MLB Bullets forgot to check

Good morning Monday. I’m going to assume that all of you know that the home teams have won every game in the playoffs so far except for the Cubs win in game one of the NLDS.

• The Yankees blew an 8-3 lead in game two of the American League Division Series to the Indians, thanks in part to Lonnie Chisenhall getting hit by a pitch when replay shows that the call should have been strike three. Yankees manager Joe Girardi admitted that he “screwed up” in not asking for a replay.
• Buster Olney says the lesson in all of this is always ask for a review, especially in the playoffs. Olney also writes that he thinks the free agent market for Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer could be weak this winter.
• Craig Calcaterra explains why Girardi’s failure to challenge the call was so boneheaded.
• Girardi was booed by Yankee fans before game three in the Bronx.
• Perhaps even more worrisome, closer Aroldis Chapman “liked” in Instagram post that called for Girardi’s termination.
• For his part, Girardi says he has no worries about losing his job over this. If George were still alive, he would.
• Publicly, at least, the Yankees players say that they won’t “replay” past events going forward.
• Tom Verducci writes that the secret to the Indians comeback in game two was that they never lost their belief that they would win.
• Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco is driven by the disappointment of not being able to pitch in last year’s postseason.
• Carrasco was terrific in last night’s game three, but Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka was even better. Tanaka also got a boost from right fielder Aaron Judge, who not only robbed a home run from Francisco Lindor, he also robbed the ball from noted “ballhawk” Zack Hample. Many on social media wrote that they didn’t think they could love Judge any more than they already do.
• The other bad news for the Indians is that DH Edwin Encarnacion is “day-to-day” with an ankle sprain. I’m pretty sure Encarnacion would have gone on the DL with this injury if it were the regular season.
• The Red Sox won game 3 of their ALDS yesterday 10-3, thanks in part to a three-run home run by Jackie Bradley Jr. that got a little help going over the fence from Astros right fielder Josh Reddick.
• Richard Justice reports that despite trailing in the series, Red Sox manager John Farrell won’t do anything differently.
• Jeff Passan tells the story of how Astros second baseman Jose Altuve went from a disappointing 2015 postseason to a game this series where he hit three home runs.
• Astros starter Brad Peacock got ready for his game 3 start by tossing a ball to his mother in the stands before he warmed up in the Fenway Park bullpen.
• Meg Rowley recaps game 2 of the Dodgers/Diamondbacks NLDS and notes that the loan the Diamondbacks took out to win the Wild Card game came due in game 2.
• With Clayton Kershaw still looking un-Kershaw-like in the postseason, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that he may pull Kershaw from his starts earlier in the playoffs.
• Ryan Davis thinks the Cubs/Nationals NLDS looks like a classic so far.
• Nationals assistant hitting coach Jacque Jones has been suspended after disturbing allegations emerged in a lawsuit against the former Cubs and Twins outfielder.
• Travis Sawchik wonders if the current postseason is a sign that an era of “super teams” has come to baseball.
• For the three teams that fell behind 0-2 in their best-of-five Division Series, Cliff Corcoran has the stories of all the teams that came back to win in five-game series after being down 0-2. Skip the 1984 one.
• The Rockies have been eliminated from the postseason, but Mike Axisa argues that the Rox have a core of strong pitching that should be even better in 2018.
• The Cardinals didn’t make the playoffs at all, and it’s reflected in their declining TV ratings this season.
• Jose de Jesus Ortiz has a particularly unhinged column in which he blames the Cardinals woes on too many outsiders on the team, by which he means players who have played for other teams than the Cardinals and don’t understand “The Cardinal Way.” (h/t Deadspin, which smartly points out that “The Cardinal Way” isn’t doing things the right way. “The Cardinal Way” is bragging about doing things “the right way.”)
• Jon Heyman gives all his choices for all of the end-of-the-season awards.
• Heyman also reports that both the Tigers and Phillies are interested in interviewing former Marlins manager Mike Redmond for their managerial openings.
• And Heyman says the Mets are interested in talking to former Tigers manager Brad Ausmus about their job. For the love of Casey Stengel, why? That’s so Met.
• Matt Snyder has some possible landing spots if (when?) the Marlins decide to trade Giancarlo Stanton.
• David Davis has the story of photographer Harry Cabluck and his iconic photo of Carlton Fisk waving the ball fair in game 6 of the 1975 World Series. He almost didn’t get the photo because Fenway Park was shaking so much from the crowd noise. That also wasn’t the only great photo Cabluck took during his long career.
• Angels outfielder Mike Trout went to an Eagles game, so the NFL team celebrated a touchdown with a baseball-themed tribute to Trout.
• And finally, people across baseball were outraged by what happened with the National Anthem before a game . . .in 1968. David Davis (again) has the story of José Feliciano singing the National Anthem before game five of the World Series in Detroit and why people of the time were so outraged. (h/t Hardball Talk)

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Hopefully because the Cubs will clinch the NLDS tomorrow.