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The Astros are real bad to start the season. They really dug themselves a hole to get out of.

Seriously, slow starts for both Toronto and Seattle. Fortunately it’s a long season, so they have time to get on track. But for Toronto it just feels like more of 2023. Not fun! Expectations are getting lower…

Jays win on opening day in Tampa

So @Eizan what do you think about the whole Ohtani / interpreter controversy??? I’m very curious to hear Ohtani’s statements today. The stories don’t all add up

I am setting expectations low for the Jays. They didn’t do much in the off-season to improve the team. Really though, the biggest improvement would be for Vlad to play up to his potential. They should have been a better team last year and would have been if Vlad was hitting like in 2021. I can see the Jays finishing 3rd or 4th in the AL East and missing the Wild Card. It feels like their narrow window of opportunity from a couple years ago might have closed already The O’s are likely going to be a problem this year. I could see them struggling a bit after their big surprise last summer, and I’m hoping they stumble a bit… but really they should be a strong team again, and for years to come. The Rays always find a way to compete. I’m not counting the Yankees out just yet. And while I expect Boston to be a bad team this year, sometimes they can surprise you too. There will also be more heated competition for the WC spots from ALC and ALW teams like last summer. Overall my outlook isn’t great for Toronto this year. I hope to be proven wrong!

They spent over $1 billion just this month Anything less than multiple World Series wins should be seen as disappointing for L.A.

Nope, I didn’t think for a second that the Jays would land Ohtani. 10 years / $700 million is nuts. Imagine how much the Jays would have had to over-pay on top of that to win the deal. You can’t build a team like that. Unless you’re the Dodgers Seattle definitely appears to be clearing the decks to try to sign a big free agent. Maybe Snell or Bellinger? Yamamoto? Or are they losing money in their TV deal like how San Diego got messed around by Bally / Diamond Sports? That would also cause a team to cut payroll.

I thought it was a pretty decent series. Not the most memorable, but enjoyable. I miss baseball

Texas/Arizona in the World Series would be a pretty low combined win total for two WS teams. Very strong Wild Card vibes. Maybe not great markets for big TV numbers either. I guess tonight’s game will be rigged for Philly

Man, I did not see Texas coming back after blowing all three home games. Weird series. Props to the Rangers for being resilient. I expect Philly to win tonight… But if Arizona does then that will be interesting.

Yeah, I don't get why the M's love trading their closers so much I guess the Rangers don't have much choice but to use Scherzer if it comes down to Game 7... But I don't think they'll feel super good about it. He'll probably have a pretty short leash. His fastball was alright in his first start back, but the slider wasn't working. Maybe he can make some mechanical changes before the next start to be more effective. But if the slider isn't working then that makes it too easy for the Astros' hitters.

I was pretty confident the Rangers would advance after going up 2-0, but at the same time I knew Houston had it in them to come back. They are a very tough and experienced team. I felt like Game 4 was must-win for Texas. Once they let Houston even it up to 2-2, it was over in my mind. Going back to Houston for Games 6 and maybe 7 really swings things in the Astros' favour. It will take a miracle now for Texas to turn it around. This is a bit reminiscent of their World Series against St. Louis where they just couldn't quite finish the job. I'm happy to see the DBacks even up their series with the Phillies, though I am still quite confident in Philly. An upset would be cool too though. I just can't help but think about that damn trade the Jays did sending Moreno and Lourdes for Varsho...

It feels like the Phils could be any and every team right now. Like they find a different gear in October.

Feeling pretty good right now about my Rangers/Phils World Series prediction. I don't want to like the Phillies, and I'm not a huge Harper fan... but it's hard to not like that team. They got that dog in them. Some serious scumbag energy too. (Like, the good kind of scumbag )

Braves are toast. 3 upsets in the Division Series. Only Houston made it out. I feel like it's going to be a Rangers/Phils matchup in the World Series. Maybe those pesky Astros can still knock out the Rangers, but man that Rangers lineup is going to be tough. I would also love to see the DBacks beat the Phils in the NLCS, but they're a pretty young team still and I think Philly might be too much for them right now. Whatever happens, I am looking forward to the ALCS/NLCS, and it should be a good World Series whichever teams advance.

I'm not so sure about that... You always hear talk about how pitching and defense are most important in the postseason, and of course they are important, but hitting, and especially power hitting, is very critical in October too. I heard a stat on a podcast yesterday that every team that advanced from the WC round out-homered the other team. It's harder to string singles together in the postseason, so multiple HRs, and timely HRs, often win the game. The Rangers' lineup doesn't really have any easy outs. If they can just clobber the other team then perhaps their pitching isn't as key for them. Atlanta will need to try to do the same thing. Philly is a pretty tough match up for them.

Marlins didn't even win a WC game But it was a nice idea! Every WC series was a two-game sweep. Bye-bye Rays, Jays, Marlins, and Brewers. The WC was a dud this year IMO. Hardly any competitive games. The scores were closest in the Twins/Jays games, but if you watched the games, you know that they weren't actually that close. The Jays got beat quite easily by the Twins. I expected more from the Jays, Rays, and Brewers... but, oh well. The Phillies are a sneaky good team right now. Despite how incredible the Braves were this year, I would not be shocked to see the Phils beat them in the NLDS and make another run to the World Series. A WS win would really be a feather in Bryce Harper's cap. He's done pretty much everything else. On the AL side, I would like to see the Twins and O's match up in the ALCS. Fresh faces. I was really impressed by the Twins the last couple days. I don't know if I can bring myself to cheer for the O's, even though they have lots of likeable players. And I definitely don't want to be cheering for the Rangers. So it's either Houston or Minnesota by default that gets my support in the ALCS.

The bracket is set! I think the Jays can beat Minnesota, but it's a pretty close match-up and I won't be shocked to see them lose. The Twins are playing quite well the last couple months.

I think the Jays could have trouble with either the Rays or Twins. They're just so inconsistent. Now would be the ideal time to get hot... but it doesn't seem like they're going to do that.

Well... that's it for Seattle That's a bummer. A step back from last year. Hopefully they can change some stuff up in the winter and come back better next year! The Jays are in the WC for sure, but clinching because another team lost is rather anti-climactic. The Jays should have been able to beat the Rays yesterday. Ah well... Right now the postseason picture has Toronto playing Tampa in the WC series, as they're in the 3rd spot. That could potentially change though if both Houston and Texas lose today and the Jays win. I think the Rays will be more inclined to rest guys today because they used a lot of their big bullpen arms yesterday, and today's game doesn't really mean anything for them. Hopefully the Jays can finish on a strong note and beat up on the Rays today. Who knows what happens in the other games though. Houston plays Arizona and Texas plays Seattle.

Astros and M's on three-game losing streaks Good to see Houston falling off but Seattle needs to start winning games. The Jays won a series at the Trop this weekend, which is something I'm thrilled about. Only six games left to go!

Well, things are looking a bit better for the Jays now. Not exactly a slam dunk just yet, but I am more confident now about their WC odds. The lose the tie-breaker with the M's (and Rangers) though so if there's a tie for the 2nd/3rd WC spots then the Jays come up last. Seattle shouldn't try to get cute and play for the 6th seed. Just gotta get in no matter the position.

The M's are back in the win column after a couple games against Oakland. Seattle and Texas are tied for the third WC spot, only a game behind Toronto Gonna be a close finish! Baltimore has been beating up on the Astros the last couple days too, so the ALW division race is getting super tight again.

It's really hard to say with this Jays team. Offensively, on paper, they ought to be so much better... but these guys seem to have no power. They take walks, they get lots of hits (singles), but struggle with the "big" hits (RISP or HRs). It sucks watching them and say they're down by 2 or 3 runs in the 6th inning, and it's like, "Well, they can't possibly come back from that!" Previous Jays teams never had trouble scoring, and you instead had to worry about the 'pen maybe blowing it if the lead wasn't big enough. Looking back, that is a lot more fun to watch compared to this team that just can't score enough. They have 6 games left vs. Tampa, and the Rays could still win the division, so they'll be competing in those games. And 6 games vs. the Yankees, who are quite bad this year, but they'll still be trying to win just to play spoiler. I hope the M's can start racking up wins again and get into the WC.

I DO NOT LIKE THE RANGERS Hoping for a win tonight, but the Jays really haven't given me anything to be optimistic about since this series started... I definitely won't be shocked if they get swept