FanGraphs Baseball

We’re Continuing Our Member-Only Playoff Game Threads Throughout October

Sean Dolinar — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 16:15:28 +0000

Last week, we tried a few Member-only game threads on the site. They were pretty well received, so we’re going to host them each day of the postseason going forward. Our Member community is made up of thousands of incredibly knowledgable baseball fans, and we think this is a great way to follow a game with like-minded baseball enthusiasts.

If you didn’t happen to check out the first couple of game threads, here’s a quick overview:

Only Members can participate, but anyone can read the game threads.
These are similar to game threads you might have seen on other sites or a Discord server, but unlike a Discord server, it’s hosted here and you just need to be signed in with your FanGraphs Membership.
We’re using the same chat interface our staff uses for moderated chats, but your messages be posted immediately.
Speaking of our staff, many have participated in the threads. But remember, our Members are driving the conversation.
Please be courteous to your fellow Members, or you may find your chat privileges revoked.

We’ll open each game thread 30 minutes prior to the first pitch of the first game that day and leave it open until the final out of the last game. So for today’s games, the chat start will start at 5:30PM ET. You’ll see the thread announced in the site banner, with a separate post for each thread.

We’ve integrated many of the standard features you’d see in any chat or messaging tool, as well as a few interesting additions:

You can reply to any message. We’ve kept the threading one level deep, so the conversation doesn’t branch too much.
You can also edit your own message.
You have the option to view the messages in a thread or chronologically. I recommend a thread, but you can view new messages as they come in if you prefer.
We recently added reaction emojis, so people can like or emote to messages.
Because these chats happen in real time, but streaming services aren’t reliably synced, you can delay chat updates up to three minutes to avoid spoiling the game action. You’ll see your messages immediately, but any other messages will be delayed by your specified amount of time.
We have polls at the top of the chat. Even if you don’t have a lot to say, please vote! It’s fun!

We are still experimenting with how best to create a great experience for our Members as they discuss postseason baseball, so things in the interface might change. Please let us know if you have any feedback. We look forward to seeing you the rest of this postseason!

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Jay Jaffe FanGraphs Chat – 10/6/26

Jay Jaffe — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 15:25:01 +0000

Source

Job Posting: New York Mets – Applied AI Engineer

David Appelman — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 12:15:38 +0000

Direct link to application (please see job details below):

Applied AI Engineer

Location: Citi Field – Queens, New York

Summary

The New York Mets are seeking an Applied AI Engineer to build and ship production-grade AI capabilities that improve decision-making and streamline workflows across Baseball Operations. This role sits at the intersection of Baseball Systems (software engineering), Data Engineering, Baseball Analytics, Performance Technology, and modern generative AI. You will develop reliable AI-powered applications such as retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), secure tool/data integrations (MCP-style patterns), and agentic workflows that can support deep work and research, while ensuring strong standards for quality, security, privacy, and operational excellence.

This is a hands-on role for an engineer who can translate ambiguous baseball operations and player development needs into working software, iterate quickly with stakeholders, and harden solutions into durable systems used daily by analysts, coaches, scouts, and baseball operations staff.

Note: This role will require extensive in-person collaboration and innovation alongside stakeholders, analysts, and engineers. Applicants must be local to NYC (or willing to relocate) and be able to travel to Citi Field regularly. Travel to Spring Training and affiliates may also be required.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Design, build and maintain AI-powered product experiences that provide intuitive access to baseball information and statistics and workflows across internal systems.
Develop end-to-end RAG pipelines (ingest, chunking, embedding, retrieval, generation) with strong attention to answer quality, baseball relevancy, analytics accuracy, latency, and cost.
Implement secure tool and data connectors for AI assistants and agents using standardized patterns (MCP-style), enabling safe interaction with internal APIs, data warehouses, and services.
Build agentic workflows that can execute multi-step tasks (research, analysis, synthesis, report generation) with clear guardrails, auditability, and human-in-the-loop approvals.
Partner closely with Product, Analytics, Performance Technology, Player Development, and Baseball operations stakeholders to frame problems, define success, and deliver measurable impact.
Contribute to shared engineering standards and reusable components so AI capabilities scale across multiple products and teams.
Ensure strong security and privacy practices (access control, data boundaries, logging and auditing, and safe handling of sensitive information).
Participate in high-availability support expectations as needed during critical operational periods throughout the baseball season, and during feature releases.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent practical experience.
5+ years of professional software engineering experience, including building and operating production services.
Demonstrated experience building LLM-powered applications in production (prompt/program design, structured outputs, tool calling, reliability patterns).
Practical experience with retrieval systems (search, embeddings, vector databases, ranking, chunking/indexing) and applying them to real workflows.
Strong experience with modern backend and data integration fundamentals: APIs, SQL, distributed systems, and cloud infrastructure (GCP/AWS/Azure)
Proficiency in one or more production languages commonly used for AI applications and services (e.g. Python and/or Typescript)
Approach work as highly collaborative and stakeholder-driven, with the ability to operate in ambiguity while iterating quickly.
Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to explain tradeoffs to technical and non-technical audiences.
Experience working in sports, health, finance, or other high-stakes analytics-heavy environments, preferred.
Strong interest in baseball and comfort working within the culture of a professional sports organization, preferred

The above information is intended to describe the general nature, type, and level of work to be performed. The information is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required for this position. Nothing in this job description restricts management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time. The individual selected may perform other related duties as assigned or requested.

The New York Mets value the unique qualities individuals with various backgrounds and experiences can offer the organization. Our continued success depends heavily on the quality of our workforce. The Organization is committed to providing employees with the opportunity to develop to their fullest potential.

Salary Range: $180,000 – $200,000

For technical reasons, we strongly advise to not use an .edu email address when applying. Thank you very much.

To Apply
To apply, please follow this link.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the New York Mets.

Source

Job Posting: Pittsburgh Pirates – Analyst, Baseball Strategy

David Appelman — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 12:00:20 +0000

Direct link to application (please see job details below):

Analyst – Baseball Strategy

Location: Pittsburgh

The Pirates Why

The Pittsburgh Pirates are a storied franchise in Major League Baseball who are reinventing themselves on every level. Boldly and relentlessly pursuing excellence by:

purposefully developing a player and people-centered culture;
deeply connecting with our fans, partners, and colleagues;
passionately creating lifetime memories for generations of families and friends; and
meaningfully impacting our communities and the game of baseball.

At the Pirates, we believe in the power of a diverse workforce and strive to create an inclusive culture centered in Passion, Innovation, Respect, Accountability, Teamwork, Empathy, and Service.

Job Summary

The Strategy team with the Pittsburgh Pirates exists to give the Major League coaching staff the information and tools they need to make elite in-game decisions. The group’s analysts translate information into clear, actionable plans that support both daily competition and long-term player growth.

The Baseball Strategy team will be considering applicants at both the Analyst and Senior Analyst level. In this role, you’ll work alongside Major League coaches and staff, helping turn information into on-field impact. Your work will include elements of game preparation, in-game strategy support, post-game review, skill development, and ongoing tool or process improvement.

Responsibilities:

Partner with Major League coaches to build strong working relationships, understand the decisions they face, and identify where analysis can create a competitive advantage.
Connect research to real baseball questions by turning observations from coaches, players, and data into testable ideas and pursuing the questions most likely to inform decisions or improve performance.
Support the daily competitive process by contributing to game preparation, in-game strategy support, post-game review, and player development while balancing immediate needs with longer-term projects.
Improve tools and processes by building and refining analytical resources that fit staff workflows and make useful information easier to access and apply.
Collaborate across baseball operations by working with analysts, researchers, coaches, and performance staff to combine different perspectives, surface disagreements constructively, and move shared work forward.

Qualifications

Required:

Authorized to work lawfully in the United States.
Demonstrated ability to synthesize complex information into actionable recommendations.
Proven ability to manage multiple projects and meet tight deadlines in a fast-paced setting.
Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
Strong knowledge of modern baseball research and technologies.
Programming language proficiencies:
- General purpose programming (Python or R)
- Relational databases (SQL)
- Familiarity with industry-relevant AI and automation tools to streamline daily workflows and tasks.

Desired:

Experience working with coaches, analysts, or player development staff in a high-performance environment.
Demonstrated baseball or other sports analytics research work product.
Practical and/or research experience with pitch design and modern pitching development techniques.
Proficiency with version control systems (e.g., Git) and collaborative development platforms like GitHub or GitLab.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Pittsburgh Pirates are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.

To Apply
To apply, please follow this link.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Source

Effectively Wild Episode 2540: The Fly Test

Ben Lindbergh — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 08:23:17 +0000

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Cal Raleigh and Josh Naylor and whether end-of-season surgeries for disappointing players are encouraging or frustrating, then share their takeaways from the first six Division Series games, including thoughts on Drew Rasmussen, an Austin Wells mistake, Rays crowds, Aaron Judge’s role in Rich Platelet, Poor Platelet, Grant Taylor (and whether postseason teams are pushing high-leverage relievers too far), the Blake Snell spectator experience, the upside and drawback of Chris Sale, two tantalizing fly balls (and a Ty France roof-related “what if”), how to tackle Jacob Misiorowski and Mason Miller, the Padres’ star scrubs, Jackson Chourio, and much more.

Audio intro: Nate Emerson, “Effectively Wild Theme”
Audio outro: El Warren, “Effectively Wild Theme”

Link to MLBTR on M’s injuries
Link to FG on Rasmussen
Link to RHP SP velo
Link to Rasmussen leaderboard
Link to Wells article
Link to Wells clip
Link to Wells quote
Link to Wells math 1
Link to Wells math 2
Link to Wells math 3
Link to stop sign
Link to Apes movie clip
Link to Ben C. on 3B outs
Link to Judge taunt
Link to Schlittler comment
Link to Rays attendance article
Link to PH penalty info
Link to Somehow, Tellez returned
Link to Judge therapy info
Link to PPP study
Link to BP on Taylor
Link to Taylor as SP note
Link to Langs Taylor note
Link to Ben on not enough pitchers
Link to Pham comment 1
Link to Pham comment 2
Link to post on Pham
Link to Pham fly article
Link to Pham and Manfred
Link to Ben on October 2019 balls
Link to Sam on October 2019 balls
Link to Miz fouls fact
Link to Cleveland tourism videos
Link to Ben L. on Sale in 2018
Link to Ben C. on Sale
Link to Pages ABS ban
Link to FG Atlanta-LA preview
Link to Miller tipping story
Link to Erickson comment
Link to France fly clip
Link to Tango on France’s fly
Link to Pelletier on France’s fly
Link to Leighton on France’s fly
Link to Sheehan on France’s fly
Link to Eno on France’s fly
Link to France fly data
Link to FG Brewers-Padres G1 recap
Link to FG Brewers-Padres G2 recap
Link to Chourio hit clip
Link to MLBTR on France
Link to AC joint info
Link to AC joint debridement info
Link to TFCC tear info
Link to wOBA-xwOBA leaderboard
Link to Harris transactions
Link to Salas history
Link to Merrill catch
Link to Díaz mechanical change

Sponsor Us on Patreon
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Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com
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Get Our Merch!

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This Post Doesn’t Have a Headline Because the Yankees Dropped It

Michael Baumann — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 05:05:17 +0000

The Tampa Bay Rays won the most games in the American League this year while running the AL’s second-lowest payroll. That’s a feat of team-building, first and foremost, but it also speaks to how well their players dodged leaks. On offense, they had the lowest strikeout and whiff rates in the majors; their pitchers had the league’s lowest walk rate and just 18 blown saves. You can’t make mistakes…

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White Sox Beat Guardians at Their Own Game to Take 2-0 ALDS Lead, Continue Magical Run

Matthew Roberson — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 02:25:44 +0000

Playoff losses can follow several different scripts, from the wire-to-wire blowouts that breed prolonged helplessness to the back-and-forth affairs that provide just enough hope before snatching it away at the end. But somewhere in the middle, there is the type of game that seems like a team can and should win, only for a few things to break the other way in such a fashion that its fans do not…

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Members Only Game Thread: ALDS – Oct 5, 2026

FanGraphs Staff — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 20:30:34 +0000

Welcome to our Open Game Thread for the ALDS Game 2. Chat with fellow readers as we watch the White Sox at Guardians and Yankees at Rays. Only Members can participate, and unlike our usual game chats, your messages will be posted immediately.

Our Member community is made up of thousands of incredibly knowledgable baseball fans, and we think this is a great way to follow a game with like-minded baseball enthusiasts. We might even have some FanGraphs Staff drop in and join the fun. Please be courteous to your fellow Members, or you may find your chat privileges revoked.

We are going to have Members Only Game Threads for the rest of the postseason. The next one will be tomorrow, October 6 at 6:00PM.

Sean Dolinar 3:44 PM

Hi all!

Keaton Arneson 4:47 PM

Hi Sean

Sean Dolinar 4:51 PM

Everyone should respond to our polls. Including you, Keaton!

Sean Dolinar 4:52 PM

Guardians are at 0% so I know you haven't voted yet.

Keaton Arneson 4:54 PM

I didn't see the poll. Maybe we need a cool sound alert for it.

Yer Main Guy 4:48 PM

Hi Sean and Keaton

Sean Dolinar 5:00 PM

If you weren't in one of our Game Threads last week, all of you drive the chat. We do have writers that will drop in. Here are a few feature highlights:
– you can view the chat as a thread or chronologically.
– in the top right corner, the gear allows you to delay the messages coming in if your streaming service has a lot of latency
– we have polls that we will cycle through during the games.
– you can reply to messages or react with some emojis (this is new from last time)

Chad Young 5:06 PM

I am going to try to hang out here, but I am not sure my nerves can take chatting while watching this.

Sean Dolinar 5:07 PM

Which team are you nervous for?

Chad Young 5:09 PM

I am a Guardians fan, but to add to my anxiety, I lived in Chicago for over a decade and so I have probably seen more Guardians-Sox games in my life than any other pair of teams.

Chad Young 5:08 PM

Gavin needs to find that inside corner to lefties. Got a break on the 0-1 to Teel but can't count on that

Chad Young 5:12 PM

Pretty solid inning for Williams. Not sure what happened there with Vargas, but good recovery. Suspect he was a little amped up and it impacted his control.

Chad Young 5:14 PM

An underrated storyline in this one is the importance for the Guardians to jump out to a big early lead. It's not important for them, but I have to leave to pick up my daughter in a little over an hour and I would like to feel a little calmer when that happens.

Sean Dolinar 5:17 PM

Low leverage while you run errands? Then they can make it close once you get back!

lzfreak 5:16 PM

I wonder what kind of odds you could've gotten two years ago that the White Sox would be in a division series in 2026

Chad Young 5:17 PM

You could have gotten crazy odds on that in March. Probably still in May to be honest.

Jason B 5:17 PM

Maybe the Rockies and Angels are taking copious notes. "Try sucking waaaay less…hmmmm…."

Chad Young 5:16 PM

Kay has stymied the Guards but that has less to do with him, specifically and more to do with the hand he uses. Guards had a 91 wRC+ vs. LHP this year, good for 25th in MLB. Cleveland's offense really improved late in the year, but lefties are an issue.

Chad Young 5:18 PM

FWIW, the Sox are 5th in MLB in wRC+ vs. LHP (111), which may have been a factor in G1. Against RHP they are 17th with a 102

Keaton Arneson 5:19 PM

I think Cleveland lead the AL in runs/game since the trade deadline or at least very close to it.

Chad Young 5:20 PM

7th in MLB in runs scored, 6th in wRC+ since Aug 4

Chad Young 5:21 PM

One huge difference between G1 and G2 already, Cleveland is making Kay work. Smith and Taylor in particular just cruised without having to throw many pitches.

Sean Dolinar 5:22 PM

Rays are pretty high on that leaderboard: https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?pos=all&stats…

Davy Andrews 5:22 PM

Hello, dev team!

Sean Dolinar 5:22 PM

Sean Dolinar 5:23 PM

I don't know who let me out to talk about baseball.

Sean Dolinar 5:22 PM

(And the White Sox)

Keaton Arneson 5:22 PM

They were third in AL in total runs, but played fewer games than CHI and TB

Chad Young 5:22 PM

Going straight to another lefty here to face Adell feels like an odd choice, but I guess Newcomb was next up

Davy Andrews 5:22 PM

(And Chad.)

Chad Young 5:23 PM

Hi Davy!

Anonymous Member #46 5:24 PM

Whoever drew this ALDS manager review just got a whole lot of fodder …

soddingjunkmail 5:24 PM

Did they not have a righty up in the pen or something?

Chad Young 5:24 PM

There's a smoke detector beeping in my house and that pitching change wasn't long enough to find it The search will continue after the inning, I guess

Davy Andrews 5:25 PM

Just to be clear, you're ignoring a super loud smoke detector right now?

lzfreak 5:25 PM

It does feel like we've gotten an inordinate number of lefties replacing lefties this postseason

Benny The Jet 5:25 PM

These chats are awesome, thanks to everyone that put them together!

Davy Andrews 5:25 PM

One that could be informing you of, say, a fire?

drplantwrench 5:25 PM

angels legend sean newcomb vs angels legend jo adell

Benny The Jet 5:25 PM

Is it safe to assume Grant Taylor is unavailable today?

soddingjunkmail 5:25 PM

Feels like Venable is getting too cute here

Hazmat Corntail 5:26 PM

Disaster 1st inning for ChiSox

Anonymous Member #46 5:26 PM

Chad and Will Venable both, Davy.

Chad Young 5:26 PM

The only fire in my house in the Guardians offense

Davy Andrews 5:27 PM

Ok, but like, I'd still make sure of that were I you.

Davy Andrews 5:27 PM

Though I suppose it depends on how much you like your house.

Chad Young 5:28 PM

It's definitely just the "low battery" beep, but I appreciate the concern. I love watching my Guardians but not enough to let me house burn down with me in it, I promise!

Benny The Jet 5:28 PM

Why does it feel like half the runs I've seen Cleveland score in my lifetime have been on infield hits

Davy Andrews 5:29 PM

I don't know how long you've been alive, but since 2015 they actually rank right in the middle of the pack in infield hits.

Keaton Arneson 5:32 PM

That's because half our lifetime is Willie Mays Hayes and Jake Taylor bunting.

Hazmat Corntail 5:36 PM

This is probably the only place where I can say that I somehow remember Corbin Brenden being a .270 hitter as well

Chad Young 5:29 PM

I am not 100% sure how to measure this, but it feels like you are right, Benny

Chad Young 5:29 PM

IF hits, errors, bases loaded walks…they find ways to get runs without actually hitting the ball well

Benny The Jet 5:29 PM

*The "This is fine" meme, but instead of coffee it's a playoff baseball game*

drplantwrench 5:34 PM

https://imgur.com/a/UfNty5i

drplantwrench 5:31 PM

when are we going to be able to upload images to the chat

Davy Andrews 5:31 PM

I assume this depends on how much Sean and Keaton trust you.

drplantwrench 5:33 PM

so a rational person would say never

Sean Dolinar 5:35 PM

Yeah, I want to, at least for the staff. I still have to talk to Meg and David about the moderation/trust.

lzfreak 5:31 PM

It'll be interesting to see how Stephen Vogt finds his way into having Austin Hedges batting in a high leverage middle inning situation today

bosoxforlife 5:34 PM

This understand this isn't a traditional chat but can I ask why all of a sudden closers are turning into Goose Gossage and Rollie Fingers again?

Chad Young 5:35 PM

I think in the postseason, teams have two sudden shifts in their thinking about pitcher usage: 1) every single out is crucial and if you can get it with your best arms, you do. 2) being well rested for the future isn't important any more, so if you have to burn your best arm to get the win, you do.

maximus74 5:36 PM

because 1/2 the teams in the playoffs don't have more than 2 functional SP

Davy Andrews 5:38 PM

Wait, this question wasn't about mustaches?

bosoxforlife 5:41 PM

I seem to recall another athlete from Wilmington, NC

Chad Young 5:34 PM

Little update: smoke detector was found, batteries were replaced, smoke detector was replaced, and zero pitches were missed. I am better in the clutch than any Cleveland hitter.

Davy Andrews 5:35 PM

Next time try it while covered in midges.

Chad Young 5:36 PM

You know, I was at the midges/Joba Chamberlain game! With Ottoneu creator Niv Shah!

Davy Andrews 5:37 PM

That's amazing. Were the midges all over the stands too?

Chad Young 5:40 PM

It really wasn't bad in the stands. They're attracted to the lights, I guess, so with the field all lit up, they all want to be down there.

lzfreak 5:35 PM

Has anyone ever studied the "pitcher isn't effective after a long inning in the dugout" thing? It comes up all the time but doesn't seem to make much sense

Davy Andrews 5:36 PM

Somebody must have. It seems like it'd be easy enough to do using retrosheet data. But I personally haven't seen it.

Chad Young 5:37 PM

I haven't either. I get the logic – you get into a groove/routine, then you sit so long that you lose that rhythm. Plus, your arm gets cold and needs to loosen/warm up again. But…I can create a logical explanation for a LOT of things that don't really happen.

Davy Andrews 5:37 PM

I like how everybody who strikes out in this game really hurries out of the batter's box.

Matt Martell 5:38 PM

Hi everyone!

Davy Andrews 5:38 PM

Matt!

Jon Becker 5:38 PM

Hi Matt! And everyone else!

Davy Andrews 5:39 PM

Becker!

Matt Martell 5:39 PM

My favorite fact about Gavin Williams is that he went to Cape Fear High School

Chad Young 5:40 PM

Matt! Jon! It's a party!

war2d2 5:47 PM

woooo ain’t no party like a Watching-Baseball-When-I’m-Supposed-To-Be-Working party woooo

drplantwrench 5:40 PM

Jo Adell went to Seven Samurai High School

Chad Young 5:41 PM

All of my fantasy teams are named after HS sports teams and I might have to add those two to the list for future teams.

Phillip 5:41 PM

Curious to get y'all's thoughts on the super quick leash on Kay from CWS and how you think it'll impact them for the rest of the series. I get you want your starter to go longer, and leash is short in the post season. Think Kay throws again tomorrow or something if they're super tight on pen innings?

Chad Young 5:42 PM

No clue what their plans are, but with an off-day tomorrow and after G4, he should be available for G3 and G5, for sure. Or G4 and G5. Whatever they want to do.

Matt Martell 5:41 PM

I went to the Guardians' spring training game, played against the Diamondbacks at Chase Field, in 2025. Gavin Williams started it and struck out approximately 57 batters in three innings. Looked like the nastiest pitcher I'd ever seen. Don't know what to make of that, but felt it was worth sharing

bosoxforlife 5:42 PM

Venable was playing games.

Matt Martell 5:45 PM

I have no idea, re: Anthony Kay. He didn't look sharp, but it was such a quick hook that it had to have been planned.

lzfreak 5:46 PM

Boy Kwan looked safe there in real time

Davy Andrews 5:47 PM

I sort of thought it looked like he gave it 98% and 100% would've done it.

Benny The Jet 5:46 PM

Have modern coaching staffs potentially at least partially moved off of platoon based match ups to something based on pitch shapes and swing paths, or something of that nature? Feels like it might help explain at least some of the bullpen choices this postseason

Davy Andrews 5:48 PM

That's definitely a consideration, but lefty-righty is still going to be a bigger factor most of the time.

Chad Young 5:49 PM

I also think in this case, he just didn't want to let Kay let this get away early. The IBB to Adell tells you it wasn't about the matchup.

Davy Andrews 5:50 PM

Does Chase Meidroth have a bit of a George Lucas look?

Davy Andrews 5:50 PM

I think it's the beard.

war2d2 5:53 PM

I think it’s the lack of any visible chin.

Davy Andrews 5:53 PM

And the intentional use of the beard to make it look like there is.

war2d2 5:51 PM

Kwan always looks vaguely sad/concerned. Every time I see him I think of the “hitman monkey finds no joy in his job” meme.

Chad Young 5:51 PM

So those manager interviews are usually such a waste, but Venable saying the plan was for Kay and Newcomb to get through 12 hitters combined and acknowledging that the Kay hook wasn't really planned is interesting.

drplantwrench 5:51 PM

bad challenge?

Chad Young 5:52 PM

There should be a margin at which the challenge isn't lost. you don't get the call changed but you don't lose the challenge either.

Davy Andrews 5:53 PM

No. No no no no.

Chad Young 5:54 PM

so…you don't like that idea, I take it? lol

Davy Andrews 5:54 PM

The call stands is a scourge.

Chad Young 5:55 PM

That's fair, and I generally agree, but "this was actually too close for the computer to know if it was a ball or strike" feels like a harsh moment to take away a challenge.

Davy Andrews 5:55 PM

That is a very good point. But I think either you trust the computer or you don't, you know?

drplantwrench 5:53 PM

even worse challenge

drplantwrench 5:53 PM

maybe there should be a margin at which a challenge is so bad you lose both challenges

Davy Andrews 5:54 PM

Now THIS I can get behind.

Chad Young 5:57 PM

Yeah, I am aligned. Sorry, Sam, that ball was entirely within the zone.

lzfreak 5:56 PM

How many pitches will they let Williams go today, assuming he's on?

Chad Young 5:57 PM

all of them

Jonathan Smith 5:57 PM edited

Challenging in the playoffs has been fascinating to watch. Lots of questionable challenges here. If it's me, I'm waiting for leverage spots, no matter the time of game. 1 on 1 out in the 3rd inning? Not high enough. Maybe in the regular season? I feel like my approach would change drastically in the playoffs.

Davy Andrews 5:59 PM

I don't know. The two games I wrote up this weekend featured tons of successful challenges. I tend to think teams are too cautious with them.

Chad Young 5:57 PM

At this point, I doubt he goes more than 6, but he'll get up over 100 if needed

Davy Andrews 5:58 PM

He reached 100 eight times, season high is 113. I think the answer is "a lot."

Chad Young 5:59 PM

The only thing that might keep him from going up over 100 is that the bullpen is fully rested and has an off-day tomorrow.

Davy Andrews 6:00 PM

Question for the group: Do you have a go-to baseball-watching snack?

Hazmat Corntail 6:02 PM

I tend to go for things with a minimum of mess, so pretzels, maybe popcorn.

Jonathan Smith 6:02 PM

I freakin love some popcorn

Chad Young 6:02 PM

Chips and salsa. but I can't eat during a Cleveland post-season game.

war2d2 6:08 PM

Can’t right now because it’s still only 3pm in CA, but I’m the stereotypical baseball-and-a-beer dad. Other than that I’m generally a tortilla chips guy, if I have them available.

Chad Young 6:01 PM

The thing I think is underrated about early challenges is that they can snowball. Turning a PA in your favor now could mean forcing the SP to face another hitter or two. Even if that doesn't turn into runs now, maybe it creates an out or two later that need to be handled but a lesser reliever.

bosoxforlife 6:01 PM

I am munching on chips with con queso cheese dip with an adult beverage.

drplantwrench 6:02 PM

i think white sox win the series, but sean newcomb vs gavin williams really highlights some key difference

Phil 6:02 PM

I used to eat popcorn. Then I had an incident with a crown, of the dental, not kingly variety. Now I eat nothing.

Davy Andrews 6:03 PM

That sounds not fun. Sorry, Phil.

Chad Young 6:04 PM

I quite literally have a crown in a plastic bag in my pocked because it came off yesterday and I have to go to the dentist and get it repaired. Not fun. I too would stop eating foods that made this happen.

Chad Young 6:03 PM

So per the Venable interview, Newcomb got them back on track with their pitching plan. We'll see what happens from here, but Kay+Newcomb with the RHP getting Adell his second time seems to have been their plan, and here we are.

jcathtraverse 6:05 PM

don't you still lose your challenge if the call stands? a margin of error is inherent to abs, so retaining the challenge if the pitch falls within it would actually be the best way to make it LESS like call stands.

Matt Martell 6:08 PM

In the playoffs, when scoring first is crucial and you never know how many baserunners you're going to get on, I think teams should be more aggressive early than they are, especially if there's a man on base. Any moment could prove to be decisive. Don't wait until later when they might not matter later

Davy Andrews 6:08 PM

The announcers are not aware that Nathaniel Lowe does not like to be called Nate.

Davy Andrews 6:08 PM

Ok, Ronny knows.

Chad Young 6:09 PM

It's sorta the same argument for using your best relievers when you need them instead of waiting for a save – if you know the challenge/reliever has value now, there is no reason to save it for later, when it might not be needed at all.

bosoxforlife 6:09 PM

ABS fascinates me. I know I want more early challenges and fear they will disappear with the way teams are restricting players. Do you people think an early challenge in a high leverage situation is a good decision?

Davy Andrews 6:09 PM

I do.

Jonathan Smith 6:11 PM

I thought what Chad added above was well said. I am personally all for challenging on the leverage of the moment than the timing.

bosoxforlife 6:17 PM

I am in agreement with you. There have been a lot of really bizarre challenges this year where players used, and wasted, challenges at meaningless points in the game.

Davy Andrews 6:10 PM

Ok, I have to go pour some milk in a baby. I will see if I can check back in on the chat later. Good to talk to you all!

Sean Dolinar 6:12 PM

I really goofed by not adding into the emoji reacts.

drplantwrench 6:13 PM

i want the LFG baseball as an emoji too

war2d2 6:11 PM

I’m not a huge Darling fan, but in comparison to the other booths working this round of playoffs this one is a breath of fresh air. Really missing Benetti.

Matt Martell 6:11 PM

Derek Junior needs milk!

mmaude 6:14 PM

What’s the best window for the white sox to put up 3 runs in this game? Seems to be a very small gap between third time through order from Williams and the pen getting to shut down mode especially in a big game for Cleveland

Yer Main Guy 6:15 PM

Right now, I guess

Chad Young 6:14 PM

Williams can be homer-prone – just gotta take your chances when you get them because there won't be many.

Chad Young 6:16 PM

Vargas has seen 9 pitches and swung at none

Chad Young 6:16 PM

and yeah, this is the moment.

drplantwrench 6:17 PM

score aside, really feels like white sox have had more momentum throughout the game

war2d2 6:19 PM

Not just the game, but in general. Right now the Sox, Rays, Brewers, and Braves all feel like they’re rolling.

Chad Young 6:17 PM

Cleveland got two runs, but still doesn't have an RBI hit this series, so they can't really afford to let this lead slip away

Phil 6:18 PM

Mune!

Chad Young 6:19 PM

I don't know about "throughout the game" – they looked utterly lost against Williams until this inning – but it does feel like this is a HUGE moment

Chad Young 6:19 PM

Even that one run really changes the look of this game

bosoxforlife 6:20 PM

Murakami amazes me. This old man finds it hard to believe a player can hit .202 and be of such value.

Chad Young 6:21 PM

Williams has really lost the thread here and Beni bailed him out

bosoxforlife 6:24 PM

Getting back to ABS, What is the consensus here on the number of challenges? I know I would like a couple more or perhaps a couple of one use ones for early innings only.

Matt Martell 6:26 PM

Two – this is the right amount.

Anonymous Member #46 6:27 PM

MiLB originally started with three on the challenge days. Two is plenty.

Chad Young 6:24 PM

that K could be a turning point in the series, but it is definitely a turning point in my day – I need to hop out of here and go be a parent. Go Guards!

Dan Szymborski 6:24 PM

No pop on toast references yet?

mmaude 6:24 PM

And Peters first pitch swinging

Matt Martell 6:27 PM

That cut to Rob Manfred standing alone is among the funniest things I've seen all year

Phil 6:28 PM

As a neutral fan, I like the current frequency of challenges, particularly since it feel unusual when an ump is getting a lot of successful ones as in yesterday's MIL-SDP. I wouldn't mind if my own (now eliminated, red-stockinged) team had an extra, since they are often overly reluctant.

bosoxforlife 6:28 PM

Manfred looked forlorn, to put it mildly.

Phillip Denny 6:32 PM

I know the CHW rotation was below average this year, but if you assume at least one of Taylor/Schultz/Sandlin has starter potential, you can squint your eyes and see an exciting rotation in 2027 and beyond.

drplantwrench 6:34 PM

i desperately want my angels to sign skubal, but man if the white sox sign him instead…..

Matt Martell 6:36 PM

You stan Kroenke?

Yer Main Guy 6:34 PM

So does every team employ some number of guys in a room just watching for what should be reviewed?

Matt Martell 6:35 PM

Yes

Phil 6:37 PM

This is often public info, e.g., Mike Brenly does it for the Red Sox.

Yer Main Guy 6:40 PM

Maybe MLB umpires could just review stuff in this manner and save everyone time and money

Phil 6:41 PM

I have always wanted that, like in college football. And for fair/foul it could just be automatic, like tennis.

Phillip Denny 6:36 PM

Wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't just "guys in a room watching video" but "guys in a room tinkering with AI agent trained on video in real time"

Phillip Denny 6:40 PM

What's actually weird about Gavin Williams is he has better run value on his sweeper v L than v R, and a better run value on his curveball v R than v L. Both the opposite of what you'd expect.

Yer Main Guy 6:45 PM

You say this and then he immediately Ks two lefties on curves

Matt Martell 6:44 PM

I have no idea how anyone hits Williams' curveball

Sean Dolinar 6:46 PM

I feel like we don't see that 12-6 curve like we used to. I miss it.

Phil 6:47 PM

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/in-search-of-the-perfect-rainbow…

Yer Main Guy 6:50 PM

Yeah Sean, you need to check out this Clemens guy. Good writer.

McPontiff 6:48 PM

True, there's not many guys in the league that can drop those these days. Baz on a good day

rfilla 6:54 PM

If you're watching the game at a bar or restaurant and the lights AREN'T flickering, take a minute to be grateful. Kinda like when your nose isn't stuffed. Don't take it for granted!

Sean Dolinar 6:56 PM

Are the TVs flickering off too?

rfilla 6:57 PM edited

It depends how pedantic we are tonight. Technically? Yes. But not as bad as the lights

Phillip Denny 6:54 PM

top 3 in the league of curveballs with >38 inches of drop and <6 inches glove, side movement: Baz (600), Freeland (481), Gore (480).

Phil 6:56 PM

White Sox radio guys were saying that Ramirez is effective batting second, despite being clearly off and evidently playing hurt, because of "his presence alone." Ignoring whether this is analytically confirmable, is it even definable? What is "presence"? Is the idea that it makes you burn your leverage guys, or throw more pitches by nibbling, even if he strikes out?

lzfreak 6:58 PM

My interpretation would be that it's a good idea to bat him second because he's literally Jose Ramirez. A known excellent hitter and future Hall of Famer

Phillip Denny 6:59 PM

I think this ties into the larger question of "is lineup protection a thing?" and the answer to that in a universal DH environment is "mostly, no." There was iirc some demonstrable effect of 8 hole batters in the NL pre-2022.

Matt Martell 6:59 PM

Yes, and also Ramírez was hurt for most of this season but looked to be coming out of it over the final two weeks. I think that matters, too

Phil 7:01 PM

Yes, that I agree with–he looks OK. Just wondering if it's true there's extra vakue to being great even if you don't hit.

millvillemeltdown 6:59 PM

i hope all pitchers see hosey step up to the plate and go "eek" a little bit

millvillemeltdown 7:02 PM

i mean. as a general rule of thumb i am in favor of more silly noises made. if they put a whistle in the ball that made it scream as it flies. i'd be a fan

Sean Dolinar 7:05 PM

Listening to the doppler effect with that ball would be sick.

millvillemeltdown 7:08 PM

i spent the better part of one recent afternoon with a shotgun and a deadcat recording the baseball team. would have been more fun if the ball went pweeeeeee

millvillemeltdown 7:05 PM

wow sabrowski wanted *zero* to do with grichuk

Phillip Denny 7:07 PM

Tommy Pham enters the game and immediately runners advance? Now that's what I call Phamgraphs.

millvillemeltdown 7:10 PM

that should go in his stats. he put the fear of pham in the pitcher, causing the wild pitch

Benny The Jet 7:09 PM

That's twice in this game an outfielder ran almost to the infield dirt to make a catch

Benny The Jet 7:09 PM

Wow

Matt Martell 7:09 PM

That was a really nice play by Martinez

Jon Becker 7:09 PM

The Pope must’ve just turned the game on

Phillip Denny 7:09 PM

So uhhhh when do we declare the White Sox winners of the Crochet trade?

Phil 7:10 PM

Oy.

Benny The Jet 7:10 PM

Sox might have the juice

Matt Martell 7:10 PM

Resurfacing this mailbag question:
Is God fixing the tournament in favor of the White Sox? — Kevin

Phillip Denny 7:11 PM

I don't recall the catholic church ever officially blessing a baseball team before. So imo we can't rule it out.

millvillemeltdown 7:12 PM

pope leo owes the city of cleveland an apology!!!

Phil 7:13 PM

It's 1:10 AM in Rome. You can go to bed now, Leo, the Sox have this.

millvillemeltdown 7:13 PM

honestly i liked cleveland alright when i visited, so i'm biased. but like. it'd be so funny if the sox won off the back of the power of the Lord Almighty and a hurt dude bopping his friends on the head with a small stick

millvillemeltdown 7:17 PM

i know sss caveats, but i enjoyed watching kwan become a "playoff demon" and getting on base at ridiculous rates in past postseasons. i love a pesky at-bat more than i should…

bosoxforlife 7:17 PM

Montgomery shakes his head after swinging at two in the dirt then taking one right in the zone.

millvillemeltdown 7:18 PM

me too, buddy… me too…

McPontiff 7:21 PM

Burke showing off a pretty tidy hook himself!

millvillemeltdown 7:22 PM

chicago and their mirps, man. they converting all their starters to mirps. they converting their position players to mirps. they converting their fo staff to mirps. soon we will all be mirps.

millvillemeltdown 7:22 PM

the entropic decay of the "guy who throws ball"

millvillemeltdown 7:24 PM

can you tell that i'm procrastinating on thermodynamics homework by watching mlbgameday

Sean Dolinar 7:26 PM

I'm glad I don't have to do that anymore.

Jon Becker 7:27 PM

Haha yeah same I was totally smart enough for thermodynamics haha anyway how about Hunter Gaddis’ beard?

Sean Dolinar 7:32 PM

It's almost as good as Brian Wilson's circa 2010.

bosoxforlife 7:28 PM

The last homework I did was 63 years ago.

Sean Dolinar 7:30 PM

Everyone just uses AI for their homework these days; it's a problem.

bosoxforlife 7:46 PM

There might be a new comment if something actually was happening

Sean Dolinar 7:47 PM

I'm prepping polls for the Yankees game.

Yer Main Guy 7:49 PM

Oh is there another game on after this?

Sean Dolinar 7:49 PM

I know we had that long extra innings game in CLE a few years back. And they went to the ALCS a few years ago, but I don't remember CLE games being super interesting. They also get stuck with early games.

Anonymous Member #46 7:51 PM

From the radio broadcast:

Anonymous Member #46 7:52 PM

The White Sox threw 21 bullpen innings when they won in 2005. They have thrown 24 already this year.

NYYfaninLAAland 7:54 PM

Can we somehow take bulk starters out of the relief stat set. They have Sean Burke setting “relief” volume records in this game? C’mon, adjust to today’s game realities

Sean Dolinar 7:56 PM

This has been a frustration of mine since openers were first being used.

Sean Dolinar 8:01 PM

Baseball famously loves to change. I don't think we've ever been able to determine a better way to classify pitcher appearances. Since a start and relief appearances are objectively defined. We are looking at ways to adapt our probables grid.

Sean Dolinar 7:54 PM

Can't see that being overturned.

Anonymous Member #46 7:58 PM

Sean, with the pitcher IP question, can we get 1/3 innings as an option in the future?

Sean Dolinar 8:04 PM

It's possible. Maybe I'll just how outs!

lzfreak 8:01 PM

Thought that one was going out

bosoxforlife 8:02 PM

I wasn't allowed to say "neither" when asked who I was rooting for.

NYYfaninLAAland 8:02 PM

So sad for you

Sean Dolinar 8:05 PM

I'll add that if it's NYY-LAD in the WS.

bosoxforlife 8:05 PM

I love to watch baseball but there is no way that I can root for either the Rays or that other team.

Matt Martell 8:02 PM

Man, that's great for Jo Adell

Sean Dolinar 8:02 PM

Who said this game was boring?

sb4321 8:03 PM

random question for FanGraphs admins, do the WAR calculations include first base receiving defense and double play defense runs?

I notice it on the leaderboards but can't find any announcements on this

Sean Dolinar 8:09 PM

Lemme confirm.

sb4321 8:22 PM

Thank you so much for finding out, this is a niche thing I've been wondering for a while.

sb4321 8:22 PM

drplantwrench 8:05 PM

dang i was showering my kid and missed the jo triple ugh

lzfreak 8:10 PM

This is a lot of Grant Taylor

MattStats5 8:11 PM

Grant Taylor, incredible post season so far. That is all.

McPontiff 8:17 PM

I'd say ALL (much maligned) hurlers in Black. Will Venable has really earned my respect this postseason. (with those pinch hit righties vs Sabrowski too).

McPontiff 8:18 PM

Thinking about it, he's been managing back-against-the-wall "playoff" style for about 3 weeks straight! Cobbling together 9 innings with the most IP by RPs all year

drplantwrench 8:11 PM

WHITE SOX WIN

SadaharuWhoa 8:13 PM

White Sox win exactly on time to switch to another game. Quite considerate!

Sean Dolinar 8:15 PM

This is one thing I like about streaming vs linear.

bosoxforlife 8:17 PM

I am loving me some Taylor doing things that are not supposed to happen in this age of computer driven decision making.

McPontiff 8:19 PM

Thanks to "feel" managers like Venable and Weiss!

McPontiff 8:19 PM

Too much over-managing in the playoffs

Sean Dolinar 8:20 PM

We were 50/50 split on the CHW/CLE game on who would win! Right now we are ~60/40 on the Yankees/Rays on who will win.

And we only have two Yankees fans in the chat.

Sean Dolinar 8:23 PM

Re: WAR and 1B Rec question. We haven't incorporated that or the Inf DP this season, because we added those stats in the middle of the season.

sb4321 8:25 PM

Alright, good to know. Thank you so much!

I'm assuming that's probably going to be an offseason project?

Sean Dolinar 8:26 PM

Yep! Less of a project, more of in-season consistency.

bosoxforlife 8:24 PM

I cannot believe Chisholm attempted that throw??????

Matt Martell 8:25 PM

The sad thing is, I can

lzfreak 8:26 PM

Catchers interference!

bosoxforlife 8:26 PM

McMahon's play was about as easy a play as a 3rd baseman could have. To state the obvious, the Yankee defense is pathetic.

Phil 8:26 PM edited

You knew there had to be a replay challenge for catcher's interference in this series.

Matt Martell 8:27 PM

A good ole 3-error inning by the Yankees

bosoxforlife 8:27 PM

3 errors in the 1st. Unbelievable!

Jack Martin 8:27 PM

Yankees in post-season form

lzfreak 8:28 PM

Man this defense is something

Matt Martell 8:28 PM

It would be so funny if Simpson went yard here

bosoxforlife 8:28 PM

Who is going to want Chisholm in their lineup next year after this performance?

danodea 8:32 PM

I would love Jazz on the Pirates. We'll never win anything so we might as well have fun guys

lzfreak 8:33 PM

Yeah Chisholm's issues seem like a great coach could help with. And every team thinks its coaches are the best

Nate 8:28 PM

Yankees really not beating the allegations here

Matt Martell 8:28 PM

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Sean Dolinar 8:29 PM

If they get out of this with only 1 run…

lzfreak 8:30 PM

Feels like a missed opportunity there for Tampa Bay

David 8:33 PM

I wonder if the Yankees could recruit the Archbishop of Canterbury as a fan or something…

McPontiff 8:33 PM

After what's happening in LA and Cleveland, the Yanks are nervy as hell

Phil 8:33 PM

Definitely needed a catwalk ball.

Anon21 8:34 PM

Domes suck! Stop playing in domes!

Sean Dolinar 8:36 PM

I've always glossed over the ground rules until a few days ago.

sb4321 8:36 PM

The Yankees defense which had 8 FRV in the regular season (12th) now has three errors in one inning

Phil 8:38 PM edited

I do hope the Rays' new stadium has something weird.

SadaharuWhoa 8:44 PM

It will be in Florida, so it will have a roof. Just gotta hope it's a funky roof

MattStats5 8:46 PM

Schlittler sh*tting the bed a bit. As an Orioles fan, not upset at all.

bosoxforlife 8:47 PM

Wells wanted to challenge.

bosoxforlife 8:48 PM

Does anyone think Chisholm returns to the Yankees next year?

Phil 8:52 PM

He's a better fit for a looser team.

SadaharuWhoa 8:55 PM

Like the Marlins

Sean Dolinar 8:56 PM

I'd be interested to see our FA crowdsource numbers for him. That 31 HR season is intriguing.

bosoxforlife 8:58 PM

I was thinking more on the lines of the Yokohama Bay Stars.

lzfreak 8:51 PM

It feels like Schlittler should be at like 50 pitches by now

Matt Martell 8:52 PM

Schlittler doesn't have his putaway stuff today.

Matt Martell 8:53 PM

I know the Rays are hard to strike out, but they're spoiling his fastballs

bosoxforlife 9:00 PM

Sean: how come when I try to reply it says I am replying to myself?

Sean Dolinar 9:02 PM

We force only one-level deep threads. Which messages are you replying to? Or trying to reply to?

bosoxforlife 9:03 PM

Just a few in general. Recently to Sadaharu Whoa.

Sean Dolinar 9:05 PM

Oh the chronological view…your message is the parent for that thread, so that's why. I might rethink how we display that.

Phil 9:05 PM

This guy looks more like Peralta of Wisconsin than Peralta of Queens.

bosoxforlife 9:05 PM

Should I type first then go to the recipient?

Sean Dolinar 9:10 PM

No, just something I have to clean up.

bosoxforlife 9:08 PM

Peralta joins Tatis and Kwan as players who had awful first halves and excellent second halves.

bosoxforlife 9:10 PM

Thanks.

antihustle 9:17 PM

Remember when Tommy Tight Pants threw a billion changeups in a row

Benny The Jet 9:34 PM

Man the Yankees line up isn't necessarily bad without Judge, but it sure is less imposing

Sean Dolinar 9:40 PM

Our mean for Peralta IP was 4.84.

Sean Dolinar 9:40 PM

So maybe we need that fraction of an inning, so someone can be correct.

lzfreak 9:41 PM

Sounds like we basically nailed it

Sean Dolinar 9:42 PM edited

The Yankees errors poll is quite something. Median 5 errors, but the mean is 25.67, so we need them to step up some.

bosoxforlife 9:44 PM

This move by Cash is eerily similar to Game 6 of the 2020 WS when he pulled Snell after he had just given up his first hit. This time it is clear he didn't want Peralta facing Rice. Can't argue with this move.

lzfreak 9:51 PM

Baseball games sure can change fast

Matt Martell 9:52 PM

Jones should've kept going. Probably could've caught that

drplantwrench 9:52 PM

BANG

lzfreak 9:54 PM

Simpson is such a Rays guy to have up here

drplantwrench 9:57 PM

BANG x2

Sean Dolinar 9:57 PM

They aren't gonna call that an error are they?

bosoxforlife 9:58 PM

Nothing like two squibbers to get the runs home.

lzfreak 9:58 PM

Gotta feel for Schlittler. Not his best, but he pitched better than his line is gonna say

Sean Dolinar 9:58 PM

Schlittler goes 4.1 IP; we had 6.27 IP mean and 6 IP median.

bosoxforlife 9:59 PM

It is an error. He had a play at 1st if he took it.

Sean Dolinar 10:00 PM

It looks like they scored it a single. I don't disagree that it should be an error. I've just seen that play called a hit so often now.

Sean Dolinar 10:01 PM

Broadcast is saying they haven't heard a scoring decision. Gameday has a single, but they can always change that.

Phil 10:02 PM

Not sure what to root for on that, having voted for 5 errors. I need them to get two more, but if they pick one up now they might overshoot.

lzfreak 10:02 PM

I don't think you can assume the play at home and that did look like where he was going

Sean Dolinar 10:03 PM

I can't see that being overturned.

Sean Dolinar 10:04 PM

He looks convincingly safe.

lzfreak 10:05 PM

This Yankees infield is really having a night

Phil 10:05 PM

Official scorer ruling pending again. . .

Sean Dolinar 10:05 PM

Will they charge an error for that? We need to hit our prediction!

Rollie's Mustache 10:05 PM

"The Yankees are absolutely tragic defensively in Game 2" is a great line by Brian Anderson.

Sean Dolinar 10:05 PM

Error!

lzfreak 10:05 PM

This one has to be an error

bosoxforlife 10:05 PM

No doubt about that error.

Benny The Jet 10:05 PM

This is getting to meltdown territory

Phil 10:06 PM edited

They're going to blow past our prediction. Can I revote?

Sean Dolinar 10:08 PM

I'll work on that feature next.

lzfreak 10:06 PM

It's crazy we're not far removed from Bellinger being like 5 feet away from this being 5-1

SadaharuWhoa 10:09 PM

Now it is!

Sean Dolinar 10:09 PM

The mound is even against the Yankees.

bosoxforlife 10:09 PM

That is a great AB against a tough lefty.

Phil 10:11 PM

I know baseball is random, a single game is the smallest of small sample size, etc. etc. But there's no way to watch this game (or listen while looking at Gameday in my case) and not feel like the Rays are a significantly better team.

antihustle 10:12 PM

1000%

bosoxforlife 10:15 PM

Phil, the answer is really not if the Rays are significantly better but just how much the Yankees are significantly worse.

Jack Dorfman 10:11 PM

Fun game so far!

wenz 10:11 PM

Did it hit the mound or the cutoff man's leg?

ncphl 10:12 PM

Looks like the mound to me

bosoxforlife 10:20 PM

I do enjoy watching a soft tosser carve up a linep.

millvillemeltdown 10:25 PM

i return from thermo. 55 burgers 55 fries 55 yankee errors

Rollie's Mustache 10:27 PM

Google tells me the record for most errors in a single postseason game by one team is 5. So history is within reach tonight.

Phil 10:28 PM

I am so rooting for this.

Dan Szymborski 10:28 PM

I'm kinda amused that in the ALDS so far, it's almost if the Yankees said "you know all the stuff about our team that people think isn't good because they're angry about analytics? Let's do those things."

millvillemeltdown 10:30 PM

i can't believe ANALYTICS turned all our players into potatoes in the field

Patrick Burke 10:30 PM

I'm so biased (Yankee fan) but still feel OK even if they lose here. Next two games throwing two lefties, plus no more Trop. Probably lose game five though.

Benny The Jet 10:32 PM

We hit 5 errors!

Benny The Jet 10:32 PM

Did the official scorer see a chance to get into the history books and reverse course?

Dan Szymborski 10:33 PM

On the bright side, they've tripled their hit count from Game 1!

Dan Szymborski 10:33 PM

Getting five errors in a game *is* a pretty impressive feat, since game scorers today don't like giving errors unless they look like complex vaudeville sketches.

Michael 10:36 PM

As a Yanks fan…I mean every year. This happens every year. I tend to be a realist and not overreact to the calls for Boone/Cashman's heads after every season, but at some point we have to consider this right?

Michael 10:37 PM edited

There's some mindset thing that just isn't there. Impossible to quantify vibes but the Yanks just have had negative vibes in the playoffs for years sans a few moments in '24, various Giancarlo postseason at bats and Schlitter vs. Red Sox starts.

Sean Dolinar 10:38 PM

We are going to underestimate the errors! I put that poll up as a joke.

Rollie's Mustache 10:46 PM

Back to "only" 4 errors according to mlb dot com. That's no fun.

Phil 10:46 PM

Looking forward to the Manager Report Score for Boone, regarding bullpen usage in this game. . . and wondering if he's going to use Bednar down four. . .

McPontiff 11:05 PM

yes. yes he is. (might be a decent call though tbh)

Antonio Bananas 10:47 PM

With the Rays over performing this season based on a lot of statistics, do we think they figured something out that we dont know how to quantify yet? Or just random?

Michael 10:48 PM

Will Boone PH for McMuffin here? If not, the Manager Report should grade him harshly!

Kleanerman 10:48 PM

As a Rays fan I'm riding the high and assuming they are omniscient

David 10:49 PM

As a White Sox fan, I'm cheering for the Yankees because at this point it seems the much easier path to the WS, and honestly just typing that is a reminder of how insane this season has been.

Rollie's Mustache 10:53 PM

Ben Rice. My goodness.

lzfreak 10:53 PM

Ben Rice is doing his best

Kleanerman 10:58 PM

Maybe I've been corrupted by Colin Poche, but the high-strikeout, low-velo fastball guys like Ian Seymour really do something for me

Phil 11:02 PM

We're running out of time for more errors. Ideally we need two on the next play.

McPontiff 11:14 PM

Girardi on last year's Baker trade "Orioles shoulda hung up!"

Sean Dolinar 11:16 PM

Alright! Let's do this again tomorrow!

McPontiff 11:16 PM

I wasn't really heartbroken at the time (as a homer), because he used have his meltdown moments (long balls typically). But I KNEW they would fix him; the stuff was always awesome

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