Cleveland now has a solemn duty to keep the Yankees out of the World Series.
Hello, friends.
Cleveland rocks! Do people actually say that to one another in Cleveland? I don’t know. What I do know is that yesterday the Guardians triumphed in their ALDS matchup against the Tigers, getting a go-ahead grand slam off of Tarik Skubal on the way to sealing the clincher, and that means that the Guardians are going to play the Yankees in the ALCS. It is imperative that the Yankees be stopped post haste, so, Cleveland, it’s all up to you. Orioles fans can root for no other outcome.
José Ramírez? Most underrated player in baseball. Emmanuel Clase? The most dominant closer going right now. The whole rest of that bullpen has been close to unbeatable this year. They’ve got the Naylor brothers, they’ve got Steven Kwan, and even got an .800+ OPS from some guy named David Fry. Make it happen, gentlemen. Move towards ending your franchise’s big title drought while prolonging New York’s.
Though, for today, it’s actually the NLCS that will be getting started. American League has to wait another day. Mets and Dodgers begin their matchup of the big markets at 8:15 Eastern tonight. On its face, that’s kind of boring, especially since this is the two teams with the biggest Competitive Balance Tax overages for the 2024 season.
With the Mets having such an ongoing chaotic and fun existence this season, and with the Dodgers coming along with the “Shohei Ohtani is finally in the postseason” narrative, that goes a bit of a way to transcend that this is two huge payroll teams from gigantic media markets.
Do you care about whether it’s Mets or Dodgers? As I’ve mentioned before on this site, I’m most sympathetic to ending the longest title droughts, since ours has gone past 40 years. The Mets aren’t quite there yet with their last win in 1986, but that’s longer than any fan should have to go without having their team win. The Dodgers just won in 2020, though there are certainly people out there who feel that should count for less since it was the weird pandemic season.
Around the blogO’sphere
Anthony Santander: From Rule 5 draft pick to sought-after free agent (Steve Melewski)
For months now, I’ve been super curious about who will actually end up signing Tony Taters and for how much. Will he actually be all that sought after?
In a year of challenges, the Orioles pitching staff held up remarkably well (The Baltimore Banner)
Albert Suárez spared us a LOT of agony.
Jackson Holliday a cover star for Topps baseball card set (The Baltimore Sun)
A little off-the-field article for those who care about this kind of thing.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
In 1970 and 1979, the Orioles won World Series games. In 1971, they lost one. The win over the Reds in the ‘70 Series was the third straight after dropping game 1 of the series. The 9-3 victory included pitcher Dave McNally hitting a grand slam. Really!
There are a pair of former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2005-06 pitcher Hayden Penn, and 1956/58 pitcher Ron Moeller.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: outdoor enthusiast Leon Leonwood Bean (1872), baseball Hall of Famer Rube Waddell (1876), comedian Lenny Bruce (1925), baseball Hall of Famer Eddie Matthews (1931), musician Paul Simon (1941), football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice (1962), baseball Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman (1967), sportscaster Summer Sanders (1972), and K-popper Jimin (1995).
On this day in history…
In 54, the Roman emperor Claudius died of poisoning, probably directed by his wife so that her son Nero would be able to inherit the throne before rivals could build their power and challenge him.
In 1792, the cornerstone of what we now call the White House was placed. The first president to live in it was John Adams in 1800.
In 1903, the first World Series came to a conclusion, with the Boston Red Sox beating the Pittsburgh Pirates in Game 8 of what was then a best-of-nine.
**
And that’s the way it is in Birdland on October 13. Have a safe Sunday.