Barry Zito and Pablo Sandoval get the Giants off to an unexpected start.
Join the BP staff for a roundtable chat from the first pitch to the last out of Game One.
The Tigers’ ALCS sweep of the Yankees offered a reminder of why the sweep is one of the most satisfying series outcomes.
Ben and Sam discuss whether the NLCS performances of several players affected how they think about them or changed the narratives that followed them into the series.
Does walking, striking out, and homering more often help or hurt a hitter in the postseason?
Ben and Sam catch up on the Yankees-Tigers ALCS and Ben’s beat-writing adventures, then talk about why players and stats disagree about the difficulty of pitching on short rest, and Jim Leyland’s comments about closers.
A staple of postseason commentary proves that some canards die hard.
The playoffs are already underway, and here’s what we’re writing about it.
If Oliver Perez can start in the postseason, surely Tim Lincecum can too.
Ben and Sam revisit their discussion from last week on aces in October, talk about the new old Ichiro, and tell you more than you need to know about Orioles starter Steve Johnson.
Ben and Sam discuss whether Alex Anthopoulos is taking too long to turn around Toronto, then talk about why we can’t find the secret to success in October. Also, Sam drops his wedding ring.
Making the playoffs doesn’t always mean finishing strong.
Is there anything to the notion that teams need an ace to compete in October, or is it just another in a long line of flawed theories about post-season success?
Chris Carpenter might be about to make one of the latest season debuts by a player who’ll appear on a playoff roster, but he has nothing on Steve Torrealba.
A’s assistant GM David Forst has seen the team go from post-season pretender to legitimate contender, and a conversation with Mike Matheny.