Outside The Confines: A classic fall

Congratulations to the Rangers and the Diamondbacks. May we have a seven-game series with every game decided by one run. And let’s have Game 7 go to extra innings for good measure.

I don’t have too many stories on the aftermath of the NLCS yet. Next time.

• Ketel Marte was named MVP of the National League Championship Series. Marte had a hit in every Arizona playoff game this year and he has a 16-game playoff hitting streak dating back to 2017.
• Diamondbacks rookie Brandon Pfaadt started Game 7 last night. Here’s a list of rookie pitchers who got the start in a Game 7.
• And here are teams that have come back from a 0-2 deficit in the playoffs to win.
• Last night was the first time in the Phillies 141-year history that they played a Game 7 in the postseason.
• Barry Svrluga wrote this before Game 7, but he thought that MLB needed the fun and the personalities on the Phillies in the World Series. Eh, maybe next year.
• Jay Jaffe looks at what has made Kyle Schwarber a postseason legend. Hint: it’s a lot of monster home runs.
• Jesse Rogers talks to Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos and explains how Castellanos has finally found a home in Philadelphia.
• Now on to the American League. Mike Axisa has four in-season moves by the Rangers that ended up being key elements of a pennant-winner.
• Gabe Lacques notes that Adolis García ignored the boos and led the Rangers to the World Series.
• Ben Clemens breaks down García’s tremendous performance in Game 7 of the ALCS.
• Ken Rosenthal writes that the Rangers’ secret weapon, outfielder Adolis García, isn’t a secret anymore (The Athletic sub. req.) after his MVP-winning performance in the ALCS.
• Brian Murphy lists the managers with the most World Series titles. Rangers skipper Bruce Bochy is looking to move into a tie for fourth on this list.
• The two-game suspension of Astros pitcher Bryan Abreu for hitting García was upheld, but MLB announced that he could start the suspension at the beginning of the 2024 season.
• Gabe Lacques believes that MLB was correct to delay ths suspension until next year, but criticized the process as to how we got to that point.
• Matt Snyder agrees that the process stinks, but disagrees on the other point and says that Abreu should have served his suspension in the playoffs. Snyder calls the decision to delay the suspension “gutless.”
• Astros manager Dusty Baker has reportedly been telling people that he intends to step down as manager. Baker has indicated that he would like to stay in the game in a front office role.
• R.J. Anderson has four reasons why Houston’s loss in Game 7 could be the beginning of the end of the Astros dynasty.
• For the teams that aren’t in the World Series, the business of baseball goes on. This is also Cubs news, but Cubs assistant general manager Craig Breslow has accepted an offer to be the Red Sox’s new president of baseball operations.
• Padres manager Bob Melvin will leave San Diego to become the new manager of the San Francisco Giants.

• Recently-retired catcher Stephen Vogt, who spent the 2023 season as coach with the Mariners, is a “serious” candidate to be the new Guardians manager.
• Brewers manager Craig Counsell, whose contract is up at the end of the year, has told people that he “would be adverse” to managing the Mets. There had been speculation that the Wisconsin native would be reluctant to relocate to New York.
• MLB dot com is doing a feature of five questions for teams in the offseason. Bryan Hock has five questions for the Yankees.
• Rhett Bollinger has five questions for the Angels.
• Adam Berry has five questions for the Rays.
• Baseball United, a new professional league based in Dubai, held their first draft and several famous former major leaguers are planning to play in the new league. Robinson Canó, Bartolo Colon, Pablo Sandoval, Andrelton Simmons and others are looking to play in the new league.
• Matt Kelly has 20 playoff performances that saved a team’s chances when their backs were up against the wall. There’s a few 2016 Cubs on the list. Unfortunately, there are a few performances against the Cubs as well.
• And finally, professional blowhard Chris “Mad Dog” Russo vowed that he would retire “on the spot” if the Diamondbacks won two games in Philadelphia and advanced to the World Series. I suppose you can’t put any stock in anything Russo says so we probably shouldn’t believe this either. But that sure would be nice.

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