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All but one of the divisions seem to be settled, but that does not mean that there are no intrigues that captivate the imagination around baseball. Here's what caught our attention this weekend:
The two National League teams that have the best chance of defeating the Dodgers appear to be the Braves and Nationals, who opened a four-game series on Thursday. Who would be a tougher opponent in the playoffs for L.A. – Atlanta or Washington?
Eddie Matz: Of course, the offensive of the nationals broke the white stick. And yes, their top three players among Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin are stronger than those of Atlanta (although Scherzer did not return to his original state before the playoffs). But the brave are good. Really good. So good that Washington, which has the best record in baseball since May 24, does not seem to be able to gain ground in the east of the NL. The only reason for choosing Washington here would be rotation. But October is a time of prosperity, and that of Atlanta is much better. So, I would say that the Braves would be the hardest for L.A.
Sam Miller: The unsatisfactory answer is that it is about Nationals because it is easier to beat a much higher opponent in a smaller sample than a larger one. If the Nationals succeed in the game of inconsistent cards, they will face the Dodgers in a best-of-five series. If the Braves exceed the playoffs, they will meet the Dodgers in a best-of-seven. But remove that technicality and Eddie is probably right. Washington has the advantage at the top of the rotation, but if we look at each team in the started matches, the Nationals have not shown this advantage: they are 47-32 years old when Scherzer, Strasburg or Corbin starts, while the Braves are 46-22 when Max Fried, Dallas Keuchel or Mike Soroka do it. The national pen is just toxic.
David Schoenfield: It's really remarkable: even with this toxic pen, the Nationals make have this best record in the majors over a long time. This suggests that they are so good everywhere else that they can overcome the problem, although I find it hard to imagine that Fernando Rodney is going through Cody Bellinger, Justin Turner and Max Muncy in a crucial situation. So maybe this is affecting other matches, and since the Dodgers are better against right-handed pitchers with all their left-handers (their OPS is 45 points higher than the right-handed ones), maybe the Braves with starters left-handed, Fried and Keuchel, have an advantage over there, as the nationals have only one southpaw in Corbin. Again, Soroka's left-handed operation is 200 points higher than his opponents, which is a tough match for him. I guess I'm back to Fernando Rodney. The Braves are the toughest enemy.
With a nod to Sunday's Yankees-Red Sox game (ESPN, 8pm) and Buster Olney (we're stealing his Twitter Poll Question), what do you think it's going to happen to Mookie Betts – it will be traded this winter, it will be traded next summer, it will leave Boston as a free agent after 2020, or it will sign a long-term agreement to stay with the Sox?
Matz: As disappointing as this season has been for Boston, there is no reason to believe that the defending champions can not bounce back and make another race next year. That's why General Manager Dave Dombrowski does not trade his Betts this winter. If the hangover of the World Series continues until 2020 and the Sox are around 0.500 next July, I could see dealer Dave follow the road to Manny Machado and ship Mookie elsewhere to rebuild an agricultural system who has had difficult times. But I do not think that happens. As far as an extension is concerned, I do not think that will happen either, because Betts is too in touch with all the marketing and commercial side of the business. Despite the recent depression of the free agent, he knows that he could kill. Which is exactly what will happen.
Miller: OK, I could perhaps imagine a team of big markets that should win, for example, 90-92 wins next year, in a tough division, deciding that Mookie Betts would be the difference between making and missing the playoffs 2020. And maybe he thinks that continuity would give him a better chance of signing him when he comes into play at liberty, which would give him an extra advantage to be in the team before his year's march. . Gather them and this club might be ready to offer something absolutely overwhelming to hire for the 2020 season. The team that best describes is … the Red Sox. They will keep it until it is free, then they will be the favorites to re-sign it.
Schoenfield: My prediction: Mookie stays … then Mookie shares as a free agent. (He signs with the Angels to help Mike Trout, and Mookie will be happy to be safe from the media in Boston and let Trout be the guy, or maybe he'll sign with the Rangers, who will need 'a star attraction in year 2. George Springer and Michael Brantley are also free agents after 2020. And the Braves' Mookie is from Tennessee and close to home, or maybe …)
There are a few other playoffs with potential playoff teams: Indians-Twins, Cubs-Brewers and Phillies-Mets. Which of these series seems most intriguing?
Miller: The Cubs and Brewers, just because of the animus. None of these teams are really competing for a playoff spot: the Twins have a solid grip on the AHL, the Phillies and Mets play more for respectability and relevance than for realistic hopes, and the Brewers are almost certainly gassed. But the Brewers and Cubs can at least play for the privilege of seriously damaging the atmosphere of their rivals. Cubs can essentially end the brewing season; brewers could move the panic index to Chicago to orange.
ESPN's Olney Buster leads the discussion on the latest news and baseball notes with the game's top analysts. Listening
Schoenfield: I've probably watched the Mets more than any other team this season (I live in Connecticut, so the Mets, Yankees and Red Sox are my local teams), so why stop now? In addition, Bryce Harper may do something wonderful during a season that has been decidedly unfortunate for him, or that Jacob deGrom does not put the weight on the score, or that the Mets have a six-point lead in the ninth. Wait, he's stupid. It could never happen.
Matz: I am really not intrigued by any of them, really. At least not from the point of view of the playoffs. Because you would have to squint to convince yourself that any of these three matches has serious implications for the series right now. That said, Minny and Cleveland are the top two baseball teams among the six in question here. And other things being equal, I would rather watch a good baseball than a bad baseball. So I will go with the Twindians series.
PICK & # 39; EM TIME
Back at Braves-Nats, the trio of teammates will have more bases this weekend: Freddie Freeman of Atlanta, Ronald Acuna Jr.. and Josh Donaldson or Anthony Rendon, Washington, Juan Soto and Trea Turner?
Schoenfield: Oh, that's a good one. Rendon is locked up right now, just like Donaldson. Freeman has been the superstar of Mr. Consistent throughout the season. I will give the Braves trio the advantage – they will have to face the Nationals pen at some point.
2 related
Miller: Atlanta has the field at home, Washington is hot. Rendon and Soto are both in the top 10 in total number of bases in the second half, and even Turner is less than 10% of Atlanta. In general, I do not have much confidence in hotness. Atlanta wins this one.
Matz: When it comes to total bases, round trips reign supreme. While the Atlanta troika consists of three legitimate threats, this is not the case in Washington, where the fast Turner (13 circuits) appears as a sore thumb among the sextet involved here. I'll take the brave bashers.
Right-handed cardinals Jack Flaherty is on a roll (0.59 ERA over his last seven starts). Flamers authorized by Flaherty against the Pirates Sunday: more or less than 5.5?
SchoenfieldFlaherty not only has a 0.59 ERA over seven starts, but also has a 0.90 average and .141 average in his last 11 starts. I watched his last start against the Giants (a shot in eight innings) and it was a complete dominance: he threw only 29 balls for 26 batters and his hundredth throw was 97 / h, the hardest part of the game. Buster Olney compared it to a young Justin Verlander: he has the size, material and he begins to show that he has the ability to play deep into the games. Is he the best baseball pitcher? The road map is not long enough to say it, but it's certainly the best. Less than 5.5.
Matz: As hot as Flaherty was, the offense of the Pirates was just as hot. Over the past two weeks, Pittsburgh has earned a .381 percentage on the base and an average of 7.2 points per game, the top two in the majors. More, please.
Miller: I thought it would be an easy win, but the sub-field would have won six of the last eight starts – and it has only allowed six riders in the other two. Even so, the Pirates have the biggest peloton divided into baseball: the right-handed ones for a .275 / .338 / .446 line. I think the end is right; Can I convince you to count beaten drummers?
TWO TRUE RESULTS
Each week, we ask our panelists to choose an attacker who they think will score the most circuits and a pitcher who they believe will score the most batting withdrawals over the next weekend. Panelists may only pick a player once for the season. We will do the count – and invite you to play at home.
Home Strikers
Matz: Jorge Soler
Miller: Pete Alonso
Schoenfield: Alex Bregman
| MATZ: 14 | MILLER: 18 | SCHOENFIELD: 15 |
|---|---|---|
| Juan Soto, 2 | Jorge Soler, 1 | G. Torres, 0 |
| Max Muncy, 0 | Christian Yelich, 0 | Yordan Alvarez, 0 |
| X. Bogaerts, 0 | Manny Machado, 0 | Rafael Devers, 2 |
| Yuli Gurriel, 0 | Yordan Alvarez, 3 | Carlos Correa, 2 |
| E. Encarnacion, 0 | Franmil Reyes, 0 | George Springer, 0 |
| Eugenio Suarez, 1 | Ronald Acuna, 1 | Max Kepler, 2 |
| Mike Moustakas, 1 | L. Gurriel Jr., 1 | Joey Gallo, 0 |
| Pete Alonso, 1 | Joc Pederson, 0 | Luke Voit, 0 |
| Freddie Freeman, 0 | J.D. Martinez, 0 | Pete Alonso, 2 |
| Mookie Betts, 0 | Freddie Freeman, 1 | Ronald Acuna, 1 |
| Christian Yelich, 1 | Alex Bregman, 0 | Mike Trout, 1 |
| Mike Trout, 2 | Josh Bell, 0 | Cody Bellinger, 0 |
| Marcell Ozuna, 0 | Nolan Arenado, 4 | Ian Desmond, 0 |
| George Springer, 1 | Cody Bellinger, 2 | Marcell Ozuna, 0 |
| Trevor Story, 1 | Mike Trout, 2 | Christian Yelich, 0 |
| Nolan Arenado, 0 | Joey Gallo, 0 | Trevor Story, 0 |
| Javy Baez, 1 | Bryce Harper, 1 | Guerrero Jr., 0 |
| Joc Pederson, 2 | Jose Altuve, 1 | Eddie Rosario, 3 years |
| J.D. Martinez, 0 | Tommy Pham, 0 | Aaron Judge, 1 |
| Shohei Ohtani, 0 | Guerrero Jr., 0 | Eugenio Suarez, 1 |
| Rafael Devers, 1 | Aaron Judge, 1 | J.D. Martinez, 0 |
Strikeout launchers
Matz: Robbie Ray
Miller: Mike Clevinger
Schoenfield: Patrick Corbin
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