Even going back to Opening Day, all signs had pointed to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers meeting in the National League Championship Series. But if you had the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians duking it out in the ALCS, then show us the receipts.
The Brewers and Rays finished as their respective leagues' No. 1 seeds, and the Dodgers are the two-time defending champions. Shocker those three made it this far, even if we were extremely down on the Rays entering the postseason.
We have plenty of thoughts on the MLB season’s penultimate playoff round, and some are hotter than others. Let’s start things off with a team that only truly worries about the heat during spring training.
Tropicana Field should never host a playoff game again
As far as we know, Major League Baseball cannot prohibit a team from hosting postseason games if their stadium is in working condition and there are no scheduling conflicts. But that doesn’t mean we can’t — and won’t — ask Rob Manfred to hear us out.
Tropicana Field is an abomination, and the catwalks still present issues. They’re not a feature like the Green Monster or Wrigley Field’s ivy; they’re a bug that can drastically affect the on-field product. You’d think Manfred and the league would want to avoid those situations at all costs, especially with the potential gambling impact.
Thankfully, we may be nearing the end of the Trop, as the Rays are expected to break ground on their new ballpark within the coming weeks. Fingers crossed.
We’re not writing Shohei Ohtani off yet, but …
Dave Roberts turned heads when he moved Ohtani to the No. 5 spot toward the end of the NLDS, but that further proves why he’s arguably the 21st century’s greatest manager. All that matters to him is hoisting the Commissioner’s Trophy, and he’s not afraid to change a player’s role — even an all-time legend like Ohtani — if it means another championship.
We don’t expect much to change against the Brewers, even after Ohtani drew a walk and stole a base during the NLDS clincher. Roberts knows exactly what he’s doing, and he’s more than earned Dodgers fans’ trust throughout his 11 seasons.
"When you write a player in the lineup, that shows you have confidence in them," Roberts said ahead of the NLCS. "For us to win eight more games, we're going to need Shohei."
What could this postseason do for Christian Yelich’s Hall of Fame odds?
We recently listed Yelich as a borderline Hall of Famer, and nothing has changed on that front. Even upon further reflection, we’re skeptical a World Series ring will turn him into a lock for Cooperstown.
Yelich turns 35 in December, and he likely needs to clear 2,300 hits (he’s at 1,845) and 300 home runs (he’s at 245) to have the counting stats. However, the potential counterargument is whether he went from a consistent MVP contender to an injury-prone compiler.
Put it this way: Bobby Abreu has Yelich beat in every category, including a significant gap in bWAR (60.2 to Yelich’s 40.1), and the ex-Phillies standout cleared only 30 percent this past cycle. We love the Hall of Fame discourse, though, and maybe we’ll feel differently if the Brewers win it all.
We haven't seen the last pitch-tipping controversy of the postseason
Whether or not someone is tipping their pitches is hardly a new phenomenon, but it feels as though things have reached a tipping point (sorry) this October. It started when Padres closer Mason Miller melted down in a Game 2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, a performance so out of line with his usual dominance that everyone started grasping for alternate explanations. But really, why wouldn't this become a major part of the sport moving forward?
Every team has armies of advanced scouts and access to mountains of video; in the playoffs, when every inch counts and there's just team to prepare for, it's only natural that you'd look for any edge imaginable. Don't be surprised if this becomes a talking points again in the ALCS and/or NLCS.
The demise of the starting pitcher has been greatly exaggerated
Much has been made about whether teams even really need a traditional rotation to get through a playoff series, with regular days off and every pitcher available just about all the time. But look around at the final four, and you'll see that nothing beats great starting pitching — even in 2026.
The Dodgers need no explanation, no after Tarik Skubal and Yoshinobu Yamamoto tore through the Atlanta Braves. The Guardians got here on the back of their ace, Gavin Williams. The Rays had a short leash with Freddy Peralta and Nick Martinez, but those two were still very good in the ALDS — and the guys they were replaced by, Griffin Jax and Ian Seymour, are also effective starters in their own right. That leaves the Brewers, who were able to cobble it together behind Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson.
But if you're trying to replicate MIlwaukee's pitching strategy, well, good luck keeping up with the best front office in the sport. The truth is that a starter who can turn a lineup over multiple times is still an October cheat code, and these playoffs prove it.
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