MLB Bullets is ready for October

As far as the start of the Cubs playoffs go, the waiting is the hardest part.

Last night’s Yankees win in the Wild Card game was too late to be included in today’s Bullets. Also, it means we’ve been deprived of the sight of outdoor baseball in Minnesota in October.

• Claire McNear thinks that MLB’s one-game Wild Card are a violation of the very essence of baseball. She also thinks that’s wonderful.
• Zach Kram believes that both Wild Card this year are mismatches and the random nature of one game means that the regular season is that much more important.
• Will Leitch previews tonight’s National League Wild Card game.
• Bob Nightengale writes that all Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez needed to turn his season around was a good night’s sleep. But that’s easier said than done.
• Tim Brown has ten players to watch this postseason.
• Grant Brisbee has three reasons to watch each playoff team.
• Cliff Corcoran has the ten most “intriguing” players of the postseason. What is this, a Barbara Walters special? I need to know.
• Jeff Sullivan does a statistical rating of all the postseason teams.
• Paul Swydan has the ten best part-time players in MLB this season. As you might expect with Joe Maddon’s lineup tendencies, there’s a whole lot of blue on his list.
• Rob Arthur and Greg Matthews look at hot streaks for pitchers going into the playoffs. There’s good news for the Cubs there.
• Now that the Cubs have won the World Series, the “curse” is on the Indians. Tyler Kepner details the Tribe’s actions and attitude as they try to end their 69-year curse.
• Indians manager Terry Francona has decided to start Trevor Bauer in game one instead of ace pitcher Corey Kluber.
• Matt Snyder thinks this decision is odd and unwise.
• David Schoenfield, on the other hand, thinks the move to start Bauer makes sense. I guess we’ll find out Thursday.
• It might not make much difference because as Jeff Sullivan notes, the Indians’ 2017 pitching staff really can make the case for being the best ever. Or at least since 1900. Old Hoss Radbourn was baseball’s greatest ever pitching staff all by himself.
• Bradford Doolittle says that if the game is on the line, which pitcher should be on the mound for each playoff team. It’s not Justin Grimm.
• The big non-playoff news is that Braves general manager John Coppolella and AGM Gordon Blakeley have resigned after allegations of violating international signing rules. They told the two of them don’t come around here no more.
• Jeff Passan has a lot more details on the reasons for the resignation and reports that the Braves violations go far beyond what the Red Sox were convicted of previously. Coppolella was also allegedly giving under-the-table payments to domestic draft picks as well.
• Jonah Keri doesn’t weigh in on the merits of the allegations, but he does remind everyone that the only purpose of the international spending cap is to take money away from impoverished Latin American kids and give it to billionaire sports owners.
• Emma Baccellieri agrees and calls the international spending limits in MLB “a disgrace.”
• One Braves guy who isn’t leaving is manager Brian Snitker, who will return as skipper in 2018. Braves fan Craig Calcaterra does not approve of this development.
• The Tigers will interview former Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez for their vacant post.
• The Blue Jays have told Jose Bautista that they will not be exercising his 2018 option.
• Angels outfielder Justin Upton is likely to opt out of his contract this winter.
• Derek Jeter took over as the owner of the Marlins and he certainly sounded like the team plans to trade Giancarlo Stanton.
• For those into Schadenfreude, Ben Frederickson has seven reasons the Cardinals didn’t make the playoffs. (slideshow)
• Joe Posnanski writes the eulogy for the current Royals glory days.
• Jeff Sullivan notes that the Astros had the most improved offense in the majors from 2016 to 2017.
• Commissioner Rob Manfred talks about efforts to speed up the game and other things.
• MLB also announced a diversity fellowship to allow women and minorities to get experience in the baseball industry. Jeff Passan thinks this is an important move to help get the best talent available to chose careers in baseball.
• Lindsey Adler calls these fellowships “a small step but a big deal.”
• Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge had the top-selling jersey in MLB this year. Makes sense. And since the Yankees still don’t put their names on the backs of jerseys, it can double as a Wayne Gretzky hockey sweater.
• Congratulations to Nationals reliever Sean Doolittle, who married longtime partner Eireann Dolan on Monday. You got lucky, Sean.
• Brewers minor leaguer Bubba Derby is being called a hero after his actions during the massacre in Las Vegas on Sunday night.
• And finally, ESPN accidentally (we think) replaced Ervin Santana’s head with a baseball graphic during last night’s game, creating a great image that left people wondering if Santana was related to Mr. Met.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Time to go runnin’ down a dream.