Lots to get to and you don't want to read my yakking.
- Normally, this would not even be close to the lead story, but I suspect it is the one that most of you will want to discuss. A report out of Philadelphia last night says that a shakeup in ownership is coming and minority owner John Middleton will become the new majority owner. That's nice, but so what? The new owner plans to start a rebuilding effort, and that means releasing Ryan Howard and trading Cole Hamels for prospects. The report says the two teams that are most interested in acquiring Hamels are the Red Sox and the Cubs. See why I led with a change in Phillies ownership now?
- Speaking of starting over from scratch, Ken Rosenthal predicts that GM Billy Beane will look to trade Jeff Samardzija and perhaps even Josh Donaldson this off-season as the Athletics look to start the rebuilding process over.
- In his end of the season press conference, Beane defended the Jon Lester trade, saying the A's wouldn't have even made the playoffs without it.
- Richard Justice also defends the trade and looks ahead to Oakland's 2015 campaign.
- Will Leitch feels bad for A's fans.
- Marc Normandin writes that while this incarnation of the A's is finished, Oakland will rebuild and rise again like they always do.
- Will Leitch also thinks that not only are the Royals partying like it's 1985 again, their style of baseball was last fashionable in 1985 as well.
- Rob Neyer thinks the Royals reliance on speed is fine, but it won't be enough the rest of the way.
- In case you missed Pedro Martinez ripping into Ned Yost's bullpen management on the TBS Postgame show, here it is.
- Dave Cameron, kinda, sorta, defended Ned Yost. He didn't feel good about it though.
- Rob Neyer says that Yost giving Jason Vargas the start in game one of the ALDS was just fine. He wrote that before Vargas had a solid start in game one.
- Apparently Yost and Angels manager Mike Scioscia had a long feud, but that's over now.
- Long-time Royals fan (but not long-time enough to remember 1985) Rany Jazayerli has a personal story of his trip to the Wild Card game and analysis of the game. If you want to relive that great AL Wild Card game, here's the place to do it.
- The NL Wild Card game wasn't nearly as exciting, but we were treated to a pitching masterpiece by Madison Bumgarner.
- Gabe Kapler says that even if you can't measure its effects, Russell Martin's leadership is a real thing.
- David Schoenfield lists the "fatal flaw" of all AL playoff teams.
- Schoenfield lists "defense" as the Tigers fatal flaw but adds that the bullpen is a problem as well. That was pretty evident in yesterday's loss. Steve Gardner examines that shaky Tigers bullpen.
- Miguel Cabrera turned down his playoff bonus, saying "I just want the ring."
- Then Miguel Cabrera said "Just kidding. Show me the money!"
- Buck Showalter knows how to handle a pitching staff in the playoffs. That would be an interesting ALCS between the Orioles and Royals.
- Lyle Spencer thinks Mike Trout is poised to be the next "Mr. October." He'll need to do more than go 0 for 4 with a walk, however.
- Bob Nightengale believes the stage is open for either Trout or Bryce Harper to seize the spotlight.
- Adam Kilgore says that this year's Nationals is a deeper, more talented and just better team than the one that made the playoffs two seasons ago.
- Dodgers manager Don Mattingly has always been a "team first" guy.
- Paul Molitor is seen as the favorite to be the new Twins manager. Doug Mientkiewicz is also a strong candidate, however.
- The Diamondbacks received permission to interview A's bench coach Chip Hale and Dodgers third base coach Lorenzo Bundy for their vacant managerial job.
- Michael Young turned down a chance to interview for the vacant Rangers managerial job, but he will join the Texas front office as an assistant GM.
- Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez says he's made no decisions about which of his coaches will still have a job next season.
- This Sahadev Sharma piece starts out as a discussion of Kyle Hendricks and Kyle Lohse, but it become a piece in praise of the average major league ballplayer.
- Jeremy Collins has a longform piece on 13 different ways to look at Greg Maddux.
- Jayson Stark says that we have literally never seen a player with a career like Paul Konerko's before.
- Former Brooklyn Dodger George Shuba has died. Shuba was a teammate of Jackie Robinson on the Montreal Royals who shook his hand on the field after Robinson hit a home run in his first game. There is a photograph of the handshake at the NY Times obituary that I linked to there. (h/t Hardball Talk)
- One of the storylines of the AL Wild Card game was whether or not this woman got a puppy. She's getting a puppy.
- The police department of Kansas City, MO kindly asks all citizens to refrain from committing crimes while the Royals are playing.
- Then there was the old woman in PNC Park who somehow wandered into the Giants dugout during the game.
- Ben Affleck refused to wear a Yankees cap in his new movie "Gone Girl." As a compromise, he agreed to wear a Mets cap. (And nothing else, amiright girls?) True story: I had the same argument with the director of my college play too many years ago, and we came up with the same compromise.
- The "secret" history of Jews in baseball.
- I've written a lot about the "affiliation shuffle" lately. Isotopes radio broadcaster Joshua Suchon talks about what the "shuffle" is like for a broadcaster of one of the teams affected. He got traded to the Rockies without even having to move.
- The major of St. Louis responded to the charges that everyone hates Cardinals fans by acting like the kind of jerk that makes everyone hate Cardinals fans. (Warning: strong language in the linked article. But it's nothing you haven't said about Cardinals fans before. Probably. But I bet you've at least thought it.) My apologies to Cardinals fans that are not jerks. #notallcardinalsfans
- Finally, this is the coolest thing you'll see this week. The Library of Congress has found film of the Washington Senators winning the 1924 World Series. It's footage from game seven. Included is Muddy Ruel scoring the winning run in the bottom of the 12th.
And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.