I didn’t see it (I’ve been watching actual baseball instead) but apparently former Cubs outfielder Brett Jackson had a line last night on Pitch. May a career in Hollywood go better for him than his major league career.
- Last night’s Cardinals/Reds game ended in controversy as a game-winning double by Yadier Molina was incorrectly called by the umpires, who ran off the field before Reds manager Bryan Price could protest. Hopefully the Reds will protest, the protest will be upheld and the game will have to be finished up on Monday as a part of Operation NL Wild Card Chaos. (I give the odds of this happening at 0.1%)
- Speaking of which, the Tigers/Indians game was rained out yesterday. Dayn Perry explains what that could mean for the AL Wild Card race. (Hint: Chaos)
- Funeral services were held for Jose Fernandez yesterday in Miami.
- I know that a lot of people don’t like him, but Fernandez’s agent Scott Boras gave a touching and tear-filled eulogy at the services. (Video)
- And of course, because some people are scum, someone stole Fernandez’s high school jersey from a vigil at his old high school.
- Ken Rosenthal got a text from the scout that signed Fernandez who explained what he saw in the young pitcher.
- As Red Sox slugger David Ortiz approaches retirement, he sat down for an interview with Tom Verducci.
- The Yankees had their farewell to Ortiz last night and even Big Papi noticed that no one booed.
- Scott Lauber notes that Ortiz was both a hero and a villain in that last night in the Bronx.
- The Red Sox have a picture of Ortiz mowed into the outfield grass for the final series of the regular season.
- Kris Bryant did this earlier this year, but Ortiz went undercover as a Lyft driver in Boston.
- Richard Justice had 10 reasons why the Red Sox won the AL East this year.
- R.J. Anderson writes that the Red Sox young players means that the team will not miss a beat after Ortiz retires.
- Howard Bryant thinks the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry needs to heat up again for the good of baseball.
- As Vin Scully finishes his long career, the Giants broadcasters share their memories of the legendary broadcaster. (h/t vonde6)
- Richard Sandomir has some rarities and oddities from Scully’s career.
- With Scully retiring, who are the longest-tenured broadcasters for each team?
- Baseball is dying, as evidenced by the fact that the TV ratings are up this year and in several markets, baseball is the top-rated cable programming.
- Jon Heyman looks at the Twins hiring of Derek Falvey as their new president of baseball operations. Heyman calls Falvey both a rising star as a baseball executive and way too inexperienced to take such an important job at this time.
- Ken Rosenthal notes that there is an increasing lack of diversity in baseball front offices—not just racial and ethnic diversity (although that’s a problem too) but a lack of diversity in experience and outlook.
- To say Blue Jays minor leaguer Jesus Montero has had a checkered career is an understatement. Now he’s been suspended for 50 games for testing positive for a stimulant.
- Jay Busbee looks at Turner Field in its last days: a stadium that should have been great but wasn’t.
- Anthony Castrovince looks at each playoff team’s “urgency” to win the World Series this year.
- Matt Snyder doesn’t want the World Series in November.
- Dayn Perry looks at why the Royals weren’t able to repeat this season.
- Matt Snyder thinks the window of contention is still open for the Pirates, as long as they learn this one simple trick. (OK, it’s more than one.)
- Doug Padilla thinks because of all the injuries to the Dodgers rotation this year, their starters are still fresh heading into October.
- On the other end of the spectrum, Steven Goldman wonders if the injury to Wilson Ramos isn’t the last straw for the Nationals postseason hopes.
- Michael Baumann predicts who will win the postseason awards.
- Will Leitch explains whom he would vote for if he had a vote in the postseason awards.
- Grant Brisbee thinks Justin Verlander should be the AL Cy Young Award winner.
- The Rockies have not discussed a contract extension with Nolan Arenado.
- Michael Bamberger talks to Ryan Howard, who notes that while his time with the Phillies may be ending, he’s not ready to retire yet.
- In that piece, Howard talks about how good Jim Thome was to him early in his career. Now, if he’s in Central Illinois, he can drive on the Jim Thome Highway.
- I’ve always said that baseball is better in Korean. To prove this, listen to some Korean broadcasters go nuts over a Hyun Soo Kim two-run home run. (Remember when the Orioles wanted to send Kim down to the minors and he refused? He’s just hitting .307 this season.)
- And finally, we all know that teams dress up rookies in funny clothes at this time of year. Normally I’d ignore this unless they were something really weird, but I thought you’d all want to see the Mariners dress-up with Dan Vogelbach as a Chippendale dancer.
And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.