Series set

The Tampa Bay Rays took care of business with three straight wins over the feisty Cleveland Guardians and "punched their ticket" to the World Series. This matchup features two organizations who have never won The Big One. The Brewers (est. 1969) lost in 1982 and the Rays (est. 1998) lost twice, in 2008 and 2020.

The Brewers have been in the playoffs in eight of the last nine seasons. They've been NL Central Champs the last four seasons. They lost to the Dodgers in the LCS in both 2018 and 2025. Their 103 wins this year is their best ever, besting last season's 97.

The Rays have been managed by Kevin Cash for the last twelve seasons. They are 994-848 over that span, a .540 win percentage. They made the playoffs five straight years (2019-2023) and just missed with 90 wins in 2018. After back-to-back fourth-place finishes the Rays led the AL with 98 wins this season.

It should be a great contest. The Brewers probably have the edge, and they have the home field, so I think they'll pull it off. But the Rays are obviously very tough and it would not be a surprise if they won. What do y'all think? Who's your pick?

Game One is Friday in Milwaukee.

--M.C.

 

p.s. It seems Kyle Harrison (who has yet to appear) is the last of the ex-Giants in the post-season. Patrick Bailey grounded into four double plays in the final three games of the ALCS. 

Schadenfreude

I don't normally like to take joy in the misfortune of others but it's the fecking Dodgers and they got their fookin' asses whooped and I'm pretty fucking stoked.

Best rotation in baseball, right? Skubal five-and-dive with two runs allowed, Yamamoto can't make three and gives up three, Snell coughs up bombs and the lead in the seventh, and Glasnow blows up after four in the decider. Wow. That was some serious work by the Brewers--they beat a really great pitching staff. 

No matter what happens in the ALCS we will get one of those great World Series matchups with two deserving teams. Milwaukee last had a champion in 1957 with the NL Braves (who then moved to Atlanta in 1966). This franchise was the AL Seattle Pilots in 1969 and then the AL Brewers. They moved to the NL in 1998. The Rays of course have never won a World Series title (est. 1998) and the Guardians/Indians haven't won since 1948.

I don't like "dynasties" and I think the game benefits when more teams and more fans get a real shot at a championship. The Giants may have sucked in 2026 but the post-season (no NYY, no ATL, no LAD) is turning out rather nicely!

--M.C.

Final Four

MLB has its Final Four. Since the top four seeds advanced, did we really need the preliminary rounds?

The #6 Phillies lost to the #3 Braves. The Braves finished ahead of the Phils in the NL East. The #4 Padres beat the #5 Cubs. The Pads won more games in the regular season than did the Cubbies. The #2 seed Dodgers beat the Braves and the #1 seed Brewers beat the Padres. The two best teams in the NL will meet in the NLCS.

In the AL, #1 seed Tampa Bay had to beat the #4 seed Yankees, a team they had already topped over 162 games. The Yanks got there by beating a team they finished ahead of in the AL East, the #5 Red Sox. The lowest-rated team, the #6 seed Wild Card White Sox provided the only excitement by beating the #3 Astros. Houston won the AL West with an impressive 81-81 record! The Pale Hose lost to the #2 Guardians but only after throwing them a scare.

I don't really have a problem with the top seeds making it to the semifinals but I think it is stupid when first-place teams have to play the second-place finisher again. Didn't we just spend six months determining who was the better team? And seeding a team ahead of a team with a worse record is also dumb.

In the meantime we'll see if the high-flying Brew Crew have the stuff to beat LA. I'd certainly like to see that. The last time the Brewers were in the World Series was 1982, losing to the Cardinals in seven games. The Rays have never won it all in their 29-year history but have two pennants (2008 and 2020). The Guardians were the Indians in 1948 when they last won it all. That franchise has four pennants since then (1954, 1995, 1997, and 2016).

So, who is your non-LA rooting interest? I'm an amateur brewer so it is easy to pick Los Cerveceros. But a Rays win would be fine, too. They seem to have super-smart people there who consistently build winning clubs without big payrolls. I really like Kevin Cash--he's the longest-tenured manager in MLB (12 years). Of course Cleveland fans may be baseball's longest-suffering. They really should have beat the damn Cubs in 2016, and they just missed out in 1997 against the Marlins. Long-time Giants fans know how it feels to be the bridesmaid and not the bride!

--M.C. 

A bright spot

Let's take a look at Player1 and Player2:

 

 

            G    PA    R    H    2B    3B    HR    RBI    BB    SO

Player1    111  458   66   117   27     2    11    41     34    76

Player2    107  448   50   104   23     0    17    57     59   119

 

Player1 was 22 in March of that season. Player2 turns 22 this October.

 

                  BA/OBA/SLG%        OPS+       wOBA      wRC+

Player1        .287/.343/.444        121       .341       117

Player2        .269/.364/.461        133       .361       131

 

                BB%    SO%      ISO    TB 

Player1         7.4    16.6    .157    181

Player2        13.2    26.6    .192    178

 

Player1 is Will Clark and it is his 1986 season (rated 2.2 bWAR and 1.8 fWAR). It was his debut.

Player2 is Bryce Eldridge. He played in 10 games last year so I'm skipping that. His season is rated 2.1 bWAR and 1.8 fWAR.

Comparisons are invidious, I know that. It's unfair to label any player "the next _______". Players should be celebrated for their uniqueness.

That being said, it is exciting to see a young ballplayer with some serious UPSIDE!!  

--M.C.