Outside The Confines: September is here!

Hello links-loving friends! It’s Wednesday, and thankfully after the madness that was the trade deadline things have been pretty quiet on the baseball front, which is a nice change of pace from all the major drama we’ve seen popping up the past few months.

It’s also September now, which in addition to being my birth month and the official month in which I’m allowed to decorate my house for fall, it also means we’ve entered the last month of regular season play. It seems like only yesterday the season began (because in terms of a normal season it basically WAS yesterday), but here we are.

Most of the writing this week has been in regards to the moves of the trade deadline, so let’s take a look at what the various baseball geniuses out there thought about the big moves.

• ESPN ranks all 30 teams coming out of the trade deadline.
• Emma Baccellieri assesses the deadline winners and losers.
• Eric Longenhagen chose to look more specifically at all the prospects who were moved during the deadline.
• Marcel Ozuna throws up a “Wakanda Forever” sign as he rounds the bases, in memory of Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman.

• Mike Trout just keeps getting better, and Sam Miller looks at his climb past the stats of current Hall of Famers.
• Tom Verducci asks 10 big questions for the September stretch.
• Chris Connelly takes a look at the activist history of Dodgers coach George Lombard in an incredible spotlight piece.
• FanGraphs has a fun new shirt for sale.
• Joe Posnanski looks at Hawk-Eye, and what tennis can teach us about the new review system MLB is trying out. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Mirin Fader spotlights the tragic loss of Tyler Skaggs, and what he left behind.
• Henry Schulman has the story of how Giants and A’s fans feel about the idea returning to live baseball in this new uncertain era.
• Evan Drellich asks how Rob Manfred has done as a leader in his five years in charge. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Oh geez, okay Byron Buxton.

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