Liam is our favorite Castellanos but Nick is a close second.  Pottymouth is rightfully preening over her pre-season pick of Corbin Carroll. Patti calls early dibs on Evan Carter for next season. There was so much more going on in  that 15 pitch at bat between Nathaniel Lowe and Dean Kremer than met the eye. Every single team in the final four has players we love to watch, so we dug deeper for our picks. Respect for Dusty aside, we are over Houston. The Rangers have an edge there if you can get past the whole Creed situation. We appreciate an underdog but ARI are scabs. We are pro-Phils for lead-off hitter Schwarber, Nats North, sneaky good hitting, and very specific heckling. And Liam. In the world outside the playoffs, the Giants interviewed Alyssa Nakken, the first woman to be an official candidate for an MLB manager position. Police blotter and international baseball collide, as Wander Franco may or may not play winter ball in the DR. Nelson Cruz has already committed to managing Team DR in the 2026 WBC so we are requesting leave now.

We say “There’s a Maryland state dinosaur?” “I met David Byrne in an elevator,” and “Peanuts are hard enough to get into a Japanese ballpark but we can get domestic abusers in there just fine.” Fight the man, send your game balls to Meredith, get boosted, and find us on Twitter @ncibpodcast, on Facebook @nocryinginbball, Instagram @nocryinginbball and on the Interweb at nocryinginbball.com. Please take a moment to subscribe to the show, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to NCiB. Become a supporter at Patreon to help us keep doing what we do. Say goodnight, Pottymouth.