2026 Misc MLB News Thread

[hoosier]

I wonder if MLB is regretting not adopting reseeding after WC round. To have one of CLE, CHA, TEX or HOU destined to play in the ALCS is just a shame. (As of this morning, BOS could still move down to third WC and thus make its way over to the junior-junior circuit, but that is very very unlikely.) 

[MoreTrife]

1 hour ago, Playing Catch said:

I think Vlad is simply parrotting everything the team has been saying to him to try and take the pressure off. I heard someone recall recently that Matt Holliday (I think it was him), said he was miserable after his first big deal because he believed he needed to live up to it. There is zero chance he truly believes that he was given THAT deal for what already took place. He's just been talking to himself in the mirror too much.

I'll bet he does some soul searching this offseason and comes back much stronger next season. You don't grow up with a HOF father in these clubhouses and not understand the value of performing for your teammates and giving your best. I think he has succumbed to the same affliction as many stars this season and has had his power sapped by ABS+Tunnelling, and has struggled to adjust. Say what one will about the state of the American League, but that's a really tough division with some serious pitching from Tampa, Boston, and New York.

Can you explain this? Has ABS affected hitter's power? More borderline strikeouts due to catcher challenge?

[Team Canada]

10 hours ago, StearnsFTW said:

San Diego is by far the scariest opponent in the playoffs 

Yeah, I would like to see them drop down to 6 and play the Braves, then either the winner takes out the Dodgers and we get to try against someone new, or we don't have to face them.

[Frisbee Slider]

Padres are 16-5 in September. +25 run differential 

Brewers are 15-6 in September. +44 run differential 

Milwaukee is hottest team in baseball? 🙂🤷‍♂️

[owbc]

3 hours ago, kestrel79 said:

It's looking like they are the "hot team" of this year's playoffs. Peaking at just the right time. Usually those are the kinda teams that go far and make a run. 

Or, as we know all too well, they have an unfortunate bad break in the short wild card round and they are golfing 4 days after the postseason starts. 

[markedman5]

Man what a tough few years for Burnes

 

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

Due to the nor'easter, MLB has moved the Cubs-Red Sox game to Tampa on Sunday.

LINK.

So, Cubs win in Chicago yesterday, travel to Boston for a double-header today, get a day off tomorrow, but then have to fly to Tampa to play Sunday before probably having to fly to San Diego for a WC series on Tuesday. That's...a lot of travel.

You almost wonder if they'd rather just drop to the six and play in ATL instead of SD. Philly doesn't look ready to help them accomplish that, but if they do end up playing the Brewers again in the NLDS, the Cubs will do so having put on a lot of miles. 

[Just Some Guy]

Arizona's up 5 on SD tonight.  If they hold on, the Phillies should be worried: Arizona will be 1 back of them with 2 to play and Arizona has the tie breaker.

[igor67]

6 hours ago, Cool Hand Lucroy said:

Due to the nor'easter, MLB has moved the Cubs-Red Sox game to Tampa on Sunday.

LINK.

So, Cubs win in Chicago yesterday, travel to Boston for a double-header today, get a day off tomorrow, but then have to fly to Tampa to play Sunday before probably having to fly to San Diego for a WC series on Tuesday. That's...a lot of travel.

You almost wonder if they'd rather just drop to the six and play in ATL instead of SD. Philly doesn't look ready to help them accomplish that, but if they do end up playing the Brewers again in the NLDS, the Cubs will do so having put on a lot of miles. 

Seems like karma to me for a team that has played games with weather cancellations at other teams expense.

[jay87shot]

8 hours ago, Just Some Guy said:

Arizona's up 5 on SD tonight.  If they hold on, the Phillies should be worried: Arizona will be 1 back of them with 2 to play and Arizona has the tie breaker.

The Cubs are 1.5 up on the D-backs and a half up on the Phillies. Any chance that if the Cubs lose they could be out? I dont know the 3 way tiebreaker.

[wiguy94]

7 minutes ago, jay87shot said:

The Cubs are 1.5 up on the D-backs and a half up on the Phillies. Any chance that if the Cubs lose they could be out? I dont know the 3 way tiebreaker.

No Cubs and Padres have already clinched a playoff spot. The only way the Dbacks can only be the 6 seed and can only pass the Phillies. Their magic number is 3 with 2 games to go so need either 2 wins and 1 Phillies loss or 1 win and 2 Phillies losses.

[Playing Catch]

22 hours ago, MoreTrife said:

Can you explain this? Has ABS affected hitter's power? More borderline strikeouts due to catcher challenge?

I apologize for sounding authoritative. I am merely a fan. I think there are several factors in play, but I think the teams that have really mastered the "new" baseball (like the Brewers), are needing to beat hitters in the zone. If they are going to pitch in the zone, they need to avoid hard contact.

I think this bears out with how the Brewers created a roster of hitters, too. There are guys that force the pitcher to beat them in zone, but trying to maximize their ability to hit the ball hard in lieu of creating an angle of contact. They know pitchers are trying to keep them in the yard, so they will need to beat pitchers in new ways --- going opposite field with some sting on hittable fastballs, staying inside the ball, and adjusting to in-zone off-speed and pulling stuff down the line. I think the narrower zone invites more hard contact down the lines, which happens to work well for the Brewers in their ballpark.

I think the opposite-platoon advantage has been minimized by the advent of pitch-shaping. Every guy has 2.5 fastballs and 1.5 offspeed pitches, creating new pitches to beat their opposite, and I think the sweeper has really hurt lots of power hitters. But this is a wild time, with technology, and there's obviously room in MLB for guys that whiff 30% of the time, too.

So again, I'm merely stating my observations, which may be flawed.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

2 hours ago, wiguy94 said:

No Cubs and Padres have already clinched a playoff spot. The only way the Dbacks can only be the 6 seed and can only pass the Phillies. Their magic number is 3 with 2 games to go so need either 2 wins and 1 Phillies loss or 1 win and 2 Phillies losses.

I think by far the likeliest scenario is Cubs in SD (winner to MKE) and Philly in ATL.

But weird things happen at the end of a long season. Philly seems toast, Arizona seems fired up, and you just never know.

[TURBO]

A while ago, someone claimed that Yelich was a top jersey seller in MLB.  Seemed far fetched at the time, and this just popped up in my feed.  Sharing, but have not researched for accuracy. 

 

[homer]

 

 

[Jopal78]

21 hours ago, TURBO said:

A while ago, someone claimed that Yelich was a top jersey seller in MLB.  Seemed far fetched at the time, and this just popped up in my feed.  Sharing, but have not researched for accuracy. 

 

I think I said he sells a lot of jerseys in the Brewers team shop. But as to the notion it was  “so far fetched” Yelich was a top jersey seller in MLB; who ever posted it was 100% accurate; check out the list published at Opening Day which was just updated to be the list you posted:

 

[trwi7]

 

[nate82]

81-81 shouldn’t give you a three seed in the playoffs.

[trwi7]

22 minutes ago, nate82 said:

81-81 shouldn’t give you a three seed in the playoffs.

They really need to completely overhaul the bracket.  The Guardians have a bye with 85 wins and will get to play either the 81 win Astros or 84 win White Sox.  Meanwhile the 98 win Rays will have to play either the 93 win Yankees or 87 win Red Sox.

And people can say this year is an anomaly and the bracket isn't normally this bad but a bracket like this should never happen, even once every 100 years is too much.

[Jopal78]

13 hours ago, trwi7 said:

They really need to completely overhaul the bracket.  The Guardians have a bye with 85 wins and will get to play either the 81 win Astros or 84 win White Sox.  Meanwhile the 98 win Rays will have to play either the 93 win Yankees or 87 win Red Sox.

And people can say this year is an anomaly and the bracket isn't normally this bad but a bracket like this should never happen, even once every 100 years is too much.

Fans are always outraged about something. Hopefully baseball ignores the fans clamoring for reseeding. 
 

Or alternatively MLB could embrace their tradition and turn back the clock to pre-1969 and do away with Divisions all together, and simply take the top six teams from the NL and AL as playoff teams. 

Each team plays the other 14 teams in their league 10 times per season, and 22 inter league games. 

 

[Zad Fnark]

My own opinion is that every wild card team wasn't good enough to win their division.  If some lesser team won their division, then tough poop.

Leave it as it is.

[BruisedCrew]

On 9/25/2026 at 9:46 AM, hoosier said:

I wonder if MLB is regretting not adopting reseeding after WC round. To have one of CLE, CHA, TEX or HOU destined to play in the ALCS is just a shame. (As of this morning, BOS could still move down to third WC and thus make its way over to the junior-junior circuit, but that is very very unlikely.) 

I can guarantee that they are not regretting a system that allows them to promote a Yankees – Red Sox series as part of the wildcard week.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

6 minutes ago, BruisedCrew said:

I can guarantee that they are not regretting a system that allows them to promote a Yankees – Red Sox series as part of the wildcard week.

Seems like precisely why they would? a 3-game series in one location when it could have been 5 or 7.

[BruisedCrew]

33 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Seems like precisely why they would? a 3-game series in one location when it could have been 5 or 7.

Or it could have been no matchup at all. 

it’s no coincidence that that’s the series that they put into the prime time slot.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

3 minutes ago, BruisedCrew said:

Or it could have been no matchup at all. 

it’s no coincidence that that’s the series that they put into the prime time slot.

With reseeding the Yankees would go to 2 and get a bye which gives them (likely) more Yankees games. Boston goes to 3 and stays on that side. Plays New York if they beat Houston, in both parks. Cleveland-Chicago play a division rivalry series in the WC. Seems like a better setup for the league. I'm sure they're happy they got that WC matchup, yeah, but seems a bit like low-hanging fruit.

That said I think most of the griping about reseeding aren't very strong arguments this season. The whole AL was pretty bad. I don't have a ton of sympathy for teams that won 87 games whining about teams that won 81. They were all barely above average. The only team that really has a gripe is NY, and they didn't win their division.