NEWSLETTER
HAPPY HALLOWEEN YOU FREAKS! Said entirely with love, of course. May your day be appropriately ghoulish.
• The Atlanta Braves came back to win Game 4 of the World Series last night, giving them a 3-1 lead in the series over the Houston Astros. Since teams never come back from 3-1 deficits, the series is effectively over.
Five years ago tonight, the Cubs were down 3-1 in the World Series, and down 1-0 in Game 5. It was looking really bad. But then Kris Bryant homered … and everything changed. pic.twitter.com/G2HFdzzp1D
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) October 30, 2021
#OTD in 2016 …
Cubs send the World Series back to Cleveland with Game 5 win at Wrigley Field!@Prevagen | https://t.co/teroI0Jg3H pic.twitter.com/of2W1cS63Y
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) October 30, 2021
• No, but seriously, it is rather unlikely that the Astros will come back to win the series, which would be an incredible win for the Braves, who came into the postseason with the fewest wins of any entrant (and loads of key players lost to injury). I won’t stop hating The Chop, but I can definitely respect what the Braves are on the verge of pulling off. I also really appreciate their efforts to improve the team starting in mid-July, despite the injuries and looking like a team that might flame out early. The front office had a belief in the club, the coaching staff helped turn the defense around, and young arms kept coming up to supplement. I think I’m jealous, actually.
• The highlights of the Braves’ Game 4 win:
• The Swanson-Soler back-to-back shots were the decisive blows, but how about the late catch by Eddie Rosario to keep the tying run out of scoring position:
EDDIE WITH THE SNAG TO ROB ALTUVE OF A DOUBLE! 😱
ATL is rocking tonight! pic.twitter.com/eLKlRoJG6w
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 31, 2021
• What a postseason for that guy. As we’ve discussed, Rosario’s free agency will be an interesting one as an outsider, because he’s pretty tough to value. Did he become a fundamentally different player halfway through his age 29 season, or is this just a really, really good blip? I don’t think he’s an on-paper fit for the Cubs necessarily, but their spot is such that I’m not closing the door on ANY free agent who could wind up providing more value than the market believes. So if, for example, the Cubs were big buyers on the idea that Rosario’s breakout is real, then whatever, get value wherever you can get it, even if it’s a 30-year-old corner outfield bat for your may-or-may-not-compete team in 2022. (Of course, if the Cubs DO go after a 30-year-old corner outfield bat, Nick Castellanos is gonna get my vote, but I understand there’s less likely to be a “value” proposition there.)
• Speaking of that kind of stuff, we are now but a game away from the end of the 2021 season, or so it would be if the Atlanta Braves win Game 5 tonight at 7:15pm CT. It came so quickly, and that means the offseason could kick off as soon as tomorrow morning.
• Dylan Lee made the start last night for the Braves, the first pitcher ever to make his starting debut in the dang World Series. It was an opener situation, obviously, but still a wild story to tell. Lee, who recorded one out, was released by the Marlins back at the end of Spring Training. He was a fantastic reliever for the Braves this year … at Triple-A. He actually made only two (ineffective) big league appearances before the postseason. Again, a really wild story. (Also, I give the Braves a pass on it because of the injuries – including the one to Charlie Morton earlier in the series – and don’t regard this as a situation reinforcing any of the “oh, there are some things wrong with the sport right now” narratives.)
• How about the Jorge Soler pinch-hit, game-leading homer? If you suspected that was a rare and special event, you were right:
Jorge Soler’s solo homer in the seventh inning tonight was the fourth pinch-hit go-ahead homer in #WorldSeries history, joining Ed Sprague (TOR, 1992); Kirk Gibson (LAD, 1988); and Dusty Rhodes (NYG, 1954).
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) October 31, 2021
• Good for Soler, who started this season out as one of the worst hitters in baseball (seriously, through like June, he was absolutely abysmal), and then hit .269/.358/.524 for the Braves after the trade from the Royals, and he’s also raking in the postseason. Like Rosario, he’s an impending free agent and he’ll play next season at age 30.
• Also, not sure how else he was supposed to answer a question like this:
…I think maybe there’s a little bit of a better chemistry with some of the guys in the clubhouse, and we all have that same energy where we go out to enjoy ourselves and give our best efforts in the field, and I think that would be kind of the differences.”
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) October 31, 2021
• The guy is happy, living in the moment, and wants to celebrate his current teammates. I really don’t take anything away from that comment. I have no doubt he also enjoyed his run with the 2016 Cubs.
• The Blackhawks lost again – truly, this is something – and the Bulls won again, this time beating the last undefeated team in the NBA. So the Bulls have lost just once this year, to a good team, and by one missed shot. I think they’re probably pretty decent, even after the Patrick Williams injury.
• As for the Bears, let’s just say I have my reasons for DESPERATELY hoping they win by A LOT today, and today specifically.
• This is awesome, and I want to set something up like it (though I would also need that view):
Just did a little project. I miss Wrigley so I brought it to California. @Cubs @BleacherNation @obvious_shirts pic.twitter.com/RTw6vvryHe
— Jeremy Shermak (@JeremyShermak) October 30, 2021
• Good Halloween question from SportsCenter:
https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1454502301713014790
