MIL 2, LAD 1

A surprising number of points for a low-scoring game. I was sort of right about the Miz but didn't expect the Brewers to do much authoritative against Skubal; shows what I know.

Betts 1
Freeman 1
Kiké 0
Teo 2
Bax Buncy 1
Ohtani 1
Pages 1
Smith 1
Tucker 0

Bauers 1
Chourio 2
Contreras 0
Mitchell 0
Turang 4 (!)
Yeli 0

Weirdly, because there's now a tie for second, a zombie slate is now back in the standings...

50 Yuhan 2
44 O'Reilly and Bauer 2
39 Fell 2 and Reid Dumb

38 Stempelson
37 Wonsetler Head

Everyone else after the jump!

CLE 2, CHW 0; Guardians move on

I had a feeling this would be the result, not just because the "line" had Cleveland winning but because starting in like Game 4, the Sox seemed to have gotten out over the canyon, looked down, and plummeted a la Wile E. Coyote. I watched a mostly hapless Met team all season; I know that look. It's a bad one. 

No points for Sox pickers on their way out...

Meidroth 0
Montgomery 0
Murakami 0
Vargas 0

Mr. DeLauter 1
Kwan 1

Nobody but JoRam looked like much on the Guardian side either, to be fair, so I guess he's our best Victorino candidate. MVP was Meidroth; Kwan is chipping away, a base a night, but is still the LVP for this round.

And the italicized picks drop out. A Chicago win was better for the pool, broadly, but neither AL Central team was heavily picked, and only one slate is out. It wasn't a bad plan, Crase! See you next year (and/or in the comments), I hope.

With the LDSes finally all in the books, your full standings:

49 Yuhan 2
44 O'Reilly
42 Bauer 2

37 Wonsetler Head, Crase

34 Reid Dumb and Stempelson
33 Izzo 1
32 LoPorto 1
30 Green

Everyone else after the jump...

CLE 9, CWS 5

What a way to make etc. etc. ...It's been sort of amusing, albeit only sort of, to hear the booth trying to edit The Narrative on the fly as the Guardian bats get in gear. "This is what they've done all year when their backs are at the wall" this, "everyone knew Chicago didn't have the pitching for" that.

Not that any of that's incorrect, but what's also not incorrect is that that entire division was a mediocrity "all year"; "everyone" also "knew" the AL overall was an unpredictable mess from jump -- one or two very good teams, a couple streaky teams, whatever odds-proof foolishness was happening in the AL West on a given night, and...this.

Specific to this series, hey: it's more baseball, which is always good. I don't envy Ronnie and the gang having to "Ramirez, amirite" it for three hours a night because exactly no people thought the Sox wouldn't sweep; ya gotta say something. It's just...you know, sort of amusing.

"You know what else is amusing?" On it! Sorry!

Meidroth 2
Montgomery, C 2
Murakami 1
Vargas 4

Mr. DeLauter 1
Kwan 1

Not a ton of points, but a little something for every pick.

New look for the money:

49 Yuhan 2
44 O'Reilly
42 Bauer 2

37 Wonsetler Head and Crase
34 Reid Dumb and Stempelson
33 Izzo 1
32 LoPorto 1
30 Samantha Green

High to mid-20s: LoPorto 1, MArbour 2, and Brady

Low 20s: Reid Smart, Bauer 1, Quinn 2, AK 2, Cameron 1, Wonsetler Heart

Teens: almost everyone else
Tweens: Bingham 2, Drake's Dis Track, and Yuhan 1
Singles: Shotwell 1 and Bingham 1

Guards/Vargas pickers on the move, to an extent, though many of those slates' early-out picks or underperformers may have put them in too deep a hole to climb out of.

Something to contemplate with a night off; Game 5 of this ALDS is at 8 PM ET tomorrow on TBS, and then it's straight into the NLCS on Sunday at 8 PM on FOX. Questions/corrections, LMK, and good luck!

MIL 3, SD 1; Brewers move on

I want good things for the Brewers -- do it for Ueck! -- but this kind of makes me sad; this has been a fun Padres team to watch. The Crew heads to the NLCS, which I think they'll win in 6.

Last night's points:

Bauers 1
Chourio 1
Contreras 2
Mitchell 4
Turang 1
Yelich 1

Bogaerts Cronenworth France LLC 0
Merrill 1
Tatis 4

Not exactly an impressive showing from any of the picks in this series, was it? Tatis Jr. notching another four on his way out brought him even with Bogaerts for 10, but Contreras The Younger was the pool's most valuable with 12. Turang and Bauers, meanwhile...

But they're still in it and have a chance to help their pickers. A bunch of top-half slates hit hard but only two more down, Winklepleck and Fell 2. Let's look at the full standings, which in fact haven't changed much at the top...yet:

49 Yuhan 2
42 Bauer 2
40 O'Reilly

39 Fell 2
37 Wonsetler Head

34 Winklepleck, Reid Dumb, Stempelson
33 Izzo 1
32 LoPorto 1
30 Green

29 LoPorto 2
28 Crase
26 MArbour 2
24 Reid Smart, Brady

22 Bauer 2, Quinn 2
21 Cameron 1, Wonsetler Heart, AK 2

18 Cameron 2
17 JArbour
16 the SDBs, Tormey, AK 1, MArbour 1, DGB

15 Izzo 2, Fell 1
13 Quinn 1, Shotwell 2
12 Bingham 2, Drake's Cakes
11 Drake's Dis Track, Yuhan 1

9 Shotwell 1
5 Bingham 1

Slates in italics will not appear in future updates; thanks so much for playing, and we'll see you in the comments, I hope!

And it could get verrrrry interesting from here, depending on whether the White Sox prevail -- and even if they don't, there's still a handful of complete slates towards the back of the pack that could close the gap in the next week or ten days.

First, we need to lock the ALCS match-up; Guardians and White Sox go again at 8 PM on TBS. (All-NL slates can put your feet up until Sunday night.) Until then, good luck, eyeball the arithmetic, and I'll see you late-night.

TB 4, NYY 3; Rays move on

A more painful than necessary exit for the Bronx Bombers; as noted yesterday, I thought they'd postpone the inevitable at least one more day, but it was not to be. Maybe if the asshats in the bleachers could keep their hands to themselves?

The points:

Caminero 1
Diaz 1

Bellinger 0
Chisholm 0
Garcia 1
Rice 1

Chisholm did nothing in actual October and has to be our LVP here, although nobody except Rice was much use in the LDS; Rice of course was great, most valuable pick by far. TB's Aranda bucking for a Victorino.

All four italicized picks will leave us; confidence in the Yanks was not high this year, so, while this is not great, it's not going to leave the pool in tatters. I'll wait 'til the next update for a complete survey of last night's pool carnage.

For now, here's the top half of the standings.

45 Yuhan 2
42 Bauer 2
38 O'Reilly

35 Wonsetler Head
34 Fell 2
33 Reid Dumb, Izzo 1

32 LoPorto 1
30 Winklepleck

29 Stempelson, Green
28 Crase
27 LoPorto 2

22 Brady
21 Cameron 1
20 Wonsetler Heart, Red Smart
19 Bauer 1

A few spots back is the first slate to go out, DGB. Stand by for the late-game update and full standings, including zombies, in a little while...

LAD 4, ATL 1; Dodgers move on

Do I think the Trolley-Dodgers have it in them to get to the Classic? Not really, but I feel like I said that last year, and they repeated with whatever magicks that required.

Do I care given they've dismissed the Barves? Not one bit! Hope all those former-Met coaches enjoy the golf course and whatever magicks those require! 

Last points for this LDS, with eliminated picks in italics:

Baldwin 0
Harris 3
Olson 0

Betts, Freeman, and Kiké 0
Teo 1
Muncy 4
Ohtani 0
Pages 2
Smith 0
Tucker 1

LVP for this series is a tough call -- Smith, given expected playing time, is IMO excused, but Ohtani and Baldwin were both solid picks; the former looks like he's hurting, the latter did squat in this series, so let's go Baldwin.

MVP, with respect to Harris, is ol' Bax Buncy, though 2026's bar is...lower? different? Unlikely to see a Victorino off a Dodger team with nine total BPP picks.

No slates knocked out with this result, but the night, she is young (and mean), so here's where the money is halfway through tonight:

44 Yuhan 2
41 Bauer 2
37 O'Reilly

34 Fell 2
33 Wonsetler Head
32 Reid Dumb

It's the ninth in the Bronx rn, so eyeball my math and I'll see you when I see you!

CLE 9, CHW 3

Shows you what I know! Sox took their foot off the gas a little bit, I think, and Cleveland bats -- things that exist! -- surged to a win. Let's see what they did points-wise:

Meidroth 2
Montgomery 0
Murakami 0
Vargas 1

Mr. DeLauter 1
Kwan 1

Enough old BPP hands have gotten burned on Ramirez in the past that nobody went for him this year, and he's baaa-aaaaack.

It's tied in Atlanta still, and Rays/Yankees starts in about 15 minutes; until then, here's the money and environs:

44 Yuhan 2
39 Bauer 2
34 O'Reilly

33 Wonsetler Head
32 Reid Dumb
31 Fell 2

Good luck, see you back here in a bit!

SD 4, MIL 3

I fell asleep before this seesaw ended, but was gratified to wake up to more baseball in the MIL/SD series. I still think this is the Brewers' in the end -- imagine if all those picks were hitting -- but that's why they play the games.

And they're playing all four later, probably for the last time in 2026, so let's housekeep this one real quick. Points!

Bauers 0
Chourio 0
Contreras, Wm 6
Mitchell 0
Turang! Finally! 1

Bogaerts 1
Cronenworth 5
France 0
Merrill 1
Tatis 0

Top of the money remained fairly stable; top half of the pool overall looks a bit different this morning:

44 Yuhan 2
39 Bauer 2
33 Wonsetler Head and O'Reilly

32 Reid Dumb
31 Fell 2
30 Izzo 1, LoPorto 1, and Winklepleck

Everyone/-thing else after the jump break.

LAD 3, ATL 1

Does this series seem joyless to anyone else? Not just because it's the Barves trying to take down a three-peat money juggernaut, either. It's just over-it vibes on the field from almost everyone. Even Ohtani looks kinda cranky.

But of course Freddie's powering through it, and Kiké, everyone's favorite longshot Victorino-block pick.

Tonight's points so far:

Baldwin 0
Harris II 1
Olson 1

Betts 2
Freeman 4
Hernandez, K 4
Teo Max Shohei LLC 0
Pages 2
Smith 1
Tucker 1

Pages and Smith notching their first postseason TB this evening, so that's something, and Freeman makes it interesting at the top:

44 Yuhan 2
39 Bauer 2
31 Reid Dumb

30 Izzo 1, Fell 2, LoPorto 1

And the rest of the usual suspects in the mid-20s. 

Turang could really help a lot of people out -- starting with himself! -- by doing literally anything tonight, but we'll see how things look after the late game; look for that update tomorrow morning. 

(Math not mathing? LMK!)

TB 5, NYY 2

From a non-pool standpoint, I don't super-care how far the Yankees get this year, but as the man sang, I got friends that do. The box score has four errors for the Bombers, which is probably generous -- fine with it; we're not getting points for biffs over here -- but it was painful to watch, and painful to watch Yankee fans watch. They have an expectation of baseline competence that Flushing faithful like myself don't; they have a belief in the fundamental legibility of player performance to civilians that Met fans have long since discarded.

I think the previously afore-insulted off days in the DS schedule aren't helping this Yankee team, but I...also think the team is not great this year. Not bad, mind you, but a little...provisional, I guess is the word.

We know what that's like too, Lord knows, but it's getting late on this side of the bracket, eh?

All of that said: holy crap, Ben Rice!

The points:

Bellinger 1
Chisholm 0
Garcia 0
Rice 8

Caminero 3
Diaz 1

Our most popular pick this year is finally on the board; let's see how the standings look now.

40 Yuhan 2
38 Bauer 2
30 Izzo 1

29 Fell 2, LoPorto 1

Everyone else after the jump!

CWS 4, CLE 3

Not the pitching changes I'd have made as the Guards' manager, but that's why I do this and they do that, I suppose. Cleveland just seems...stuck, grinding uphill; I don't know.

Got some points, though, finally...

Meidroth 2
Montgomery, C 0
Murakami 1
Vargas 1

DeLauter 2
Kwan 1

The money looks the same --

32 Yuhan 2
29 Bauer 2, Fell 2
26 O'Reilly

-- but it's interesting near the podium --

25 Crase
24 Winklepleck

-- and thanks to Mr. DeLauter*, the last point-less slate is on the board, so no Gol-Dunn Sombrero this year, huzzah!

*I had a history teacher with a nearly identical last name back in the day; can't bring myself not to use the "Mr."

Thanks to this asinine stagger sked for the ALDSes, these teams don't go again until Wednesday night. Stand by for the Rays/Met-- er, Yankee score in a few minutes!

ATL 3, LAD 2

With a couple of exceptions, the Dodgers look flat. I hate the Barves and don't think they have a World Series run in them regardless, but I don't know if this Dodger team is the one to get rid of them.

In any event, what's wanted BPP-wise is a long series with a lot of points. What'd we get tonight?

Baldwin 0
Harris II 6
Olson 1

Betts 0
Freeman 5
Hernandezes 0
Muncy 4
Ohtani 1
Pages 0
Smith 0
Tucker 1

Money looks a little different after all, thanks to Harris II taking over the top TB slot from Ben Rice...

32 Yuhan 2
29 Bauer 2, Fell 2
25 O'Reilly

24 Winklepleck

Everyone else after the jump!

MIL 4, SD 3

That's the kind of game you love this time of year -- always tense; life-giving/back-breaking result. And the Padres head home down 0-2.

The points, which were a bit sparse:

Bauers 0
Chourio 1
Contreras 0
Mitchell 1
Turang 0
Yelich 2

Bogaerts 0
Cronenworth 0
France 2
Merrill 1
Tatis 0

Turang really dragging down a bunch of slates here.

The money, with a couple of small shifts:

28 Bauer 2
27 Yuhan 2
24 Winklepleck

23 Fell 2
21 Crase
19 Izzo, Stempelson, O'Reilly, Wonsetler Heart

Doesn't seem like the night game's going to move the needle much, but I'll see you shortly with that result and tomorrow's schedule.

MIL 3, SD 2

A somewhat unpleasant game to look at, strictly visually -- the combination of the odd lighting at the Brewers' park and those "iconic" Pads unis just felt nightmarish; trying to backseat-drive that home run that wasn't, forget it -- but a fun one in terms of gameplay. The folks who get paid to write about this stuff think this series is the closest contest on paper so we may get a full five of close games like this one.

No shortage of points, either...

Bauers 2
Chourio 4
Contreras the Younger 4
Mitchell 1
Turang 0
Yeli 1

Bogaerts 1
Cronenworth 0
France 1
Merrill 0
Tatis 1

...but the less said about Machado hogging all of them, the better, probably. ("No, say more." - Aaron)

Every slate is now nominally on the board. No huge changes to the leaderboard since last night, but here's the money currently:

28 Bauer 2
25 Yuhan 2
22 Fell 2 and Winklepleck

21 Crase
19 Izzo 1, Stempelson, O'Reilly
18 Wonsetler Heart

Everyone else after the jump...

TB 1, NYY 0

Nice moment for Rasmussen, we all love a regular-season pitchers' duel...but a low-scoring game is annoying for the BPP, lbr. 

Yankee picks: 0

Caminero: 0
Diaz, Y: 1

No substantive change to, well, much of anything, except a couple more slates got on the board -- but we should see some significant shuffling once SD/MIL goes final. I'll have that update and complete standings tomorrow morning.

LAD 5, ATL 3

Skubal wasn't completely untouchable on a scorching day at Chavez Ravine, but the Dodger line-up did what it does for a fairly routine win.

Baldwin 1
Harris 0
Olson 0

And [huge inhale]...

Betts 1
Freeman 1
Hernandez, K 0
Hernandez, T 5
Muncy 4
Ohtani 1
Pages 0
Smith 0
Tucker 5

It never fails; I'm like "surely THIS is the deranged one-off pick that blows up in Bauer's face" and then that slate leaps right over everybody. Every year! Anyway: welcome back, Kyle Tucker.

Here's the money halfway through today's schedule:

28 Bauer 2
23 Yuhan 2
21 Crase, Fell 2

19 Izzo 1, Winklepleck
18 Stempelson
17 LoPorto 1

And even more slates climb into the fray; the last five need the Brewers to take the field.

No score yet in Tampa in the middle of the second. Good luck, check my math, see you later tonight.

CHW 3, CLE 0

A subdued start at the plate for the AL Central champs; everything the Guardians tried to get going seemed to happen with two outs.

Sox still producing, though:

Meidroth 0
Montgomery 3
Murakami 5
Vargas 1

DeLauter 0
Kwan 0

A couple of slates join us thanks to Vargas, and the money looks a bit different after our first game:

22 Yuhan 2
21 Crase
20 Fell 2

Izzo 1, Winklepleck, Bauer 2, and Stempelson just off the pace, and plenty of point opportunities in the ATL/LAD game underway right now (which I think I'll leave on mute). See you around dinnertime ET...

ATL 6, PHI 2; Barves move on

That's a wrap on the WC round -- an uglier one than we usually see. A wide range of picks team-wise is interesting, and protects us from having to re-pick at the Classic, but the flip side is that you might have a bunch of slates staggering into divisional play...and losing PCA and Kyle Schwarber in the first round leaves us with a handful of "Mario Celeste"s going into the LDSes.

The points:

Baldwin 0
Harris 4
Olson 4

Harper 1
Schwarber 2
Stott 0

Italicized picks are out, of course. Harris II, a known Met-killer, is the pick MVP this round but the Schwarb wasn't far behind. Nobody really sucked, but Stott didn't do what we hoped. Albies making a case for the Victorino (usually he and Acuña get decent action if they're available; feels like nobody really believes it for Atlanta this year).

No games today, so here's a look at the money while we wait.

22 Yuhan 2
20 Fell 2
19 Winklepleck, Izzo 1

18 Bauer 2, Stempelson
17 LoPorto 1

Everyone else plus Saturday's sked after the jump...

SD 4, CHC 1; Padres move on

I can't say I expected quite such a brisk dismissal of the North Side team, even from a scorching San Diego team. CHC picks were 0 for last night --

Bregman 0
PCA 0

-- and 0 for BPP 2026, aaaaand are out. Not great news for the pool broadly; PCA was a very popular pick.

In happier news,

Bogaerts 3
Cronenworth 0
France 3
Merrill 2
Tatis 0

Bogey's your MVP for this match-up. I would propose Machado as a future Shane Vic, but those are guys nobody would have thought to pick, versus Machado, who tends to burn us...except when he doesn't.

Here's a look at the money:

22 Yuhan 2
19 Winklepleck, Izzo 1
18 Bauer 2, Stempelson

Everyone else after the jump...

NYY 9, BOS 2; Yankees move on

Off to Tampa for the Yankees, who were more or less untroubled by the Sox. The pool, less so -- one pick was felled by injury last night; Contreras excepted, the others did little to help -- but the players in italics below are out:

Abreu, W 0
Anthony 0
Contreras, Wi 5
Rafaela 0

Better news for the Bomber pickers:

Bellinger 5
Chisholm 2
Garcia 6
Rice 1

Here's where the money is as we wait to see whether the CHW/SD series is going to break the pool...

19 Yuhan 2 and Izzo 1
18 Stempelson and Bauer 2
14 Fell 2

13 Winklepleck, Reid Dumb, LoPorto 1, DGB
12 Crase, Green, Wonsetler Head
10 Izzo 2, Wonsetler Heart, O'Reilly

9 Brady
7 AK 2
6 Quinn 2, Reid Smart, Yuhan 1, Cameron 2

5 Drake's Dis Track
4 Bingham 2
3 LoPorto 2

2 Tormey, AK 1
1 Cameron 1, SDB Goliath

It seems like maybe a Gol-Dunn Sombrero is in play for this go-round? Lord, I hope not. Corrections, log 'em in the comments and I'll see you later/tomorrow for the CHI/SD wrap.