Fall Classic Rewind

American League Division Series - Games Three, Four, and Five

Before the American League Championship Series begins this Sunday night in Toronto, let’s recap the conclusion of the ALDS. The Blue Jays offense continued to torment the Yankees pitching staff en route to a 3 games to one series victory. Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. was unreal, driving in runs in every single game of the series. Nathan Lukes, who had spent nearly a decade toiling as a minor league journeyman, once again came up huge against the Yankee pen. The top team in the American League appears poised to win their first pennant in over 30 years.

Meanwhile the Mariners outlasted the Tigers in an epic fifteen inning game five. The Tigers took them to the brink, and then some. Tarik Skubal, Will Vest, and Kerry Carpenter did all they could to try and advance, but AJ Hinch’s squad just couldn’t produce enough offense. Apart from a game four implosion, Seattle’s arms were dominant against Detroit, but they’ll have their work cut out for them facing the firepower of Toronto.

New York Yankees (94-68) @ Toronto Blue Jays (94-68)

Toronto Radio SN590 - Ben Shulman and Chris Leroux

New York Radio WFAN - Dave Sims and Suzyn Waldman

Detroit Tigers (87-75) @ Seattle Mariners (90-72)

Seattle Radio KIRO - Rick Rizzs, Aaron Goldsmith

Detroit Radio 97.1 the Ticket - Dan Dickerson, Dan Petry

Audio clips from MLB.tv

As always, thank you to Baseball Reference and SABR for statistics, box scores, background information, and much, much more.

Catch you next time,

P.C.O.

NLDS Recap Games 1 and 2

Chicago Cubs (92-70) @ Milwaukee Brewers (97-65)

GM 1: Freddy Peralta (17-6 2.70 ERA 176 IP) vs. Matthew Boyd (14-8 3.21 ERA 179 IP)

GM 2: (Aaron Ashby 5-2 2.16 ERA 66 IP) vs. Shota Imanaga (9-8 3.73 ERA 144 IP)

Milwaukee Radio WTMJ - Jeff Levering, Bill Schroeder, and Josh Maurer

Chicago Radio WSCR - Pat Hughes and Ron Coomer

The National League Division Series is under way, and after just two games, the Cubs and Phillies are facing elimination. The Chicago starters could not keep Milwaukee off of the board, with nearly every Brewer finding a way to contribute. As the series heads south to Chicago, Craig Counsell’s squad is in deep trouble.

Los Angeles Dodgers (93-69) @ Philadelphia Phillies (96-66)

GM 1: Christopher Sánchez (13-5 2.50 ERA 202 IP) vs. Shohei Ohtani (1-1 2.87 ERA 47 IP)

GM 2: Jesús Luzardo (15-7 3.92 ERA 183 IP) vs. Blake Snell (5-4 2.35 ERA 61 IP)

Philadelphia Radio WIP - Scott Franzke, Larry Andersen, and Kevin Stocker

Los Angeles Radio AM570 - Stephen Nelson and Rick Monday

The Phillies starters, Christopher Sanchez and Jesus Luzardo, performed admirably against the Dodgers, but the bullpen and the bats have not followed suit. For Los Angeles, Shohei Ohtani provided a quality start in his postseason pitching debut, while Blake Snell continued his playoff dominance. Once again, the ‘Brothers Hernández’ came up clutch in game one, and the bullpen held on by the skin of their teeth to secure a 2-0 series lead.

Audio clips from MLB.tv

As always, thank you to Baseball Reference and SABR for statistics, box scores, background information, and much, much more.

Catch you next time,

P.C.O.

ALDS Recap - Games One and Two

The American League Division Series games have started, and boy, have there been some fireworks so far. The Toronto Blue Jays have jumped all over their division rival New York Yankees, with Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., Alejandro Kirk, and Dalton Varsho leading the way. The Yankees will have their work cut out for them if they hope to survive this series.

In Seattle, the series is knotted up at a game a piece. Both games were tense and exhilarating. As the series heads to Detroit, we shall see if the stars - Julio Rodrigues, Cal Raleigh, Tarik Skubal, and Kerry Carpenter - can continue to shine

Audio clips from MLB.tv

New York Yankees (94-68) @ Toronto Blue Jays (94-68)

GM 1 - Kevin Gausman (10-11 3.59 ERA 193 IP) vs. Luis Gil (4-1 3.32 ERA 57 IP)

GM 2 - Trey Yesavage (1-0 3.21 ERA 14 IP) vs. Max Fried (19-5 2.86 ERA 195 IP)

Toronto Radio SN590 - Ben Shulman and Chris Leroux

New York Radio WFAN - Dave Sims and Suzyn Waldman

Detroit Tigers (87-75) @ Seattle Mariners (90-72)

GM 1 - George Kirby (10-8 4.21 ERA 126 IP) vs. Toy M

GM 2 - Luis Castillo (11-8 3.54 ERA 180 IP) vs. Tarik Skubal (13-6 2.21 ERA 195 IP)

Seattle Radio KIRO - Rick Rizzs, Aaron Goldsmith

Detroit Radio 97.1 the Ticket - Dan Dickerson, Andy Dirks

As always, shout out to Baseball Reference and SABR for statistics, box scores, background information, and much, much more.

Catch you next time, 

P.C.O.

National League Wild Card Recap

Highlights from the NL side of the Wild Card Round. The Dodgers dominate, as expected, and the Cubs survive a thrilling three game set against the Friars.

San Diego Padres (90-72) @ Chicago Cubs (92-70)

GM 1: Matthew Boyd (14-8 3.21 ERA 179 IP) vs. Nick Pivetta (13-5 2.87 ERA 181 IP)

GM 2: Andrew Kittredge (3-5 3.40 ERA 53 IP) vs. Dylan Cease (8-12 4.55 ERA 168 IP)

GM 3: Jameson Taillon (11-7 3.68 ERA 129 IP) vs. Yu Darvish (5-5 5.38 ERA 72 IP)

Chicago Radio WSCR - Pat Hughes, Ron Coomer

San Diego Radio KWFN - Jesse Agler and Tony Gwynn, Jr.

Cincinatti Reds (83-79) @ Los Angeles Dodgers (93-69)

GM 1: Blake Snell (5-4 2.35 ERA 61 IP) vs. Hunter Greene (7-4 2.76 ERA 107 IP)

GM 2: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12-8 2.49 ERA 173 IP) vs. Zach Littell (10-8 3.81 ERA 186 IP)

Los Angeles Radio AM570 - Stephen Nelson and Rick Monday

Cincinatti Radio WLW - Tommy Thrall and Jeff Brantley

Audio clips from MLB.tv

As always, thank you to Baseball Reference and SABR for statistics, box scores, background information, and much, much more.

Catch you next time,

P.C.O.

American League Wild Card Recap

In the first five years of the Wild Card round(2020, 2022 - Present), we had just 4 of the 20 series go to a third game. This year, we were blessed with three! In today’s episode we’ll go over the highlights from the American League side, then look ahead to the AL Division Series games that start this weekend. This round had dominant outings from the game’s best pitchers, and clutch performances by rising stars. October baseball has it all!

Audio clips from MLB.tv

Detroit Tigers (87-75) @ Cleveland Guardians (88-74)

GM 1: Gavin Williams (12-5 3.06 ERA 167 IP) vs. Tarik Skubal (13-6 2.21 ERA 195 IP)

GM 2: Tanner Bibee (12-11 4.24 ERA 182 IP) vs. Casey Mize (14-6 3.87 ERA 149 IP)

GM 3: Slade Cecconi (7-7 4.30 ERA 132 IP) vs. Jack Flaherty (8-15 4.64 ERA 161 IP)

Cleveland Radio WTAM - Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus

Detroit Radio 97.1 - Dan Dickerson and Bobby Scales

Boston Red Sox (89-73) @ New York Yankees (94-68)

GM 1: Max Fried (19-5 2.86 ERA 195 IP) vs. Garrett Crochet (18-5 2.59 ERA 205 IP)

GM 2: Carlos Rodón (18-9 3.09 ERA 195 IP) vs. Brayan Bello (11-9 3.35 ERA 166 IP)

GM 3: Cam Schlittler (4-3 2.96 ERA 73 IP) vs. Connelly Early (1-2 2.33 ERA 19 IP)

New York Radio WFAN - Dave Sims, and Suzyn Waldman

Boston Radio WEEI - Will Flemming, Will Middlebrooks, Lenny Dinardo, and Lou Merloni

As always, thank you to Baseball Reference and SABR for statistics, box scores, background information, and much, much more.

P.C.O.

2025 Regular Season Recap and Wild Card Preview

Another MLB regular season is in the books, and we are on the verge of playoff baseball once again. Listen in as we discuss the incredible September comebacks of the Reds and Guardians, as well as the dreadful collapses of the Mets and Astros (and nearly the Tigers). I’ll provide my thoughts on the MVP races, and finish with a tribute to the endings of some great careers.

Audio clips from MLB.tv

Cleveland Radio WTAM - Tom Hamilton

Boston Radio WEEI - Will Flemming

Toronto TV Sportsnet - Dan Shulman and Buck Martinez

Seattle Radio KIRO - Rick Rizzs

Reds Radio WLW - Tommy Thrall and Jeff Brantley

Mets Radio WHSQ - Howie Rose

Los Angeles Radio AM570 - Charley Steiner and Rick Monday

Nationals TV MASN - Bob Carpenter and Kevin Frandsen

As always, thank you to Baseball Reference and SABR for statistics, box scores, background information, and much, much more.

Catch you next time,

P.C.O.

Be on the lookout for a Wild Card series recap and a Division Series preview later this week!

2025 BBWAA HOF Ballot

Happy New Year! It’s once again time to talk about the Hall of Fame, this time the writers’ ballot. There are plenty of worthy candidates returning to the ballot, and two standout first year candidates to watch. Japanese icon Ichiro Suzuki is a lock for induction this year. Although he didn’t debut until he was 27, the spry savant amassed over 3,000 hits, 1,400 runs, 10 All-Stars and Gold Gloves, not to mention two batting titles, a Rookie of the Year, and a MVP. He also holds the single season hit record, with 262 in the 2004 season. Although not the first Japanese player in MLB, his smashing success paved the way for other Japanese stars such as Hideki Matsui, Yu Darvish, and Shohei Ohtani. The only question about Ichiro is whether or not he’ll be unanimous.

Don’t sleep on ace lefty C.C. Sabathia’s chances on his debut ballot. As one of just three left handed pitchers with 3,000 strikeouts (Steve Carlton and Randy Johnson the other two), Sabathia was the definition of a workhorse. Add in 250 wins, a Cy Young, a World Series, and an ALCS MVP, and you’ve got a Hall of Famer, especially in this era.

Among the other first-year candidates, there are a few who could survive the 5% threshold to remain on ballot for another year. Félix Hernández was one of the most dominant starters in baseball from 2007 - 2015, but that might not be enough for the writers. Dustin Pedroia and Ian Kinsler were both excellent second basemen that frankly lack the longevity needed for enshrinement, but are certainly worthy cases to discuss, particularly on the same ballot as sabermetric darling Chase Utley. Russell Martin and Brian McCann come up short in the traditional counting stats that writers demand from catchers, but their advanced framing metrics put them in similar ranks as Joe Mauer, Buster Posey, and Yadier Molina.

Of the returning candidates, Billy Wagner came up just short last year (73.8%), and he will need a push to get over in his final year on the ballot. In his second to last year, Andruw Jones appears to be stalling around 60% of the vote, not far off from induction, but not close enough to be confident he’ll make it this year or the next. Carlos Beltrán and Chase Utley appear to be on track for induction in a few years time, though they’ll need to continue their growth. AROD, ManRam, and Andy Pettitte would be in the Hall if not for PEDs, and they’re not getting in anytime soon. How many will join Dick Allen and Dave Parker for a July celebration? Find out January 21st when the results are announced.

Audio clips from Youtube

#3,000 for Ichiro - Fox Sports Florida Sun - Rich Waltz

Laser Throw from Ichiro - Fox Sports Northwest - Rick Rizzs

Single season hit record for Ichiro - Root Sports Northwest - Dave Niehaus

CC gets 3K K’s - YES Network 

King Felix Perfecto - RSNW - Dave Sims

Dustin Pedroia Leadoff WS HR - FOX - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver

As always, shout out to Baseball Reference and SABR for statistics, boxscores, background information, and much, much more.

Catch you next time,

P.C..O.

With Winter Meetings just around the corner, and the Hot Stove heating up, it’s time to talk about the Baseball Hall of Fame, specifically the eight players on the Classic Era Ballot. This year, six former major league all-stars and two Negro League legends are up for enshrinement. Each of the position player candidates has won an MVP, and the two major league pitchers combined for over 500 career wins at the big league level, not to mention stellar postseason performances. These are players who remained on the writers ballot for many years, if not the full fifteen in some cases, and they’ve been under consideration in prior ‘Veteran’s Committee’ selections. They are all worthy candidates, but the committee members can only vote for three players. As is often the case on these committees, only one or two of these great players may get inducted this year, and the others will have to wait years to get another shot. Here are this year’s selections for the Classic Era Ballot:

Results of the committee will be announced on Dec 8th. In my opinion, all of these candidates are deserving, and I would have no complaints about any of them being selected. I personally would vote for Dick Allen (who missed by just one vote last time), Luis Tiant (who we sadly lost this year), and Ken Boyer (who was brilliant at an underrepresented position). Who would you pick, and who do you expect to make it in?

As always, shout out to Baseball Reference and SABR for statistics, box scores, background information, and much, much more.

Catch you next time,

P.C.O.

2024 World Series Game Five - Los Angeles Dodgers @ New York Yankees

We head into game five with the Dodgers just one win away from their eight World Series title, and what a ride it has been. Freddie Freeman has been the catalyst for the offense, homering in each game so far (and a record six straight World Series dating back to ’21) and driving in 10 runs, just two away from tying the record set by NYY 2B Bobby Richardson in 1960. Shohei Ohtani appears to be significantly hampered by his shoulder injury, but the offense keeps rolling thanks to contributions from Mookie Betts, Tommy Edman, and both of the Hernández brothers*. The LA starters have strung together solid outings, while the bullpen has carried things the rest of the way. When it has mattered, manager Dave Roberts has pushed all the right buttons, which was not something you could say about him in previous playoffs. They weren’t able to get the sweep in game four, but they aim to finish the job here in the Bronx tonight. They know they’ll be flying home to LA, and they hope it’s with the World Series trophy in hand.

The Yankees avoided elimination in game four, thanks in large part to a go-ahead grand slam from young shortstop Anthony Volpe, but if they’re going to extend the series any longer, Aaron Judge must step up. He has been downright awful in these playoffs, but it has not really hurt the Yanks until the World Series. With everything on the line, we’ll see if he can find some redemption. It will be ace Gerrit Cole on the mound for Bronx Bombers. The $300 million dollar man was excellent in game one, but the bullpen coughed up the lead and the game. Expect manager Aaron Boone to ride his horse as long as he can. On the other side, the Yankees will get a second crack at LA righty Jack Flaherty, who cruised through game one until he got beat by the long ball. Flaherty has been known to struggle the more times he sees an opponent. Will that trend hold?

These Yankees are talented, and these games have actually been close. In fact, the differential in this series is just a single run. Part of the reason the Yanks are trailing right now? Fundamentals. There have been misplays, base-running gaffes, mental errors, and even lack of hustle on display for New York. And up against a team as talented as these Dodgers, it’s at the margins where a series can be decided. The Yankees cannot afford any more lapses, or else they’ll see their best season in 15 years come to an abrupt end.

Audio clips from MLB.tv

LAD Radio 570 AM - Stephen Nelson and Rick Monday

NYY Radio WFAN - John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman

FOX postgame - Kevin Burkhardt

As always shout out to Baseball Reference for statistics, boxscores, background information, and much, much more.

Catch you next time,

P.C.O.

2024 World Series - Los Angeles Dodgers @ New York Yankees 

Games Three and Four @ Yankee Stadium 

The Dodgers head into the Bronx leading the series two games to none, taking care of business in their home ballpark against the Yankees. It took an incredible walk-off grand slam, courtesy of Freddie Freeman, and then a dominant performance from Yoshinobu Yamamoto to get Los Angeles in to this position, but they’ll certainly take it. Freeman has been the star so far, with another homer in game two. Tommy Edman and Teóscar Hernández added home runs in game two as well, but the rest of the offense has not been humming like it was in the NLCS. To add to that worry, Shohei Ohtani dislocated his shoulder attempting a steal, and while he’ll be in the lineup, it’s unclear how that injury may affect him. On the mound for Dave Roberts in game three will be Walker Buehler, who has been lights out in his previous World Series starts. The Dodgers will certainly need some length from the. Kentucky-born righty, as game four is slated to be a bullpen game.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone is under fire after the questionable game one decision to bring in Nestor Cortes, who surrendered the walk-off grand slam. It has been characterized as indefensible by many (rightly so in my opinion); however, there were other letdowns and misplays that put the Yankees in that position. You can nitpick and criticize bullpen management all you want, but if your offense isn’t putting up enough runs, especially against these Dodgers? You won’t stand a chance. Perhaps the most concerning for the Yankees faithful is the continued slump of Aaron Judge. He has been a dead spot in the order, and quite simply he needs to turn it around, or he may face the wrath of a fanbase that adores him. You can expect the Bronx Zoo to cheer for him loudly when he first steps to the plate, but if the strikeouts and weakly hit balls show up with him, do not be shocked by a chorus of boos for the MVP.

On the pitching side, Aaron Boone will turn to Clarke Schmidt in game three, and then Luis Gil in game four. Given the stakes, the leash on the two young righties will be quite short. Expect heavy usage from the likes of Tim Hill, Tommy Kahnle, Clay Holmes, and Luke Weaver. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in a World Series, and no team has even forced a game five since the 1970 Cincinnati Reds. If the Yanks go down in game three, it may just be the death knell on their season.

Audio clips from MLB.tv

LAD Radio 570 AM - Stephen Nelson and Rick Monday

NYY Radio WFAN - John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman

FOX broadcast - Joe Davis and John Smoltz

As always shout out to Baseball Reference for statistics, boxscores, background information, and much, much more.

Catch you next time,

P.C.O.