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I could see the highest payroll teams with the best talent at declining rates of spending and the lowest payroll teams full of higher paid than today, less talented players with no change to the competitive balance.

I fixed that for you. Awesome post 😂

Twenty-six days before Snell penned his five-year, $182 million contract with the Dodgers in November 2024, Bauers was outrighted, effectively released, by the team he has since pushed within a game of the Fall Classic. But the Brewers, ahead of 2025, brought Bauers back on a minor-league deal. And through circumstance, faith, confidence, obstinance and determination, the 31-year-old SoCal kid finally turned himself into an impact major leaguer. This season, he was the best hitter on baseball's best team. Over the past few days, he has taken things to a whole new level, looking as dialed in as a ballplayer can be. "Hats off to him," a conciliatory Snell shared after the game. yahoo.com/sports

Doesn't small market teams spending big early on FA's Skubal King Peralta Sato, etc., just make even MORE of a case that those bottom half payroll teams were largely just sitting on their collective balance subsidies/built in $100+ million profit margins???

With three of the four teams in the the league championships having lower payrolls doesn't bode well for the owners pushing a salary cap. That being said, I think a lot of fans support the idea of a cap, and especially a floor. Baseball needs to have more teams be competitive and fewer teams being out of it in July. I just don't know if the players will agree to it. I could see the existing higher payroll teams waiting before signing bigger names, and lower payroll teams jumping early. That probably means the bigger names may wait, too. It's going to be an interesting (and frustrating) winter/spring.

Director of Minor League Development is such a powerful position ("true power center of the organization") that Paul Janish is there now. Maybe 3-5% of all Sox fans have a bit of a clue who he even is... Ofc Crochet Madrigal and Vaughn/Sheets were rushed or mismanaged or simply put in the wrong positions on the field. Crochet eventually rebounded on his own. Do did Jake Burger.

I getz I was too busy noticing the three 100 loss seasons to remember back to back playoff. The discussion is developing young players. I posted four players that arguably were rushed through the process. Do you still believe he had nothing to do with rushing them and we shouldn't be concerned about future high drafts picks?

Bauers is only two years younger than Snell, and was in the Tampa Bay Rays system from 2015-18. Bauers played 96 games in his first major league season for the Rays in 2018, the year his teammate Snell won his first Cy Young Award. Now in his seventh organization, Bauers had his best season this year with the Brewers and just turned 31 last week. He turned around Games 2 and 3 in this NLCS with long battles, including a 12-pitch walk by Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Monday in Milwaukee. “I’ve seen all the ups and downs he’s been through, and it’s been a lot of downs. For him to go through this right now, he’s earned it. Hats off to him, what an at-bat,” Snell said of Bauers. “I threw everything I had, and then a fastball down the middle. If I could locate that better, who knows what would have happened? This is the best I’ve ever seen him play. It’s a good at-bat. Hats off to him, but the walk’s what really frustrated me, with Vaughn.” Truebluela.com

Jeter in 93?

has the potential to be the best position player out of the state of michigan in 30 some years. not easy up there with such a short season and a lot of kids focused on other sports.

https://www.si.com/mlb/brewers/2026-nlcs-game-3-big-bad-dodgers-pushed-to-brink-by-journeyman-and-rookie "Bauers had been a journeyman for most of his career. He debuted in 2018 with the Rays and bounced around the league for the next few years, spending time with the Guardians, Mariners and Yankees before landing with the Brewers in ‘24. He nearly retired after his first season in Milwaukee. He’d never found any semblance of stability in MLB, moving from organization to organization and struggling at the plate. But after deciding he was ready to call it quits on baseball, his wife found out she was pregnant, which caused Bauers to reconsider his stance on walking away from the game. Instead of retiring, Bauers decided to continue his career, because, in his own words, “We needed health insurance.” On August 1, 2022, the Padres traded Robert Gasser, Dinelson Lamet, Taylor Rogers, and Esteury Ruiz to the Milwaukee Brewers for Josh Hader. HEAVYJake Bauers Wasn't Wanted by Yankees or Cleveland, but No...Jake Bauers has traveled a wandering baseball journey, but he has finally found a home with the Milwaukee Brewers.

This time it’s different 🤪

maybe not that great compared to previous decade ??? or 2004 Red Sox / Yankees?

I thought the same thing

I don't remember the 05 playoffs getting great ratings. That's interesting.

Two factoids today: October 15, 1917 - The Sox won their second World Series title beating the New York Giants four games to two. The score in the series clincher was also 4-2. Future Hall of Famer Eddie Collins hit .409 with pitcher Urban “Red” Faber, another future Hall of Famer, winning three games (and losing one!) Afterwards a young federal judge and White Sox fan, one Kenesaw Mountain Landis sent a telegram congratulating the Sox for a job well done. The telegram read, “We did a fine job today...we disposed of the Giants.” Landis would go on to become the first baseball commissioner in the wake of the “Black Sox” scandal. October 15, 2020 – On the basis of their first winning season since 2012 and tremendous individual accomplishments, The Sporting News named Sox G. M. Rick Hahn their Executive of the Year and first baseman Jose Abreu the Player of the Year. Hahn became the third Sox executive to win the award following Roland Hemond (1972) and Bill Veeck (1977). Hahn’s deals and restocking the farm system during the rebuild proved to be worthwhile as the Sox turned the corner during the pandemic shortened season with a mark of 35-25 and their first playoff appearance since 2008. He received six of the 18 votes. San Diego’s A.J. Preller was second. Abreu just crushed baseballs since the first day of the year, posting a .317 batting average with 19 home runs, 15 doubles and an American League high 60 RBI during the 60-game season, appearing in every game. He led the American League in hits (76), slugging percentage, total bases (148) and RBI’s and was second in home runs. Abreu joined Frank Thomas (1993) and Early Wynn (1959) as White Sox players to win the award. Indians’ right-hander Shane Bieber was second and Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman third in the voting.

Their only other title was 1920. One year after the Black Sox scandal.

The Brewers just one win away from their first NL pennant and second overall in franchise history. If they can wrap this series up, that'll guarantee that the WS winner will either be winning for the first time or be breaking a 78-year championship drought. Amazing to think the Guardians drought is now only 10 years short of the White Sox 88-year drought of 1917-2005.

Airing immediately following NFL coverage, Sunday’s Dodgers-Brewers National League Championship Series Game 1 averaged 10.72 million viewers across FOX (10.6M) and Fox Deportes — marking the most-watched Game 1 of an LCS since Angels-White Sox in 2005 (15.01M) and most-watched Game 1 of an NLCS since Marlins-Cubs in 2003 (15.57M). (That excludes games that aired in regional windows; FOX aired Game 1 of one LCS and Game 2 of the other in regionalized primetime windows from 2002-06.) sportsmediawatch.com

In other weekend action, the deciding White Sox-Guardians ALDS Game 5 averaged 4.4 million across TNT and truTV — down 20% from Cubs-Brewers in the same window last year (5.5M), but up from Tigers-Guardians Game 5 in an early afternoon window two years ago (3.5M). Last year’s ALDS Game 5, Tigers-Mariners in a Friday night window on FOX, averaged 8.59 million. The full ALDS on TBS averaged 3.5 million viewers, down 16% from last year’s AL series on Fox Sports (4.15M), and also down from last year’s NLDS on TBS (4.0M). Viewership did increase 17% from the last time TBS carried the AL games two years ago. sportsmediawatch Games 3/4 were basically on par with the Cubs and Brewers last season

After 60 games lost the TV deals MLB has already signed start to lose value and will require MLB to not get as much money as they are expecting. One of two things happen around Memorial Day. *Either the owners break and cave in which means games will start around June 15 or *They will stay united and the 2027 season will not be played at all. One thing I'll willing to bet on, the MLBPA will not fracture or cave if the owners insist on a salary cap.

But not all have the instincts/techniques for basestealing. (Baldwin will be another next season, along with Peters Vargas Doyle Acuna Antonacci.) That used to be Grady Sizemore's job.

Just the 2004 Red Sox.

How many teams have come back from down 3-0?