We’re in the endgame now. The final weekend of the regular season is upon us and guess what? There is still so much to settle. Friends of the Comic Book Clique, it’s the MLB Weekly Report!
Last week, I may have flexed about my Immaculate Grid and how I achieved my lowest rarity score at 5. I was hot last week and I think I may have found my mojo!
Cue up the "Price is Right" losing horn.
22 is a higher score than desired. In fact, any answer I get over 5% pretty much ruins my mood on the grid and thus, I give very little effort with the rest of the answers. I felt really good about so many of these answers! Until they said “Give me a Mariner pitcher who struck out 200 batters” and I zoned out for a solid eight minutes. If you said Erik Hanson, great, you probably got a 1% answer and I like whatever is wrong with you to have known that answer.
Without further ado, the final weekend of the regular season brings us the drama that only September baseball can bring.
Between the Cleveland Guardians and the Chicago White Sox, both teams will be playing in the postseason but are currently dueling over positioning. Winning the division guarantees a bye through the Wild Card and into the ALDS while the other team would be facing the AL West champion. And while the latter scenario would in no means be a formidable challenge, there’s a decent chance the winner of the AL West won’t have a winning record, I would much prefer not having to play more games to potentially win a championship.
Two of the five worst teams will have a chance, not to play spoiler, but to make one team’s journey through October just a little more precarious. The Kansas City Royals, stablemates to the Guardians and White Sox, because let’s face it, the Royals are rivals to only themselves, will host the Guardians. Despite another disappointing season for the Royals, they have managed to go 5-5 against the Guardians this season.
The surging Guardians, 8-2 over their last 10 games, have been getting by with a fairly average offense — scoring 4.7 runs a game over those last 10 games but only giving up 30 runs in the same span. They’ll send their second-best starter, Gavin Williams, to the mound on Friday. He had mixed results against the Royals, winning his first start against them in April but walking five, followed up by a performance in May where he gave up five runs in a loss.
Tanner Bibee (photo credit: The Associated Press)
Tanner Bibee will follow with his start on Saturday, ending a year that has only continued his four-year downslide in production. He hasn’t fared terribly against the Royals this year; a 3.68 ERA over three starts is serviceable. It’s that pesky average offense that has let Bibee down, with the Guardians scoring just four runs in his starts against the Royals. A starter for Game 162 hasn’t been named yet, likely pending the outcome of the first two games as well as where the White Sox stand.
MLB's worst team this year, unsurprisingly, is the Colorado Rockies, and how fortuitous for the White Sox to draw them in the final series of the year. A chance to win their seventh division title since the Division Era started in 1969, with a team most had in the cellar of the AL Central. They come into the series having a middle-of-the-road September, when they may have needed this month to gain momentum. Posting a 9-12 record, they lost their thin division lead back on Sept. 16 but continue to stay close to the Guardians.
The Rockies aren’t middle of the road. Actually, I don’t even know if the Rockies are on a road. Four straight seasons of 100 losses (or more), they’re 5-16 this month, typical Rockies baseball of the 2020s thus far. They are ripe for the picking; if the White Sox so choose to show a little bit of edge and take the division in the final games this season, it could go a long way to aiding a successful postseason. Let me be clear: a winning record alone makes this a successful year, full stop. Any wins in October will be the icing on this surprisingly layered cake.
Out West, standings are a tad more bleak. The Astros and Rangers continue to trade in mediocrity, holding down losing records while fighting for a division title. We’re a mere three games away from seeing history, no matter how you slice it. In the best-case scenario, either one of these teams sweeps the final series of the regular season, ends up with 82 wins and becomes the first American League division winner with 82 wins. Any other outcome produces a different bit of history — arguably, more interesting bits of history!
The Astros will continue their four-game series against the Athletics, another bottom-five team, this time with the ability to actually play spoiler. Houston took Game 1 in a close affair, a 7-5 win powered by the first three home runs of rookie Lucas Spence's career. At current writing, the Astros don’t have a single probable pitcher listed for the rest of this series, and that just screams September baseball. Sporting a 4-8 record over the past couple of weeks, they are skidding into these final three games. They hold the tiebreaker over the Rangers should they end up with the same record by the end of Sunday, a silver lining to a September where they’ve been outscored 77-88.
The offense has been running through Yordan Alvarez and Isaac Paredes, accounting for 35% of the runs over the past couple of weeks. The Astros are going to need more performances like the one they got out of their rookie center fielder, Lucas Spence, if they’re going to A) survive these next three games to win the division and B) have a shot at anything beyond the Wild Card series.
Of all the teams fighting for a playoff spot in the AL, the Rangers have it the toughest. That may not be saying much considering the other three teams are facing three of the worst teams this year, but these details are crucial heading into three must-win games in Minnesota versus the Twins.
Believe it or not, the Twins were only just recently eliminated from playoff contention on Sept. 20, winning two of three from the Giants right after. At this point, the Twins have nothing else to play for except the sweet revenge of taking a team like the Rangers down with them. Having swept them in the only other series they played back in mid-June, all signs point to this being a tough series.
2x Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom committed to staying and trying to win again in Arlington, denying a trade to Atlanta at the deadline. (Photo credit: Getty Images)
If the Rangers are to find a way into the postseason, it’ll be on the backs of their starting pitching. Jacob deGrom is set to pitch the opener in the series and they’ll need the ace to pitch like an ace. He’s done well this month, a sub-3.00 ERA with 29 strikeouts over 21 and 1/3 innings. After him lies nothing but question marks. It’s likely, no matter what happens Friday for both the Rangers and Astros, that Nathan Eovaldi will be given the ball on Saturday — a bold move. On one hand, Eovaldi is a veteran and understands the stakes about as well as anyone. On the other, his first 8 and 2/3 innings after missing a little over a month have been less than impressive. He’s given up five runs, it’s clear the velocity isn’t fully back yet, and thus his strikeouts and effectiveness just aren’t quite where you want them to be. The season may ride on MacKenzie Gore…
But truly, the formula for the Rangers may be really simple. Score five or more runs, win the game. They are an astounding 59-8 this year when they score five or more runs. In fact, nine of their 10 wins this September have featured them scoring 5-plus runs. With Josh Jung back in the mix, a real table-setter, the offense is in as good a position as it can be to make their final stand and take the AL West.
In the NL, all of the divisions have been set for some time now. The Brewers secured their first-ever 100-win season and the best record in baseball — wild when you put into perspective that it's their 57th season and just how talented some of the teams from just the past decade and a half have been.
The Wild Card is looking much closer to being set but still holds some unresolved scenarios, really in the placement of the current three teams with spots: the Padres and Cubs, who have already clinched their spots, and the Phillies, who are trying to fend off the hot-on-their-tail Diamondbacks.
At various points this month, the Diamondbacks went from sneaking into that final Wild Card spot to being several games back. They’re 12-8 this month, having won five in a row going into the final series against the current Wild Card No. 1 seed, the San Diego Padres. A Padres team that, yes, has already clinched a spot, but would likely prefer to hold onto their spot. They may not be willing to rest any of their bigger stars in the name of potentially being the away team in the Wild Card series, what with being one game under .500 on the road. Or the worse outcome, having to face the Atlanta Braves.
Nolan Arenado’s heater has kept the Diamondbacks hope alive amidst a Philly skid. (Photo credit: MLB)
Fueling the way are both future Hall of Famer Nolan Arenado and a former top prospect figuring it out in season five in Gabriel Moreno. Arenado has turned back the clock a bit after a couple of down seasons and is knocking on the door of his first 30-home-run season since 2022. In the month of September, he’s putting up some video game numbers, illustrated by his 1.131 OPS. Moreno hasn’t been too far behind, raking to the tune of a .975 OPS.
Not letting the offense carry all of the weight this month, Diamondbacks pitching has been fantastic. Sixth in ERA this month at 3.67 as well as fifth in WHIP means they’ve been keeping runners off the basepaths, and even the ones who make it mostly aren’t scoring. Timely pitching and good hitting is a classic formula that is more successful than not in baseball. I’m sure fans of the Snakes will be pseudo-Rays fans this weekend, in hopes that they get some help while they look to take down the Padres.
Before we move to our final part of our weekly report, we’d like to look at some season accomplishments that are worth mentioning.
Chris Sale continued his dominant resurgence with the Braves this year. (Photo credit: Brett Davis)
Chris Sale had yet another season of 200K and fewer than 50BB, extending his record to nine. The second most? Hall of Famers Roy Halladay and Pedro Martinez. That’s every season he’s gotten at least 200K, putting his nine at only second behind Randy Johnson for southpaws in terms of most 200K seasons, officially surpassing Steve Carlton’s eight.
The Milwaukee Brewers clinched the #1 seed this week for the duration of their tenure in the postseason, but they did so with their very first 100 win history in the history of the ballclub.
Pete Crow-Armstrong became the seventh player in MLB history to go 40/40.
Max Scherzer will likely pitch on Sunday on short rest. While he hasn’t officially announced his retirement, if this is it for the 3x Cy Young winner, congratulations on an outstanding career.
Announcers in their final year
The game of baseball is a simple game. A player from the team on the field throws a small, mostly white with red-stitched ball toward home plate where a player from the opposing team is standing and will attempt to hit the ball with a cylindrical bat. What gives the game any sort of color, any form of emotion or drama, are the broadcasters. Tasked with providing context as to why anything you’re watching or listening to matters, they are the link between the fanbase and the players. For many of us, the way a game is called over the air can stick with us and become just as integral to the memory as the game or specific plays themselves. And let’s face it, if you grew up with the National Pastime, then you simulated what it was like to hit that game-winning home run. You were the batter, maybe in your backyard or at the park, rounding the bases (or in my case, rounding my parents' bed in a railroad apartment in Brooklyn, NY), jumping and hollering, simultaneously playing the star and the overjoyed broadcaster.
It’s hard to value what a good broadcaster brings to a telecast, let alone ones whose tenure spans generations. As we wind down on the regular season, we’re also winding down on some historical broadcasting careers.
Out in South Florida, there is one voice synonymous with Miami Marlins baseball and that’s Tommy Hutton. Serving as a broadcaster for both of Miami’s World Series teams, Hutton has been in the booth for 25 of the Marlins' 34 seasons. Fans came to love and appreciate the honesty Hutton put out, whether it was discussing the state of Marlins baseball, a replay review that felt asinine, or proclaiming, “And his name is Dan Uggla” for every Dan Uggla home run. Hutton is a voice that won’t be forgotten. Fans have had to say goodbye to him before, having left the team after the 2015 season for several years, but this time, we say it for real.
The West Coast also says goodbye to a couple of longtime fixtures in the booth. In the Bay Area, Mike Krukow departs after 37 seasons. Like many broadcasters, Krukow played for the team he’d spend his “second career” with, having pitched for the Giants from 1983 to the end of his playing career in 1989. It’s so rare to have broadcasting partners have as long a run as Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper have had (all 37 of Krukow's years!), and I am sure longtime fans of the Giants will sorely miss Krukow in the booth. A true mark of a good team is in how they make baseball fun.
It both makes sense and doesn’t make sense that I was a big fan of the Seattle Mariners in the 1990s. On one hand, Ken Griffey Jr. was a beloved player in sports and I was no different in my feelings toward him. I had the Mariners hat that I wore backward and I wore out the Nintendo 64 game. On the other hand, what could a kid that was roughly 2,500 miles away know about Mariner baseball?
Rick Rizzs helped bridge that gap. I’d be rewriting history if I said that Dave Niehaus wasn’t as big a role in that as well. From 1983 to 1992 and then again from 1995 until now, Rizzs has been part of the Mariners organization, calling all of their biggest moments. From the 1995 Luis Sojo Little League “grand slam” to Cal Raleigh ending the 20-year playoff drought with one swing. To have one voice to cover so much of a franchise's history is a gift, and Rizzs provided that. I will always admire Rizzs’ ability to honor Niehaus and keep some of his calls in circulation post his passing, and can only hope current and future broadcasters of the M's honor Rizzs the same.
Lastly, Howie Rose. My bias will show, but Howie Rose is the first voice I heard when it came to Mets baseball. Several names stick out to me when talking Mets broadcasters of my era, but Rose was always the more articulate one. He could really suck you in with a story about how he got to watch Mickey Mantle play and be rather endearing when discussing his father and how they moved in 1962 to Queens, right as the Mets were born, making him an immediate fan.
Thirty-one years for the Mets, he called so many of my favorite moments. Every New Yorker was affected by 9/11 and maybe baseball was the furthest thing from any of our collective minds. If you were a Mets fan, Rose’s call of Mike Piazza’s go-ahead home run in the first game post-9/11 is nothing short of goosebump-inducing. How about his call of the Johan Santana no-hitter, the first in Mets history? The elation you can hear in his voice was no less coming from a broadcaster than a lifetime fan.
Yet, it’s the 2024 playoffs where Howie Rose would provide the soundbites that will echo in my mind for the rest of time. I could point to his call of the Pete Alonso go-ahead home run against the Brewers or the go-ahead grand slam Francisco Lindor hit in Game 4 of the NLDS and either would be enough. But the one that stood out most to me was the speech he gave during the ninth inning of Game 6 of the 2024 NLCS against the Dodgers.
The Dodgers were up in the series, 3-2, and in the game 10-4. The ride for us was over. Every miraculous comeback had been used. I was gutted. And against the Dodgers? It didn’t feel right. The Mets scratched and clawed their way into postseason play: Game 161 of the regular season, the absolute nail-biter in Atlanta. A Pete Alonso three-run homer in Milwaukee during the Wild Card series to push their way into the NLDS against the Phillies. Taking on our division rival and smacking them around for most of four games to get to L.A. The true final boss. And after all that, even taking the eventual World Series champions to a Game 6, I felt robbed.
But there was Howie Rose, being both optimistic for the future and truly grateful for the season that was about to end for him, too. Preaching that it isn’t always about the end so much as it is about the journey: "If you are emotionally invested in this Mets team, and you're sad right now, it's certainly understandable. But I promise you that won't take long to wear off if it ends here, because once the immediate disappointment if they don't pull off some kind of magical comeback here wears off, you'll realize what an incredible ride this team took you for this year.”
In that moment, my sadness stopped, replaced now by tears of joy and appreciation. I had so much hope for our future and a deep sense of gratitude for what I had experienced. I don’t know many broadcasters who could’ve delivered that message better than Howie Rose. It felt natural coming from someone who is from Brooklyn, like me, that has seen the entirety of Mets history. A voice I could trust, a distinct voice that truly bled orange and blue. And just how I felt in the moment the Mets' 2024 season came to a close, my tears of sadness that a wonderful career is over now turn to tears of joy and appreciation that I got to be in the same timeline as Howie Rose. A sincere thank you,
Put it in the books, we’ve reached the end of the Weekly Report. Here’s your "How can you not be romantic about baseball?" clip: