With the first round of the playoffs now in the rearview mirror, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Wild Card ends in four sweeps:
None of the newly-minted three-game Wild Card Series will actually reach a third game this year, the second of MLB’s new postseason format. Each of the Twins, Rangers, Phillies, and Diamondbacks completed two-game sweeps yesterday, ending the 2023 campaign for the Blue Jays, Rays, Marlins, and Brewers respectively. With the Wild Card Series wrapped up, the four winners can look ahead to the Division Series, where the Astros, Orioles, Braves, and Dodgers await them for a five-game set.
Yesterday’s games were characterized by excellent pitching performances, with three of four winning pitchers registering quality starts and the fourth, AL Cy Young award candidate Sonny Gray, striking out six in five scoreless innings of work. NL Cy Young award candidate Zac Gallen, meanwhile, allowed two runs on five hits and three walks over six innings. The night’s longest performances came from Rangers veteran Nathan Eovaldi, who struck out eight across 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball, and free-agent-to-be Aaron Nola’s seven scoreless innings for the Phillies. Nola was also assisted by the night’s strongest offensive performances. Veteran catcher J.T. Realmuto slugged both a double and a homer, but the star of the Phillies offense last night was 25-year-old second baseman Bryson Stott, who continued a strong sophomore season in 2023 with a grand slam off Marlins lefty Andrew Nardi.
2. Counsell’s decision looms:
Brewers manager Craig Counsell is widely considered to be among the best managers in today’s game, but entered the 2023 campaign on an expiring contract. While Brewers ownership has expressed a strong desire to see Counsell return to the manager’s seat in 2024, the sides agreed to postpone discussions of a new contract until after the club’s season came to an end. With Milwaukee having been swept out of the NL Wild Card series by Arizona last night, the NL Central champions are surely now going to turn their attention to whether or not Counsell will helm the team next year.
If Counsell departs the Brewers but would like to continue managing in 2024, he’d immediately become the most attractive managerial candidate on the market, with a fair few options at his disposal. The Guardians are seeking a replacement to the widely-respected Terry Francona, while the Giants and Angels have each parted ways with the managers in recent days. Still, no team has fueled speculation regarding Counsell’s future more than the Mets. The club just hired former Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns to take over the organization’s helm, with Stearns’s first act in his new role being to fire manager Buck Showalter.
3. Arizona hopeful Moreno avoided concussion:
After a scary incident on the field during last night’s win over the Brewers, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told reporters (including MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins) that rookie catcher Gabriel Moreno has not yet been placed into the concussion protocol after being hit in the head by the backswing of Brice Turang’s bat. Lovullo said the club is still “finding out” what his status is, but that after Moreno entered the dugout following the second inning, team trainers insisted he be taken out of the game. Moreno noted after the game that he was feeling “a little bit dizzy” but that he was feeling better by the end of the game.
The loss of Moreno for the coming five-game set against the Dodgers could be devastating for the Diamondbacks. After coming over from the Blue Jays in the Daulton Varsho trade this past offseason, Moreno has combined excellent defense behind the plate with a solid offensive performance as he slashed .284/.339/.408 in 380 trips to the plate this season. If Moreno misses time, the club figures to use glove-first backup Jose Herrera as the starting catcher while he’s away. The only other catcher on the 40-man roster is former-White Sox backstop Seby Zavala, who was claimed off waivers in early September and is ineligible to participate in the postseason. Adrian Del Castillo and Ali Sanchez are the club’s top catching options from the Triple-A level this season.
Carter is quite an exciting propsect! I’m glad they didn’t trade him and a million other top 100 prospects for Bryan Reynolds since their 3 outfielders (Garcia, Carter, and Langford) will all likely greatly outperform him.
So far, I was 3/4 in my predictions. Missed out on that Philly game and honestly, I didn’t think the Marlins would make it but I was basing my predictions off what happened last year.
So far, so good. I’ll sub the Phillies in for the Marlins and keep the same prediction. Atlanta 1 – 3 Philadelphia.
mlbtraderumors.com/2023/10/poll-whos-going-to-win-…
I made all the same predictions:)
Noice! Can’t wait to fly to Baltimore for the parade.
Absolutely zero juice with these WCS’s. Happy for the young players & Lovullo with AZ. Hoping they can give LAD a series.
Toronto should be in the market for a new mana…err…I mean analytical software after that ridiculous move yesterday. Don’t wanna hear anymore about baby Bo & Vlad. These guys came up empty when it mattered most.
@Monsox
I’ve been saying this year that they just weren’t built to win this year. They really should be dumping some of these players and overhauling their team and overall management and front office. Baltimore did well in their rebuild but Toronto didn’t. Time to rework their plans and cut payroll and start the rebuild this winter. I honestly think they should trade some of their young guys right now to get the rebuild going but I doubt they do that.
Bichette had a great series
Vlad’s been nothing but a name all season. He’s played a lot more like Brandon Belt than a real All Star.
Thank goodness the little guys are out of the playoffs. Now the real baseball begins. The Wild Card was perfect this year.
I suppose the Mets are the favorites to secure Craig Counsel’s services. But if I were him, I’d strongly consider going to Cleveland. They operate with financial restrictions similar to what he is used to with the Brewers, seem to have a good organization at developing players and probably operate under a much less crazy atmosphere than the Mets.
You make a good case there, buddy. Counsell is likely NOT a New York guy. The Mets should interview Jim Riggleman. 😉
rod, why do you think Counsell isn’t a NY guy?
Of course, I don’t know for certain. But every other commenter here seems to believe that Counsell, having grown up in Wisconsin and played for the Brewers, wants nothing to do with a big city team. Other Counsell commenters say he will take time off to watch his sons play baseball. I see little to indicate that he wants a high-pressure job like Mets manager. You can probably rule out the Angles, too, as that’s a dead end job at this point. Cleveland may be more his style.
In the last 50 years there has been one manager of a NY team than was from NY.
We will know in a few days what Counsell decides. I don’t think it being NY will play a factor. I think the shot to manage a winning team will be the deciding factor.
@rodcannon: What’s so hot about Riggleman?
I just got to like Riggleman when he managed the Nationals and thought he got a raw deal there.
Mets just hired his former boss in Milwaukee.
I was thinking Counsel to Ohio as well. As you said, similar MO, but also, CLE provides more job security. How many years was the previous manager there? That’s an answer he needs to take into consideration.
But money talks and BS walks, and Steve Cohen can pay him enough to set him up for life regardless of how long he’s in the job.
He’s paying Stearns $10 million/year for five years, so he won’t skimp on a manager’s salary.
Cleveland or San Fran would be the best places for him- If Hoyer wasn’t so infatuated with Ross I’d say the Cubs- but the Mets always end up being where managers go to die. Stevens or not, I hope he doesn’t go there.
Stearns not “Stevens”. (scru spellcheck)
Newly minted?
Didn’t they use this wild card format last season?
It did. I guess in their mind since only the 2nd year it’s still new?
Stearns didn’t fire Showalter, Cohen did the day before Stearns took over.
Cohen stated that Stearns wanted to start with a new manager and Cohen felt Stearns had the right to do so.
Craigs first move as Mets manager is to convince stearns to sign winker. The love affair should continue
Wave to NY and SF Carlos, you are in the playoffs and they are not. LOL
That’s baseball!
The Diamondbacks/Brewers games were a lot of fun to watch.
Should be some great series ahead.
I agree, it was a very good series to watch. Corbin Carroll gives off mike trout vibes. Hes going to be a good player for quite some time.
They were good, but the hot crowds in Philly and Minnesota were better.
I don’t know if I think they necessarily meant the crowds. I think they mean they were actually competitive. Of the teams eliminated, I think the Brewers were the only ones who really put up all that much of a fight.
Yes I knew what he meant. I just mean as being a non fan of the 8 teams in the WC series and flipping around to all the games those two stadiums crowds and enthusiasm added more intrigue and excitement when watching.
Wildcard teams are supposed to be at a disadvantage as far as the pitching. If they started Friday it would still be 2 days off, the same as if it went three games, ended Thursday and started Saturday.
Now I’d like to see the D-Backs knock out the Dodgers and for the Braves get the job done VS Philly. It’d be VERY SHOCKING to see the Twins upset the Astros. Not an Astros hater but I’d like to see one of the underdogs advance to the LCS. I’m picking the Orioles over the Rangers, even though I can see it going the other way as well.
What a lackluster wild card round. As a Brewers fan, my only positive is I think we were the only one of the losing teams to ever hold a lead and we scored more runs in our 2 games than all 3 other teams eliminated did combined. Which considering our lack of offense. Was a bit sad.
None of that matters though. Did you win or did you lose? It’s like my Cubs saying theymcame close. But came close to what – a 3rd wild card that woukd have been swept too? Only thing a big market team should value is winning a world series.
MLB should do what NBA and NHL does and have the next series start earlier if both teams are ready and done with the previous series.
Plaintextsports.com has the official Braves/Phillies game 1 scheduled start time as 3:33AM on Saturday October 7th. Is that early enough for you?
plaintextsports.com/mlb/2023-10-07/
I’m not talking times, I mean days. They could play tomorrow instead
Dumb Sports Fan Thought!
Not really. The series ended on Wednesday and now we have to wait 3 days for the next series when nothing is going down on Friday. MLB needs to keep the train moving and not have this lag. Then the NL to boot has Sunday off. So the NL is 1 game in a 4-5 day period between Wednesday and Monday.
That screws over wild card teams, as their pitchers will be shorter on rest
Punishing teams for winning early lol
It’s time to stop the Craig Counsell is all that talk. Dude can’t get a team to the promise land. Theve only won two playoff series with wonder boy at the helm. Vastly overrated
He’s better than you. Does that make him all that and a bad of sliders with cheese?
There are 8 year olds that have better quips than you.
The mighty AL East had 2 sweeps so far. Last year all 3 teams were swept… will Baltimore make it a repeat?
That division is so tough… they got swept by the Twins and the Rangers.
Can the Rangers sweep the Orioles?
I don’t think the Rangers can sweep the orioles. That being said, I didn’t think they’d sweep the Rays either. They can beat the Orioles, but I don’t think they’ll sweep them.
Question-
How do catchers get hit with backswings? Is it at the end of the swing, or is it when the batters cork like a spring, and then unwind?
It’s generally a combination of the exaggerated follow through on the swing, and the catcher coming forward to block a pitch in the dirt.
I wasn’t sure which direction. But if that is the case, why not wear a heavy-duty helmet? I always thought that pitchers should wear light-weight protection (like maybe what FB players wore in the ’50s). I doubt a heavier helmet would interfere much with the fielding.
I’m with on using more protection, but I’m also not the one crouched behind the plate; maybe it’s a little different for catchers, but I remember pitchers complaining about their mechanics feeling off when they tested the padded caps after the particularly scary Brandon McCarthy comebacker incident.
The players have to buy into it; so maybe it’s possible, but baseball players are notoriously creatures of habit.
I think throwing is difficult with heavier helmets. That sounds weird but try throwing something with a helmet on if you have one around the house. Then imagine doing the same with a heavier helmet.
Plus, the added heat a heavier helmet causes.
The Rays managed to set a record for lowest attendance ever in a postseason game, so there’s that.
Interestingly, for the second straight year the three division winners in the AL play on in the next round but the NL Central winner is once again eliminated in the first round, and in a two game sweep.
I have no horse in this race but am kind of rooting for the Twins as they’ve finally won a playoff series for the first time since 2002. Maybe Christian Vazquez can get a third ring (with his third team) since 2018
They also came close to setting another record for most consecutive scoreless innings in the postseason as an offense. At least their fans can celebrate making history! I’m also rooting for the Twins over the Astros until Texas sweeps the Orioles and faces the Twins.
Anything can happen, and I like Texas with Boch at the helm. Still, I think the O’s take that series. I have them going to the WS.
That is turning into one of the worst trades in history, Lordes Guriel Jr, Gabi Moreno for Dalton Varsho, Moreno is the most athletic catcher in MLB and is only going to get better
Brewers won’t win anything under this current owner. It’s plain and simple. They never go for it. They play the small market card “oh we can’t sign any big free agents ever. It’s not the way we do things”
Yeah well your organization is incapable of producing hitters for some reason. When was the last time the brewers had a homegrown hitter that turned into something? Braun? That was a loooong time ago. Every other team has this haul of hitters that soar through the minor leagues except us. The most we can produce is some slap hitters with zero pop. So if you’re not going to sign bats, and can’t grow talent—what is there?
All we are going to do this offseason is sign a bunch of journey man bats like Brian Anderson / Jesse Winker. One year wonder guys and hope you catch magic in a bottle. Not a winning formula. One of the most loyal and passionate fan bases in baseball and they get treated like trash
Getting pretty sick of it
I read your comment and I can relate to what you are going through. Hang in there. I hope it gets better for your Brewers.
I share your frustration, I am a Brewers fan since Tommy Harper, Marty Pattin, Ken Sanders. They just started to sign good international players, Jackson Choriou the first or 2nd highest prospect in MLB, Jeff Quero is rated the 2nd best catching prospect in MLB, the best that is closeto the majors. Luis Lara hit very well in high a and double a at age 19, he could be a great lead off hitter. They signed some shortstops with true potential. They butcher the drafts usually, but maybe 2023 draft will produce some good hitters, a lot of interesting picks. Its seems like they got some good scouts with these international signings.
With Strearns the Mets and Counsell now a free agent, how much will owner Steve Cohen have to send to Milwaukee after Attanasio files a tampering charge.
Cohen was not even subtle after his wooing of the Brewers leadership. The question is whether it will cost the Mets… a 2nd round draft pick? A first rounder? Or one of their top prospects — Acuna, Gilbert, Williams or one of the impressive pitchers at AA?
Remember, when the Mets pilfered Gil
Hodges decades ago, they were fortunate they only had to give Washington Bill Dennehy, a B-level prospect. What if Senators ownership had demanded Jerry Koosman, who at that point hadn’t established himself in the majors or another important but unproven arm such as Nolan Ryan or Tug McGraw? This is the winter of ‘68.
Now, the Mets are close to pilfering the Brewers GM and skipper. (Even the Mets of that era didn’t do that.)
Cohen and Stearns will have to be prepared to pay up for their heist.
The Brew Crew won’t roll over and play dead.
Imagine choosing to manage the Angels. Career suicide
It is improper to have ‘meanwhile’ mid-sentence. It must start the sentence.