MLB Bullets Will Fall Silent

As I type this, I’m watching Kyle Schwarber, Anthony Rizzo, Carl Edwards Jr. and Joe Maddon yuk it up with Stephen Colbert. They looked like they had a good time.

• In case you haven’t heard that Vin Scully is retiring this season, I’m glad that you’ve recovered from that coma. Or that you got back from Antarctica safely. But Jayson Stark has an oral history appreciation of Scully as told by his friends and colleagues.
• Joe Posnanski shares his thoughts about Scully’s career and what he means to him.
• Jeremy Schaap has an interview with Scully for the ESPN E:60 program. (Video, obviously)
• Jonah Gardner has a list of the best and most memorable games over Scully’s career.
• David J. Halberstam compares the end of Scully’s broadcasting career with his mentor, Red Barber’s, end. Halberstam also knocks a myth about the end of Barber’s career down a peg as well.
• We all know that Scully is retiring and most of you also know that another broadcasting legend, Padres broadcaster Dick Enberg, is also retiring. You can add a third broadcasting legend to that list as longtime Astros announcer Bill Brown announced his retirement yesterday. Brown has been the voice of the Astros since 1987. I’m sure Jim Deshaies will have something to say about his longtime partner during the broadcast today.
• Patrick Sauer notes that in all of the tributes to Scully, none have mentioned his role as the narrator of the 1960s sitcom “Occasional Wife.” Probably because the show was terrible, cancelled after one season and no one remembers it. But hey, it didn’t stink because of Scully.
• Staying on the top of TV, Liz Roscher shares her thoughts about the new Fox TV show “Pitch,” about the first female major league ballplayer. She liked it and she thinks a lot of women will like it. Most of the reviews I’ve seen have been positive as well. So check it out if you’re interested.
• If anything, it’s got to be better than the 1976 sitcom version of “Ball Four,” starring Jim Bouton himself.
• Getting back to “Pitch,” Gretchen Reynolds looks at the barriers, both physical and social, that stand before the first woman (in real life) to play in the major leagues, whomever she may turn out to be. Most agree that the social barriers are stronger than the physical ones.
• On to the real diamonds, Neil Paine and Jay Boice calculate that there is a ten-percent chance of there being a three-way tie in the Wild Card chase. Surprisingly, it’s about twice as likely in the American League as the National.
• Jayson Stark explains how the Wild Card tiebreakers would work if there is a three-way tie in the National League. He calls it crazy.
• If you thought that was crazy, Stark then explains how they’d break a three- or four-team tie in the American League.
• Will Leitch thinks that you can’t beat the drama of one-game, winner-take-all baseball. He ranks all of the Wild Card games based on their drama.
• Leitch also notes that unlike in other sports, Wild Card teams can and do win it all in baseball.
• Anthony Castrovince ranks the baseball postseason matchups that he’d most like to see this year. I’ve got to admit, an Indians-Cubs World Series would have a lot of story behind it.
• The Mets kept in a Wild Card position last night with a three-run walkoff home run in the 11th inning by Asdrubal Cabrera. Miraculous, but not nearly as surprising as the Giants bullpen holding a one-run lead last night.
• R.J. Anderson explains what we know about Bryce Harper’s injured shoulder. Unless it’s not injured.
• Mike Lupica notes that the Cardinals have taken on even more importance in St. Louis now that the Rams have left town.
• Here’s a piece you might like. Joan Niesen explains how she, as a Cardinals fan, learned to not hate the Cubs.
• Mariners catcher Steve Clevenger got in trouble for something he Tweeted. He must have spent too much time in a hotel room in Des Moines again.
• Bob Nightengale thinks the Mariners should just release Clevenger.
• Jonah Keri thinks the Mariners wasted the prime of Felix Hernandez, but he’s still optimistic for their future.
• Jay Jaffe looks at the case for Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez for AL Rookie of the Year.
• David Lauria talks to Orioles closer Zach Britton about his season and his thoughts on the AL Cy Young Award.
• Hallie Grossman makes the case for Astros second baseman Jose Altuve for AL MVP. If Altuve won, he’d be the first ever winner of that award who was smaller than the trophy.
• The Dodgers have been very pleased with Yasiel Puig since his return from the minor leagues, both on and off the field. #puigyourfriend
• Orioles outfielder Adam Jones is disheartened by the small crowds at Camden Yards this September.
• At least he doesn’t play for the Twins, who drew about 300 people to the first game of a split doubleheader yesterday.
• Ken Rosenthal explains how a change in his offseason workouts have helped Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia have a big season.
• Rosenthal also lists which six managers are on the hot seat as the season comes to a close.
• Benjamin Hoffman examines some of the theories as to why home runs are way up this year.
• Grant Brisbee looks at the Braves dilemma about keeping or dealing Julio Teheran this winter.
• For the first time in the regular season, Royals speedster Terrance Gore was thrown out stealing. August Fagerstrom explains how it happened.
• It looks like MLB will be playing a series in London in 2018 and that the Mets will be one of the teams. I suppose the other team will be West Ham United then.
• Barry Bonds was so happy with Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez that he gave him a kiss.
• And finally, a Miami-area radio guy said earlier this season that he’d literally eat crow if Marlins outfielder Christian Yelich hit 20 home runs this season. So how does one actually prepare crow? I suppose just like squab.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.