees and Red Sox fans take offense to that. Everyone knows they are the worst, but Braves fans are trying hard to catch up.
I’ve heard a lot of former players list Phillies fans as the worst in relation to playing on the road.
Yes, anecdotal evidence is always the most reliable.
Notice a trend: Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, and Braves….the stinking east coast humidity, old crappy roads, over crowded cities, blue… I mean bugs
There are far more toxic fan bases on here. Heck, a lot of Braves fans are like me, wish we advanced but glad to have dominated the division again. Settle down.
Or possibly, simma down now?
So few top SP available in free agency and well, there are some top teams that all need to fill holes. Teams going after 2 of the available guys
Baltimore, Atlanta, Dodgers, Padres (assuming they don’t resign Wacha and Lugo), Phillies, Cardinals (not top team this year but typically) and more.
The battle for top notch FA SP will get interesting.
Congrats for noticing what almost everyone has missed: too many teams need starting pitching with too few available. Costs will skyrocket.
Fans talk about ‘cheap’…. That is crap! There simply is not nearly enough consistent starting pitching to go around.
In 2004 the Red Sox had 5 starters start 157 out of 162 games. Today every pitcher want to throw 100 mph, so they end up hurt. How many team even had a pitcher throw enough innings to qualify for the ERA title (162)… ?
I hope we get a Phillies-Astros rematch in the World Series again this year
AZ vs. Rangers. AZ wins it all!
That will be the consolation bracket.
Got to peak at the right time, and that seems to be what Philly did!
All I know is the Phillies can only beat the Braves after the league hands them an advantage.
Funny how they never seem to peak over Atlanta when it’s 162 games, or even in the season head to head matchup.
Yeah, they only peak when it really matters. How weak.
What a cope
If you gave the Braves a choice of keep playing in a wild card series or take the time off, you think they are choosing to keep playing ?
Yeah, beat them when it matters most, two years in a row. If you don’t like the format, I suggest the Premier League.
They should rub more salt in the wound by making the draft order based on regular season record (aside from the Draft Lottery)
Orioles dodgers and orioles played terrible, rusty and out of rhythm. When the narrative completely changes in the postseason annually people are going to consider either the season or playoffs irrelevant and hurt the game.
You must not be old enough to remember 1969. Baltimore won 109 games and was tipped by everyone to overrun the Mets in the World Series. Actual outcome proved otherwise.
Manfred needs to do something about the playoff system. He should ban all AL East teams from playing in the playoffs. It’s a waste of time. All three teams were swept both years.
And anyone out of the Central doesn’t get a home game until Game 3 of the World Series
The Braves smashed everyone all year, getting comparisons to the ‘27 Yankees. Guess the pressure of that was too much to handle. The team that lost to Philly I didn’t see all year.
I just think the biggest factor in this series is the personalities the Phillies we’re able to assemble that just rise to the occasion. From Harper to Stubbs, the Daycare, Schwarber & Casty and everyone in between these guys have one singular goal and that’s to win a ring. The Braves are immensely talented, but when you have your star player intent on putting up personal numbers to set records, it takes away from the ultimate goal. The Phillies know they just need to get through the regular season healthy and get into the playoffs then accomplish their mission.
Acuna is doing what a leadoff man should be doing. Setting the table with an excellent 84% SB success rate and leading the league with 149 runs scored. His records are a byproduct of his overall production.
Buh Bye, Atlanta!
I picked the Phillies and Texas as two upsets. I got Phillie as world series champs. But I wouldn’t mind seeing Bochy win one down there.
The Braves were the best team in MLB this year. Everyone saying pitching was the issue – it wasn’t. Braves honestly don’t need to do much. We will be chasing them in the division again, I am sure. The issue was the hitting. I actually attribute this to scouting. The Phillies made the pitches to keep the Braves down. The game we lost was bone-headed and not sticking to the “script”.
I applaud the Braves. They were a heck of a team. I will gladly say that publicly. I am glad the Phillies won, but….. I had to say it.
There is a difference in being built for 162 games and built for the short series. The teams who won and were out were built for the marathon, not the sprint.
I keep hearing this, and I fail to understand where it came from. How does one build a team for a sprint , but not a marathon? Do you suggest that teams to strip down their roster a bit? Not try as hard to be the best you can be? Or lose on purpose?
Fw- It is true and some may not agree with the way I am explaining it. But it is not something that is intentional. It is something that happens during the course of the year but not planned for. No GM would build for the marathon and not a sprint, or the opposite.
Braves have always been built around good pitching and it seems like everyone had a career year this year in the lineup. That is a fantastic thing and the Braves ran way as the best team in MLB. They were consistent all year, like a marathon.
Now, here is where the sprint comes in. – the Phillies were a streaky and scrappy team that didn’t have fantastic pitching. In fact, we wanted better pitching. But the scrappiness (sprint) made up for it many nights.
The bottom line is that many good teams get struck down with scrappiness. It happened to us in 2010 with the Giants.
Atlanta needs a tear down and rebuild. Acuna Jr could bring back some mlb ready prospects and they’d need to find a taker on the Matt Olson contract or at least chip in to trade him, but it’s clear they cannot go into 2024 with that roster.
Your sarcasm is hilarious.
Not only did I call the Phillies in 4, I’m currently sporting a perfect bracket on mlb.com
I obviously know what I’m talking about. They’ve won two playoff games in two years. A rebuild is coming
Only if you call a rebuild a change in LF, a few replacements for free agent relievers and a #2-3 guy for the rotation. Mr. Acuna, Mr. Olsen and crew will be in the very same place next year. There will not be a knee jerk reaction from the Braves over a four game series…
Everyone is talking about the 5 day layoff. I believe the national league teams were victims of their own success. Their leads were so large they hadn’t played meaningful games in months.the Phillies and Dbacks played meaningful games all through September. I think that matters.