2026 MLB Thread

[wadesworld]

That Sox fan broke PCA.

Eh, he's been trash since last August.

But he's by far my favorite Cub ever.

And for the love of god would you people show him some respect. It's MVPete.

[Jockey]

How high did PCA jump to stop the ground ball HR?

[BM1090]

The defense will come around. He's a great outfield. Never bought he could hit though, just had one long hot streak.

[MuggsyB]

So much for the Cubs dominating the league. 

[GoldenEagles03]

The Milwaukee Brewers are so fun.

Just total domination of this Division for years. The NL Central is loaded this year though. Seems like a Division that will come down to the final week.

[MU82]

Aaron Judge last 10 games:

0 HR, 0 RBI, 13 K, .184 average.

Tough game, baseball. It happens even to the best sometimes.

[SoCalEagle]

Dodgers rollin into Milwaukee having won 7 out of their last 8. Brewers playing good ball, too. Should be a great weekend series.

[Dish]

Tigers last 18 games:

2-16

Woof.

[tower912]

The Tigers are a hot mess right now.

I knew there were problems 4 weeks ago.

Since then, endless injuries, <.200 team batting average, <3 runs per game.   Several games unable to protect 2-1 or 3-2 leads late.

If you don't hit, you don't win. 

Start hitting, get healthy.   And hope the hole they have dug themselves isn't too deep.

[Uncle Rico]

RIP Charlie Moore, dead from the polio vaccine

[The Sultan]

RIP Charlie Moore, dead from the polio vaccine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4sUPspVhig

[MU82]

Underrated member of the 1982 Brewers, one of the most fun teams to watch of all time.

[MU82]

From The Athletic:

The Brewers lead the National League Central. The Rays lead the American League East. The Guardians lead the AL Central. The Athletics, who play in West Sacramento, lead the AL West.

Their payroll rankings, according to Spotrac: 20th (Brewers), 21st (Athletics), 28th (Guardians), 29th (Rays).

Oh, and the Marlins, who rank 30th, just swept a weekend series from the Mets, who rank second. The last-place Mets are one of four teams among the top six in payroll below .500, with the Phillies, Blue Jays and Red Sox.

The biggest spenders in the AL Central, the Tigers, are in last place at 21-33, and the biggest spenders in the AL West, the Astros, are 23-31.

Nobody claims that payroll is meaningless. ... Top-tier payrolls are the ones that win the World Series. But one of these years, it stands to reason that a surprise team will break through and go all the way. That's just the nature of baseball.

[wadesworld]

From The Athletic:

The Brewers lead the National League Central. The Rays lead the American League East. The Guardians lead the AL Central. The Athletics, who play in West Sacramento, lead the AL West.

Their payroll rankings, according to Spotrac: 20th (Brewers), 21st (Athletics), 28th (Guardians), 29th (Rays).

Oh, and the Marlins, who rank 30th, just swept a weekend series from the Mets, who rank second. The last-place Mets are one of four teams among the top six in payroll below .500, with the Phillies, Blue Jays and Red Sox.

The biggest spenders in the AL Central, the Tigers, are in last place at 21-33, and the biggest spenders in the AL West, the Astros, are 23-31.

Nobody claims that payroll is meaningless. ... Top-tier payrolls are the ones that win the World Series. But one of these years, it stands to reason that a surprise team will break through and go all the way. That's just the nature of baseball.

And none of them will be competitive with the Dodgers come October/November.

[GB Warrior]

Wow Wander Franco skating by without penalty. What is he, a dentist from West Bend?

[MU82]

The Mariners, who have 6 viable starting pitchers, have been experimenting with "piggybacking" - using Bryce Miller or Luis Castillo to go 4-5 innings and then bringing in the other to (ideally) pitch the rest of the game.

A week ago, it went well until it didn't. Miller pitched 5+ shutout innings and was still dealing, so he was pizzed when he was taken out. Castillo did great for 2+ innings but, rather than bring in closer Andres Munoz to start the ninth in a 1-0 game, manager Dan Wilson stayed with Castillo, who promptly let the first two batters reach. Wilson then brought in Munoz, who gave up two soft singles that barely got through the infield, and the Mariners lost.

It went better yesterday, thanks in great part to Seattle scoring 7 early runs. This time, Castillo started and pitched 4 shutout innings, and then Miller worked the final 5. Still, Castillo is quite upset about the whole thing.

Seems unsustainable. I'm hoping that Castillo, who had a horrific first month but is now pitching better, keeps going well enough to attract trade offers from pitching-starved teams.

All 6 starters are right-handed, and the Mariners have one of baseball's top lefty prospects (Kade Anderson), who is killing it in the minors.

Wouldn't mind seeing Logan Gilbert dealt before he hits free agency, too. He's not a $25M pitcher IMHO, but he'd probably get at least that on the open market.

[Shaka Shart]

Why do Craig's teams seem to suck at hitting despite the roster talent

[GB Warrior]

Why do Craig's teams seem to suck at hitting despite the roster talent

Beginning to wonder how many WS he cost the Brewers

[cheebs09]

Why do Craig's teams seem to suck at hitting despite the roster talent

Taking the identity of their manager.

[cheebs09]

Beginning to wonder how many WS he cost the Brewers

I think Yelich busting his knee cap in a freak accident hurt our chances more than Counsell. I feel he lost a year or two of his prime.

[GB Warrior]

I think Yelich busting his knee cap in a freak accident hurt our chances more than Counsell. I feel he lost a year or two of his prime.

I was kidding but yes.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

If the playoffs started today, the 27-28 Athletics would host the 27-28 Twins in the first round while the 29-25 Reds, 29-26 Pirates, 29-26 Cubs, 29-27 Nationals, and 28-27 Phillies watched them on TV.

Baseball is the best sometimes.

[MU82]

If the playoffs started today, the 27-28 Athletics would host the 27-28 Twins in the first round while the 29-25 Reds, 29-26 Pirates, 29-26 Cubs, 29-27 Nationals, and 28-27 Phillies watched them on TV.

Baseball is the best sometimes.

Those teams have all been mediocre, and they're all within a couple games of each other - the "best" (Reds) have a 2.5-game lead on the "worst" (A's and Twins). The standings have quirks at the 1/3 mark of lots of seasons. And the playoffs don't start today.

[TallTitan34]

Not sure I've ever seen this streaky of a team:
- Win 10 in a row
- Lose 3 in a row
- Win 10 in a row
- Lose 4 in a row
- Win 2 in a row
- Lose 10 in a row

Overall that comes to 22-17 (.564) which would be a 91 win season extended out.

Funny thing is with injuries, they've already used 26 pitchers, however, the pitching has been fine for the most part.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Those teams have all been mediocre, and they're all within a couple games of each other - the "best" (Reds) have a 2.5-game lead on the "worst" (A's and Twins). The standings have quirks at the 1/3 mark of lots of seasons. And the playoffs don't start today.

Thank you for pointing out the obvious 

I expect 1/3 season quirks. I'm not sure I've ever seen a division having more teams above .500 than an entire league this deep into the season before.