Outside The Confines: The show must go on

With a weekend off of no baseball activities so players and their families could get settled into the MLB postseason bubble — and so people could watch this other sport called *checks notes* football? — there wasn’t a lot of new news to cover, but two big things made the rounds.

The first, obviously, is the mix of coverage about what was learned from the adjusted Wild Card series, and how writers think things will shake out in the forthcoming division series that start on Monday and Tuesday. Both are covered extensively in the links below.

The other, sadly, was the passing of Cardinals great Bob Gibson, who passed away at the age of 84 on Friday. You can read his obituary from The New York Times here.

Now, as we gear up to see which teams will fight and claw their way to the championship series, let’s get into the weekend links.

• Tim Britton explains why the GMs — everyone’s favorite team villains — are not enjoying this adjusted postseason. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• The Padres are enjoying their first postseason series win since 1998, and Tony Wolfe looks at what got them there.
• Speaking of the Padres, Fernando Tatis Jr. is making the most of his clinch moments this year, writes Michael Baumann.
• Buster Olney breaks down the ten most important matchups in the upcoming division series.
• Likewise, Matt Kelly shines a spotlight on the eight unhittable pitches that might stymie hitters in the DS.
• Is Clayton Kershaw’s postseason curse finally broken? It sure looks like it, writes Rachael McDaniel.
• Ben Lindburgh is deeply uninterested in listening to more in-game player interviews, thank you very much.
• A guide to pitching to Fernando Tatis Jr.

• Emma Baccellieri takes a look at what we learned from the Wild Card series.
• Jayson Stark has his own list of lessons learned. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• And since it’s such a popular topic, I happened to do the same thing over at Bless You Boys.
• Don’t you dare miss the Padres/Dodgers series, because it’s going to have a heck of a lot to offer.
• Tom Verducci looks at the life and incredible baseball history of Bob Gibson.
• The Rays/Yankees rivalry is going to be one to watch in the ALDS.
• Ken Rosenthal investigates the potential future of the newly adjust postseason format. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• The Angels have one of the best players in history playing in their outfield, so what do they need to do to get him a World Series ring, wonders Alden Gonzalez.
• Sorry if it’s too soon to share posts about the Marlins, but Levi Weaver looks at the path that brought the so-called Bottom Feeders to the division series.
• Matt Martel and Nick Selbe look at how each team can win their way through the division series.
• Keith Law gives us his hypothetic awards season ballot.
• The Brewers might have lost their chance to continue in the postseason, but I don’t think Eric Sogard’s family is complaining.

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