MLB Bullets Blitzes The Bronx

The Astros downed the Yankees in the first wild card game. I don't have much from that as the game just ended a few hours ago. But tonight, the road team in the Wild Card game will win again, right?

• One quick reaction from the AL Wild Card game. Jon Heyman says it was a victory for the future over the past.
• Chris Mitchell says Carlos Correa's rookie season is a sign of greatness to come.
• Ben Lindbergh explains why the Astros were the most exciting baseball team of 2015. He ran the numbers. Really. It's got charts and everything.
• Maybe the Yankees lost because a good chunk of their fanbase missed the first few innings while going through "security theater."
• I'm sure you've heard this already, but CC Sabathia left the Yankees before last night's Wild Card game to enter alcohol rehab. As it turned out, he only missed one game.
• Wallace Matthews notes that there were signs of a problem out of Sabathia for a while now and reports of trouble over the weekend in Baltimore.
• Bob Nightengale says Sabathia's issues were rooted deep in his past.
• Jayson Stark polled 20 baseball executives and the results were clear: The Blue Jays will win the World Series.
• Emma Span made up a flowchart to help the poor saps whose team did not make the playoffs decide who to root for. Really only one decision, right?
• Craig Calcaterra has his take on which team those without a rooting interest should cheer for.
• Grant Brisbee explains why it will suck when your team loses in the playoffs. I do like his answer for the Cubs.
• Will Leitch ranks each NL team by how bad it would be for the Cardinals to lose to. You don't have to click on the link to know who is the worst.
• Jonah Keri offers his take on who should be the end-of-the-season award winners.
• Most of the teams in this year's postseason are ending some long playoff droughts.
• Rob Neyer looks back at the last team to make the playoffs for those teams ending droughts.
• This is big news because it's the Mets, but Matt Harvey missed a mandatory team workout yesterday. The reasons for it are unclear. He'll still pitch Game 3 against the Dodgers.
• Ichiro Suzuki signed a new one-year deal with the Marlins. He's 65 hits away from 3000.
• The Athletics promoted Billy Beane to Executive Vice-President of Baseball Operations and assistant general manager David Forst was promoted to GM. It sounds like it's mostly just more title inflation and that Beane will still be in charge.
• Marlins manager Dan Jennings has been asked (told?) to return to being the GM.
• Mike Scioscia will manage the Angels in 2016. Scioscia had an opt-out clause, which he will not exercise.
• Walt Weiss will manage the Rockies in 2016. Because no one gets fired in Colorado.
• The Brewers fired all their coaches except hitting coach Darnell Coles and third base coach Ed Sedar.
• Jon Heyman says that many expect that Cal Ripken Jr. will be a candidate for their open managerial job, but that someone with previous experience like Bud Black is much more likely.
• Speaking of managers, Owen Watson asks and answers which manager was the most successful at using the replay challenge? Hint: he has white hair and wears glasses.
• Bill Shaikin has a talk with commissioner Rob Manfred about the wild card, Dodgers TV broadcasts, the pace of play and Pete Rose.
• The Supreme Court declined to hear the city of San Jose's appeal of their antitrust suit against MLB.
• Brian Kenny lists his ten biggest surprises from the 2015 MLB season.
• The Japanese pitcher who threw 772 pitches over nine days in high school made his NPB debut, but his stuff has fallen off from his high school days. Also a report on a couple of other young pitchers who may be headed to MLB in the future.
• Brooks Robinson is auctioning off all of his baseball memorabilia to raise money for his charity. He just doesn't think he needs the stuff anymore and wants to raise money for good causes.
• After complaints, MLB pulled Texas Rangers post-season clothing featuring the Dallas skyline. Because fans can't wait to spend money on shirts featuring the Arlington skyline.
• And finally, Dee Gordon won the NL batting title. A fan who has a phone with Gordon's old cellphone number got a lot of congratulations for that.

It's on tonight, Buster.