If there’s one key point to take into the MLB playoffs, it’s this: the teams’ records don’t matter. The Cubs aren’t 95-68; they’re 0-0, a team with an average offense, thin bullpen, and a manager who has become Mike Matheny North. The Indians aren’t 91-71 in the weakest division in baseball history; they’re the team…
As we approach the All-Star break — which is well past the halfway point of the 2018 season — we find that half of baseball is playing to form, and the other half is a fun mess. In the AL, the Red Sox, Astros, and Yankees are on pace for more than 100 wins, a…
In some ways, we’re about to kick off the least interesting baseball season in memory. There’s a lack of competitive balance at the top of the game right now that has produced five clear divisional favorites — the same five that won their divisions going away last year. It’s possible, even likely, that for the…
We’re down to ten teams with a chance to win the World Series, as the MLB playoffs kick off tonight with the American League Wild Card Game. The Twins will visit the Yankees in the Bronx, then on Wednesday, the Diamondbacks host the Rockies. Two Division Series, Astros/Red Sox and Nationals/Cubs, are set, with the wild-card winners advancing…
With just about two months in the books, most of the best stories of the MLB season are out west. Three teams in the NL West are playing .600 baseball, including the biggest surprises of the season in Colorado and Arizona. The Astros — we’ll call Houston “west” for our purposes — have the best…
We’re a month from the start of a baseball season that will present a question we haven’t heard in more than 100 years: can the Chicago Cubs repeat as champions? The Cubs’ rampage through the National League, and dramatic World Series victory, were the big stories of the 2016 season. In 2017, all eyes will…