PHI 4, ATL 3 (10)

Despite a Harper biff that looked psychologically fatal (and a Phillie pulling up short and asking out of the game after running to first), the Phils hang on to force a decider tomorrow. 

Lots of points on offer this afternoon, with Baldwin putting another handful of you on the board:

Harper 5
Schwarber 4
Stott 1

Baldwin 3
Harris 1
Olson 1

Very slight change to the money --

18 Yuhan 2
17 Stempelson
14 Fell 2

-- with Winklepleck and Izzo Reid Bauer LoPorto LLC just off the pace. 

Houston's trying to climb back into it after an inning in the 5 o'clock game; I should be back in a couple hours with that update. 

SD 8, CHC 0

Me, every year I pick Machado: "...dammit."

Me, every year I don't pick Machado: "...DAMMIT!"

Plenty of points on offer from a game that seemed to get away from Cubs pitching almost immediately. Not exactly a plot twist given that so much Cubs pitching, uh, used to be Mets pitching? 

Your points:

Bregman 0
PCA 0

Bogaerts 5
Cronenworth 1
France 2
Merrill 2
Tatis 5

An authoritative restructuring of the money thanks to the Pads; below, your standings after the first WC day...

18 Yuhan 2
17 Stempelson
13 Winklepleck

12 Izzo 1, Reid Dumb, Bauer 2
11 LoPorto 1, Green, Wonsetler Head
10 Fell 2

7 Crase, AK 2
5 Quinn 2, Reid Smart

4 Brady
3 O'Reilly, DGB 

2 Yuhan 2, Tormey
1 Izzo 2, Wonsetler Heart, Bingham 2

Everyone else either picked Sox, picked byes, or just picked poorly (hi hello, it's me) and waiting to get on the board.  

The schedule's exactly the same today -- Phils/Barves at 2, Pale Hose/'Stros at 5, Yanks/Red Hose at 8, Cubs/Dads at 10. My only prediction is that the Red Sox, who look overwhelmed, submit quietly, but I'm always rooting for more baseball; we'll see!

In the meantime, check my math, make sure I didn't let any other Shlobotniks through, and good luck!

NYY 9, BOS 0

Not the start Boston pickers were hoping for -- AND it looks like Anthony's hurt, again -- and it's probably not far from the end for Boston pickers, either...but boy howdy did Rice's pickers make out like bandits.

Abreu 1
All other Hose 0

Bellinger 1
Chisholm 0
Garcia 0
Rice 11

Huge pick for y'all, and before the final Day 1 update and its legion of Padre points comes to get you, the money is 

12 Izzo 1, Reid Dumb, Stempelson, Bauer 2
11 LoPorto 1, Green, Wonsetler Head, Yuhan 2
7 Crase

See you momentarily with the late game, and full(-er) standings for Day 1.

CHW 6, HOU 3

(Before we start, a correction note: one slate had a "Merritt, C" listed as a CHW entry, which looked reasonable/I don't follow the AL Central so I failed to cross-check it. No such player exists, and the entry was intended to read "Meidroth, C" -- who DOES exist.

I've updated the spreadsheet; my apologies for the error; anything else like this pops up, LMK, otherwise on with the update!)

The points for the evening game, minus Phantom Merritt LLC:

Meidroth 2
Montgomery, C 4
Murakami 1
Vargas 0

Alvarez 1

That leapfrogs Crase into the lead, for now, but with Ben Rice homering minutes ago, standings will shuffle (probably a few times) before Day 1 is in the books.

ATL 5, PHI 3

Hell of a time for Duran to look mortal, eh what? Especially since nobody picked Riley this year...

Your points for the postseason opener:

Baldwin 0
Harris 3
Olson 0

Harper 0
Schwarber 1
Stott 1

Fell 2 and O'Reilly take the first lead of the post with 3 each; DGB has 2; Izzo 2, Wonsetler Heart, and Yuhan 1 each with 1.

Lotta baseball left to play today (and as of this writing, Houston ain't playing any of it); see you in a few hours!

[lights 'ON AIR' sign] BPP 2026 is underway

And we're back! Most of the old heads back for the 21st (...!) Bunting's Postseason Pool; a couple of newer names too. 

We've got 39 slates in play this year; that's $273 to first place, $78 to second, $39 to third. My eyes could well have glazed over after the midnight formula-set session, but I don't see any dupes here.

All the slates below*:

*sing it with me if you know the words: let me know about errors/corrections ASAP -- wrong names, arithmetic foul-ups, whatever! might take me a few hours but I'll fix/update whatever it is with all due speed

All postseason teams got at least one pick, although it's just Alvarez for Houston, but he got a fair bit of action. Widest range of picks for a single team is the defending champs, with nine different picks; everyone's trying to guess which Dodger's going to Victorino it in 2026 (including me). 

Heaviest individual-pick action is on Caminero; PCA, Ohtani, Ben Rice, and Turang also very popular. 

Curtains up on the drama at 2 ET with PHI/ATL, when we'll see if the general uneasiness with the Phils' backing into the playoffs reflected in the picks is warranted. Then it's Chisox/Astros at 5 ET, Bosox/Yanks at 8, and Cubs/Dads at 10. (This round is on the NBC/Peacock system; schedule here if you need it.)

Hold onto your butts/good luck!

BPP 2026 rules 'n' regs

Hey all -- we're back! Any questions, hit me up via email, but nothing's changed since last year. I already held my nose and picked ;) so if you want to do the same, feel free; if you want to see what messing with Texas looks like, that's fine. 

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Welcome (back) to Bunting's Postseason Baseball Pool -- the postseason pool for everyone! You don't need to know a lot about baseball; you just have to know who's in the playoffs, and how to count. And that last one is optional, now that I think about it.

The set-up and instructions for entry appear below. No substantive changes since last year, but if you're new or have any questions, LMK.

For an overview of previous years' action, feel free to browse around the BPP blog, http://buntingspostseasonpool.blogspot.com. (You'll also find a postseason overview here -- https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-playoff-picture-and-bracket-2026 -- although as of this writing, the bracket still isn't quite locked.)

Think I left someone off the dist list? Forward at will; the more the merrier! (Don't want to play this year? You'll fall off this dist list next week.)

Deadline for picks/payment this year is MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 AT 10 (ten) PM ET.  

(I know...it seems to get earlier every year.)


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THE SCORING

It works like this: you pick four (4) position players; points come from total bases.

single, e.g. = 1 pt.
double = 2 pts.
triple = 3 pts., etc.


For example, in the game linked here, Jackson Chourio and Kyle Schwarber notch 3 points each, Bryce Harper 2, and so on: https://www.mlb.com/gameday/brewers-vs-phillies/2026/09/24/823411/final/box

 

THE MONEY

Entry is $10 a pop. PayPal it to bunting at tomatonation dot com (or Venmo/sarahdbunting).

Winner takes 70 percent of the pot; second place takes 20 percent; third place takes 10 percent. In the event of a tie, the money will be divided evenly between/among players with the same point totals.

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

"Do my players all have to be on the same team as each other?"  No.

"CAN all my players be on the same team as each other?" Yes.

"Can I duplicate other people's picks?" Yes. (You won't see everyone else's picks until all the picks are in anyway.)

"Can I play a half slate for half the money?" No. Too complicated.

"Can I play more than one slate?" You can play two (2) slates max. Your slates must be different from each other. Each slate is $10.

"Can I pick my slate early and just risk it re: the wild-cards/byes?" Yes, you can turn in your picks now if you like. 

"But...you don't think I should." Real talk: I don't know. This is quite literally why they play the games; short serieses behave strangely, and we don't really know what's going to "work" until like Halloween, usually, so go with your gut.   

"What if everybody's out by the World Series?" This is, historically, unlikely; should it occur, everyone will receive one (1) amnesty pick, with previous points carrying. ...We'll jump off that bridge if we get to it.

"How am I supposed to keep track of all these stats?" You aren't; I do that. Do feel free to check my work, though! (I use MLB.com's box scores.)

"Can I forward this to my friend/loved one/co-worker?" Please do! If they've got the ten bucks, they're welcome to play. 

"Who won last year?" Rich "Nobody Beats The" Izzo is your incumbent.


 

HOW TO ENTER

Get me $10 and your picks by MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 AT 10 (TEN) PM ET.  bunting@tomatonation.com is my PayPal; sarahdbunting is my Venmo. 9/28 at 10 PM Eastern is the deadline and is not negotiable. If we are neighbors or related by blood or marriage, you may hand me a sawbuck. Everyone else needs to use PayPal or some other electronic means. 

When you send your pool money, I will send you an email confirming your picks and receipt of the money. I'll also post the points breakdown on the blog on a daily basis (or as close as possible to that); once again, that's here: http://buntingspostseasonpool.blogspot.com/.

You must pay to enter; you are not entered until you get an email from me saying so; you may not enter late. $10 by 9/28 at 10 PM ET.

Have fun! Questions/edits/human frailties, email me.