MLB Bullets is the big fish

Happy Friday to all fans of the NL Central Champions.

• Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton hit two home runs last night to raise his season total to 59 and give all those who love to argue about such things hope that he can break the “real” single-season home run record.
• Manny Randhawa talks with Stanton about his historic season.
• Stanton’s season has been amazing, but is he the Most Valuable Player in the National League? Matt Snyder writes that the race for MVP is wide open.
• Mike Axisa looks at the close race for American League MVP between Aaron Judge and Jose Altuve.
• Grant Brisbee looks at the contrasts between the huge Judge and the tiny Altuve.
• Ben Lindbergh says that the choices for MVP in both leagues is too close to call. The stats are so close on so many candidates that there isn’t a right or wrong answer.
• Keith Law tells you what his picks would be for each postseason award if he had a vote. Except for NL Rookie of the Year, because he actually does have a vote in that one.
• Back to Miami, the sale of the Marlins to a group headed by Derek Jeter has been approved by MLB.
• Mike Axisa writes that the sale of the Marlins offers MIami fans both hope and uncertainty.
• Red Sox team president Dave Dombrowski says he is still tormented by the 1998 Marlins “fire sale” and that he’d like to win a World Series with the Red Sox that he could actually enjoy for a change.
• The ownership group of the Red Sox have denounced “racism and hatred.” I wish that weren’t controversial.
• This is an important article: While concussions have been a big issue in football, there have been a rash of concussions involving baseball catchers this year. R.J. Anderson explores the issue.
• Bennet Omalu, AKA “the guy Will Smith played in the movie,” says that baseball’s 7-day disabled list for concussions is a joke. I am not sure that he realizes that it’s a 7-day minimum, however.
• Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper didn’t play yesterday, but manager Dusty Baker said that there is nothing wrong with Harper.
• Jon Tayler talks with Nats first baseman Ryan Zimmerman about the changes he made that led to the turnaround of his career this season.
• Anthony Castrovince has nine questions as we head into the playoffs.
• Ted Berg lists what has to happen for the Indians to win the World Series this year.
• Andrew Marchand notes that the Twins made history by making the playoffs, even after the team decided to sell at the trade deadline.
• Mike Lupica explains why he’s so happy to see the Twins back in the postseason. I’m guessing it’s because he’s not going to be going to Minnesota to cover an outdoor game in late October, even if they make it that far.
• Athletics manager Bob Melvin signed a contract extension.
• Tim Brown thinks the Mets will have a hard time replacing manager Terry Collins. Why? Because no one wants the job?
• Some Mets pitchers are not happy because pitching coach Dan Warthen is likely going to be replaced as well.
• However, Eno Sarris examines whether or not Warthen is partly responsible for all the injuries to Mets pitchers.
• Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is done for the season.
• White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon underwent shoulder surgery and will likely miss the start of the 2018 season.
• Bruce Schoenfeld writes about the ways that managers are now getting more creative with their bullpen usage.
• To go along with the new single-season home run record, MLB set a record for most strikeouts in a season this year as well.
• Andrew Romine plans on playing all nine positions for the Tigers on Sunday.
• The Tigers signed Pedro Martinez Jr. as an international amateur free agent.
• Travis Sawchik points out that Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons is so amazing, we can’t even measure all the ways in which he is amazing.
• Jason Foster remembers Hall-of-Famer Phil Niekro’s final game with the Braves and the closure it brought to an earlier messy breakup.
• R.J. Anderson notes that some college baseball teams are embracing Moneyball tactics to positive effects. Teams like the Iowa Hawkeyes!
• And finally, Sam Miller has a creative way of wrapping up the 2017 regular season. He reviews it like a television series and notes all the plot holes and inconsistencies in the current season.

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