Good morning.
- It’s clinching season, even if the Cubs have to wait until at least Tuesday. But on Sunday, the Braves clinched the NL East title. Mark Bowman reports.
- Jesús Cano writes that the Braves title is a tribute to the team’s depth overcoming injuries. (The Athletic sub. req.)
- Dayn Perry has three reasons why the Braves can win the World Series.
- The Red Sox also clinched a Wild Card playoff spot. Ian Browne examines how what once looked impossible became a reality.
- Mike Axisa has three reasons why the Red Sox can win the World Series.
- Brent Maguire has nine things that are still at stake over the final week of the season.
- One player to watch on all 30 teams the rest of the season.
- Theo DeRosa has a list of players who have turned their seasons around in the second half. Yes, Alex Bregman is at the top of the list.
- Longtime Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper missed this weekend’s games in Los Angeles after Kuiper announced that he was diagnosed with throat cancer. Kuiper intends to broadcast Giants home games this week and says he will be there for the sendoff of his longtime partner Mike Krukow, who is retiring. Kuiper also insists he will beat the cancer. Get well and keep fighting, Kuip.
- Longtime Mets broadcaster Howie Rose said goodbye to Mets fans as he broadcast his final game before retirement.
- Manny Randhawa has one player from each playoff team looking for their first World Series ring after many tries.
- One of those players is Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, but Judge went back on the injured list with a strained calf.
- Bryan Hoch notes that Judge is frustrated by his injury-filled season but he expects to be back in the lineup by the playoffs. His manager, Aaron Judge, isn’t so sure.
- Mike Axisa has three questions for the Yankees and Judge as he goes back on the IL.
- Reds pitcher Chase Burns went to the injured list with a strained groin and is out for the rest of the season.
- The Blue Jays are fighting for a final Wild Card spot, but they got no help as ace Dylan Cease underwent an MRI on his sore shoulder. No decision has been made yet, but manager John Schneider admitted he could be out for the year.
- Jay Jaffe looks at Orioles first baseman Pete Alonso and his return to Citi Field.
- We got some good medical news on Mets current first baseman (and former Cub) Jared Young, (The Athletic sub. req.) who suffered a concussion in a collision with Mets pitcher Nolan McLean.
- Dayn Perry looks at how the Cardinals and Nationals can build upon their promising 2026 seasons to make the playoffs next year.
- Jesse Rogers talks to Jacob Misiorowski’s Brewers teammates to find out what it’s been like to see every game of his season this year. Kind of an oral history of Misiorowski’s season.
- Pete Crow-Armstrong isn’t the only 24-year-old NL Central star having a great season. Jay Jaffe breaks down Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz’s breakout campaign.
- Bruce Schoenfield speaks to players about the upcoming labor war and finds out how the union is building solidarity in advance of a likely lockout. This is also how I found out that the Padres’ Jake Cronenworth is married to White Sox broadcaster Brooke Fletcher.
- And jeez, if you want to dislike umpire Laz Diaz more, Diaz goes off to Bob Nightengale about how “nasty” MLB has become in advance of his retirement. He’s angry at ABS, video review, umpire scorecards, mic’d up umpires and pretty much everything else that holds umpires accountable.
- C. Trent Rosecrans has a profile of Louisville Bats manager Pat Kelly, who has more minor league losses as a manager than anyone else. (The Athletic sub. req.) All I have to say is do you have any idea how good a minor league manager you have to be to set the record for minor league losses? Really, really good.
- The Braves celebrated Bill Lucas, who 50 years ago in 1976 became the first ever Black general manager in the game.
- Russell Dorsey polled a bunch of front office executives to ask them who are the best candidates for team president/general manager jobs this winter? Carter Hawkins got some votes.
- Orioles general manager Mike Elias said that manager Craig Albernaz will return in 2027. Jake Rill reports.
- Jon Becker examines the Giants issues with their 40-man roster this winter as they have to clear spots for 16 players currently on the 60-day injured list. That’s not even counting the players they need to protect from the Rule 5 draft. And the Giants only have one player reaching free agency this winter too.
- Jonathan Mayo has the candidates for the MiLB Awards, which I forgot was even a thing. Anyway, Cubs top prospect Josiah Hartshorn is nominated in one category.
- In the game threads this past week, I mentioned that you should never make the first or third out at third base and that led to a whole discussion. Well, Ben Clemens may have been listening because he examined whether or not that old piece of baseball wisdom really makes sense. (Answer: yes. Especially don’t make the third out at third.)
- Dodgers reliever Seth Halvorsen can hit 100 miles per hour on the radar gun, but he hit the Giants’ Drew Gilber with this 32.6 mph pitch. It’s the slowest HBP of the Statcast era.
- Pirates first baseman Ryan O’Hearn practices a between-the-legs glove flip before every game and on Saturday night, he finally used it to retire the Royals Michael Massey at first base.
- And finally, we have two stories on the effort to get deaf 19th-century ballplayer Billy “Dummy” Hoy into Cooperstown. Bob Nightengale has the non-playwalled story on Hoy and Daniel Brown handles the details on Hoy for The Athletic. (sub. req.) As both articles note, Hoy may have been responsible for the development of umpire signals, although that claim is contentious among historians.
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