NYY 5, CLE 2

The second game of the day, the second instance of an entire team's picks doing bubkes. Not the second instance of Judge and Ramírez doing bubkes, alas, but let's have a look...

Naylor 0
Ramírez 0
Thomas 0

Judge 0
Soto 5
Stanton 4

So the standings reshuffle in favor of Soto pickers; here's the full list after LCS Day 2:

57 Bauer OMG
46 Cameron 2
43 MArbour 2

40 Bauer Snooze
39 JArbour Winklepleck LLC
38 SDB Sorry

36 Shotwell 1
34 Stempel and Quinn
31 SDB Safe

29 Dunn
28 Reid 2 and Johnson
27 Fell 1

26 Fell 2, Cameron 1, and Drake
25 Reid 1 and Wonsetler
24 Bingham 1

22 Tormey
21 Brady
20 Shotwell 2 and Bingham 2
16 MArbour 1

We'll see how things develop tomorrow with the NL off day; the AL plays at 7:40 PM ET again. Until then, check my numbers and good luck!

NYM 7, LAD 3

This Mets fan will take a split on the road anytime, and especially after the media spent the last couple days talking up that Dodger scoreless streak.

Weirdly, though the Dodgers themselves scored several times in this Game 2, not one of the picks created a base. Met pickers had a nice night of it, though.

Betts 0
Freeman 0
Hernandez T 0
Ohtani 0
Smith W 0

Iglesias 1
Lindor 4
Nimmo 0
Vientos 5

Apparently Nimmo is dealing with plantar fasciitis, but it isn't bothering Bauer any...

57 Bauer OMG
46 Cameron 2
39 JArbour Winklepleck LLC

38 MArbour 2
36 Shotwell 1
35 Bauer Snooze
33 SDB Sorry
31 SDB Safe
30 Stempel

I'll save the rest of the standings for the end of ALCS play, where Rocchio is making his best pitch for the Victorino, but if any numbers look weird in the meantime, LMK!

LAD 9, NYM 0

Welp, this is sort of what I feared with the Dodger offense AND pitching heating up (and it looked like the Senga gambit wasn't as intimidating the second time), but it's a longer series, so as a Met fan, I'm not freaking out too much yet. 

As a pool fan, this is fine. Points!

Betts 2
Freeman 2
Hernandez T 0
Ohtani 2
Smith W 0

Iglesias 1
Lindor 0
Nimmo 0
Vientos 0

A somewhat different view at the top with Betts pickers coming on:

48 Bauer OMG
46 Cameron 2
39 JArbour Winklepleck LLC

38 MArbour 2
36 Shotwell 1
35 Bauer Snooze

31 SDB Safe
30 Stempel

29 SDB Sorry and Quinn
28 Reid 2
26 Fell 2 and Cameron 1
25 Reid 1

24 Bingham 1 and Dunn
23 Johnson
22 Fell 1 and Tormey
21 Brady

20 Wonsetler and Shotwell 2
19 Bingham 2
16 MArbour 1

All remaining picks in play tomorrow, NL at 4 PM ET, AL plays Game 1 at 7:30. We'll see where we are then; in the meantime, check my math and good luck...

CLE 7, DET 3; Guardians move on

Thanks to disrespectful start times, this series may not have gotten the attention it warranted -- and now it's over, and the Tigers' magic season is too. But Cleveland's most-picked bat may be heating up in time for the LCS -- and we only lost one pick, who will appear in italics below.

Greene 1

Naylor 0
Ramírez 1
Thomas 5

And Thomas is our MVP here...with the other two Cleveland picks sharing the LVP "honors." The Victorino is pretty clearly Kwan, who was a popular pick in previous BPPs and seemed never NOT to be on base last week.

No slates knocked out, and no change to the money, but some shuffling of the field...

48 Bauer OMG
46 Cameron 2
34 MArbour

33 JArbour Winklepleck Ltd.
32 Shotwell 1
31 Bauer Snooze

29 the SDBs 
28 Reid 2 and Stempel
27 Quinn
26 Fell 2

24 Cameron 1, Drake, and Bingham 1
23 Reid 1
22 Dunn and Fell 1
21 Brady
20 Tormey

19 Johnson
18 Wonsetler and Shotwell 2
16 Bingham 2 and MArbour 1

This will get VERY interesting IF Judge and Soto start cranking, but we won't find that out until Monday -- and that's the 7:40 game on TBS.

In the meantime, NLCS action starts tomorrow night at 8:15 ET on FOX, with the Mets sending Senga to the hill against L.A.'s fluffily-ERA'd Flaherty at Chavez Ravine. You may hear my wails of anxiety before you see an update ;) -- in the meantime, good luck, and if the numbers/math looks off, LMK!

LAD 2, SD 0; Dodgers move on

This is the preferable result for Mets fans, and for fans of pool chaos; I am both, but I didn't call this outcome -- and the rising of Dodger pitching to this occasion is somewhat worrisome for Met partisans.

Somewhat objectionable for Padre pickers too, as the Dads depart with only one point among them.

Lots of admin tonight, so let's start with the points:

Betts 0
Freeman 1
Hernandez T 4
Ohtani 0
Smith W 1

Arraez 1
Machado 0
Merrill 0
Tatis Jr. 0

Those italics mean, as you know, that these picks are out.

Technically, our pool LVP for this round is Freeman, but given what he's going through just to stay in the lineup, I can't do it -- and Arraez wasn't any better in this round of the playoffs. MVP remains Tatis Jr., who did what Machado usually does in the pool. The Victorino is...well, that's a tough one. Higashioka, let's go with that.

Now, while a handful of slates got gut-punched by the Pads' departure, we didn't lose any (technically; there are a handful with one functionally immaterial pick left, but we'll get there). We did see a realignment of fortunes, and will likely keep seeing them daily for the next week, but for now here's the money:

47 Bauer OMG
45 Cameron 2
34 MArbour 2

And we'll see the rest of you after the jump.

NYY 3, KC 1; Yankees move on

This isn't a shocking outcome, I guess; Kansas City had been scuffling, I think, down the stretch, and were considered "ahead of schedule" as far as the team developing into a contender, but the Yankees looked flat enough the first couple games that I didn't love their chances.

Not sure I love their chances against whomever they end up in the ALCS with, either, but that's a debate for another day. Today's debate is lost picks, but let's start with points, and heyyyyy, Judge has some!

Witt Jr. 1

Judge 2
Soto 1
Stanton 3

Witt The Younger is the only pick who's out; only two slates lost him; only one slate goes dark. He's not the LVP here -- that's Judge -- but honestly nobody did great except Giancarlo Stanton. We don't even have an obvious Victorino candidate, IMO...Torres? Massey?

Y'all can argue about it in the comments if you like; I've already been working on this update for 40 minutes because I keep having to stop to pry a zooming kitten out of the bookshelf, off my ankle, out of the printer tray, etc. etc. so let's get to the standings while she's "only" somersaulting around chasing her tail. 

47 Bauer OMG
45 Cameron Deux
31 Bauer Snooze

Everyone else after the jump!

CLE 5, DET 4

The Guardians hang on to force a Game 5 back at home; more to the point, JRam is on the board at last! 

Not that the leaders, who both were doing just fine even with no Ramírez points, needed the help, but all the game's relevant picks did a little something today.

Naylor 1
Ramírez 4
Thomas 2

Greene 2

Money remains the same at different numbers -- 

47 Bauer OMG
43 Cameron 2
30 Bauer Snooze

-- but the game's just gone final in KC, so I'll see you in a sec with a full update!

LAD 8, SD 0

There were a lot of ways last night could have gone for L.A.; I didn't have this way on my list. I was figuring something more like "Pads put up 4 early, Dodgers rally, Padres put up another 4, Freeman pinch-hits bkj9 Z¸¸." What does that last notation mean? I don't know, but the foster kitten Has Opinions about the playoffs, and hurtled onto my desk to share them. 

Bodie's blogging aspirations aside, this authoritative away win seems good for the Dodgers' chances -- and good for the pool, which finally saw some theoretically/historically smart but underperforming picks put up big numbers last night. 

Betts 5
Freeman 0
Hernandez T 2
Ohtani 1
Smith W 4

Arraez 1
Machado 0
Merrill 0
Tatis Jr. 2

Fernando fils continuing to rack points towards an eventual BPP MVP crown; Betts leapfrogging all the other L.A. picks. New look for the standings, too. 

The view from the top:

43 Bauer OMG
39 Cameron Folie a Deux
30 Bauer Snooze

[hums "OMG"]

Everyone else after the jump!

NYY 3, KC 2

The Bombers take one, somewhat surprisingly, in Kansas City -- behind a big night, quite surprisingly, from Stanton. You legit love to see it, or at least I do; I often wonder what his career would look like if he were playing the number of games a season Alonso is across town.

Witt Jr. 1

Judge 0
Soto 0
Stanton 7

No change to the money, but our lone Stanton picker, Stempel, is in the chase now. That said, based on the late game so far, the middle of the pack is about to make moves, so I'll wait on full standings until those results are in...which may not be until tomorrow morning. 

Keep an eye on my math/data entry, and good luck!

NYM 4, PHI 1; Mets move on

...what? 

Look, I love the Mets and I'm thrilled; I think something, or some things, happened around Memorial Day that started to shift the story; it was a hell of a lot more fun than the season I thought we had in store as of May 22nd, god knows. But against this Phillies lineup? And those Phillies pitchers?

That said, having faced them in the last week of the season, we could see they were mortal; I'm not sure the Mets could have bested them best-of-7, but...here we all are. As it often goes, fantastic result for one team's fans that is also brutal for the pool, sooooo here we go.

Iglesias 0
Lindor 6
Nimmo 0
Vientos 3

Bohm 0
Castellanos 3
Harper 2
Schwarber 0
Turner 0

Yeahhhh that's a lot of italics. Pool LVP for this series is Bohm, although if he'd gotten to play another couple games, it seemed like he was about to turn it around. MVP is Vientos, and it's not close. It seems weird to give the Shane Victorino Flyin' Hawaiian Award to a home-run-derby winner, but I think it's Alonso! Nobody picked him, best unpicked OPS in the series.

This outcome only knocked out one slate, which will also appear in italics until it falls out of the money...and we still have two games to finish tonight SO FOR NOW:

43 Bauer OMG
37 Cameron 2
28 SDB Sorry and Crase

26 Reid 2
24 Bauer Snooze
21 MArbour 2 and Cameron 1

Report any errors via the usual methods (now if you like, but you may want to wait until tomorrow morning when the dust has settled); see you shortly!

DET 3, CLE 0

I never used to think momentum was A Thing, but in recent years, I've started to buy into the concept, and it may be because of the postseason the last couple of years? It seems like the Tigers have it; it also seems like the Guardians don't know how to manage it. 

And like José Ramírez has forgotten how to hit.

Naylor 1
Ramírez 0
Thomas 1

Greene 1

A little movement near the back of the pack, but this match-up is underpicked comparatively; I'll give a fuller update in an hour or two.

SD 6, LAD 5

I didn't see much of this one -- with a couple of exceptions, I find these FOX commentators untenable -- but I could tell from the score we had a point-fest on our hands, and sure enough, with San Diego taking a series lead (but Betts finally getting off the mat), the standings look a little different now.

Betts 5
Freeman 1
Hernandez T 4
Ohtani 1
Smith W 0

Arraez 0
Machado 2
Merrill 0
Tatis Jr. 4

Fernando is just having a monster post this year -- and so, therefore, is Cameron Deux. The money!

37 Cameron 2
34 Bauer OMG
23 Crase and Reid 2

22 SDB Sorry and Bauer Snooze
21 MArbour 2
20 JArbour and Winklepleck

19 Cameron Un
18 Dunn and Shotwell 1
17 Fell 1, Drake, Stempel, SDB Safe, and Quinn

16 Brady and Reid 1
15 Wonsetler 2 and Tormey
14 Wonsetler 1 and Johnson
13 the Binghams and Fell 2
12 MArbour 1
10 Shotwell 2

The good news is, eeeeeveryone's in play tomorrow: CLE/DET at 3 ET, PHI/NYM at 5, NYY/KC at 7, the California clubs at 9. 

The bad news is, the NL games could be deciders, and a few picks are running out of time. 

I'm dead on my feet but I'll be back here tomorrow AM if there are any data-entry screw-ups; just leave a comment/send an email and I'll sort it. Good luck, all!

NYM 7, PHI 2

Brady and I didn't manage to meet up with Bauer Grimace at Citi Field earlier, but: man. So much fun. Not just because the Mets won, which they did behind a truly stunning performance from Manaea, but because all of us fans got here from the end of May, which if you don't follow this team was some goddamn grim "baseball." Also loved seeing all the kids who got to come out. And the jersey game in this crowd was willllld. I saw a Blevins jersey? I love the Blev too, but I don't think Blevins's MOTHER has a Blevins jersey.

And a handful of points as well!

Iglesias 2
Lindor 2
Nimmo 0
Vientos 2

Bohm 1
Castellanos 1
Harper 1
Schwarber 0
Turner 1

Nobody who went yard is a pick this year, natch, but we still see a minor shuffle at the top:

34 Bauer OMG
33 Cameron 2
23 Crase

Reid 2 and SDB Sorry not far out of the third spot -- but points are flying around Petco tonight and that game's not even half over, so I'll wait to do full standings until that's final.

KC 4, NYY 2

I'm sure I could chase down the stats that would confirm (or overrule) this impression -- run differential, probably -- but I just feel like the Yankees have looked worse than their record. It's why I don't love their chances in the postseason; mostly it's the pitching, partly it's the injuries, but there's just been the sense since midsummer that if Judge and Soto aren't both hitting, they don't have the horses. Like, "Berti playing first for the first time in his career" don't have the horses.

Not to take anything away from KC; you still have to go out there and do the thing. (Berti was fine too.) But the Yankees aren't making it look real hard.

Points!

Witt Jr. 0

Judge 1
Soto 0
Stanton 1

Unsurprisingly, this isn't going to make a huge difference to the standings...

33 Cameron 2
30 Bauer OMG
20 Crase and Reid 2

Everyone else after the jump...

DET 3, CLE 0

An extremely compelling and satisfying game from a baseball standpoint -- just some old-school pitchers'-duel shteez. From a pool standpoint, l...ess so.

Naylor 2
Ramirez J 0
Thomas 0

Greene 0

No change to the money, with only Tormey inching up through the middle of the pack.

Our next, pick-heavier game starts in about half an hour on TBS; good luck, all!

SD 10, LAD 2

That was a wild one, and not just because Jurickson Profar took 4 points off the board for Betts. Well...actually, it WAS because of that, but you don't usually see security out on the field in Game 2 of an LDS. 

Then again, you don't usually see picks racking 10 points, and it's happened TWICE today. 

Not much happened for Dodger picks, though.

Betts 0
Freeman 0
Hernandez T 1
Ohtani 0
Smith W 0

Arraez 1
Machado 1
Merrill 6
Tatis Jr. 10

And just like that, Bauer OMG gets passed on the rail. Here's the money:

32 Cameron 2
30 Bauer OMG
20 Crase

Everyone else after the jump...

PHI 7, NYM 6

Sorry for the delayed update; I went out to Jersey -- with beer, peanuts, and crackerjack -- to watch with my pops. Fun as hell even though it didn't go the Mets' way.

Pointy as hell as well!

Iglesias 1
Lindor 2
Nimmo 5
Vientos 10 (...I know)

Bohm 0
Castellanos 6
Harper 4
Schwarber 0
Turner 2

We should probably dock Vientos a couple of those for defensive miscues, but we'd have to do the same for Lindor aaaand that's not how it works anyway so...the money, hilariously:

30 Bauer OMG
20 Crase
18 Reid 2

17 SDB Sorry
16 the Camerons and Dunn

I've just spent 2 hours trying to get back from the Garden State so I'm going to go eat something; back with a fuller update in a bit!

LAD 7, SD 5

The kind of messy street fight both managers predicted; for fans of the teams, it's like "wait so HOW many more weeks of this?", but you love to see it for the pool.

Not an all-inclusive buffet of points, and some of the recent-postseason stats about Betts and others the broadcast was throwing up (as it were) during the game were a bit frightening, but Sho Time And Friends did get everyone on the board...

Betts 0
Freeman 2
Hernandez T 1
Ohtani 5
Smith W 0

Arraez 1
Machado 4
Merrill 0
Tatis Jr. 3

...and here's the money after LDS Day 1:

16 Cameron 2
15 SDB Sorry
13 Bauer OMG

Everyone else after the jump...

NYY 6, KC 5

You'd think a game with this many lead changes would have racked more points for pickers...but nobody notched any except Soto:

Witt Jr. 0

Judge 0
Soto 4
Stanton 0

So now the money is

13 Cameron 2, Bauer OMG
11 Bingham 1, SDB Sorry, and Fell 1
10 Brady, Wonsetler 2

Reid 2 and Crase a couple points back...but the last game, which is only half over and already has like 15 points clattering around, is going to rewrite everything big-time. See you back here for that, and our first full standings.

NYM 6, PHI 2

I didn't think the Mets were incapable of winning a game in Philly; I didn't think it would be the one Wheeler started, however (though I think they won the last time they faced him). But the minute Wheeler was out, the playoff pumpkin...cast its...spell? I don't know what the f's going on with that team, I just know it's fun as hell.

Decent day at the points office all around:

Iglesias 1
Lindor 0
Nimmo 2
Vientos 2

Bohm 0
Castellanos 1
Harper 2
Schwarber 5
Turner 0

Whole bunch of folks on the board, and a new look at the top:

13 Cameron Deux and Bauer OMG
11 Bingham 1
10 Brady and Wonsetler 2

8 Reid 2 and Crase
7 SDB Sorry, Cameron Un, Fell 1
6 Fell 2 and Tormey

5 Drake and SDB Safe
4 Reid 1
3 Wonsetler 2, Stempel, Bingham 2, Dunn
2 Bauer Snooze and MArbour 1

Everybody else waiting for the Dodgers to play/Jose Ramirez to hit, basically. Good news for the back of the pack, though: 1) it's not a pitchers' duel in the Bronx rn, and 2) Freeman's evidently in the line-up for the Angelenos tonight. 

I'm back later this evening; in the meantime, check my math, and good luck as always.

CLE 7, DET 0

The drama started im-meej-utly earlier today as the Guardians jumped all over the Tigers' non-Skubal pitching. It's continuing in the City of Brotherly Love rn so this update will be brief; your points:

Naylor 1
Ramirez 0
Thomas 4

Greene 1

No change to the money yet, but thanks to a leadoff dinger from the Schwarb and a top of the eighth that doesn't seem like it wants to end, that's going to look quite different in an hour.

KC/NYY underway now in the Bronx as well; see you back here in a bit!

NYM 4, MIL 2; Mets move on

[quadruple-checks notes] Nope, that's...correct. Mets move on. "OMG" is right.

I'll spare you the "where were you when" account; I will say I had two calls coming in at the same time while trying to answer four different text threads...when not ten minutes prior, I had delivered a eulogy for the (very unexpected and fun) Mets season, because the Brewers are a better team and this was the correct result.

And then Alonso, picked by no one, did an Alonso thing for the first time in like a month. And then the Brewers, picked by one Mets fan whose name rhymes with Farah Funting, departed.

Classic BPP. 

...Okay, points:

Adames 1

Iglesias 0
Lindor 3
Nimmo 1
Vientos 0

A somewhat quiet night overall, and only I lost a pick, the probable LVP for this series. The Victorino is absolutely Chourio, whom I considered picking. MVP seems like it's Lindor; others had the same number of TB, but if he doesn't cluster his in this game, his team is done. JMO, feel free to argue it in the comments.

Going into the off day, that puts the standings at

13 Cameron Folie a Deux
10 Brady
9 Bauer OMG

7 SDB Sorry
5 Bingham 1
4 Reid 1

3 The Wonsetlers, Drake, Stempel
2 Bingham 2, Reid 2, Fell 2
1 Dunn

And everyone else still waiting until Saturday. 

That wild rumpus starts at 1 ET with DET/CLE on TBS, followed by NYM/PHI at 4 on FOX, KC/NYY at 6:30 on TBS (Darling/Costas booth...sigh #freeRonnie), and SD/LAD at 8:30 on FS1. I have no meaningful predictions, only a sincere desire for you to check my math ;) -- see you soon!

SD 5, ATL 4; Padres move on

Good for that team for not laying down after the injury year they had, BUT: I hate the Barves, I'm sick of d'Arnaud always beating us, and nobody had Atlanta picks to lose, so this outcome is grrrrrreat by me.

Last points of the night:

Arraez 2
Machado 2
Merrill 5
Tatis Jr. 3

Tatis the points leader at the moment and the MVP of the series; Victorino is...Higgy? I'm just relieved I didn't pick Harris II.

As predicted, a bunch of slates join the board, and a handful leap forward:

13 Cameron 2
10 Brady
5 Bauer OMG, Bingham 1

4 Reid 1
3 Wonsetlers, Drake, Stempel, SDB Sorry
2 Bingham 2, Reid 2, Fell 2
1 Dunn

Everyone else waiting for the LDSes. 

Mets and Crew meet for all the marbles tomorrow at 7 PM (I think?) on ESPN 2. In the meantime, check my math and good luck!

MIL 5, NYM 3

Oh, that's nice -- an actual three-game series that lets us pick up some more points! And by "us," I mean "Mets pickers who smartly passed on Lindor," sigh. 

No idea what happens tomorrow, since the starter for NY isn't announced yet. As a fan: we're playing with house money IMO, I'm fine with whatever comes. As a pool jefe: #lgm. ;)

Points!

Adames 1

Iglesias 1
Lindor 0
Nimmo 1
Vientos 1

Atlanta's trying to make a horse race out of that Game 2, but until that's final, the money:

5 Brady, Cameron 2, Bauer OMG
4 Reid 1
3 Bingham 1, Wonsetlers 1 and 2, Drake

Padre picks set to spread the pack out a bit, so stand by.

KC 2, BAL 1; Royals move on

I won't repeat my comments from Bluesky at too much length, but again: these best-of-three series don't work for some reason. It feels like there's some kind of psychological shadow cast over the teams -- they're thinking too far ahead, they're paralyzed by how little time there is, idk. Like, if you're going to add more layers to the postseason, add the entire layer, in a way that doesn't reset a whole six-month season in a way that seems functionally random?

But enough about how I'm an old crank; points!

Henderson 0

Santander 1

Witt Jr. 2

The italics mean these two gents are done, although Henderson did nothing and is the short series' LVP; Witt Jr. the clear MVP here. Os' Mullins a likely Victorino despite the sweep.

Brady climbs into a tie for first but loses another pick. Not a huge blight on the pool generally, but these series can take folks out of it fast.

Back to gnawing my cuticles in front of the nightcap; see you later this evening!

DET 5, HOU 2; Tigers move on

You really could hear the air leaking out of the Juice Box as that last cleared-base run crossed the plate. ...That might have been a couple of slates, too, as the game's picks cleared a solitary point before three of them departed.

Greene 0

Altuve 0
Alvarez 0
Bregman 1

And you know what the italics mean.

That Bregman point did let Brady climb into a tie for second --

5 Cameron Deux
4 Reid 1, Brady
3 Wonsetler 1, Bauer OMG, Bingham 1

-- but a handful of these leading slates lost picks. Seems weird to do M and LVPs for serieses this short, but reliable BPP pick Altuve was at the back of the pack here; I guess the Victorino is [checks notes] something called a Malloy?

We could be looking at a similar Oriole outcome (certainly Ripken doesn't look too happy in the stands rn). I'll be back when we know. 

SD 4, ATL 0

I felt for the sweet autumn child the Barves sent out there tonight...but only for him. The rest of that team can suck it, especially d'Arnaud. 

And they kind of did! Points!

Arraez 1
Machado 0
Merrill 1
Tatis Jr. 4

At the end of the first day of postseason play, the standings:

5 Cameron Folie a Deux
4 Reid 1
3 Wonsetler 1, Bauer OMG, Bingham 1, Brady

1 Stempel, Drake, Wonsetler 2, Bingham 2

A handful of slates need active picks to do something, but most of the goose eggs are waiting for bye teams to tag in.

Until that happens, wild-card play continues tomorrow at 2:30 PM; same order of play, but slightly different start times for KC/BAL and NYM/MIL. More info here -- https://www.mlb.com/scores/2024-10-02 -- which is also where you can double-check my stats info. If you spot an error/something looks weird, LMK!

NYM 8, MIL 4

I thought getting the superior announcing team (...relatively) was probably the best Mets fans could hope for with this game, but with this 2024 team, you sometimes don't know! The Crew's defense could have maybe been a little less casual, but: here we are.

Points!

Adames 0

Iglesias 1
Lindor 0
Nimmo 1
Vientos 2

Quick look at the leaderboard with one game left in progress:

4 Reid 1
3 Wonsetler 1 and Bauer OMG
2 Bingham 1 and Brady

That's already set to shuffle after ATL/SD; full update after that game's in the books.

KC 1, BAL 0

Not the point-iest game, and we've got a little trend-let going with visiting teams making early leads hold up...which the Mets will put an end to, no doubt, but enough about Flushing Derangement Syndrome. For now.

Henderson 0
Santander 0

Witt Jr. 1

Drake and Wonsetler 2 joining the fray. See you after I call in a wellness check on Bauer. And Stempel. And my dad. And myself.

DET 3, HOU 1

That got a bit hairy for the Tiger pen there at the end, looks like. Nice to see J. Hey in uniform; I get why he was let go, but I've always liked him.

And we've got points in play!
 

Greene 2

Altuve 1
Alvarez Y 3
Bregman 2

Reid 1, Bingham 1, Wonsetler 1, Brady and Stempel all on the board.

Watching NYM/MIL as the booth talks about shutting down the bunting game (I won't be silenced, DOUG). Back in a bit with KC/BAL scores.

BPP 2024: And they're off

I'm still futzing with the spreadsheets, but everyone's picks are in and we're ready for the start of action! We've got 28 slates in play for a $280 pot: $196 for our winner, $56 for second, $28 for third. Good luck to all!

A screenshot of the slates:

Only one duplicate that I can see, of an all-Dodgers slate, which is a little surprising given the heavy action on Ohtani -- the most popular pick this year, with Judge not far behind. 

Picks definitely lean to the NL side overall, with LA and Philly tied for the highest number of different picks, although the only team with no picks, Atlanta, is also an NL team. Just not a ton of confidence in early-round AL teams. Or in the Crew, so we'll see how that plays out...

...starting in a couple hours! DET/HOU at 2:30 ET on ABC; Royals/Birds at 4 on the Deuce; ESPN Prime tags in with Mets/Brewers at 5:30, and your nightcap is Barves/Padres at 8:30.

I'm still coding formulas with one hand and eating a sammich with the other and then I have my real job to deal with for a few hours BUT I'll be back with early returns around cocktail hour. 

Reminder: 1) I pull TB info/points from MLB's box scores. 2) I screw up the data entry on these alllll the time. If you see mistakes, please let me know by email (bunting at tomatonation dot com) or in the comments!

Merry playoff-mas; let's do this!