UTK Special 10/13/23

LCS Health Previews

The Division Series are now all decided and were, I think, good baseball. The narrative that teams got rusty with the schedule is silly, with a complete lack of evidence that there’s any effect, positive or negative. I can’t imagine teams deciding they’d rather play the Wild Card round or aiming for 54 percent rather than winning the division.

The fact is we saw two very good teams in Atlanta and Los Angeles weakened by pitching issues. The Dodgers made it through the season with a rotation full of injuries and suspensions, somehow winning the west again. The Braves were historically powerful, and when the power didn’t carry them against good pitching, their pitching didn’t have the depth to answer after a number of its own injuries, the key being Charlie Morton’s late season loss.

If you read this newsletter regularly, I think the initial assessments held up well. Now as the teams move to the LCS’s, let’s take a look. Again, this isn’t position by position, but an update of the initial looks from either the Wild Card or Division Series previews. You can click those links to look back if you want to remind yourself, or catch up.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

The Phillies remain largely healthy through their ‘upset’ of the Braves. There was a late scare as Bryce Harper was in clear pain after a collision at first base. It was a simple case of having his funny bone hit by the passing runner’s knee. The ulnar nerve - “funny bone” - is often moved in Tommy John surgery, and Harper’s immediate reaction looked bad, but was nothing significant, aside from that initial pain. We’ve all done it and it doesn’t feel good.