Listen, we know it’s tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. There are all kinds of stories, rumors, game coverage, and Vines of dudes getting hit in the beans every day. Trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk just isn’t easy. It’s okay, though, we’re going to do the heavy lifting for you each morning, and find the things you need to see from within the SB Nation baseball network as well as from elsewhere. Please hold your applause until the end, or at least until after you subscribe to the newsletter.
John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
* * *
With both the Royals and Mets going up 2-0 in their series, there was concern that both League Championship Series might end in a sweep. That’s fine and all for fans in Kansas City and New York, sure, but the rest of us would like some postseason entertainment, you know, and sweeps would mean a lengthy break in between the LCS round and the World Series. Thankfully, the Blue Jays won in their return to Toronto, and suddenly, the ALCS is a series again.
The two will square off on Tuesday afternoon for Game 4, with the Royals sending Chris Young to the mound to take on knuckler R.A. Dickey. And that’s a reminder of another positive of the Jays winning on Monday: we avoided a situation where the Royals might win the ALCS on a weekday afternoon. Well, for now, anyway: Game 5 is at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, so it can still happen if Kansas City wins on Tuesday, but at least Game 6 and Game 7 are both 8 p.m. starts if it comes to that. So, if you don’t know who to root for but want to watch more baseball at home, you’re temporarily a Blue Jays fan.
The Mets and Cubs get the night game, as they do throughout the LCS -- sorry, Kansas City, but their markets are ever so slightly larger than yours. It’s Jacob deGrom -- likely the Mets’ best starter with Matt Harvey still a post-Tommy John question mark each time out at this late stage -- against Kyle Hendricks, the Cubs’ third starter. Chicago’s rotation is top heavy, and it faltered in the first two games of the series, but this is baseball. You should fully expect Hendricks to look like deGrom and for deGrom to look lost, because why wouldn’t that happen?
- Chris Young is something of an odd choice for Game 4 starter, as he's a flyball pitcher who has used spacious home parks to his advantage throughout his career. The thing is, Kris Medlen hadn't pitched in weeks, so the Royals weren't left with much of a choice.
- These Blue Jays fans need some help with their geography, but that just gives them something in common with anyone who has come out of the American school system. Oh, I'm sorry, can you point out which province is which on a map? At least New Brunswick had the courtesy to not put their own Quebec City on their border with Quebec. Man, you are so lucky your barbecue is delicious, KC.
- The umpires shouldn't be tossing Troy Tulowitzki -- or anyone, really -- in the way they did on Monday. It's the playoffs, umps, save the ejections for actual blowups, not because you got an itch you need to scratch.
- Jake Arrieta isn't magic, but that's because only 2001 Diamondbacks starters are.
- If Daniel Murphy goes deep on Tuesday, he'll have tied the postseason record for consecutive games with a homer -- currently held by Carlos Beltran, with five.
- The Mets decided to leak that it's unlikely they'll re-sign Murphy this winter, and by Mets, I probably mean one of the Wilpons who doesn't know when to be quiet.
- It wasn't the David Price or Troy Tulowitzki or even Yoenis Cespedes trades that helped shape the playoffs. No, we have to go further back than that to find the one that did so.
- Daniel Norris, who the Tigers acquired in that Price deal, is undergoing treatment for thyroid cancer. Best of luck, Daniel.
- Dave Dombrowski, who traded Price for Norris before moving on to the Red Sox, won't blow up Boston's farm system, mostly because he cannot.
- I ran out of segues.
- Barry Zito officially announced his retirement in the most Barry Zito was possible. Giants fans will remember him mostly fondly for Game 5 of the 2012 NLCS, which they can relive thanks to Grant Brisbee and embeddable video.
See More:
