Gwreck

This was already the best possible World Series matchup, and the easily the best matchup since 2016. I too would prefer a 7 game epic series but I’ll take a Brewers sweep every single time over watching one of the objectionable teams (ATL, PHI, LAD, NYY, WAS).

I hadn’t seen that suggested elsewhere. I’m not so sure about that prediction. If anything, the fact that they tendered him a contract for 2026 (a year in which he would only rehab) is a strong indication they plan to keep him in 2027.

Also it’s the third World Series for Tampa, although few can be blamed for not counting the 2020 season.

Milwaukee-Tampa is a great matchup on so many levels -Best team from each league -Enjoyable and easy-to-root-for teams -Someone wins the WS for the first time ever -Big ol’ middle finger to Manfred and the owners pushing the b.s. that smaller market teams can’t compete and win

Peralta’s going to be ALCS MVP, isn’t he?

I had forgotten that Long interviewed for the manger job in 2017 and left after he didn’t get it.

.761 OPS would put you at #68 among all MLB hitters in 2026.

One of the three most consequential losses of the last 35 years of Mets baseball. A win and not only do the Mets win the World Series, I’m also convinced that the 2007 and 2008 are also playoff appearances. I was there and still remember the details. Rained lightly for most of the second half of the game. Two curtain calls for Endy, which I’ve never seen before or since for a defensive play. Fully supported Heilman pitching the 9th since it seemed like the game was headed for extras and he had gotten past Pujols and the top of the Cardinals order in the 8th. It’s true that Valentin’s strikeout in the 6th was bad but he also lead off the bottom of the 9th with a single when the Mets had taken a big punch. When Chavez followed with his own single I was thinking it would be like 1986 Game 6 again. Two on and none out, pitcher’s spot up. Mets could have: (1) used Chris Woodward, Julio Franco, or Ramon Castro as a “standard” pinch hitter. Franco was a zillion years old and was 0-4 in the postseason with 3 Ks. Woodward hadn’t played in the NLCS but had a leadoff double in his one and only PA in the Division series. Castro hadn’t played at all in the postseason as the backup catcher. (2) used Glavine as a pinch hitter to bunt. Would’ve been pretty obvious what he was going to be asked do if he was announced but was far and away the best bunter on the team. (3) use Floyd as a pinch hitter to try to win it with a homer/tie it with an extra base hit. Floyd had a good division series but got hurt in NLCS game 1. Had one previous pinch hitting PA in game 5 against Wainwright (grounded out). At the time I was in favor of Woodward but upon further review maybe Floyd was the right choice. Would’ve been an all time Mets hero. Reyes then flew out on a ball that just stayed up too long. But when LoDuca then walked, I still felt confident in Beltran. Alas, it turned out to be the last playoff game ever at Shea. I’ve attended most of the playoff games at Citi but none have surpassed what it was like seeing the Mets at Shea in the playoffs. 2006 was the only season in the last 35 years in which I was absolutely certain the Mets were the better team in every single game they played that year. Obviously the two Game 1 losses in the 00/15 WS were worse…and objectively, the two Game 4 losses in the 00/15 WS were probably more consequential…but this one game in particular bothers me perhaps the most.

DiComo had an article today about Freddy Peralta (starting tonight for Tampa) and his success there after switching teams. Citing “multiple members of New York’s hierarchy,” the adjustments that Peralta made in Tampa, “moving quicker down the mound to increase his fastball velocity, achieving a higher arm slot, using the upper third of the strike zone more liberally with his fastball, and relying more extensively on his changeup down in the zone -- are the same things the Mets asked him to do.” https://www.mlb.com/news/what-went-wrong-during-freddy-peralta-s-mets-tenure

Obviously something has to be done to improve run production over last year. And assuming there’s an interest in doing something more than just “hope Lindor, Soto, and Bichette are all better/healthier,” Sato is a very interesting candidate. The one obvious red flag I see is defense. He makes a lot of errors at third and probably isn’t a long-term solution there. But on a short-term basis? The Mets have a lot of infield prospects that aren’t going to be ready for 2027 but could easily take that job in a year or two. If Bichette opts out, Sato is an obvious choice. If Bichette stays? Sato could play third (moving Bichette to second, Semien cut/to bench). The Mets could try another season of a new first baseman who’s never played there before. Or Sato could be an everyday DH. In a situation in which Bichette stays and/or the Mets are willing to cut/bench Semien, my preference is still Brandon Lowe. But Sato a close second place.

With the World Series not starting until Friday, it does seem kind of dumb to not provide the travel day off.

Tonight postponed. Game 4 Saturday 8 PM Game 5 Sunday 5 PM (replacing the travel day)

You don’t think it’s possible to conclude that Stearns gets significant credit for building up a core team, primarily through drafts/amateur FA signings, that had significant success both while he was in Milwaukee and then after he left? You and I (and others here ) have discussed before the idea of sustained success, and the frustration that the Mets haven’t been able to achieve that…basically ever. Stearns has, as evidenced both by what happened when he was there and that success continued after he left. (Now, that success in Milwaukee of course does not mean that he’ll succeed in New York. And of course it’s gone horribly wrong in the last two years at the major league level. But much of the success in Milwaukee is still rightfully credited to him).

Yes, they very much were. The Athletic had a breakdown of how the roster was built (not specifically focusing on Stearns) today: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7694850/2026/10/16/building-brewers-10-moves-world-series/ -9 key players were drafted or signed as amateur FAs under Stearns: Misirowski, Chourio, Turang, Hamilton, Mitchell, Frelick, Henderson, Ashby, and Uribe -Yelich, Contreras, Gasser, and Megill were all acquired in trades during Stearns’ tenure. Stearns also hired Pat Murphy (as bench coach), Chris Hook (pitching coach since 2019), and his successor Matt Arnold (as assistant GM, from Tampa).

I’m happy to criticize MLB for dumb stuff but this one is out of their hands. Not much you can do when one series is a sweep and another goes longer. Compounding the issue is that they stagger the start of the NLCS and ALCS by one day (it alternates leagues each year). And this year the NLCS started first. Notably, they have in some years set an alternate/early World Series schedule to use if both LCSes end in 5 or fewer games. But they scrapped it (probably because that scenario rarely ever happens).

A third inning of Diaz? The Mets never tried that

News came out today that in addition to Cora, the Phillies also asked Raul Ibanez and Chase Utley if they wanted the job and both said no. Not exactly a vote of confidence for Mattingly (even with his son in the front office).

Paid attendance last night was 50,708 — several thousand short of selling out (before even considering the many thousand more no-shows). The Dodgers had bigger crowds at 31 of their home games this year. Unlike Tampa, this isn’t a season-long issue. The Dodgers set an all-time record for regular-season attendance. Game was at 5 PM local (perhaps a little inconvenient) but this still smacks of ticket prices that don’t bear resemblance to reality and/or a bad fanbase.

Upon further review, the “finalists” announced here are for the Major League Baseball Players Association 2026 Players Choice Outstanding Rookie Award. They are not the finalists for the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award awarded by MLB and voted on by the writers.

This is a misconception created by the recent development of announcing “finalists” for awards. Announcing “finalists” suggests there is further voting or deciding to occur. Not so. This is just an announcement of who came in first, second, and third (without specifying order) in the one and only round of voting. Benge and McLean no doubt were fourth and fifth in that same vote.

On another issue, the discussion is a bit thinner than I would like, but finally some news coverage of ticket prices in connection with the empty seats in Tampa: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7688793/2026/10/14/tampa-bay-rays-alcs-ticket-prices-tropicana-field/ The Rays can’t fill the Trop in the ALCS. Fans point to ticket prices [blockquote] The Rays’ announced attendance for ALCS Game 2 on Tuesday night was 32,125, nearly 8,000 fewer people than the crowd that sold out the Trop for the American League Division Series opener against the Yankees on Oct. 3. There were swaths of concentrated blue empty seats for Game 2, a day after the club also failed to sell out Game 1. Around game time, the get-in price for upper deck seats on the primary market was $84. Fans said that prices were initially more expensive, leading some to purchase seats from the Rays at a higher cost than they were ultimately sold. The Rays did not respond to a specific question about how they were addressing fluctuating ticket prices, and if they were reimbursing fans. Individual clubs are responsible for establishing postseason ticket prices, which MLB has to review and approve. “I got these (tickets), and then they dropped like a day after I purchased them,” said Travis Thomas, a Rays fan and school teacher who goes to many games. “They cut in half. And then two days later, I could have gotten them a few rows up for a third of the price.” The concern fans have, said longtime Rays fan and blogger Danny Russell, is that they don’t fully understand the value of the tickets. Some, he said, will spend anything to attend playoff games. But that’s not a universal sentiment. … “The pricing and the discounts are unclear,” Russell said. “So people don’t know what fair value is for the seats. Even if there is still availability, they’re trying to decide what is a fair price to get into Tropicana Field.” … In the last five days, the Rays’ official X account has tweeted the link to purchase ALCS tickets 15 times. The question for many fans is simple: what will it cost?[/blockquote]

He was their second choice (again) after Alex Cora (again) told them “no, thanks.” Cora, of course. is making $7.25M a year (through the end of 2027) to not manage Boston.

Oh certainly, they had more problems than that. For what it’s worth, they let up 25 runs to the Mets in that 3 game series, and never got close to giving up that many in a single series for the rest of the year.

Well…only sorta? They got depth in exchange (Holmes and Taylor) and not, say, a top-of-the-line starter who would have absolutely started game 1. To me, the moves the Cubs made are moves one makes to make a run at the division title possible, and to insure they got the playoffs in the first place.

There was a great item about that series in one of the stories that came out after Cleveland clinched. The Mets realized that the Guardians’ first baseman had the volume too high on his pitchcom and thus the Mets were able to relay to batters what was coming. After the series was over the Mets told Cleveland to turn down the volume.