Top News:
Craig Edwards / FanGraphs Baseball:
Arrieta-Cole, Objectively One of Best Playoff Matchups Ever — Individual performances tend to be magnified in the postseason, and that is especially true of pitchers. While 16-18 other players appear in the lineups and many others will have profound impacts on the outcomes of games over the next month …
Discussion:
Chicago, Bucs Dugout and CBS Chicago
RELATED:
MLB.com:
A record number of fans expected to blackout PNC Park — The Pirates return to the Major League Baseball Postseason for the third consecutive year and the 17th time in team history. The Pirates will host National League Central Division rival, the Chicago Cubs for a one-game Wild Card …
Discussion:
Bucs Dugout
Daryl Van Schouwen / Chicago:
Pirates' Cole on Arrieta: ‘You want to face the best’ — PITTSBURGH — It's a big ask of Gerrit Cole. He has been given the responsibility of validating an historic 98-win season for his Pittsburgh Pirates by getting them into a playoff series, and he'll have to out-perform the hottest pitcher …
Discussion:
MLB Daily Dish
Joe Lemire / USA Today:
AL wild card capsule: Astros vs. Yankees — A capsule look at Tuesday night's American League wild-card game pitting the Houston Astros against the New York Yankees: — Matchup: Masahiro Tanaka (12-7, 3.51 ERA) vs. Dallas Keuchel (20-8, 2.48 ERA). — This season: The Astros won …
Discussion:
Red Sox Monster, The Crawfish Boxes, DRaysBay and Baseball Prospectus
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Kenny Ducey / Baseball Prospectus:
Playoff Prospectus: AL Wild Card Game Preview by Kenny Ducey — AL Wild Card Game Preview — With a six-game lead in the AL East, the New York Yankees remained subdued at the July 31st trade deadline. They refused to mortgage their future while the Toronto Blue Jays loaded up for a long fall.
Nicholas Parco / New York Daily News:
Mets NLDS tickets are sold out while many remain for the Yankees wild card game
Mets NLDS tickets are sold out while many remain for the Yankees wild card game
Discussion:
Pinstripe Alley and Amazin' Avenue
Adam Rubin / ESPN:
Matt Harvey misses mandatory workout; ‘I screwed up,’ says Game 3 starter — 17m - MLB MATT HARVEY STEVEN MATZ JUAN URIBE NEW YORK METS LOS ANGELES DODGERS + more
Discussion:
Amazin' Avenue, NESN.com and Associated Press
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Kristie Ackert / New York Daily News:
The Mets, assembled: How - and who - got the downtrodden franchise back in the playoffs
The Mets, assembled: How - and who - got the downtrodden franchise back in the playoffs
Discussion:
Metsblog
Marc Carig / Newsday:
Kevin Long counting on Mets' lefthanded hitters to battle against Dodgers' southpaws … VOTE — Mets vs. Dodgers: Who has the edge in the NLDS? … Mets — 7 Mets-Dodgers NLDS fast facts … Mets — Mets playoff hopefuls … Mets — See how the Mets celebrated winning the NL East
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Mike Puma / New York Post:
Mets get a break in dealing with Kershaw-Greinke nightmare
Mets get a break in dealing with Kershaw-Greinke nightmare
Discussion:
New York Daily News, New Jersey Online, Amazin' Avenue, ESPN and Metsblog
Tim Dierkes / MLB Trade Rumors:
Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2016 — As explained here, Matt Swartz and MLB Trade Rumors have developed an accurate model to project arbitration salaries. Many MLB teams and agencies reference our projections in their work. You won't find anything else like this on the Internet!
Discussion:
Athletics Nation, Bleacher Nation, Camden Chat, Purple Row and Bucs Dugout
Jeff Todd / MLB Trade Rumors:
Marlins Re-Sign Ichiro Suzuki — 1:58pm: The deal also includes a $2MM option for 2017, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. — 12:20pm: The Marlins have announced the re-signing of outfielder Ichiro Suzuki today, as MLB.com's Joe Frisaro first reported on Twitter.
Discussion:
Yahoo Sports, Bleacher Report, MLB Daily Dish and Fish Stripes
Associated Press:
Cards optimistic Yadier Molina will make postseason roster despite injury — 5h - MLB YADIER MOLINA TONY CRUZ ED EASLEY ST. LOUIS CARDINALS CHICAGO CUBS + more
Discussion:
Viva El Birdos, ESPN, Chicago and ESPN
Matt Ehalt / NorthJersey.com:
Mets: Preparing as they always do — Throughout his childhood, Michael Cuddyer watched playoff baseball games on television and was amazed. It all seemed so grand to watch from afar. — When he played his first playoff game Oct. 1, 2002, while with the Twins, that feeling of wonder he had as a kid didn't carry over.
Discussion:
Metsblog
RELATED:
Roger Rubin / Newsday:
David Wright, vets already have addressed the lack of playoff experience
David Wright, vets already have addressed the lack of playoff experience
Discussion:
Amazin' Avenue, The Huffington Post and New York Post
Vince Lara-Cinisomo / Baseball America:
2015 Texas League Top 20 Prospects — TEXAS LEAGUE TOP 20 PROSPECTS — Corpus Christi was by far the best team in the Texas League during the first half, while Midland dominated after the break. Both teams boasted plenty of firepower, with the Hooks fielding first baseman A.J. Reed …
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
David Aldridge / NBA.com:
Q & A: JIMMY BUTLER — He didn't see it, he says. All of a sudden, there was Derrick Rose — Can't Get Right, from the movie “Life” — on the court, and injured, again. As if Jimmy Butler didn't already know that things were changing with the Chicago Bulls, with their new coach …
Discussion:
CBS Chicago and Chicago